‘Bullet Train’ Producer Kelly McCormick on Making Action Movies That Pack an Emotional Punch
variety.comAngelique Jackson “Bullet Train” producer and 87North co-founder Kelly McCormick’s guiding principle in filmmaking has been “finding the truth in fiction,” a response to earlier documentary work, where “it was not uncommon to twist stories to make them more entertaining.” So she pivoted to producing content that packs a different sort of emotional — and physical — punch.McCormick’s latest film, “Bullet Train,” directed by her husband and 87North partner David Leitch, stars Brad Pitt as a hitman who finds himself on a snatch-and-grab job that grows more complicated by the minute.
Pitt leads an ensemble cast, including Sandra Bullock, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Bad Bunny, in a wild ride that showcases the company’s signature blend of hyper-violence and heart. “I look at action as melodrama,” McCormick explains. “It’s about how to punctuate the highs higher and the lows lower with physicality as much as with dialogue.”Variety caught up with the producer via phone earlier this month as she raced to the airport following a fan screening in Berlin, Germany with the film’s stars and Leitch.
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