Author: Tan Sufang
Director Doug Liman’s remake of “Road House,” starring Jake Grenhall, is pure entertainment, a wildly raucous, crowd-pleaser. Filled with charming deadpan humor, the film is a nostalgic throwback to the joyful escapism so common in movies of the ’90s and early 2000s.
“Doug wanted to make what he called a ‘down-to-earth popcorn action movie,'” says picture editor Doc Crotzer (ACE), also known for his work on “Glee” and “Sons of Anarchy.” The film was released earlier this year and is currently available on major streaming services.
A remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze classic film, the storyline is updated for today’s audiences. Gyllenhaal plays Dalton, a UFC fighter turned bodyguard who is polite, sincere and calm but belies his deadly intensity.
Dalton tries to escape his violent past, but is pulled back home by bar owner Frankie (Jessica Williams), who needs help protecting her seaside venue, the titular Roadhouse. Set in the picturesque, fictional Glass Key district, the bar and surrounding neighborhood are plagued by cunning crime boss Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen) and his henchmen, including the Crazy for Hire Skeleton Killer Knox (real-life UFC champion Conor McGregor).
To capture Liman’s cinematic dynamics, stunt coordinator Garrett Warren and fight coordinator Steve Brown developed a new “multi-pass technology” that allowed the camera to penetrate into the heart of the action. “Doug wanted a completely new way to capture the fight scenes so we could have less obvious cuts. The camera moved in a way we weren’t used to seeing in fight scenes, creating invisible cuts that made the scene It feels like it’s made up of longer shots,” Crozier said.
The “ABCD pass” technique involves four mixed shots. Initially, actors throw a punch in the traditional “Hollywood pass” and the recipient “sells” its impact. In the next step, the hit actor is replaced with a pad, allowing the puncher to hit the pad, visibly affecting the body. The third pass is to hit the hit actor with a pad to see how the body reacts. The final sequence is shown in slow motion, with the two actors shooting at about 25% speed to realistically capture all the impact, all in-camera.
Emmy Award-winning sound editing supervisor Paul Hsu appreciates the organic feel this approach brings. “Fewer shots are edited together to make you believe this is real,” he said, praising Liman’s approach to longer, immersive shots. “Even though it’s hyper-real, it’s really grounded. We tend to be gritty and make it feel real,” he added.
Unlike a typical production, Hsu’s sound team started working very early in the film’s production process. “It’s always better if we start early. I did the first temp mix before the edit was even finished,” Hsu says.
Crotzer agrees: “We made this lively film, with the sound constantly updated throughout the 18-19 months of production, rather than all updated at the end. Sometimes it told us what could and couldn’t escape.
Once all four passes are stitched together, they are sent to VFX. “While there’s no visual editing in the traditional sense, you still have to make a lot of decisions. By shooting multiple passes, you might get a character’s fist on one pass and them on another. The rest of the body,” Crozier said of the heated clash between Dalton and Knox. “You’re making a million little decisions about timing, constantly looking for the best punch and the best angle.”
The high-energy fight scenes are set against a lively musical backdrop at the Road House, curated by musical director Randy Poster and featuring live performances by bands from a variety of genres including zydeco, R&B, country and NOLA Funk. “The film’s music is very avant-garde,” Mr. Hsu said of the diverse and high-quality recordings that added emotional layers to the scenes.
The film deftly balances hyper-stylized violence with comedy, particularly utilizing Dalton’s deadpan humor. “It’s like walking a tightrope,” Crozier said. “Whenever things start to get really violent or dark, we look for moments to lighten things up to remind the audience that this is supposed to be a fun ride no matter what.”
One memorable example is when Dalton is driving the battered thug to the local hospital and when the Beach Boys’ iconic song “Kokomo” starts playing on the radio, Dalton stoically warns them of the “bump” that’s coming. “That fight in the ‘Kokomo’ scene is crucial because it sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Getting that sequence is the thing I’m most proud of,” Crozier said.
Despite some initial resistance, Crozier managed to secure the Beach Boys’ hit song “Kokomo” to appear in the scene, enhancing the humor and completing the moment perfectly. “It was Dalton’s most unexpected song, so I thought it was perfect. But Doug didn’t think it would work,” Crozier said.
Fortunately, Crozier convinced Liman to give the song a chance to preview.
“I was like, ‘Please let’s keep this in the preview. If it doesn’t get a laugh, I promise I’ll never bring it up again. Luckily, it turned out really well.
