Adds Kutcher, “She has a childlike sense of innocence but she’s very smart and she knows what’s going on. She combines that with Jen’s sense of wonderment, where she’s suddenly questioning everything about her life, and it makes for an intoxicating mix.”
Having worked with Luketic previously on THE UGLY TRUTH, Heigl was eager to collaborate once again with the director. “Robert is one of my favorite not only directors, but people.” Heigl says, “We did a film last summer together that we had such a great time on, so I knew working with him would be dreamy.”
“We both like to work in the same way and we genuinely respect each other,” adds Luketic. “We enjoy each other’s process.”
The director of the smash hit, LEGALLY BLONDE, as well as 21 and THE UGLY TRUTH, Robert Luketic had long been in search of a project like KILLERS. “I’d always wanted to make a film that blended romance and comedy and suspense,” says the director. “They’re hard genres to blend together and get totally right. And this script hit my desk and I fell in love with the concept instantly. It had elements of romance. It was funny. It had adventure. It had it all.”
“Robert does two things that I have great admiration for,” avows Aversano. “One is he manages to attract fantastic people around him. And second, he knows what his objective is. He can get real performances from his actors and do something interesting and great, yet not lose sight of the fact that this is commercial entertainment conceived to satisfy audiences.”
For Luketic, the challenge of KILLERS was successfully blending comedy and action. “It can be a tonal minefield,” he admits. “You need to pick those moments when it’s right to be serious and when it’s right to be funny. We chose to start off with a laugh. We had to make sure we gave people permission to laugh in the beginning of the movie. So once they’re relaxed and realize they can have fun, when they see something that’s kind of dangerous, they know that there’s going to be release or relief immediately after that.”
For producer Aversano, the balance of relationships, action, and humor stems from the combined effort of everyone involved. “I think that everyone who’s worked on this project had a creative vision for the film. We just didn’t want to see the same things that we’ve seen before. So there was a real creative process of putting our heads together and coming up with things that have never been seen before.”
As casting continued, the filmmakers faced the challenge of finding the right comedic actors to play Mr. and Mrs. Kornfeldt, Jen’s protective and overbearing parents. “They’re maybe a little too close, a little too involved,” explains Heigl. “Jen’s dad is super protective of her and she kind of succumbs to it and poor Spencer gets the constant barrage of opinions.”
For the part of Mr. Kornfeldt, Kutcher was determined to find someone who was genuinely intimidating. “I call Mr. Kornfeldt ‘Sir’ in the script a lot,” he says. “And I was thinking, ‘Who am I going to call Sir?’” Who’s a bigger guy, who’s got an intimidating thing, but doesn’t have to try to be intimidating?” Kutcher loved the idea of Tom Selleck, whom he’s admired since his days on the seminal television show, “Magnum P.I.”
Selleck was eager to be a part of the project. “It’s kind of a no-brainer to be asked to do a movie like this and be a part of it. I’m glad they thought I could contribute,” he says.
Says Luketic, “Tom brought just this wonderful, stoic figure of a father. He’s subtle and always spot-on and he’s a real presence. You absolutely believe that he’s someone who can rattle Spencer’s cage.”
“He has a comedic ability without telling jokes,” adds Kutcher. “Just his sensibility is funny. He doesn’t move. He’s like a rock. He also has the most epic mustache ever known to man. He was Magnum. I’ll never be that cool, ever, in my life.”
In the part of Mrs. Kornfeldt, comedy veteran Catherine O’Hara, known to many for her memorable roles in Christopher Guest films like WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and BEST IN SHOW, demonstrates her talent for improvisation. “Catherine O’Hara is a comedic genius,” avows Luketic. “She has random strokes of brilliance that just come out of her. We had to do significant ADR in this film because the crew would just lose their mind when she opened her mouth. I don’t know how she does it.”
Says Aversano, “If Tom Selleck is the ultimate straight man, then Catherine is the ultimate not-straight man. She’s managed to create a life for this character and her marriage that is completely credible. And she brings a ton of comedic magic herself, which she has in vast supply.”
Rounding out the principal cast as Spencer’s best friend, Henry, is comedian and actor Rob Riggle. “Henry is a pretty happy-go-lucky, lovable guy,” explains Riggle. “He’s an architect and he’s Spencer’s best friend. But he’s got some secrets, some issues that we discover as the movie goes on.”
“We looked at a lot of people for Henry,” remembers Aversano. “There are always different versions in people’s mind of what the buddy part looks like. But Rob stood out. As a human being, he just radiates warmth, like you want to hang out with him. He’s fantastic.”
Riggle is also a marine, which gave him a distinct advantage during the filming of a key fight scene midway through the film. He explains, “I’ve had hand-to-hand training and every couple years we have to go back and retrain, so I did have an understanding of that. When you consider the physical rigors of doing a movie like this, being a marine definitely helps.”
Killers (2010)
Directed by: Robert Luketic
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kuchner, Catherine O’Hara, Tom Selleck, Alex Borstein, Katheryn Winnick, Lisa Ann Walter, Casey Wilson, Martin Mull, Michael Daniel Cassady, Letoya Luckett
Screenplay by: Bob DeRosa, Ted Griffin
Production Design by: Missy Stewart
Cinematography by: Russell Carpenter
Film Editing by: Richard Francis-Bruce, Mary Jo Markey
Costume Design by: Johanna Argan
Set Decoration by: Michel Rollant
Art Direction by: Vladimir Kostovic
Music by: Rolfe Kent
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for Violent action, sexual material, language.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: June 4, 2010