Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy explain a strange face/out reference and how it came to be in The Adam Project. Reynolds is the star of The Adam Project, playing a time-traveling pilot who meets his younger self on a mission to find his missing wife. Along the way, the duo bond, eventually going back in time again to enlist the help of his father, played by Mark Ruffalo, who is a noted scientist and university professor. The film is directed by Levy and also stars Walker Scobell, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldaña and Catherine Keener.
face/out is a 1997 action film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, directed by John Woo. The high-concept film sees Travolta’s FBI agent swap faces with Cage’s terrorist mastermind to infiltrate his conspirators and prevent a bomb from going off. The film was a success, particularly noting Woo’s strong visual style and slow-motion ballet action. It has since become a beloved classic, inspiring deep appreciation and even a series of memes. One such meme has become merchandise, featuring a simple image of Nicolas Cage with the words “John Travolta” written underneath, alluding to the concept of the film, which appears on The Adam Project.
During a conference scene in The Adam ProjectRuffalo’s character is talking to a student wearing a college sweatshirt face/out meme According to Reynolds (via collider), the sweatshirt belonged to him, since it was given to him as a Christmas present, which is when they were shooting the movie. Reynolds shared an image of the sweatshirt with Levy, suggesting they put it somewhere in the movie, which ended up being the conference scene with Ruffalo. Here is Reynolds’ full explanation of how the strange face/out the meme made it to the movie:
We really wish we’d thrown some headphones at Walker in an action scene with some Louis Armstrong playing and a single white dove arching across the screen John Woo style. the face/out The thing was totally random… Kate Vorhoff, who runs B for Effort, who is my wife’s producer with my wife, gave it to me as a Christmas present and I thought it was amazing. And casually we were shooting The Adam Project during this period. So I called Shawn or I think I sent you a picture, Shawn. So we have to put this and I know exactly the place. Next thing you know, we’re rewriting Mark’s scene together and we added this little piece about it and that’s…
Levy agreed with Reynold’s explanation and talked about how it is an example of their working relationship together, which institutes “small, small, random, instinctive, weird shit ideas” appearing between the two frequently, becoming clues that make their way into the film. “They end up taking a college lecture hall scene and giving it a little weird moment that’s idiosyncratic, and for us, it makes the character more interesting, it makes the scene more interesting.” Levy said. Both Levy and Reynolds previously worked together on free boy and will team up once again to Deadpool 3the next chapter in Reynolds’ superhero blockbuster behemoth sure to capitalize on more of those weird ideas.
Reynolds is often known for his sharp wit and pop culture references throughout his work, which is part of his charm. Using a funny Christmas present in his latest movie, particularly a stranger face/out sweatshirt, is perfectly on the mark for the actor. Both free boy and The Adam Project took advantage of the reference material, as Easter Eggs abound in both films. In this case, John Woo’s celebration of a classic 90s action movie cuts deeper for some fans, making it all the more fun in The Adam Projecta high-concept sci-fi movie in its own right, only with fewer doves flying around in slow motion.
Source: Collider
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