"You're going to see a very hard R movie. It's called The Equalizer and it's about a guy who takes care of people who either can't or don't know how to take care of themselves because they've been done wrong by really bad people. And he takes care of those people that have such a wrong doings it done to them. And he gives the bad people a chance to rectify it at every turn. And when they don't take him up on his chance he violently, violently takes care of them in a way that they will never breathe again."
Edward Woodward starred in the 85-89 series about Robert McCall, a former operative of a covert intelligence organization who seeks redemption for his dark past via offering his services to those being persecuted and in need of help. McCall brings justice to various baddies, killers, drug dealers, rapists on the streets of New York City. He also performed assignments for the head of his former organization and dealt with his estranged son.
In the movie version, Denzel Washington's McCall is living a quiet life while working at a Home Depot, when one of his acts of kindness toward Teri a prostitute (Chloe Moretz) gets him snared with the Russian mob. Marton Csokas will play a ruthless fixer working for the Russians. Melissa Leo will play McCall’s former counter-terrorism handler who provides him with intelligence about who he is facing when he runs up against a new adversary. David Meunier will play Slavi, a brutal and sleazy Russian pimp of the young prostitute. David Harbour plays a crooked Central Intelligence Agency officer who helps pursue Washington’s character. Vladimir Kulich ("The 13th Warrior") plays a Russian oligarch who funds an international black market enterprise.
The role for Moretz was originally written for a twenty-something. However, Moretz seemingly left Washington and studio execs very impressed during a chemistry reading with Denzel. As a result, the prostitute character is being redrawn with her in mind. Now, it's expected to be closer to something like Jodie Foster's star turn in "Taxi Driver".
Fuqua took the big chair after Rise of the Planet of the Apes helmer Rupert Wyatt left due to scheduling issues. Wyatt came on to the pic after "Drive" director Nicolas Winding Refn left the pic after the deal between Sony and Refn fell apart at the last minute back in January. Fuqua's next film is the boxing film "Southpaw" which is now in production.
Black says they had debates about how much of the backstory of Denzel's character they should give away in this first film and ultimately left a bit of a mystery around certain elements such as McCall's late wife. He does confirm that McCall has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, something that served him well in his former job but proves a bit of a struggle in everyday life.
A surprise in the film, McCall never uses a gun in the movie--McCall is strictly anti-gun - as a result he has to use whatever is around him.
Budgeted at a lean $50 million, the project is being seen as a potential franchise launcher. Winding Refn beat out the likes of Pierre Morel ("Taken"), Gavin O'Connor ("Warrior") and Gareth Evans ("The Raid") for the gig.
The film was scripted by Richard Wenk, whose credits include the actioners 16 Blocks, with Bruce Willis, and the recent Mechanic remake starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, and The Expendables 2. Wenk is already at work writing a sequel to this film.
Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Alex Siskin, Mace Neufeld, Tony Eldridge, Michael Sloan (the show’s original co-creator), and Washington are gonna produce.
Asked if Denzel is committed to the sequel, Black says:
"You know, we're all committed to do a second movie until there isn't a second movie. I mean if it works and the audiences like it and it works critically and financially, I'm sure Sony and Denzel and all of us will want to do a second movie, but you never go into these thinking that because you never know. So you do have to satisfy certain questions that are necessary to answer in case there isn't a second one, but you hope for a second one."
The script was written for Denzel. It was handed to him and within three days he was committed, two days after that the studio was as well and had given the project the official green light.
Finally Black confirms they went after the rights to adapt it for two things - the title and the basic concept. As a result, they weren't "hung up on what the show was and all the machinations of what Robert McCall did or didn't do and what his backstory was."
The film hits theaters on Sept 26, 2014.
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