This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Will Smith rom-com Hitch hitting theaters. It came at a time when the A-lister and well-known comedic actor had been starring in a slew of action films, so fans were quick to say the eponymous love guru was a long time coming. Smith also served as a producer on the film, with filmmaker Andy Tennant (Sweet Home Alabama) enlisted to direct. Amid the smash-hit film’s milestone, Tennant gave a headline-making interview earlier this year about how it was actually a “battle” to make Hitch alongside Smith. Tennant also noted that he never heard from the megastar after its release. MovieWeb had the chance to chat with Tennant amid the release of his latest movie — an entirely different genre that he says was “a blast” to make. Unit 234 is now available in theaters and on demand, and Tennant took the time to share a bit more about the Hitch production as well.
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Confirming the behind-the-scenes stories and saying Hitch was “not an easy movie” to make, Tennant also revealed that Will Smith and the studio are now working on a sequel without him. Though Tennant doesn’t seem to mind. Which, considering his experience making the first movie, should come as little surprise.
“It was not an easy movie. I think the movie that I wanted to make and the movie that Will wanted to make is not as good as the movie that Will and Andy made together, but that came with a lot of conversation and tension and stuff,” Tennant told MovieWeb. “What I hear is that Will is working on a sequel without me, but, you know, more power to him. And he was the producer, and he’s the one who hired me in the first place. But, very proud of the movie, very proud that we got through it. It was an interesting experience… It was a complicated shoot… [But Unit 234 was] such a different experience. We had a blast. We really did have a blast.”
“Done With Romantic Comedies”
Brainstorm Media
It’s plain to see Tennant and company had a ball putting a small-scale thriller like Unit 234 together, all boosted by juicy and gloriously sleazy performances by Don Johnson and Jack Huston. It’s a hoot to know that Tennant, the filmmaker behind Fool’s Gold (2008) and It Takes Two (1995), helmed this new R-rated offering.
“I’ve done a lot of romantic comedies. I’m done with romantic comedies. I feel like I’ve, you know, said all I can say about love and its many foibles,” Tennant told MovieWeb. “So when the [Unit 234] script came along, you know, nobody offers me a thriller, and I was just praying that it was good. And it was more than good. It was just clever, and the twists, I didn’t see coming. And by the time I finished the script, I was like, ‘They’ve made a mistake. This can’t be to me.’ And I’ve always thought that when I read it, the first thing I thought was, ‘Why hasn’t this movie been made before?’ Like, it’s such a no brainer.”
Tennant continued, revealing his thinking behind setting the entirety of Unit 234 within the confines of a storage facility.
“A storage facility is scary, even in the daytime. So I just thought it was really, really clever. So I was very happy to join and then I love the idea that it was small and contained. And, you know, I’ve done big movies, and they’re shot the same way. It’s still one shot at a time. So for me, it was kind of staying out of the way of the actors. They knew their stuff, and we didn’t have enough time, we didn’t have enough money, and we shot only what we absolutely needed. And I think that’s probably why it’s as tight as it is, because we didn’t have any superfluous stuff.”
Check out the end result for yourself. From Brainstorm Media, Unit 234 is now available in theaters and on demand.
Release Date
May 9, 2025
Runtime
86 minutes
Director
Andy Tennant
Writers
Derek Steiner
Producers
Bradley Gallo, Colleen Camp, Don Johnson, Doug Murray, Hadeel Reda, Michael A. Helfant, Blythe Frank, William G. Santor, Mimi Steinbauer
You can view the original article HERE.
