Wendy Jacobson on what a marvel it was to wear the hat of executive producer on ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” movie is not only one of the most-anticipated releases of 2024, it has made a killing at the box office since it was released in the last week of July.
It would be safe to say that it has been one of the most profitable releases of the year so far.
Of course, the hype around it has been insane. When it comes to the campaign roll-out, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have done the most.
While fans have been flocking to the cinemas to watch their favourite characters team up, Wendy Jacobson, who shares the executive producer credits with Louis D’Esposito, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin, unpacked the journey behind this cinematic milestone.
Jacobson’s film and TV credits include being a co-executive producer on “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” on Disney+ and working with Dwayne Johnson as a producer on “San Andreas”, “Skyscraper” and “Rampage”.
On making a movie of this magnitude, she explained the behind-the-scenes dynamics.
“Honestly, we went into this movie eyes wide open, knowing we were making a ‘Deadpool’ movie. You know the thing with ‘Deadpool’ is that nothing is sacred, right? And that includes ‘Deadpool’, Marvel, Disney … everyone … and there is almost an egalitarianism in that.
“Because of that equality, there was no such thing as going too far in a ‘Deadpool’ movie.”
When asked about movies riding on the pull of its stars, she said: “It’s interesting, though, because sometimes I feel it is harder to create movie stars these days. There is a bit of a longer runway but, absolutely, I believe in it (star power).
“And I’ve been very lucky to have worked with the man, as you say, Dwayne Johnson, and now, Ryan and Hugh. And it’s been interesting too.
“A movie star can mean so many things. And Ryan is so particular, especially in this movie. He is not just the star of the movie, he’s the producer, the writer, and our creative north star; it’s been pretty incredible.”
No production, budget notwithstanding, is ever impervious to challenges.
Expanding on it, Jacobson shared: “Honestly, the hardest thing part of the whole thing is that we shut down in July due to the dual strikes and, when we came back, it was the winter in England.
“So our whole shoot had been planned to take place in the spring and the summer. So that means that all of the costumes, etc.
“When we came back, it was freezing outside. And we had three to four hours less of daylight each day. So that posed some real production challenges and also for the costumes, our poor cast would be doing these giant action scenes and we would have an army of costume guys standing by with these giant parkas and blankets.
“And as soon as someone said cut, they would be running in there, covering people up.”
She added: “Emma (Corrin) at one point is in a corset, shoulders not even covered, and it was probably like five degrees Celsius. So that was the biggest challenge for sure.”
As for bagging Shawn Levy to bring the vision to life, Jacobson cooed: “Having Shawn on board was the greatest thing ever.
“Honestly, as a producer, so much of your everyday work-life happiness is based on working with that director and what that experience is like and I cannot say enough good things about Shawn as a director and as a human.
“He really felt so right for this film and, in particular, all of his experience leading up to this. He has covered so many genres. He can do spectacle. He can do action. But it is always rooted in these amazing emotions and character-driven stories.
“The way that we treated this movie, especially with Ryan and Hugh wanting to protect the legacy of these two iconic characters, we needed an extremely responsible film-maker like Shawn Levy. And we needed a creative visionary.
“I think part of the magic of Shawn is that he has got all of this experience and he could do every job on the set of any department head. I feel he knows the craft of film-making that well.”
She continued: “But he is smart enough to have a plan and a vision but also to see what happens on the day and vibe on different improvisations or ideas from literally anywhere in the crew and kind of take the best of all of that and make this magic stew that became a movie.”
When asked to comment on the movie being filmed with a green screen, she said: “We were all on board with that, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito …
“We saw the audiences were tiring of visual effects and CGI environment and shooting on real practical sets and real locations in the UK was one of many things that just gave some authenticity to this movie and made it feel like its real people, doing real things in real places.”
Before our time was up, she weighed in on her contributions to the film, which also stars Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni and Matthew Macfadyen.
Jacobson noted: “As a producer, dealing with movie stars of this level … I don’t find it my position to go directly to either of them to suggest ideas for their characters, and so Shawn is the arbiter of that and I appreciate him as a director being so open and collaborative because, if I did have any ideas, I would go to him and let him filter that and he would be like some of them we would pitch to the gang or he would pitch them.
“And I don’t tell Ryan or Hugh what to do with their characters. However, I was involved in the writing process and giving feedback and notes. It’s been a wonderful collaboration.”
∎ “Deadpool & Wolverine” is showing at cinemas nationwide.