Thomas Jane, known for his role in “The Punisher” and Laurence Fishburne, known for his works in the blockbuster action trilogy “The Matrix” star in the latest thrilling action film “Standoff.”
“Standoff” pits Carter (Jane), a troubled veteran against a deadly assassin named Sade (Fishburne) trying to kill a 12 year-old girl after she witnesses a murder. Bird, played by Ella Ballentine, is the 12-year-old girl coming to grips with the loss of her own parents. One day while in the cemetery, she witnesses a brutal murder and captures photos of the event on her camera, and attempts to flee with her guardian. But the ruthless Sade kills her guardian and then turns his attention to Bird.
Bird runs toward Carter’s house for help. Concerned, Carter runs to her rescue, but is shot by Sade from a distance. The two victims dash inside and up to the second floor. Armed with a single-barrel shotgun, Carter shoots Sade from the top of the stairs as he enters the living room. Both men assess their wounds and their firepower, and Carter realizes that he has only one shell left. A narrow staircase and a thick wardrobe prevent the men from taking a clear shot, so a game of psychological manipulation ensues.
In recent interviews, Jane enthused on working with Fishburne, “It was a two-hander and I liked that it would just be me and Laurence in a house. That’s always really fun for an actor. When Laurence was interested, it became an easy, “Yes.” So, I went up to Canada and made the movie. It was an interesting little script, and it was like working with jazz musicians, where it’s people you admire and you like their groove and you want to play with them for a little bit. That’s what this kind of thing is about. It’s very fun. It was fun for me. Laurence and I were there playing off of each other the whole time. Some days, I would come in and just be off camera all day because they’d be downstairs shooting Laurence. And then, on other days, Laurence would be off camera, all day, just playing to me while they were shooting upstairs. It was interesting, in that respect. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before, where you’d show up to work and not have to get into make-up or wardrobe because you were there to support the other actor. That was your job that day, but that was fun.”
“Standoff” opens June 15 in cinemas to be released by OctoArts Films International.
