At the New York premiere of Doug Liman's remake road house Conor McGregor said on Tuesday: hollywood reporter Meryl Streep's negative comments about mixed martial arts made him want to further prove himself by appearing in films.
When accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards, Streep said: “Hollywood is full of outsiders and foreigners. And if we kicked them all out, there would be nothing to watch but soccer and mixed martial arts, which are not art.” Although she was applauded, her comments were hurtful to UFC athletes, including McGregor.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
“Combat is the most beautiful form of art, and it's great to be a part of this game where it's also an art,” he said. “I was really surprised because fighting is an art. It can be cruel too, so I can understand that too. It's not that anyone makes a mistake. For those of us doing what we do, it's It's real artistry, that's why I joined. [to filming Road House] Even though I have some scars on my shoulder, I want to express my sport and my art, so I hope I can do my best in this arena. ”
In this iteration, road house, McGregor will play the villain Knox, who faces off against Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal), a former UFC champion turned bouncer, in a fight for the honor of the bar.Currently appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGyllenhaal said the UFC star “accidentally” “clocked” him in the face.
McGregor admitted that he actually punched Gyllenhaal in the face, saying: What is a fight between friends? At a nice roadhouse. ” The Irish athlete added: “But he gave them back too!” Jake, being the consummate professional, took it well and gave them back right away. that's what you have to do. We must stand up and fight back immediately. ”
When asked if he thought his co-star had what it takes to be a bona fide UFC champion, McGregor had nothing but kind words. . I'd love to see him play a game or two. ”
Lucas Gage, who plays bartender Billy in the film, also attended the premiere and spoke behind the scenes of filming many of the film's fight scenes. “It was intense. I had never done stunt training or fight training before,” he said. “They received full stunt training under Steve Brown and Garrett Warren and they nailed it. Avatar And some of the best action movies… It was a privilege to learn from people who knew what they were doing. ”
Gage ended up doing many of the unexpected stunts himself. “I just think sometimes you thought the stuntmen would be there and support you instead. But no, Doug, the stuntmen, you guys really want them to do it themselves.” I'm really glad I did that because it gave me a boost. It pushed me out of my comfort zone. I'm a very laid-back person in real life, so It was really cool to push myself.”
Although Gage did not need a stuntman for the fight scenes, another star of the film was prepared to perform the terrifying stunts, but ended up not performing them. Daniela Melchior, who plays Dalton's girlfriend Ellie, has a horrifying scene in which she is kidnapped and tries to escape on a sinking yacht. “I took scuba diving lessons. [for the scene]” said Melchior. However, she ended up needing a stuntman because the scene was probably “too dangerous to film,” according to the actress.
road house It will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday.
Best of the Hollywood Reporter
