Shelter director Ric Roman Waugh wants to reunite with Jason Statham on another action movie.
Ric Roman Waugh and his wife Tanya Lynn Waugh at the UK premiere of Shelter
The 57-year-old filmmaker got to work with Statham for the first time on Shelter, in which he plays Mason, a former assassin living on a remote Scottish island who rescues a teenage girl (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) from the sea only for his heroics to kick off a perilous chain of events that force him to confront his violent past.
Ric would not hesitate to team up with Jason, 58, again and thinks he has a story that would be perfect for the British box office star.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the UK premiere of Shelter in London, Ric said: “I would love to be working with Jason, I had a great experience working with him.
“There’s another real, true life story that’s pretty close to the headlines right now that I can’t talk about, but it’s one I’m really excited about.”
Ric – whose other films include Snitch, Angel Has Fallen and Greenland among others – has praised Statham for being willing to put his body on the line for any stunt or fight sequence.
The director also revealed that Statham the consummate professional on set and his behaviour commands respect from the crew and his co-stars.
He said: “Jason is a force of nature. I love working with him. His sense of responsibility, he comes prepared every day, keeping himself in top physical shape, going along with the bumps and grinds that go with it, that’s why he gets everybody’s respect on set. There’s nothing artificial about him and nothing that he winces from.
“But the thing that blows my mind is how he can do this kind of physicality and deliver an emotional performance at the same time and stay in character.”
Throughout filming – which took place in County Wicklow and Dublin in Ireland – Ric was determined to ensure every stunt and fight sequence was carried out for real and he is proud that he is one of many filmmakers prioritising real action over CGI.
He said: “You can’t fake real man, real is real. There’s a kinetic energy to it.
“When visual effects started, James Cameron and a few directors who were pioneers, who were really doing it well, you knew those movies had a realness to them. Then I I think people relied on those effects too much and everything got fake … to the point where it didn’t make sense anymore.
“I think we’ve come around the other side of the bell curve, where we use visual visual effects and our skill sets to enhance but we’re still doing it live action. The action in Shelter is 100 per cent real.”
Shelter is in cinemas from January 30.