Original-Cin Q&A: Code 8 Part II’s Stephen and Robbie Amell on Hamilton’s Grainy Beauty
By Bonnie Laufer
Cousins Robbie Amell and Stephen Amell are back on screen together in Code 8 Part II.
After first witnessing the murder of her brother and then witnessing its subsequent cover-up, a teenage girl with abnormal abilities seeks the help of an ex-con Connor (Robbie Amell) and his former partner-in-crime Garrett (Stephen Amell).
Together, they face a unit of corrupt police officers who deploy advanced robotic technology to prevent themselves from being exposed. Though the pair are at odds with each other, they need to work together to make things right in Lincoln City
Bonnie Laufer spoke with both Robbie Amell and Stephen Amell about getting back on the Code 8 set. Code 8 Part II is now streaming on Netflix.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Here we are five years later following these characters and what’s happened to them. What’s unique about Code 8 is that not only have you brought back a lot of the same cast, but it also reunites the behind¬-the-scenes crew as well. What was it like the first day on set when you guys all reunited for this?
STEPHEN AMELL: The vast majority of our crew have been with us since that short film, not the first film, but the initial short film and everyone came back. We only lost our director of photography because he was having his first kid as we were starting the movie. Every time that I've stepped on a Code 8 set —I stepped on my first one in 2017 — or when we do our press, it feels like family. It feels like a high school reunion where we all just fall back into a rhythm. It’s been fantastic.
ROBBIE AMELL: It's so special to work with everyone on this movie from the short film to Part I and now to Part II. So many returning cast and crew, obviously family, best friends, people that Jeff Chan (director) came up with in film school with and we just happen to be really lucky that everybody is crazy talented.
One of our storyboard artists directed Kung Fu Panda, our cinematographer is now doing Lord of the Rings. Michael B. Jordan stole our camera operator to do all of his movies. He had to leave Transformers early to come back and do our movie. So, we're very lucky that the people who we work with haven't left us behind yet. They're all wildly talented and they take such pride and ownership in the Code 8 movies, and I think that that's really what shows on screen.
O-C: Stephen, it’s nice to see you and your cousin Robbie back on screen together and in Code 8 we see a lot more of you acting opposite each other. Why does it work so well aside from the fact that you are related?
SA: First off, we like each other (laughs). That's pretty much it. I've learned a lot from him from an acting perspective. He's very practical and takes a very reasonable approach to things and likes to problem-solve. Robbie really listens when we're in scenes he comes in prepared. But he doesn't come in anchored to any one idea on how to play a scene which works very well for me because I always try to come in prepared and then you see your environment and what your partner is going to do. You see all these things and Robbie lets things happen organically and that works very well for me.
O-C: Most of the film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario. Why was this the perfect setting for Code 8?
RA: The people there are great. The look of the movie and having access to that kind of factory was key. I don't want to say it’s dystopian because that's not fair, but you know, Ontario in general in November, December it's got that kind of gray look. Not the most beautiful place in the world at that time of year and it worked perfectly for the film. I love Toronto, I love Ontario, I love Hamilton, but these cities were perfect for Lincoln City at that time of the year. It had that things-aren't-thriving kind of look and finding those places around the city and around the province was really fun. We have such a great location team that are able to help bring that to life and create Lincoln City which was so important to the story.
SA: The community centre there was my first and last scenes of the movie. And worked so well for the stand-off between the guardians. It just felt like Lincoln City and we needed it to be gray and cold and windy. And it was all of those things.
O-C: The special effects in the film are off the charts. In particular, interacting and fighting off the Cujo robot dog. Does it ever get easier working with those effects?
RA: It's always a little different. We had guys in suits for the guardians so that made it a bit easier for us. We had one guy in a suit for the dog and it was really impressive to see him bring that to life, and it was so great for the camera department to be able to follow him to know what they were doing as a reference shot. But really, the visual effects company that we work with for these films is so good. They bring a level of confidence to everybody that's working on the movie because we know that it's going to look great and nobody's going to be left feeling or looking silly at the end of the day.
So yes, these effects are a huge part of the franchise and we couldn’t have the movies without them. I would say mentally it gets easier, physically it's always a little odd like the scene where I'm fighting the robotic dog and I have to grab his tail. I'm grabbing nothing and then I have to scream at the top of my lungs when I'm electrocuting him and it's just me laying on the floor. You know, flopping around like a fish. It’s very odd but the nice thing is I don't get self-conscious about it because I know I'm in good hands.
O-C: So, will we be seeing you two reunite on screen for a different genre film or TV series?
SA: It would be nice to do a comedy together, or a rom-com. It would also be nice to revisit the Code 8 world. I’m just saying there are some very famous sci-fi trilogies out there so maybe we can set our sights there. Please everyone, if you want more Code 8, check out Part II on Netflix and maybe you’ll see us back!