A fascinating conversation with two stars of Netflix’s big-buck scifi thriller.
By Jeff Spry
May 24, 2024 10:00 AM
Strap in for a heavy metal romp of interstellar proportions as Netflix’s big budget sci-fi spectacle, “Atlas,” stomps onto the streaming service starting today (May 24).
” Atlas” is directed by Brad Peyton (“San Andreas,” “Rampage”) and is starring Jennifer Lopez, Sterling K. Brown, Simu Liu and Mark Strong. It revolves around the search for an rogue android known as Harlan (Liu) which escapes the planet following an incredibly devastating attack on humanity. This action movie, which is worth $100 million, includes an AI specialist called Atlas Shepherd (Lopez) who insists on participating in the search-and-destroy mission along with the enthusiastic Ranger commander Col. Elias Banks (Brown) and his formidable squad consisting of APC Military mechs.
“The heart of ‘Atlas’ is really about trust and how difficult it is to trust people,” Peyton said to Netflix. “‘Atlas’ is told through the lens of a woman who’s learning to trust after undergoing a trauma that’s upended her life. It’s a reminder of how we have to have deep, meaningful relationships in our lives, in one way, shape or form. That you can’t do everything by yourself; you have to choose to trust people at a certain point and let them in.”
We talked with Lopez Brown and Brown about the ambitious film giant, the current status of our present artificial intelligence anxiety, the complexity of the roles, and what the fans are likely to see from their eminent character in the event that “Atlas” hits the ground and goes to work.
“Honestly, the first time I read the script, it was during the pandemic, and I sobbed,” Lopez explained to Space.com. “I actually called my production partner and she said”What’s up?’ In the midst of the script was a deeply emotional story that revolved around two entities: one person and an AI that become more human together. They go on this journey, and she must learn to trust.
“She hasn’t had trust since she was a little girl. So to open up and believe that somebody is going to be there for her is such a huge journey in this crisis she gets in with him — made her believe in humanity again. Not just the understanding that the AI technology can be good as well, which is kind of the debate today. It’s very timely and relevant right now. It’s the human story about Atlas that made me want to do it.”
Concerning what attracted him to the thrilling story, Brown said that, while he’s tough and doesn’t shed tears however, he adored the emotional depth of the story and themes.
“I thought it was a great story,” Brown stated. “It was a chance to create something that my son could be able to watch. He’s saying, ‘Dad, I can’t believe you don’t do anything that I could watch. It’s true it’s not as if I’m in the middle of films that are rated X However, I get it. Lemme try to find something to entertain the kids. Jeff Fierson was the producer and I was in graduate school with himwhich was awesome. I had the opportunity to collaborate on an icon with him here [nodding at Lopezand Lopez]. The story is current and relevant.
“I think we as people are still figuring out our relationship to artificial intelligence and how we can best utilize it. Is it something to be feared? It’s definitely something to be respected, because if something has the ability to learn, then you want to make sure what it’s learning still has a place for you inside of it. So I believe the allegory of it all is something that everybody’s sort of thinking about, as AI is at the forefront of what we’re dealing with as we move forward as a society.”
“Atlas” roles “Atlas” roles were demanding for both Lopez as well as Brown however they did it in different ways.
“It was funny, because I knew I was going to be in this pod on green screen, by myself, with somebody just voice-talking to me the whole time,” Lopez recalls.
“It was like a one-woman show. I thought, ‘This isn’t going to be so bad; this is going to be easy.’ It was really a lot of me by myself with the AI, Smith. But it was one of the most exhausting things I’ve ever done. It’s really creating that level of life or death by yourself with no other actor to help you, in a very confined small space all day long, upset and sweating. I’d go home exhausted. ‘Atlas’ was one of my most tiring movies. It took more emotional and physical energy to create that reality.”
Brown’s ability to perform his Ranger role was more about the constricted restrictions of his skin-tight clothing.
“I just had to make sure I looked good in this body condom they put me inside,” said the laughed. “There was very little wiggle room where stuff is like… I had a thing that went underneath the legs that stretched up the back, so I was just trying to keep it tight.”
“Atlas” arrives exclusively on Netflix today.
