Nobody 2 hit theaters hard this Friday, and our favorite former badass-turned-family man, Hutch, is back!
This time, famed Indonesian horror and action filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto is taking the reins. How is this going to change things for the Mansell family? Check out our interview with Tjahjanto to find out!
For those unfamiliar with his work, Tjahjanto has been making films for almost 20 years, both as part of The Mo Brothers (collaborative films with fellow director Kimo Stamboel) and solo. He knows his way inside and out of a horror film and an action film.
His acclaimed works like the May the Devil Take You series, and The Shadow Strays showcase his talents at delivering tension and bone-breaking action spectacle. So for his American debut, it was obvious that Nobody 2, the sequel to the surprise 2021 hit Nobody, would be a match made in hardcore badass heaven!
Check out what Tjahjanto had to say about the anticipated action sequel right here:
When discussing about how he’d be bringing his influences in action and horror from Indonesian cinema to US cinema, Tjahjanto remained refreshingly humble in his experience as a filmmaker.
“I feel I still have a lot to learn, you know,” he stated. “Every country and every specific culture interprets violence in a different way. And I came from that school of…I guess you can say almost a specific Asian type of filmmaking; Hong Kong, Korean, etc. Korean [cinema] deals with trade violence in a different way than Hong Kong films…There’s almost an uncomfortable edge. And I grew up on that, so my films tend to reflect that as well. If I make films like The Night Comes for Us or The Shadow Strays, yes the violence is still enjoyable for action film aficionados. But I like to push it just a bit further away so it feels a bit uncomfortable, and you know there’s a repercussion behind all these violent acts. There’s consequences.”
Tjahjanto continued, “And going to Hollywood, making a film within the Nobody franchise, I understand that Americans have a different perspective for violence. Violence is something that, for better or worse, is fun. It’s colorful. I like that actually…thinking cinematically, violence, you have to put it in a different context than what real life is. Especially Nobody, where there’s no political context whatsoever. There’s a theme of fatherhood, having family, all that stuff. But in terms of Nobody, I’m adjusting myself to wear glasses where at the end of the day, I make a film where people come out of it feeling good. They feel like they shared this family experience, and the tales of this guy juggling the family life and staying out of trouble…let’s make the violence punchy and visceral, but not to the point where it’s traumatizing.”
When asked about his experience working with Odenkirk, and whether or not there was anything the actor couldn’t do, Tjahjanto joked, “Well I think he could use some help in the singing department…Bob is a lot of things for me. I’d like to believe he’s also weirdly some sort of father figure. Because I remember after our last day…he surprisingly he gave me a lot of life advice, especially being in this industry. And I appreciate that from him, because he’s one of those guys whose flower bloomed in the later stage of his career…when he really came out when Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul came out, he was already in his late 40s and 50s at that point. And him telling me the importance of staying grounded, being in this career, is really something I looked up to. He gave me a lot of wise words…Here’s the thing if you wanted Bob to do a dance musical, I truly believe [he could].”
When asked if there was any chance he would join forces again with Stamboel, his fellow Mo Brother, for an American movie, Tjahjanto stated, “I know Kimo has an agent as well. I really love horror, but I’ve been slacking in the horror department of late because action projects keep coming to me. And I do love action. But Kimo has been really honing his skills on the horror filmmaking side of it, and he’s getting better and better. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets hired for a big horror Hollywood project!”
Both Mo Brothers, especially Tjahjanto, have proven they have what it takes to take Hollywood by storm. With Nobody 2, Tjahjanto that storm is going to absolutely blow audiences away with spectacular action and explosive fun!