How a man recaptured his soul in the wilderness.

How a man recaptured his soul in the wilderness.
Frank Grillo and Joe Carnahan teaming up for the action adventure flick Wheelman may not be the Beatles getting back on a stage together but it’s pretty damn close.
Back in 2012 when Carnahan’s The Grey was released, Grillo was just beginning to surge into the mindsets of moviegoers. He had just wowed them with Warrior and would rock them with his small and pivotal role in End of Watch later that summer. Carnahan’s ode to dangerous men fighting wolves and themselves in the brutal cold resonated with me on several levels, and reminded me of how gifted of a filmmaker Carnahan was.
No matter how many movies I see, Carnahan’s Narc never leaves my head when I think of expertly well done cop films. Ray Liotta playing this desperate misguided and stricken detective trying to make one thing right no matter how much wrong it involved. Joe is one of those directors that won’t work just to work. He wants the film to be personal and unlike anything you’ve seen before. That’s why he left certain big level projects. It’s his way or it’s no way. I respect that in a land of performers who aspire for mediocrity if it promises them a paycheck.
Grillo is your natural drop of action authenticity and has enthralled a legion of fans for years. An actor with more flavors than people give him credit for(just shut up and watch DirecTV’s Kingdom) and his performance in The Grey often gets overlooked because of some giant called Liam Neeson and the wolves these men had to starve off. Grillo’s John Diaz wasn’t a good man, but he wanted to move closer to that way of life in his final moments. Here, Grillo goes toe to toe with Neeson.
So when I heard Grillo and Carnahan were getting together for Wheelman, an action flick written and directed by Jeremy Rush, I was pumped. With these two guys, it doesn’t matter what the material is. If they are laying their hands on it, the script must be juicy and the probability for asskicking success has to be high. They’ve waited five years to work together again and it could lead to more collaboration, via Joe’s twitter account.
Huge announcement coming kids. @FrankGrillo and I are taking over this fucking town.
— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) May 13, 2016
Wheelman is about a getaway driver who gets betrayed by his crew and must do whatever it takes to save his wife and kid. Simplistic, to the point and ready to thrill. Grillo and Carnahan aren’t trying to share some space on the podium at the Oscars here. They want to entertain the shit out of you because that lasts longer than a shiny trophy. They have no delusions of grandeur saved with their films. Their work is the kind you keep hearing about and eventually check out only to be blown away. The film also represents Grillo’s first foray in producing.
Wheelman should debut sometime in 2016 and in the mean time, you can catch Grillo lacing up his gloves all over Hollywood this year. After knocking Captain America around in Civil War, he will reenter Kingdom’s Navy Street as Alvey Kulina, the maker of men and inner turmoil in the world of MMA. He will reprise his role of Sergeant Leo Barnes in July’s Purge: Election Year as well as starring in Beyond Skyline and Stephanie later this year. Carnahan wrote and directed a few episodes of State of Affairs in 2014-15 and is prepping Bad Boys 3 for launch here this summer.
Wheelman will be known as when Frank Grillo and Joe Carnahan got back together and started their Hollywood domination plot. Get involved in this now.