- The crime thriller “892”On Friday, he was the Sundance film festival’s first official star.
- Chris Witt, the film’s editor, talked to Insider about John Boyega’s role in saving the production.
- After Jonathan Majors had dropped out, Boyega was quickly cast as the star of the film. “Ant-Man 3.”
In March 2021 Trade publications that the actor Jonathan Majors was set to star as Brian Brown-Easley — a real-life former Marine who suffered from PTSD — in a drama titled “892.”
The film — which was directed by first-time filmmaker Abi Damaris Corbin and debuted to acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival Friday evening — tells the story of Brown-Easley who walked into a Wells Fargo bank in 2017 with a supposed bomb in his rucksack and took several hostages after he was denied support payments from the department of veterans affairs.
The production of “892”Majors’ departure to Marvel’s set to film Marvel’s production dates and shifts in production dates made it difficult for the project to continue. “Ant-Man 3.”But, the tiny indie film was saved days later. “Star Wars”John Boyega, actor, signed up to star as Majors.
“We were contemplating just shutting down,”Chris Witt, the film’s director, spoke with Insider. “We found ourselves wondering if we were going to fall through, and then Boyega came through like Superman.”
Sundance.
Boyega helped bring the film back to production. Witt, however, expressed concern that Boyega had not had enough time to perform the role as Brown-Easley. Witt stated that he was most concerned with Boyega’s ability to convincingly imitate Brown-Easley’s American accent. Boyega dispelled all fears on the first day.
“It’s no exaggeration. He freaking nailed this character from the page,”Witt spoke highly about Boyega’s performance.
“With Boyega, Brian came alive in a way that I always envisioned him. I felt like I was staring at footage of the real guy. In fact, he sounded like the real guy. We had a lot of 911 recordings of the real thing and you couldn’t tell the difference, it was so Brian, in his performance. And I never heard a British accent.”
Insider spoke with Witt that Boyega’s willingness to join the team impressed him. “so little time and just knock it out of the park,”he stated that he left everyone on-set “inspired.”
“He gave his whole heart and soul,”Witt spoke of Boyega. “He raised the bar and we all had to also put all of ourselves in, in order to do that footage justice.”
The script “892”Corbin and Kwame Kwei Armah (a well-known British playwright) co-wrote the script. Connie Britton, Nicole Beharie and Michael K Williams star in the film’s final major-screen appearance.
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Williams portrays a veteran Army officer and specialist police detective who must negotiate with Boyega’s Brown-Easley about the Wells Fargo bank standoff.
“It was heartbreaking. He was truly a part of our team and our family on that project,”Witt spoke out about Michael K Williams’s death.
Witt told Abi that Williams died the day he and Witt started to edit the film.
“It just happened to be that we had already been working a week in post-production and we heard the news. We grieved for that part of that day. And we were just like, okay, we need to go back to work,”He said. “It felt like the responsibility to craft the remaining embers of his creative voice. Of his work on earth, you know? It was tough. The responsibility to do that well was heavy.”
Williams is seen at his home after a bloody bank climax. The camera follows Williams closely as he puts a necklace adorned with a Christian cross on a table.
“That close-up of that cross is the last take of his career. And it’s a special, humbling, experience. He was a great man, a great artist,” Witt added.
“892”Sundance 2022 is currently showing the film. The film has not yet been released.