Amazon MGM is saying that recent claims that Dwayne Johnson was repeatedly eight hours late to the set of Red One are “false” and “ridiculous.”
Red One is an upcoming Christmas action comedy movie that is directed by Jake Kasdan and stars Johnson as Callum Drift.
On April 30, 2024, TheWrap published an article claiming that, according to “more than a dozen insiders directly involved in the project,” Johnson would repeatedly show up as “much as eight hours late to set on the movie — forcing the crew to shoot around him on some days.”
What did Amazon MGM say about Johnson’s alleged tardiness?
In a statement to TheWrap, a spokesperson for Amazon MGM denied these claims.
“Dwayne Johnson and Seven Bucks have been incredible partners on ‘Red One’—a film that audiences of all ages are going to love this holiday season,” they said. “Our testing has been very strong — the reaction from CinemaCon speaks for itself — and we couldn’t have made it without Dwayne’s constant work and support. Any reporting that implies that we got to this point with him showing up seven-eight hours late to set is both ridiculous and false.”
Insiders speaking to TheWrap further said that Johnson’s alleged tardiness caused Red One’s budget to balloon by approximately $50 million. One source, however, said this was false and that the budget stayed around the $250 million figure Amazon greenlit the movie at. “It is completely normal for there to be budget fluctuations within 15% of the target, which is exactly what we experienced,” the source said.
Red One also stars Chris Evans, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Liu, J. K. Simmons, Nick Kroll, Bonnie Hunt, and more. The film was originally supposed to be released on Prime Video in 2023; however, it was delayed to 2024 because of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike.
According to TheWrap, Amazon premiered footage of Red One at CinemaCon earlier this year “to a small group of journalists,” though these journalists were reportedly not allowed to write about what they were shown. “While it’s common for studios to strategically reveal selected scenes, the complete media blackout surrounding the Red One footage suggests that Amazon is aware that it will have a rocky road to its delayed release,” TheWrap’s article reads.
Red One is currently scheduled to be released in the United States on November 15, 2024.
