Once intended to be a Bad Boys reunion, Fast And Loose saw Will Smith and Michael Bay have a falling out. Now, a new director’s been chosen. Almost exactly one month after reports of Will Smith and Michael Bay having a bit of a fall out over the action comedy, Fast And Loose, a replacement ... Fast And Loose | Will Smith chooses Michael Bay replacement
Once intended to be a Bad Boys reunion, Fast And Loose saw Will Smith and Michael Bay have a falling out. Now, a new director’s been chosen.
Almost exactly one month after reports of Will Smith and Michael Bay having a bit of a fall out over the action comedy, Fast And Loose, a replacement director has been found. The filmmaker who’ll take over from Bay is one John Swab, according to Deadline.
Hailing from Oklahoma, Swab’s something of a specialist in making mid-budget action and crime thrillers. For the past nine years he’s been writing, directing and producing such films as Ida Red, starring Josh Hartnett, Frank Grillo and Melissa Leo; Little Dixie, starring Frank Grillo, and One Day As A Lion, starring Frank Grillo. You can probably see a pattern forming here.
Swab’s breakthrough was the crime thriller King Ivory, starring Frank Grillo, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year and immediately caught the eye of talent agencies. Having signed to CAA, Swab managed to secure an audience with Will Smith, and his pitch for Fast And Loose was said to have blown away both Smith and Netflix studio executives.
Fast And Loose was originally going to be a big reunion movie for Michael Bay and Smith, but the pair were said to have had a disagreement over the balance of action and comedy – Smith wanted more of the latter while Bay presumably wanted to focus on blowing stuff up.
Still, Bay’s loss is Swab’s gain, and it’s pleasing to hear of a filmmaker who’s diligently plugged away at his craft for years finally getting a shot at the big time. Smith is also bringing the none-more-Hollywood veteran Jerry Bruckheimer in as his producer partner.
Fast And Loose is about a man who wakes up in Tijuana with no memory of his past, but gradually realises that he has connections to both the CIA and some sort of crime syndicate. Shooting was originally set to begin this October; word is that Swab will have to stick to that timeframe due to Smith’s busy schedule. We wouldn’t be surprised if Frank Grillo gets a phone call over the next few days, either.
