Latest news with #87NorthProductions
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How ‘Nobody 2's Powerhouse Producers Win In Hollywood In Tough Times
"When we're in love with something like Nobody, and we get a green light on it, it's hard to say no," admits producer David Leitch as we chat over Zoom just days ahead of action sequel Nobody 2 landing in theaters. "Those green lights are hard to come by, and they're getting harder and harder, so we've been fortunate that we are in demand and we're taking advantage of that." He and his producer wife, Kelly McCormick, are the powerhouse pair behind 87 North Productions, the world-renowned production and action design company behind such crowdpleasers as Bullet Train, Violent Night, The Fall Guy, and the original Nobody. "We love to work," he continues. "We are grateful to be where we are in the business, where we have a lot of opportunities to make stuff." Leitch and McCormick, who are married, have found a small window behind night shoots on another movie to discuss R-rated Nobody 2. Days later, they're heading to kick off production on Violent Night 2. Times are challenging in Hollywood, but 87North is weathering the storm brilliantly. Leitch, a former stuntman who directed Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2, credits McCormick as a significant reason for that. "When you look at other companies that are in our genre of action filmmaking, there isn't an iconic producer that rises to the top like there used to be back in the Bruckheimer days. I think she's making a play for it," he enthuses. "Kelly is definitely this incredible producer who can run multiple projects at any given time and still add production savvy and tons of creative input on our big movies that we do, but also the smaller genre films that we produce for Universal, so she's the rock star that keeps it all together." "If we didn't have someone as skilled at it as her, it would be hard for our production company to stay afloat, and we wouldn't be able to do the volume that we do and have the quality that we have." Nobody 2 sees Bob Odenkirk reprise the role of Hutch Mansell, a suburban dad who also happens to be a former lethal assassin. The sequel has him and his family heading off on vacation for some quality time together, but, as usual, where Hutch goes, trouble is not far behind, and what appears to be a sleepy town turns out to be a hotbed of organized criminal activity. The ensemble cast also includes Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone, Colin Hanks, Christopher Lloyd, and RZA. The first film made $57.5 million against a $16 million budget, with critics and audiences giving it the thumbs up. That success meant Nobody 2 had $25 million to spend, but it wasn't something they had expected. "These days, getting a sequel doesn't necessarily mean getting a bigger budget," McCormick admits. "In all the sequels that we hope to do, it's about thinking about the character, but also where the audience might want to go with them. That's what was our North Star here." "We didn't start work on Nobody 2 immediately after the first film, in the sense that we weren't expecting a sequel. Our first thoughts on what could happen next were a vacation. In the first film, they talk about going to Italy one time and how special it was. We talked about going to Italy, and then we pivoted and thought, 'You know what? He's such a middle American hero, why doesn't he go to a destination in middle America and have that experience, rather than what you would expect of a globe-trotting sequel?' It kept it super grounded." Leitch And McCormick's 87North Has Created Landmark Moments In Hollywood Nobody was considered a barometer of the industry. Landing in theaters in March 2021, it was one of the first big studio movies to drop after the pandemic. Its success was a landmark moment. Leitch and McCormick only founded 87North in 2019. "We released the first one as people were coming back to the theaters after COVID. Shockingly, people came," McCormick exclaims. "When we're talking to people, a lot of them are like, 'That was my first movie back after the pandemic,' and it's a cool thing to have for that film. After the theaters, it continued to play well, and people found it so that as those numbers started stacking up, it was like, 'Let's just see where we might go and get a script going.' Bob's been really busy, and to get it right took a minute, so we just wanted to take our time. It's probably within a year of its release that we started working on it. It was a long development process." Although both Nobody's are very Midwest American movies, they were filmed in Canada and have had international directors. Hardcore Henry's Ilya Naishuller helmed the original, with Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto making his English-language feature debut for the second entry in what has become a franchise. "We have been dying to work with Timo, and he hadn't quite found his moment in the American English language market. He had done a bunch of stuff on Netflix, but it was local language," McCormick explains. "He is such an interesting and bold filmmaker. We developed Nobody 2 with a different director. When we got our greenlight, he received one for another movie at the same time, and he had to make a tough decision. I love the kid, but he put me in a bit of a spot. We were something like eight weeks out with a green light, and we had to find a director." Leith interjects, "We had been developing another project with Timo, but we said, 'Hey, you want to jump on Nobody?'" "I was like, 'Who would work for this for the studio, for Bob, and us? Who is that guy?' Timo is game, he's a shooter, he loves to get behind the camera, and he'll just run with something and make it better, but also be thoughtful about what we've already got going," McCormick continues. "There was really only one candidate, and thank God he said yes. Then we had to handle his international visa; we were rewriting so that it felt like his movie too, and then somehow we got into production without even stretching the schedule. I don't know how we did that. I think it has a lot to do with Timo as a collaborator, because he understands the team, and he jumped in and put his own special sauce on it. That's exactly what we needed." "It's something David has done because he jumped into Deadpool 2 and jumped into Hobbs and Shaw. Those feel like the franchises they originated, but they definitely have a patina of a Leitchian movie, and I think that Timo did that in spades on Nobody 2. He's a dream and we'd love to work with him again." Having already filmed multiple movies this year under the 87North banner and with more things to make before the end of 2025, Leith and McCormick are on a roll. However, the film industry is still in a weird place with unstable box office returns and theater attendance remaining below pre-pandemic levels. So what do they make of the state of the industry right now? Nobody seems to know. "Neither do we, but I don't know if you ever did. It has always been a wild, untangible data collection industry, and the moment they say, 'Oh, everything's a disaster in the theater,' is the moment when some surprise happens," McCormick concludes. "For us, the goal is to keep our heads down, experience and feel the gratefulness of getting to do stuff, push for the right movie at the right time, whether that be like IP-driven or original, and to try to make the best movie possible, and believe in that. That will either make it pop at the box office or sustain to the point that our partners will profit as well, and keep the mark of our 87North brand strong too."
Hypebeast
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Tommy Wirkola Returns to Helm 'Violent Night 2'
Summary Get ready for more festive carnage. Director Tommy Wirkola is officially returning to directViolent Night 2, withUniversal Pictures. The confirmation comes amidst strong anticipation for the sequel to the cult-favorite R-rated holiday action film. David Harbouris confirmed to reprise his role as the ass-kicking Santa Claus. While plot details are still under wraps, screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who are also returning, have teased a bigger scale for the sequel. They've hinted that Santa won't be trapped in a mansion again, and that the film might incorporate a 'little Western influence' while delving further into Santa's Viking backstory. There's also been widespread speculation about the potential introduction of Mrs. Claus, with names like Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace being floated as dream casting choices. Universal Pictures and producers Kelly McCormick and David Leitch (87North Productions) are aiming for a September production start in WinnipegViolent Night 2is set to release on December 4, 2026.
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Love Hurts, shot in Manitoba, named most sustainable film production
Cynthia Burke is a sustainability trailblazer in Manitoba's film scene. She's the industry's first certified environmental manager and last year worked as the eco-specialist on Love Hurts, the first local production to employ a dedicated sustainability department. On Monday, the action comedy starring Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan was named the year's most sustainable film production at the 2025 Global Production Awards in Cannes, France, beating out the likes of Wicked and Mean Girls. The international accolade — awarded annually to a production engaged in meaningful green filmmaking practices — is thanks in no small part to Burke's efforts to help reduce waste and emissions on set in Winnipeg. But she isn't one to hog the spotlight. 'I'm a liaison and a cheerleader, but my job is insignificant. The work that's done to create a sustainable film production is the crew's participation and buy-in — without that commitment, none of it is possible,' she says. Burke spent decades working as a teacher, but stepped away from the classroom because of stress and burnout. She's been working in film and television since 2012 after getting a degree in theatre and film and has spent most of her second career as a production assistant, with experience in set decoration, props and location services. Becoming an eco-friendly film production facilitator was not on her bingo card. The opportunity arose during pre-production for Love Hurts. A sustainability department was required to meet the corporate environmental standards of NBCUniversal and 87North Productions, but at the time nobody in town had the proper credentials. Burke interviewed, got the job and spent months training with Green Spark Group, an environmental consulting firm specializing in the film industry. She's since furthered her education with a Sustainable Production for Entertainment Certification (SPEC) from the U.S. Green Building Council California. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Cynthia Burke is the first certified environmental manager in Manitoba's film industry. Burke describes the role of an eco-specialist or environmental manager as 'a huge octopus of tasks.' 'It isn't just taking out the garbage, it's really intensive data collection to see what our carbon footprint is, to see where our emissions are coming from to understand where the gaps are and how to fix them,' she says. It's also about education. Between asking vendors for detailed waste and energy reports, Burke spent time on the Love Hurts set encouraging the cast and crew to use the garbage, recycling and compost bins correctly (which resulted in 4,000 kilograms of compost being diverted from the landfill), celebrating weekly achievements and doling out workplace and household sustainability tips. 'The things we do as teachers in terms of data collection, managing paperwork, teaching, communication skills — all of those things are really lovely parallels that are transferrable into this job,' she says. Power is one of the biggest environmental concerns on a film set. 'The work that's done to create a sustainable film production is the crew's participation and buy-in — without that commitment, none of it is possible.'–Cynthia Burke To cut down on emissions, NBCUniveral paid for electricity upgrades at Winnipeg's Big Sky Studios, which will benefit future productions; used mostly LED lighting; and sourced a hybrid electric generator instead of the usual gas-powered machines. Electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as e-scooters and e-bikes, were used to transport equipment and people. Burke is particularly proud of the new partnerships she helped establish with local organizations. Forty-five tonnes of usable construction and set-building materials were donated to Habitat for Humanity and more than 31 kg of edible prop food was sent to Harvest Manitoba. The on-set caterer agreed to provide reusable and compostable plates and cutlery and reduce the amount of red meat served during the production. Aluminum water bottles were procured to cut down on single-use plastic. One of Burke's biggest hurdles is convincing executives that sustainability initiatives are worth the extra effort and cost — especially with practices that aren't yet commonplace locally. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. 'Making change is really difficult. When you have no baseline or past experience, it's hard to get your head around how it can save us money when it's costing us much more upfront. It's a really hard thing for people to understand the holistic aspects of a circular economy,' she says. At the moment, sustainability isn't an official department recognized by local film unions. Burke hopes her work and Love Hurts' sustainability win will help move the industry forward. Universal Pictures Ke Huy Quan (left) and Rhys Darby in Love Hurts 'We need to keep training people,' she says. 'We could be the best example of sustainable film production because we're a small market. We know each other and our vendors want to support (this) because you can see the difference it makes in Winnipeg.' X: @evawasney How is the stage lit? Who hangs the paintings? What happens in the dish pit? Behind the Scenes is a recurring series highlighting the important and often invisible work happening at arts and culture venues across Winnipeg. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
