Entertainment

Emily Blunt 'ghosted' Dwayne Johnson when he wooed her for Disney's new film Jungle Cruise


For British actress Emily Blunt, a heartfelt video from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson — coupled with director Jaume Collet-Serra’s pitch and also a generous paycheck — persuaded her to take up a leading role in Disney’s upcoming fantasy adventure film Jungle Cruise.

However, Dwayne, 49, revealed in a press conference on Tuesday (July 27) that Emily initially ‘ghosted’ him and didn’t respond to his video.

Speaking to global press, the wrestler-turned-actor said: “Our director Jaume Collet-Serra was flying to New York to meet Emily to hand-deliver the Jungle Cruise script. As he went, I said, ‘Listen, I’m gonna send you a video, just give her the video from me.'”

The video was about one to two minutes long — or 10 minutes, as Emily quipped — and in the video, Dwayne told Emily, 38, that she was “the only one who can do this movie”.

“I was very touched”, Emily said, before turning to British co-star Jack Whitehall and adding dryly: “If someone comes on too strong, it’s just better to go, ‘Okay, just tone it down.'”

Clearly it was in jest and Dwayne took it well.

“It’s a British thing, is that it? Well, a ‘humanity’ thing is to respond,” he replied, drawing guffaws from the cast who were present at the titular ride in Disneyland.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Devil Wears Prada star was playing a little hard to get because she was looking to take a break after shooting Mary Poppins and The Quiet Place back-to-back. Even a personal letter from Sean Bailey, the chief of Disney’s live-action studio, did not move her.

However, Emily clarified that she really loved the video and she eventually responded.

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For the uninitiated, the Jungle Cruise film is inspired by the popular attraction of the same name that was first opened in Disneyland in 1955.

At the height of World War I, determined researcher Dr Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) enlist the help of a gruff and wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) to guide them down the deepest and most dangerous parts of the Amazon River. She hopes to uncover the mystery of an ancient tribal artifact — a legendary relic with the power to change the fate of humanity.

Edgar Ramirez, who was also present at the press conference, stars as Aguirre, another who seeks to obtain the relic and acts as a villainous presence in the film.

First Disney film

Interestingly, Jungle Cruise marks the first time Edgar has been in a Disney film. The 44-year-old started his acting career in 2003 in the successful Venezuelan soap opera Cosita rica and has appeared in many Hollywood productions, including Steven Soderbergh’s Che, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Girl on the Train, and Netflix’s Yes Day.

His most notable role, however, was in American Crime Story where he played the famous Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace.

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During the interview, Emily revealed that Edgar was worried his mum wouldn’t be happy about his role, which Edgar confirmed. However, it wasn’t because he was playing a bad guy. She wasn’t happy because of all the snakes which she is afraid of.

Edgar said: “She’s like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me? I missed half your performance because I couldn’t look at you with all the snakes.'”

And at the risk of giving away some spoilers, the handsome actor thinks that Aguirre isn’t so much a villain as he is misunderstood and he sympathises with the character.

“Aguirre is a beautiful character to play. Complex. What I love about the movie, in general, is that it has so many beautiful and great characters that allowed you to be on a journey. And what I love about Aguirre specifically is that it really puts you into a journey into the past; and that is really beautiful,” he shared.

“That’s why I go to the movies for. I want to go on a journey. I want to be disconnected from reality. I want to be able to dream of fantastical places and fantastical characters and creatures.”

Coming out

In a surprising move for a Disney family film, a gay character gets a little more focus as opposed to being mentioned in passing or hinted at.

During a particularly vulnerable and intimate scene between Frank and MacGregor, the latter comes out in a monologue where he talks about being cast out from his family and how Lily stood by him, hence his unwavering loyalty to his sister.

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In response, Frank acknowledges it as if it were the norm and simply encourages him.

When asked about the scene, Dwayne said: “I felt that the scene was exactly what it was. Just two men talking about what they love and who they love. It’s as simple as that.”

Jack, 33, added: “I think that it was a scene that we really wanted to get right. I think what’s so great about this movie is that all of the characters feel so fleshed out. All of them have interesting backstories and are fully realised.

“A lot of movies in this genre, sometimes, you’d have characters that are a little bit two-dimensional but I think it’s so great that you get to understand so much about each of these characters and they have reasons for being where they are.”

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Jack also admitted that the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, much like the ride it is based on, and that’s what he loves most.

“[The movie] has such ambition and scale and it’s beautiful and the sets are incredible… At the heart of it, it’s not a movie that takes itself too seriously. It has wit, it has humour, it’s got some of the best puns I’ve ever heard, it’s got Dwayne Johnson doing a standup comedy routine. What not to love about it?”

Jungle Cruise opens in cinemas on July 29 and will be available on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 30.

bryanlim@asiaone.com



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