âWe love all holiday films,â says Dwayne Johnson, who stars as Santa Clausâs head of security in the Christmas action-comedy âRed One.â
âThe classics like âMiracle on 34th Streetâ and âItâs a Wonderful Life,â as well as the contemporary favorites like âElfâ and âBad Santa,ââ he continues. âWe all love them for the same reason: they bring us back to that warm feeling of being with friends and family, the time of year when life slows down for a minute. And thereâs nothing better than watching a great Christmas movie with the people you love.â
In âRed One,â Johnson teams up with Chris Evans in a globe-trotting action-packed holiday adventure to save Christmas after Santa Claus (Oscar winner J.K. Simmons) â Code Name: RED ONE â gets kidnapped.
Johnson plays Callum Drift, head of Santaâs security team, the E.L.F., which stands for Enforcement, Logistics and Fortification. âCallum is to Santa Claus what the head of the Secret Service is to the president of the United States,â explains Johnson. âTheyâve been working together for between three and four hundred years.â All that time, Cal has helped Santa bring inspiration, joy and happiness to the world each year and loved every minute of it. But the world has changed, and though Cal still loves the enthusiasm of kids, the adults are getting on his nerves.
Enter Jack OâMalley, Calâs mission partner â who also represents everything Cal despises about grown-ups. âJack is the worldâs greatest tracker,â says director Jake Kasdan. âBut heâs also a mercenary who will work for anybody but is loyal to nobody. And on top of everything else, heâs on the Naughty List.â
Chris Evans, who plays Jack, describes his character as a bit of a rascal. âAnd itâs always fun to play a rascal! But in his personal life heâs struggling,â says Evans. âHe has a son that he neglects. Aside from his family struggles, heâs lost that Christmas spirit. He works by himself and moves through the world by himself. That loneliness has made him a bit ossified.â
Cal and Jack are both irrepressible Alphas who canât resist butting heads, says screenwriter Chris Morgan. âWhen we put Dwayne and Chris together for the first time, that energy was immediate. They sparked off each other. They just started riffing and cutting on each other, one-upping and generally having fun at each otherâs expense. We knew we had a special dynamic right there.â
âThis one is really special to us,â shares Johnson. âFrom a bunch of filmmakers that love Christmas, weâre thrilled to be telling a story that lets us celebrate the holidays with audiences all over the world.â
Directed by Kasdan, who has previously teamed up with Johnson on the blockbuster âJumanjiâ movies, âRed Oneâ also stars Lucy Liu (the âCharlieâs Angelsâ franchise), Kiernan Shipka (âTwistersâ), Bonnie Hunt (âCheaper By the Dozenâ), Kristofer Hivju (âGame of Thronesâ), Nick Kroll (âBig Mouthâ) and Wesley Kimmel (âThe Mandalorianâ).
Get in on the Christmas spirit and watch âRed One,â distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Discovery company, opening in Philippine cinemas November 6. Book your tickets via www.redonemovie.com.ph, or visit the websites of your favorite cinemas! #RedOneMovie






