According to star and executive producer Chris Pine, All the Old Knives is more than just another spy-thriller.
“Certainly it’s about a spy, but it’s really more about a man who’s madly in love with a woman who gets wrapped up in a shitty situation,” Pine said about the film. “Really, for me, the heart of it is this love story.”
On Wednesday evening, the cast and crew of Amazon Studios’ All the Old Knives gathered at The London West Hollywood hotel for a special screening of the film, followed by an afterparty. Pine and fellow star Thandiwe Newton took to the red carpet, along with director Janus Metz Pedersen and a guest list including Keegan-Michael Key, Vikings: Valhalla star Sam Corlett and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actor Gavin Leatherwood.
The film is based on a novel of the same name by Olen Steinhauer, who also penned the screenplay in a team effort with the director and cast.
“We did a lot of work on the script in all the prep. We did a lot of polishing and rewriting, and I did a lot of readings with Chris and Thandiwe, in order to strengthen what was already there — a really good script that brought us all together,” Metz told THR. “Olen was part of that, too. We had a great collaboration.”
The film follows Henry [played by Pine] and Celia [Newton] as ex-lovers and spies who meet over dinner to reminisce about their time together. As the night goes on, both seek to get to the bottom of a disastrous hijacking years prior that continues to haunt the CIA.
“I read the script years ago and it took forever to get made and we were looking for a director for a long time,” Pine said of the film’s development. “[Janus] comes from a documentary, observer background and because this film is so much about nuance and particularities and moments, he was just the perfect guy to do it.”
The supporting casted is filled out by Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce, both of whom the director was quick to rave about, saying with Fishburne, “It’s a deep resonance to have him in anything” and after seeing Pryce in The Two Popes, “that, to me, was one of the best performances I’ve seen, maybe ever. I thought it was just tremendous. So ever since I saw that, I’ve just dreamed of working with him.”
And as for the film’s twists and turns, Newton promises, “This one’s really bloody good, man. I read this script, and I was like, holy, I did not see that coming. I’m pretty good at predicting things, and I really did not see that coming.”
Next for Barry Linen Motion Pictures — Pine’s production banner alongside producing partner Ian Gotler — comes Poolman, in which Pine will star, write and direct. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins will produce, along with Django Unchained producer Stacey Sher. Not to mention, J.J. Abrams also recently announced that a fourth Star Trek film is in the works, in which Pine previously starred as leading man Captain James T. Kirk.
“I have no dates on Star Trek, I have no script, so I don’t really know,” Pine said of the announcement. “I’d love to get back to work but I just have no idea.”
At the moment, Poolman is at the top of Pine’s priorities list. “Abso-fucking-lutely,” he said, when asked if he’s looking forward to the upcoming project, which aims for a June 2022 production start.
All the Old Knives will premiere on Prime Video on April 8.
Source: Hollywood
