Mark Walhlberg reveals he filmed Flight Risk with Mel Gibson in just 22 DAYS – as star opens up about working with Hollywood icon after eight-year directing hiatus
Mark Walhberg has revealed in a candid new interview that he shot new film Flight Risk with director Mel Gibson in just 22 days.
The 53-year-old actor plays the lead role of a hitman in the thriller, which is set for release on October 18. This marks Gibson’s first time directing since 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge.
He praised 68-year-old Gibson’s work ethic, saying: ‘He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it, but he was also open to collaboration.
“Again, to shoot 15, 20 pages a day, which is something I’d never done before. I shot ‘n dirty, but 30 days was the fastest I’d ever shot a movie. This was within 20 or 22 days.”
Wahlberg and Gibson previously worked together as actors in 2022’s Father Stu and 2017’s Daddy’s Home 2.
Mark Walhberg has revealed in a candid new interview that he filmed new movie Flight Risk with director Mel Gibson in just 22 days.
The 53-year-old actor plays the lead role of a hitman in the thriller, which is released on October 18. For Gibson, this is the first time since 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge that he will direct again.
He said, ‘Having seen Apocalypto a million times, Braveheart and all the other films he’s directed, he’s such a talented filmmaker.
‘It was one of those things where, between the role and getting to work with the filmmaker, it’s always at the top of the list for me: the script, the director and the role are the three most important components in making a choice ,’
Wahlberg plays a pilot hired to pilot a U.S. Marshal Harris (Michelle Dockery) and a witness (Topher Grace) assigned to testify against the Moretti crime family.
Jared Rosenberg’s script landed on The Black List in 2020, the annual list of the year’s most beloved unwritten scripts.
In May 2023, Mel Gibson signed on to direct, with Wahlberg set to star, reuniting with Gibson and Wahlberg.
The Flight Risk project marks Gibson’s first time leading the charge since his 2016 Best Picture nomination for Hacksaw Ridge.
Production on the film began in June 2023 and was one of several projects to receive a SAG-AFTRA waiver to continue filming during the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
Hacksaw Ridge was made locally as an Australian-American co-production for $40 million, but grossed $180 million worldwide.
Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge won awards for editing and sound mixing.
Wahlberg, 53, plays a pilot hired to pilot a U.S. Marshal Harris (Michelle Dockery, above) and witness (Topher Grace) assigned to testify against the Moretti crime family
Jared Rosenberg’s script landed on The Black List in 2020, the annual list of the year’s most beloved unmade scripts
Gibson’s latest directorial project Hacksaw Ridge Hacksaw Ridge grossed $180 million worldwide and was nominated for six Oscars – Andrew Garfield stars in the film
It also won nine Australian Academy Awards (AACTAS), including Best Picture.
What neither the Marshal nor the witness initially realize is that the pilot is not who he says he is. Ultimately, he turns out to be a hitman for the Moretti family.
Lionsgate announced in May that the film would be released on October 18, pitting it against Paramount’s Smile 2 and Searchlight Pictures’ A Real Pain starring Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg.