“The Beekeeper”: The True Story That Inspired the Screenwriter – Little-Known Stories from Filming

The Beekeeper, starring Jason Statham and Jeremy Irons, is based on the true story of a relative of the screenwriter. Unknown stories from the filming.

The intense action thriller “The Beekeeper”, directed by David Ayer and written by Kurt Wimmer (Salt), was released in Greek cinemas on Thursday, January 11, starring Jason Statham, Jeremy Irons and Mina Driver.

“The Beekeeper”: Introduction to the film

One man's violent campaign of revenge takes on national proportions when he is revealed to be a former agent of a powerful, secretive organization known as the Beekeepers.

The true story that inspired the screenwriter

Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer is outraged by the number of people who take advantage of others. “Scammers call up the elderly and take everything they have,” he says. In fact, when victims are alone, without someone close to them to help and defend them, the injustice seems even greater. When the money is gone, there is no hope of getting it back. Many people fall victim to fraud without any hope of getting justice.

Of course, for Wimmer himself, the issue of fraud is a personal matter. Many years ago he had a widowed aunt living in Germany. Some people gained her trust, moved in with her to care for her, and eventually gained access to her bank accounts. They took everything from her and she died on the carpet. Her story kept coming back to his thoughts, so at some point he wondered how he would deal with such a situation in a fantasy world. How can he help these people? In a way, the idea for the film came about with the White Knight being an alternative for people who needed him.

Of course, Wimmer didn't have to worry too much about the role of protector of the weak, as his main choice was one person from the beginning: Jason Statham. The two had already known each other for several years, and had worked together on scripts, some of which were realized and others of which never moved forward. The story written by Wimmer immediately attracted the interest of the film's director, David Ayer, who was impressed by the humor of the screenplay, the well-written characters in the story, the opportunity for impressive action, but above all by the fact that Wimmer “managed to surprise.” Wimmer explains: “If he can get one step ahead of me, I know he will do the same with the audience.”

A special world created to meet the needs of the movie “The Beekeeper”

To tell the story of The Beekeeper, Wimmer built a world that, according to the film's producer, Chris Long, “translates perfectly to our society.” Weimer explains that bees have always been fascinating to him. The first drink was made from honey, and Napoleon used it as a symbol of his power. Everyone loves bees. They are fluffy and make honey. They are insect dolphins! In addition, the audience is familiar with the structure of bees: the drones, the workers, and above all the queen. To meet the needs of the film, David Ayer has studied the world of bees well enough to enrich the mythology of the “beekeeper.” “I read somewhere that bees don't understand the beekeeper,” Ayer says. “When he appears, they don't see him. He's like a force of nature that organizes and defines their reality, and that was an amazing idea about governments and who fixes things, who has a vision for society and how to help people.”

The scenario is structured in such a way that Clay, the character played by Jason Statham, delves deeper and deeper into the network of the criminal organization with which he is dealing and reveals more and more information as the events become more intense. “Impressive and demanding. Clay goes and breaks into the bad guys' offices and they go to his house to destroy him. They show up at his farm, but he's ready, I think he's ready for anyone, whenever they show up,” Ayer explains. “One of the most interesting elements of the development and action design is how smart the beekeeper is.” When he encounters someone and how he uses the things he finds around him to eliminate his opponents in clever ways.”

In fact, one of the special features of claymation is the rare use of weapons. It's just another tool to destroy his rivals, but by no means does he need it all the time. “The idea is that his hands are like a magician's hands, or as his biggest rival says: 'As long as the beekeeper is breathing, he's armed.'” Producer Chris Long says he admires Ayer's style of action scenes. “They're shot theatrically.” David is why it's not a conventional film. “He knows so much about angles, lighting and stunts, that you can see the difference in his films,” Long says.

Jeremy Irons: “It's great to work with Jason Statham”

The film marks director David Ayer's first collaboration with Jason Statham. Iyer recalls that he personally met the famous actor for the first time on a film set, and was impressed by his knowledge: “He knew the angles, the lenses, the lighting, all these complex body movements. These are not taught. It's something that movie stars have. You watch old movies and you realize how they understand “How the camera works. When you work with an actor like that, it's an absolute joy, because that's when you capture cinematic magic.”

“Jason is amazing to work with,” says Jeremy Irons, who plays the CIA director. Commenting on his role, he noted that the element that interested him was its ambiguous nature, and the difficulty of understanding exactly where he stands.

The film stars Minnie Driver and Josh Hutcherson. The former takes on the role of CIA Director Janet Harward, a choice that impressed director David Ayer. “It was a great opportunity to work with Minnie Driver, she plays a small but pivotal role in the film,” says Ayer. O'Hutcherson, known to the general public through his participation in the “Hunger Games” films, plays Derek Danforth, an obsessive man, addicted to substances, but also the sweet taste of power. For the actor, this particular role was particularly challenging, because it was different from anything he had done before. “But it's fun to delve into a side of yourself that you didn't know existed and find it scary just because it's there,” the actor says.