The Rebirth of ‘Alex Cross’ - Cinemark Q&A with Director Rob Cohen
October 18, 2012
Cinemark sat down with Director Rob Cohen about his recent
movie, 'Alex Cross.' 'Alex Cross' follows the young homicide
detective/psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide
best‐selling novels by James Patterson, as he meets his match in a
serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high‐stakes game
of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is
pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this
taut and exciting action thriller.
Cinemark: Rob, how did you get associated with the project of
'Alex Cross'?
Cohen: I was looking to do something different and I was thinking
about going outside the studio system. I've made 31 films and 30 of
them have been for studios and 1 has been independent, which is
ALEX CROSS. So, when I was approached by the producers about a new
Alex Cross, I said 'Yes, but we can't do it with Morgan (Freeman,
who portrayed the character in two previous films). Can we do it
truer to the characters?' And when they said they were talking to
Tyler Perry I went 'That's a great idea!'
I had met Tyler the year before and had really been stunned by how
big and powerful he was. He's 6'6" and 240 pounds. So I thought it
was a great casting move since he's such a big and athletic man. We
could make him an action star, which I told him myself. And he
laughed it off. But before we knew it we were in discussions and
wrapping it up.
CM: Tyler's a great fit for the Cross character in more ways than
one, right?
RC: He's the perfect fit because what you get with Tyler is the
element of surprise and curiosity that you don't get with a more
established dramatic actor. I knew he could do it because in my
years of working with Richard Pryor we did a lot of talking about
comedy and acting. His contention was with comedic acting he would
first find the pain in the reality in the situation, and then
turned it on its ear. So the process of being funny is a two-step
process. Whereas dramatic is finding the pain in reality and it
stops at the first step. So I knew if Tyler could do comedy, he
could definitely do drama.
Click here to read more of the interview.
'Alex Cross' makes its way to Cinemark theatres this Friday,
October 19. Get your tickets now and let
us know what you thought about the movie.
