Keanu Reevessaved aFast & Furiousdirector’s new indie movie after it ran into financial trouble. The actor is best known for his roles as Neo inThe Matrixand, years later, made a comeback playing the titular assassin in theJohn Wickmovies. In addition to being an action hero onscreen, Reeves also co-founded the production banner Company Films alongside Stephen Hamel and frequently throws his weight behind projects in which he doesn’t star, such asAlready Gone,Hail Mary, and more.
On the other hand, Justin Lin is best known for directing multiple films in theFast & Furiousfranchise, includingThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,Fast & Furious 6, andF9. He also helmedStar Trek Beyond, which combined have grossed over $3 billion at the box office. Though he’s best known for directing franchise films, Lin started his career with indie productions, including 2002’sBetter Luck Tomorrowand 2007’sFinishing the Game, both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Now,Lin has returned to indie for his next film and got some help from Reeves.
Keanu Reeves Saved Justin Lin’s Last Days
The Film Faced Some Financial Trouble
Keanu Reeves savedJustin Lin’s new movie,Last Days,after it ran into financial trouble. Directed by Lin, with a script written by Ben Ripley (Source Code) based on the article “The Last Days of John Allen Chau,“the upcoming film follows an idealistic missionaryattempting to make contact with the Sentinelese, a secluded tribe living on North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean. The cast includes Sky Yang, Radhika Apte, Ali Fardi, Naveen Andrews, Ken Leung, Toby Wallace, Ciara Bravo, Claire Price, Dieudonné Ngabo, and Marny Kennedy.
In an interview withThe Wrapat the Sundance Film Festival, Lin revealed howReeves savedLast Daysafter it faced financial trouble. The film “fell apart” and the filmmaker fortuitously received a call from Reeves who stepped in at a crucial moment and played a key role in securing funding by making calls and rallying support. Read Lin’s full comments below:
It was this one moment where everything fell apart. I think with all independent experiences you just don’t know. It’s a roller coaster. At that point, I thought it was all going to be done. We have angels along the way that come and really help us. In this case, I got a call from Keanu Reeves who heard that we were having some problems and he said, “Look, I want to help,” and it was really inspiring.
I’m lucky enough to be in a position and have resources to say, “You know what? Let’s just go. Let’s just have a start date.” I honestly don’t know how, like, it was just something in my head, and I just thought, “We’re going to make this no matter what.” And that moment, it kind of changed everything. It kind of set us up. I started meeting the best of humanity and all these people from around the world came and joined us. That’s how we were able to get this film going.
What Keanu Reeves' Support Means For Justin Lin’s Last Days
It Mirrors A Moment From Nearly 25 Years Ago
Keanu Reeves stepping in to save Justin Lin’sLast Daysmirrors another crucial moment in the director’s career that occurred nearly 25 years ago. His solo directorial debut, 2001’sBetter Luck Tomorrow, faced similar financial trouble andLin called MC Hammer out of desperationbecause he liked the script, who quickly gave them funding to save the film, allowing it to be made and debut at Sundance. While MC Hammer has a producer credit onBetter Luck Tomorrow,Keanu Reevesdoesn’t onLast Days. He stepped in to save Lin’s film simply because he wanted to.
Last Days
Cast
Last Days focuses on 26-year-old John Allen Chau’s perilous quest to convert the isolated tribe of North Sentinel Island to Christianity. As he journeys across the globe, a detective from the Andaman Islands attempts to intervene, striving to prevent any harm to Chau or the tribe.
