Savages

Savages

Actor-on-the-rise Taylor Kitsch (“John Carter,” “Battleship”) headlines director Oliver Stone's return to the screen with the ferocious thriller “Savages.”

Also starring Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Benecio del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir, “Savages” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas starting Feb. 20. Moviegoers can catch it at Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3, Trinoma, Alabang Town Center and Market! Market!

In the film, Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best marijuana ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia, or simply, O (Lively). Life is idyllic in their Southern California town...until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

From Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July” and Michael Douglas in “Wall Street” to Woody Harrelson in “Natural Born Killers,” Oliver Stone is known for eliciting searing, exceptional performances from his troupe of actors. A keen observer whose idiosyncratic, occasionally provocative approach is in service of performance and story, Stone's style is referred to by cast and crew as "challenging but fair."

It was critical to Stone that he select actors who could embrace the kaleidoscopic trademarks of the story's characters. Fairly early on in the casting process, Taylor Kitsch landed on Stone's radar as a potential lead for the thriller. When Stone contacted Kitsch to play Chon, the badass to Ben's pacifist, Kitsch responded to the material in a very Chon-like manner. "I had read the book before it had been announced that Oliver was involved, but there were rumors that he had optioned it," Kitsch recalls. "I thought, ‘Man, I would murder to play this guy.' When I found out that Oliver was attached, well that was it. I felt that I would be a great fit."

A trained killer and ex-Navy SEAL, Chon uses his skill set in fierce defense of the people whom he loves the most, O and Ben. Kitsch explains the motivation for this character who thinks drugs are a rational response to insanity: "Chon is a guy who has been jaded from day one. He's seen so much shit in Afghanistan that his first reaction is always to go to violence. You'll see a different guy when he's with Ben and O. He can let his guard down with them, maybe even laugh and joke, and that's rare for Chon. His real purpose in life is to protect Ben and O, and he will kill to do that."

Discussing his relationship with the director, Kitsch reflects: "Oliver is old-school. It's all about the work, which I admire. I loved how he would take a break, talk about the scene and work it out. It's very settling. But you'd better bring your A game. Oliver notices every nuance, even if it's just a glance. He will question why you're doing it, which makes you prepare even more. When you do mess up, and everyone has that moment, he will absolutely let you know. But he will also tell you when the take is awesome. He keeps you on your toes, and your performance is better for it."

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FEROCIOUS THRILLER “SAVAGES”

FEROCIOUS THRILLER “SAVAGES” EXCLUSIVE AT AYALA MALLS STARTING FEB 20

Savages

Three-time Oscar®-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone returns to the screen with the ferocious thriller “Savages,” featuring the all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Benecio del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir. The film is based on Don Winslow's best-selling crime novel that was named one of The New York Times' Top 10 Books of 2010. 

“Savages” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas starting Feb. 20. Moviegoers can catch it at Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3, Trinoma, Alabang Town Center and Market! Market! 

In the film, Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best marijuana ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively). Life is idyllic in their Southern California town...until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. 

When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon—with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)—wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills. 

From its provocative first chapter to its lyrical last page, Don Winslow's audacious 2010 novel "Savages" captivated and stunned audiences and critics alike. Winslow describes that the genesis of his bestselling book was an unusual one: "I was sitting at my desk one day in a bad mood and ogether. From the time the script sold to the time that shooting began, it was about three months, which is unheard of." 

"Savages," laced with the politics and trade of marijuana, areas that have long been of interest to the writer/director, riveted Stone when he read it in galley form. Shane Salerno & Don Winslow & Oliver Stone adapted the novel into a screenplay, and in less than a year, Universal Pictures secured the worldwide distribution rights. Soon after, principal photography began. Of his interest in crafting a film out of the groundbreaking novel, Stone relays: "I thought the book was well done. It's about power, betrayal, money and questioning current values." 

“Savages” features multiple themes that recur in Stone's movies: layered power struggles, shifting loyalties, examinations of the best and worst of human nature, explorations of complex family relationships and a compelling look at damaged people, some of whom find their own kind of heroism. 

Stone reflects that this project called to mind “Any Given Sunday” and "the corporation coming into football." About the economy of scale, he says: "Above all, it is a power move by the Mexican Cartel into the United States to cut in on the independent distributors and producers. In the movie, the Baja Cartel is more interested in volume than the boutique-sized operations. But wherever you have volume versus independent growers, you're going to have a clash. Walmart doesn't want to have competitors." 

Frequent Stone collaborator, producer Moritz Borman offers that there is a natural inclination to search for parallels in “Savages” with Stone's earlier films, but that the director isn't interested in retreads. Borman says: "Obviously, people will try to compare `Savages' to some of Oliver's other movies, but the style and message are different, and it's a different story. But it certainly has some of the intensity of his other pictures. He has always had something to say, and therefore has turned out these films that have survived." 

His fellow producer, Eric Kopeloff, notes that the director is as interested in characters as he is in a geopolitical backdrop: "That's what excites him about making movies—finding a story where you can go on a ride with the characters. Oliver's someone who never stops trying, never stops doing different things to stretch the medium."

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