Heres how the explosiveJohn Wick: Chapter 4Dragons Breath shoot-out came together.
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How to (maybe)wrapthe franchise with a final installment that gives audiences something new?
A trio of white-knuckle action sequences inJohn Wick: Chapter 4s final hour seemed like the answer.
But the sequence in the middle, an apartment-set shoot-out, posed a problem.
We had that dialed in; we had the Arc de Triomphe dialed in, director Chad Stahelski says.
The apartment fight wasnt clicking.
It was just a fight in an apartment.
And Im like,How do we shift perspective?
There was a visual there that shouldnt have made sense but did, he says.
It was part video game, part anime, part cinematic experience.
Stahelski and the crew turned this shoot-out into one of the most visually arresting segments of the entireJohn Wickfranchise.
That really became our biggest challenge: the lack of height.
The rest is all one take.)
All that prep came up against a tight deadline.
To film the scene, the crew used a Spidercam system designed and operated by Laustsen and his team.
IfJohn Wickdoes nothing else exceptionally well, theres a rhythm to it, says Rogers.
But he was like, No, I want to do it.
I want to do this.
Stahelski remembers explaining his idea for a one-take shot to Reeves.
Okay, that means I cant mess up, he recalls the actor saying.
He just looks at me and goes, Cool, I got to go to the gym.
I better practice more.
The stunt actors playing Wicks enemies were tasked with executing complicated choreography with painstaking precision.
Its shot much wider and tighter.
We took all the middle sizes out, Laustsen says.
Finally, late in the German production schedule, it was time to go from rehearsal to reality.
It was bumpy at first.
So the first day was by far the roughest.
But then you kind of get your rhythm and everybody comes in sync.
How beautiful can I make it?
The searing light from the shotguns is entrancing and creates new shadows and distractions.
Without the Dragons Breath, the shot would be a lot more boring.
It wouldnt last half as long, explains Rogers.
(Stahelski recalls Laustsens similar reaction to the top-down idea: What are you, crazy?
Thats going to bore the crap out of people.)
Stahelski asked himself, How many different colors can I put in this scene?
How beautiful can I make it?
The eureka moment: Screw it.
Im just going to light people on fire.
But the rest of the scene was shot as a oner.
We shot the whole thing in less than three days, Stahelski says.
But in the editing room, Stahelski found himself fighting to keep the sequence in.
Hes glad he won.
It wasnt until we put in the temp visual effects that people go, Oh, fuck.
We didnt think it was going to be anything like that.
And Im like, Good thing we didnt cut it.
Additional reporting by Vulture senior reporter Chris Lee.
