Idris Elba wants people to fall in love with cinema again

Los Angeles, Aug 3 (IANS) British star Idris Elba currently awaits the release of his upcoming film ‘The Suicide Squad’, which will hit theatres on August 5.

The actor says he wants people to fall in love with cinema again, which he labels as the “lifeblood” of the industry.

Talking about the film, which is coming out at a time when audiences are starting to make their way back to the theatres.

What does Elba hope people take away from this film, especially as it comes out under such exciting circumstances?

Elba, who will be seen playing the character of Bloodsport in the movie based on the DC Universe, said: “I just hope people realise that imagination is not dead, you know what I mean? Storytelling is the absolute lifeblood of what we do, it’s why we are who we are as a species on this planet. And so when you’ve got all these great storytellers telling an incredibly imaginative and empathetic story, I think the audience really enjoys that.”

“It’s why we love cinema. You go out and you experience it together. I want people to fall in love with cinema again. That really is the lifeblood of our industry. We make these incredible films with equipment that really only shows you its full glory when it’s projected in the cinema,” Elba added.

The actor shared that the scale of the film, which is directed by James Gunn, is really special.

Elba said: “And so I really hope the audience goes, ‘Yo, man. I saw The Suicide Squad and it was amazing. It just reminded me of why I love cinema.’ The scale of this film is really special.”

On working with Gunn on sets, Elba shared: “Look, when the director is in every molecule of the script, when he makes every lighting decision and every costume decision, that’s an artist. Artist with a capital A. And he’s very pedantic, but in a good way. He works in a specific way, really knows what he’s looking for: ‘If we haven’t got it, we haven’t got it, and we’re going to keep going until we get it.’ That kind of thing.”

Elba added: “And that was always great, because the more we did that, the more we understood exactly what the tone was. But, he does give you a lot of license. John Cena and I both had a lot of license to allow our characters to grow.”

The 48-year-old star said that when he read the script his character didn’t even have a name.

“It was like, ‘Okay, we don’t know what we’re calling him yet.’ So there was a lot of room for growth while making the film, as well,” he shared.

Elba also spoke about his co-star John Cena, who plays Peacemaker in the film.

“John Cena’s a gem of a guy. He’s a really nice guy. I’ve always been a fan of his as a wrestler and as an entertainer, and now as an actor. He’s really good at what he does, yet always learning. Very collaborative, very open, to a point where it’s almost a little uncomfortable how open he can be,” Elba said.

Elba tagged Cena as “an improvisational genius”.