Original-Cin Q&A: Veteran Director Albert Hughes Talks Wick-World as He Takes on The Continental
Prepare to dive into the world of the John Wick prequel series The Continental: From the World of John Wick, streaming on Prime Video beginning September 22nd.
The action-packed three-part series explores the origin of the iconic hotel-for-assassins, which is the centerpiece of the John Wick universe. The show will be seen through the eyes of a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell, playing a young version of the character played by Ian McShane in the movies), as he’s dragged into the hell-scape of 1970s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his throne.
Colin Woodell is Winston, the man who would be manager in The Continental.
The show stars Woodell, Mel Gibson, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, and breakout action star Nhung Kate playing the character Yen.
Our Bonnie Laufer caught up with director Albert Hughes (Menace II Society) to discuss the series and his love for the John Wick world.
Click to watch Bonnie’s video interviews with the creative team:
Larnell Stovall - Action Director
Charlotte Brandstorm ( Director, Episode 2)
ORIGINAL-CIN: Before we get into The Continental: The World of John Wick, how big of a John Wick fan you were before taking this on?
Director Albert Hughes
ALBERT HUGHES: Oh man, I watched them all in the theaters not knowing this was coming. So I watched one, two and three and I loved them. I just love how wild and free and fun they were. I didn't intellectualize it until I had to do this part that deals with escapism.
Shortly after being asked to take on the series, they were shooting John Wick 4 in Berlin and I had to go meet the producers there while they were shooting. When they were finished, they had a cut for me to see, very early on an almost a four hour cut. That was insane!
So I didn't know until they asked me to do it how much fun I would have. We were all coming out of COVID, and it was so stressful at the time. And I remember thinking I had a couple of choices of what I was going to do next, and one of them had to deal with social issues and generational trauma, stuff I'd done before.
I just looked at this one and I thought, I just want to have fun. If I'm having fun, and they're having fun when they made those Wick films, the audience should have fun because we're all coming out of this time period. Pure escapism for everyone!
O-C: I always enjoy when I can get a back story to a series or film that I liked so for you to have something as grand and stylish as The Continental must have been a gift. You directed episodes 1 and 3 and Charlotte Brändström got to take on episode 2. Did the two of you coordinate your visions or how did that work?
HUGHES: I guess that would be the biggest challenge. I consume a lot of TV and I love a lot of shows. Two particular shows that I love are The Handmaid's Tale and Mindhunter. In one, they have a very particular show runner that's doing something obviously to achieve the look and style. And then the other it’s obviously David Fincher.
So, what you need to do is have a consistent visual language first and then you have tone and story and everything else. So I created a style guide with a very particular set of visual rules. They get broken sometimes because you can't always be there. But you talk and collaborate so that the look and feel is consistent.
It's very difficult in a TV series, let's say it was a 10-episode TV series. You’re sometimes the director working on the middle episode trying to save money, it's a filler episode, and they don't care. It's all about quality control and the benefit we had was we had the same crew, the same actors, of course, and I was able to finish all three in post.
So I approved all the VFX. I got to oversee the final edits of all three of them. And so that's the last layer of kind of quality control. It's a good creative struggle, meaning you know how to infuse the second episode, no matter who directs.
And Charlotte's been around for a long time. She’s very capable. But no matter who it is, even if Martin Scorsese came in, there would be some bumps along the way and you just need to course correct.
What I love about it is you get to experience what somebody else would do with the material and you're really surprised by it.
O-C: The series is not only slick and stylish to watch but the action scenes are out of control! We're all used to having some amazing stunts on anything John Wick, so there’s that to live up to as well. I can't believe that opening scene, it gets you hooked within the first few minutes of the series.
HUGHES: We of course have our vision as directors. But we let our amazing action director do his thing! Larnell Stovall and his team were so fantastic. They're really great about using our environment and being playful and having a sense of this wild freedom of exploration and creativity that they have.
My thing is the visual style of it. The other thing is, what are your influences in terms of the stunts. All those guys are influenced by Jackie Chan, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and that's a sense of fun and playfulness.
What was the challenge throughout the show? If you look at the show again, it's John Wick, the film series. This is a really floaty handheld style with wide shots for a long time. So you see the actors, which is great but I personally don't like handheld.
So I put this hardcore rule for the action team in that, by the third episode, no handheld because what handheld does is give you an escape. If an actor misses their mark, you can go off the fly. They were doing too many handheld shots so Larnell was kind of kicking and screaming at first but by the third episode, he passed with flying colors and it changed even his style of design.
O-C: You got to admit, it really worked for that opening shoot-out scene.
HUGHES: I do love the handheld in the staircase sequence in episode one, because it has a time and a place. But inside of me creatively I’m more traditional in a way. I like a sturdy angle and I like to use handheld as a tool, not as a device to get out of things when I'm backed into a corner.
I also like classic cinema like The Godfather. There's a certain trick in traditional cinema that I like, and I like the camera to kind of stay out of the way for the most part. I don't like flamboyant cinema. I like structure, and I like a method, a methodical approach to it. Sometimes I think in action, they're just kind of willy-nilly with everything, and I just prefer a structure.
O-C: You also have quite the cast to work with in the series. From recognizable faces to wonderful new talent. Was there anybody who really surprised or just overly impressed you?
HUGHES: I was really impressed with Colin Woodell who plays Winston. I was really impressed in particular with Kate Nhung, a wonderful Vietnamese actress who plays Yen. What a godsend because we were looking for a woman who could act and who could do action. She was beyond incredible. Not only was she a fabulous actor but she had an action reel that just blew me away.
Her boyfriend is a big action star in Vietnam who is also a master in martial arts. I was not sure we were ever going to be able to find that many qualities in one person. But she hit the mark and then some.
She came out for the audition and was very sweet, kind of a meek and introverted person. But then you call, “Action!” and she just goes wild. I can’t wait for audiences to see what she does in this series.
O-C: You and your brother (frequent co-director Allen Hughes) have been making movies since you were 12! Now that you have been able to dip your toe into series work, is this something you’d like to do again?
HUGHES: I know I'm just so lucky to have been a filmmaker at the time when theatrical was important. Now we’ve got Marvel, streaming, and sequels and sadly, adult fare is not going to the theaters anymore unless you're very lucky.
I see filmmakers debating and complaining and I say, “Why go against the winds of change? Help build windmills.”
I've had my time in the sun doing that. All I want to do is create a cinematic experience, no matter what the format is. There are ideas I have for a book that I like that can only be done in a limited series. I couldn't do it in a two hour movie.
Will I go back to a two hour movie format? Of course I will. But am I a snob about it? No way. I just love sharing my cinematic vision and I’m happy with whatever format is offered to me.
Am I curious about even shooting on film? No, I think that's an argument. You use the tools that are available and you use all of them.
I think that it's a fun, exciting new world even though it's kind of strange right now the time we're going through with the strikes. A story is a story and I am blessed to be able to share mine.