Brandon Fraser, Dwayne Johnson, director on the reboot

Mummy The director is reliving his memories of the popular action film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as it marks its 25th anniversary.

Universal Pictures released the film on May 7, 1999, and it grossed $409 million at the global box office ($767 million today) and spawned two sequels, along with a 2002 Dwayne Johnson-led spinoff. Scorpion King. Fraser, formerly known for leading. Encino Maine (1992) and George of the Jungle (1997), starred in Mummy as explorer Rick O’Connell, while the project marked a breakout part for Wiz as romantic lead Evelyn Carnahan, in which the two characters fight over the mummified corpse of an Egyptian priest.

In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, director Stephen Sommers recalls Fraser’s health scare during a stunt accident, trying to cast James Earl Jones, the Super Bowl spot that changed the film’s fate, why he skipped the third film and Tom Cruise. His feelings about the reboot, directed by 2017.

How does it feel to be 25 years on? Mummy?

It’s so funny that it never went away. It’s always on TV somewhere. And I know, especially because the outstanding checks are so good. I hate to say it, but somehow it’s loved by a lot of people.

How did you get involved with the film?

When I was 8 years old, I saw Boris Karloff for the first time Mom the film [from 1932], and I loved it. Universal had been trying to remake the Karloff film for nine years when I started, and it was going to be a low-budget horror film set in modern times. I called my agents, producers Jim Jacks and Sean Daniels, and they were so sick. Mummy That they didn’t even listen to my pitch and brought me straight to Universal. As we left, Sean – the good cop of the pair – turned to me and said, “Steve, I thought you did a great job.” He patted me on the shoulder, and I think they thought they’d never see me again. But I got home about an hour later, and an agent called me and said, “The studio wants to go for it.”

Did you have an actor in mind when you were writing it?

I never do. My editor Bobby [Ducsay] My main critic is, and before I even finished the script, Bob was like, “Oh, it’s Brendan Fraser.” I don’t think I’ve even seen it. George of the Jungle At this point. We knew the hero should be a tough guy but with a heart. Recently, I read an article that said we went to Tom Cruise and then Brad Pitt. I’m like, “No, we just went to Brandon’s.” Brandon liked it right away. The studio had a roster of actresses such as Ashley Judd and other young American actresses. I said, “They’re all American. It must be English.” So Rachel was the girl, and off we went.

On the Amazon rental version of the film, a trivia pop-up claims that Sylvester Stallone was initially offered the role.

You have got to be kidding. (laughs.) In the ’90s, Stallone was a huge star. Before I got to it, the studio was trying to do it for $15 million. I guarantee you, no one went to Stallone. It was never mentioned to me.

Is there anything else different from the casting process?

When I wrote the role of Ardeth Bay, I was trying to get James Earl Jones or Roscoe Lee Browne. He was written as a 70-year-old black man, but I’m always open to changing things up. After James and Roscoe got busy with other projects, they brought in this 23-year-old Israeli guy, Oded Fehr, and he was fantastic.

How did your team handle the heat?

It was very harsh, but it is a dry summer. We will always be prone to sandstorms, but they are not hurricanes or anything like that. The ADs would run around and give everyone earplugs and goggles. You couldn’t see six inches in front of your face, but it would only last 10 minutes.

I believe Brandon talked about getting B12 shots in the butt during the shoot.

Love the B12 shots. Brandon really put his body out there. On another, as he was running away from all the pygmy mummies, I could see Brandon limping.

Brandon has talked about doing some of his own stunts, during which he suffered some bumps and scrapes.

We had a great stunt team, but Brandon is a big, tough guy, and he was young at the time. We kind of took the crap out of it. Everyone talks about the scene when it hangs up. Usually when someone is hanged it is a dummy and that is why they put bags over people’s heads. Brandon is always gung-ho, and he was like, “Tighten the noose on me really tight.” Then he decided to let his knees bend a little. But what he forgot is that the moment you put that much pressure on your coronary arteries, it knocks you out. We all see, and he is completely unconscious. It was fine, and he recovered in 10 seconds. But he woke up like, “What happened?”

Did you realize when you were making the film that it would be such a hit?

We had no idea. I remember going into the editing room around Christmas time, “For 40 years, people have been joking. Mummy” I have a sudden panic attack. I’m thinking, “I love mummies and ancient Egypt, but maybe no one else does.” And then a 30-second Super Bowl spot comes on. Not interested in watching that. Gone by Wale. Mom movie for everyone to be like, “Holy shit. That was really cool.”

What do you remember about opening weekend?

I didn’t want to get too excited and was thinking, “If it can open to $20 million, it’s going to be huge.” A producer friend of mine said, “If it does $15 million, you should be over the moon.” At 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, my phone rings in the kitchen, and no one calls you at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning to tell you bad news. it was [then Universal president] Ron Meyer: “Steve, are you sitting down? The movie was going to open to $45 million. That was a big high. That night, a whole bunch of actors, some of the crew and I, we all met at Dan Tana for steaks.”

You went on to direct in 2001. Return of the Mummy. Have you considered directing a third film in 2008?

I didn’t want to do a third film because I felt like the first two really came together. I am really proud of them both. The third is very difficult. So I knew absolutely, I didn’t want to direct it, and Rachel wasn’t going to be involved. We always joke that the third one is called that. Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon EmperorBut it doesn’t really have a mummy. That’s when NBC bought Universal, and NBC was doing the Olympics in China. They’re like, “Is there some way you can do that. Mom Movie in China? And of course I had nothing to do with Tom Cruise.

Were you consulted for the Tom Cruise movie?

No, actually, I was kind of insulted because the writer and director [Alex Kurtzman] About this Tom Cruise, no one has contacted me. If I’m going to take something from someone, I contact people. Third, Joe Rob [Cohen] Directed, it’s like my baby. I didn’t want to step on her toes, so I helped create her. But I had nothing to do with the Tom Cruise one. They never contacted me or called me. I was doing other things, and it’s not like I’m crying. I think it’s common courtesy.

Brandon has mentioned that he is playing to reprise his role. Has there been any discussion on this?

Not that I know of. All the people at Universal are new since I left. I don’t really know them, and they haven’t captured me, so I don’t know what’s in their heads. At the same time, it has to be something really special. I would definitely work with all these actors again.

with Return of the Mummyyou helped make The Rock a star.

He was very good. I had never heard of this guy, but then they sent me some footage of him, and he was just perfect. I had to shoot with him so fast because he went to Marrakesh on Wednesday, and he had to be in Detroit on Saturday for a WWE thing. But boy, was he a soldier. As soon as the studio saw the dailies, the president of Universal was calling me and saying, “You’ve got to write a movie for this.” Somehow over the next week or so, I came up with the idea that became. Scorpion King the film