Warner Bros.’ new crime comedy “Cop Out” stars action favorite Bruce Willis and comedy king Tracy Morgan as Brooklyn-based NYPD detectives Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges. They’re partners on the trail of a stolen piece of valuable memorabilia…and this time, it’s personal: the collectible, a rare baseball card, belongs to Jimmy, and is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding. Along the way, however, the duo stumbles into the path of a seriously dangerous neighborhood gang leader looking to expand his trade.
From director Kevin Smith, “Cop Out” is in many ways a throwback to the classic buddy cop movie—one of cinema’s most popular film genres—with Smith’s own slightly skewed view. Directing for the first time from someone else’s script, Smith’s initial reaction to the screenplay was that it was “steeped in movie cop heritage. When I read it, I thought, ‘Wow, if I’d ever written a buddy cop movie, it would be like this.’”
States producer Marc Platt, “One of the things Kevin does so well in his films is the relationships, particularly between the guys. There’s an honesty to it, a relatability to it, they feel like guys that we all know.”
Producer Michael Tadross agrees. “Bruce, as Jimmy, is the straight man and Tracy , as Paul, is this crazy guy, and it just works.”
“The script just made me laugh out loud when I read it,” says Willis. “It was really funny…the kind of film you tell your friends to go see.”
Having previously worked with Smith nearly a decade ago, Morgan says of the director, “He knows it, he gets it. He’s a comedian’s comedian. He directs in a way where you think you know the scene, but he’ll say, ‘Yo, do this or do that, say this or say that,’ and it gives it a whole different spin. I love the way he directs.”
"Kevin has a rapport with his audience that is magic,” states producer Polly Johnsen. “His films allow viewers to relate to the characters as the funnier versions of themselves, and take them along for the ride. It’s an awesome entertainment experience. I want to come back in my next life as Kevin Smith."
Teaming Willis and Morgan, Smith notes, “My forte is really two dudes talking to each other,” says Smith. “This film has that, plus more action than anything I’ve done before. Though there are no action figures for this one…yet. I’ll find a way,” quips the director, who is also famous for being a collector.
Smith concludes, “For me, the biggest influence I drew from in making ‘Cop Out’ was Abbott and Costello. This is very much like an Abbott and Costello movie…with guns. If I made this movie, and my father was still alive and saw it, he’d say, ‘You do make movies! I just thought it was you and your friends running around with a camera talking about not being able to get laid, but this has a plot, there are guns…Bruce Willis is in it!’ He would’ve been so proud.”
Opening soon across the Philippines , “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
watch the trailer below
