Gunpowder Milkshake director Navot Papushado feels blessed when he brings up the cast of his upcoming action film starring Karen Gillan, Lena Heady, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Chloe Coleman, and Paul Giamatti.
“It really took up fast,” says Papushado in an interview with The Nerds of Color. “The cast was beyond my wildest dream. They are all terrific. I was a big fan of all of them. To work with this cast, it was an honor and a pleasure.”
The film, which releases on July 14 on Netflix, tells the story of Sam (Gillan), a deadly assassin working for The Firm, a ruthless crime syndicate that her mother (Heady) used to work for. But, after a high-risk job goes wrong, Sam chooses to save a little girl over listening to The Firm. This puts a target on her back and must turn to the mother who abandoned her 15 years ago and her lethal associates, The Librarians (Yeoh, Basset, Gugino), to protect her and take down The Firm.
Inspired by many different film genres — film noir, western, action, and samurai story — Papushado wanted to tell this story of strong women assassins. Taking bits and pieces from John Wick, Tarantino, Kurosawa, and Hitchcock, Papushado created an action film that he hopes fans will root for.
It’s hard to not be excited for the film with Gillan, Heady, Bassett, Yeoh, and Gugino taking names and kicking butt. We got to chat a bit about the evolution of the film, Sam’s relationship with her mother, the potential relationship between the Librarians’ Florence (Yeoh) and Madeliene (Gugino), the music and lighting, and the violence portrayed onscreen. Being that the women-led action films tend not to get sequels, we asked Papushado what we as consumers could do to ensure more stories like this.
Check it out below:
