This past week I had the pleasure of talking to the cast and crew of RIDE ALONG 2 in Miami, where the sequel takes place. Stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn, Ken Jeong, Tika Sumpter, Benjamin Bratt, as well as director Tim Story and producer Will Packer all gave some insight into the film, which picks up where the original left off, finding Ice Cube's detective character once again reluctantly taking Kevin Hart's (now police trainee) character under his wing, this time to fight a drug lord (Benjamin Bratt), while partnering up with a Miami cop (Munn) and a hacker (Jeong). While retaining the slapstick humor for the first film and upping the action factor, the film knows what it's selling and if you're a paying customer than this is the ride for you.
Ice Cube and Kevin Hart were open about what made them want to come back for a second film, why they shot in Miami (why not?), and discussed their favorite buddy cop flicks (outside of the RIDE ALONG series, of course).
Next up, I talked to the lovely Olivia Munn and funny-man Ken Jeong about their roles in the film, including porn research for Jeong, Munn's foray into the action badass role, including X-MEN: APOCALYPSE this summer, and what scene they enjoyed shooting the most.
Producer Will Packer and director Tim Story were great sports and a fun duo to chat with. After discussing the origins of the JoBlo.com name (see the shout out video below) we talked about why they chose to make a sequel, why they chose Miami over Oklahoma for the setting, the comedic combo of Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, and how the casting of Olivia Munn came to be.
The stunning Tika Sumpter, who plays the out-of-his-league fiancé to Hart's character talks about how to control Hart on set (you can't), the family dynamics of the cast, improvising on set, the working relationship of Ice Cube and Hart on set, and her favorite buddy cop movie.
Lastly, I chatted with the suave Benjamin Bratt, who talks about why it's so good to play the bad guy, what his villainous influences were for the character, shooting in Miami, and his favorite buddy cop movie (another vote for 48 HOURS).
Oh, and here's Will Packer getting to the bottom of the JoBlo.com name.
RIDE ALONG 2 hits theaters this Friday.
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