knows as well as any parent that it鈥檚 hard to find a movie everyone in the household wants to watch 鈥� especially with teenagers around. It鈥檚 part of the reason he latched on to a charming action-comedy about a former assassin turned suburban dad whose past catches up with him. It's streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday.
鈥淵ou always have movies that parents can go to with the kids and they鈥檒l tolerate them because the kids really want to see it or vice versa,鈥� Wahlberg told the AP. 鈥淏ut this really felt like it was a movie that actually was for the whole family.鈥�
Early in 鈥淭he Family Plan,鈥� his character is attacked in a grocery store and he must fend off the assailant with his 10-month-old in a baby-carrier on his chest. With his minivan cover blown, he then must convince his wife and teenagers to embark on a cross-country road trip to outrun the danger that he鈥檚 also desperately trying to keep secret from them.
The grocery store fight with the baby needed to be a big, tone-setting moment. Director Simon Cellan Jones, a veteran television director whose credits include 鈥淏oardwalk Empire," thought it was a 鈥渇antastic concept. It was a real spin on an action movie scene.鈥�
But he also wanted to use real babies rather than dolls. That, everyone quickly found, would prove immensely difficult.
鈥淭he baby鈥檚 supposed to be enjoying seeing daddy in action. The baby and the audience are they only ones privy to that. But getting (the twins) to chuckle or laugh while somebody鈥檚 kicking or flinging us around, that was next to impossible,鈥� Wahlberg said. 鈥淚 thought we were in trouble.鈥�
Then in the editing room, they were relieved to discover that the babies had in fact performed. As Wahlberg said, the twins knew when to turn it on.
鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of that scene,鈥� Cellan Jones said.
Wahlberg called on to see if she'd want to star opposite him as his wife, a character eager for more spontaneity in their life. The two had enjoyed working together on the Boston Marathon bombings drama 鈥淧atriot鈥檚 Day" 鈥� and he even calls her 鈥渃aptain fun鈥� on set 鈥� but Monaghan was mostly excited to get a comedy.
鈥淚t was truly one of the funniest scripts I鈥檝e read in a long time,鈥� Monaghan said. 鈥淐reatively, I was super excited because it has a lot of facets of what I like to do as an artist with action and comedy. There are inventive, high-octane action sequences. But, at the heart of it, is this really, really sweet family that you鈥檙e rooting for.鈥�
They filmed much of the movie in Wahlberg鈥檚 new hometown of Las Vegas, where he dreams of creating a Hollywood 2.0 with tax credits, a studio and more affordable housing and better quality of life for crews. He and his family relocated from Los Angeles last year, and he鈥檚 already made two movies there.
鈥淧eople know how serious we are, but you can鈥檛 put the carriage before the horse,鈥� Wahlberg said. 鈥淭here are tons of talented people here, but also to attract new people you have to make sure that there is a guarantee you work for X amount of time. And (the state) wants to make sure that if they鈥檙e giving up the tax credit that people are going to come.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e getting close,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e very excited to create a new industry outside of gaming.鈥�
Wahlberg has another movie with Cellan Jones on the way too, 鈥淎rthur the King,鈥� based on the true story of an adventure racer who befriends a stray dog who accompanies his team on a 435-mile journey through the Dominican Republic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very different movie,鈥� Cellan Jones laughed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about finding heroes in unlikely places鈥� And if you like dogs, you鈥檙e going to love this movie.鈥�
Like 鈥淭he Family Plan,鈥� Wahlberg also produced 鈥淎rthur the King,鈥� which will be released theatrically from Lionsgate in March. When it comes to questions of theatrical versus streaming, he said he鈥檚 just rolling with the punches and trying to stay ahead of the curve.
鈥淚n a perfect world, we all wanted to hold on to theatrical as much as possible. But people decided long ago how and where they wanted to consume their content,鈥� Wahlberg said. 鈥淎nd working with a company like Apple is very exciting to me.鈥�
Besides, he found the living room television was actually the perfect place to watch 鈥淭he Family Plan.鈥�
鈥淚 went to watch the first cut of the movie in my home and, it鈥檚 PG-13, there was only one F-bomb, so it was safe to turn on in the living room as opposed to hiding somewhere. And then slowly but surely everyone was sitting around the TV watching and enjoying the film, without any devices or distraction,鈥� Wahlberg said. 鈥淚t was nice to see that."
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
