Warner Bros just released the first trailer for the film starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Digger, Well, buckle up.
Ala Cruz Studio Head Les Grossman Tropical Thunder, the actor is once again transformed into his opposite: a very sharp-tongued Southern-speaking, elderly pot-bellied oil baron who may have caused a massive global environmental disaster. His name is Digger Rockwell. He’s the only guy who can fix what looks like a rapidly melting iceberg crisis, and he’s ordered by the sitting President of the United States (John Goodman) to save the day (the leader of the free world, who is also a combination of Trump and Joe Biden; the latter is evident in Goodman’s President falling asleep at the wrong time).
Apparently this is Doctor Strangelove for the Trump era, or as Iñárritu said in a video message last Thursday at Warner Bros.: “Ladies and gentlemen, get ready, because Mother Nature loves bastards.”
Last Thursday’s event also featured an actor with a constant need for speed, especially when it comes to his curiosity about new characters, Mr. Cruise.
Four-time Oscar winner Iñárritu began conceiving Digger, “immediately after Survivorwhen I had an idea, not a script, not a movie, just a relentless, recurring obsession that went on all these wild years. I knew who this character was.
“The film needed Tom. We’ve wanted to work together since the turn of the century,” said Iñárritu. “I’ve admired him as an actor for years, and it was no surprise to me. It was a surprise to discover that the man behind the actor was as extraordinary as the roles I would see throughout his career.”
“The transformation he went through was amazing,” Iñárritu added, with Cruz telling him: “It took me 40 years to become this character.”
Cruise was a longtime fan of the director’s 2000 breakthrough film. I love dogs and when he was offered to Digger Rockwell, Risky business the star said: “Alejandro, he shows me and says, ‘I want you to look like this.’ And he didn’t say, “This is such a character.” So I think, “This guy has some great balls,” and I say, “I can’t wait.” Let’s go.”
Speaking more about his process, Cruise said, “Whether it’s Les Grossman or Interview with a Vampire, Pledge or Risky businessI always ask, “How do I communicate this?” The physicality, the makeup, it’s something you discover when you learn to communicate.”
He added, “You really have to understand the tools, it’s not one size fits all. You have to find the communication, the lenses, the makeup color. The level of detail in making a movie like this… The color of the cowboy boots. What are my shorts? The sets, the color of the sets. They’re beautiful on every level, and it’s all very… You look at this man’s taste. It’s very special.”
Excavator was shot in VistaVision on a camera developed in 1954, and for the production Iñárritu once again teamed up with his Oscar-winning Survivor DP, Emmanuel Lubezki.
Cruz exclaimed at the event: “I think when you see Excavatorjust the level of detail, the craftsmanship, the layers of making this film… He (Iñárritu) had never done anything like this before, and neither had I.”
We’re told this is the same trailer that was first shown to attendees at April’s CinemaCon.
Excavator hits theaters October 2nd.