Earlier this year,a report from The Wrapdetailed the behavior ofDwayne Johnsonon the set of his upcoming Christmas action filmRed One, claiming the actor was consistently late and would urinate in “a Voss water bottle” to avoid delays in production that he’d then hand off to his assistant to dispose of. It was said that Johnson’s tardiness caused the film’s budget to balloon upwards of $250 million dollars, and now, more than six months later,Johnson is addressing those accusations for the first time.
In aGQcover story which talks about his life and career – including the release ofRed Oneon Nov. 15 – Johnson called the claims that he was as much as seven to eight hours late to set on a regular basis"total bulls*it.“He admitted that yes, he was late, “but not that amount,” Johnson said.“That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.”
As to those reports of him peeing in water bottles instead of just using a public restroom? According to Johnson,those are completely accurate, and it’s not something he’s shy about admitting.
Yeah. That happens […] I’ve said a thousand times: ‘Hey, I’m here. Come and ask me. And I’ll tell you the truth.’
Chris Evans and Red One Director Come to Johnson’s Defense
Starring Johnson as Callum Drift,Red Onefocuses on the organization known as E.L.F. (Extremely Large and Formidable), who must rescue Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) from a group of kidnappers before Christmas is ruined for everyone. The sweeping action flick is directed byJake Kasdanand also starsChris Evansas Jack O’Malley, a hacker and bounty hunter who joins forces with Johnson to track down Saint Nick.
For Evans, he said Johnson’s behavior on the set ofRed Onewas nothing out of the norm, at least when compared to some other productions he’s worked on. “In terms of the guy that I saw, compared to some of the things I’ve seen on other movies with other actors who are not only not conscious of other people’s time and efforts, but they’re unpredictable?” he told GQ. “I found Dwayne to be —we all know exactly what he’s going to do when he’s going to do it.” He would also speak to the allegations of Johnson being late to set, adding:
“It’s not like he’s late unexpectedly, and I wouldn’t even call it late. He comes in slightly later on certain mornings, but it’s part of the plan. It’s worked into the schedules and everyone knows it, so he shows up when he’s scheduled to show up.”
Red One Rotten Tomatoes Score Won’t Make Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans Very Merry
Most critics are leaving it with a lump of coal.
Red Onemarks Kasdan’s third film with Johnson, following 2017’sJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and its 2019 sequel,Jumanji: The Next Level. The director also came to the defense of Johnson, saying he’s"never missed a day of work.“However, Kasdan did admit his star was late on occasion, but says that’s typical with big Hollywood actors. In the end, it’s how Johnson treated people on set, which he said was “great.”
“He has a lot going on. He can be late sometimes, but such is Hollywood — that’s the case with everybody. Honestly, I’ve made three big movies with him. I’ve never seen him be anything but great to every single person on the set.”
Reactions toRed Onethus far have been polarizing, to say the least. MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman called it"a surprisingly clever Christmas action-comedy,“while Rebecca Johnson wasn’t as kind in her review, calling it"one of the worst films I have ever seen.“With Johnson’s latest projected to gross anywhere from $20 - $40 million dollars its opening weekend, it has a long way to go before it makes back its astronomical budget, and at this point, it’s doubtful it will achieve such an accomplishment. In that case,Red Onecould go down as one of the worst disasters of 2024, pee bottles notwithstanding.
After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with a notorious bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a thrilling, globe-spanning mission to save Christmas. This action-packed holiday adventure mixes comedy and festive magic, with an ensemble cast that includes Lucy Liu and J.K. Simmons.
