The Expendables 3 Press Conference
“There’s at least one and a half movies still to be made!” says Sylvester Stallone.
by Raphael Perahia
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Kellan Lutz and producer Avi Lerner were on the Expendables 3 press conference panel discussing the third installment of the very successful Expendables franchise. The cast were on good form as they joked about injuries, techniques Sly used to persuade the actors to join his all-star cast (a four-hour phone call to Harrison Ford on Stallone’s birthday, a conversation with Antonio Banderas in a parking lot) and even a few light mentions ribbing Wesley Snipes for his recent prison rap. The Expendables is the first movie Snipes has filmed since his release from prison for tax evasion. ‘You’re lucky I didn’t cast you in Escape From Alcatraz 2!’ Sly quipped. It felt like sitting in on a round of beers with team-mates who just played a match.
In The Expendables 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team come face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks is now making it his mission to end The Expendables, but Barney has other plans. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
In some ways Stallone makes these movies as a way of getting old friends and new faces he admires together for a chance to do what Sly loves, make an action movie. Everyone on board seemed to be very excited about this installment and the prospect of more Expendables or even a female counterpart in an Expendabelles film, for which a script is currently being written.
The Expendables 3 is in UK cinemas August 14th, 2014
