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The Bluff Director Talks Prime Video's Caribbean Swashbuckling Action

Director Frank E. Flowers (Haven) spoke to us about bringing the 19th-century Prime Video swashbuckling action film The Bluff to life.

Writer and director Frank E. Flowers is always grateful for the opportunities he receives to create new stories, and he'll be the first to admit how he's benefited from the partnership he's had with actor, director, writer, and producer Zoe Saldaña and her production company Cinestar to tell authentic Caribbean stories and their latest collaboration in the Prime Video historical swashbuckling action film The Bluff, telling the story of Ercell Bodden (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), who tries to live her life in peace, having settled down with her family at the Cayman Islands when her past catches up to her and those from her former life in piracy have come to collect. Backed into the corner, they're going to find out how she earned the nickname, "Bloody Mary." The Bob Marley: One Love writer spoke to Bleeding Cool about co-writing the script with Joe Ballarini, how Saldaña was originally penciled in for the lead before Chopra took over, how things came full circle for Flowers casting one of his heroes in Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett), and filming.

Director Frank E. Flowers on Bringing "The Bluff" to Life, Why Priyanka Chopra Jonas Was Perfect for Bloody Mary, Karl Urban, and More

BC: What is the inspiration behind The Bluff, and how did it come together with Joe co-writing the script?
I'm from the Caribbean, so I grew up in the Cayman Islands, and we didn't really get dressed up for Halloween. We got dressed up for Pirates Week, right? So, even since I was a little boy, the government has thrown this big festival, they've done it for 50 years now, where they have ships, explosions, sword fights, and all that. What's crazy about Pirates Week is that the pirates win. They take over the island for a week, and so, you're hanging on to mom and dad, you're all freaked out by it.

Those core memories stuck in me, and as we were looking at Joe Ballarini, as you mentioned, my writing partner, he called, and he was like, "Yo, I got this idea. Tell me what you think." I said, "What's up?" And he goes, "It's Straw Dogs (2011) with pirates," and so it was something that really took root, and Straw Dogs is one of my favorite films. I know some controversial elements, but the idea of somebody who was defending their home with extreme violence, so it became this home invasion movie, as opposed to like a swashbuckling high seas adventure.

Zoe was originally penciled in for Bloody Mary, so how did Priyanka step up to the role? How did she make it work so well in the film, and can you discuss her chemistry with Karl?

Zoe Saldaña is still a producer in the movie; she, her sisters, Cisely [Saldaña], and Marriott [Saldaña] have a company called Cinestar Productions, and we've been looking to tell Caribbean stories for a long time, so I've collaborated with Zoe a bunch of times over the years with her as a director, producer, and writer. This was another opportunity for us to try to tell a Caribbean story, so we developed it with the sisters and infused that heart of a mother wolf protecting her cubs.

As the movie started to expand and get bigger, we were like, "Yeah, we need a team that can really take this to the next level." She opened her Rolodex, and she called the Russo siblings with Joe, Anthony, and Angela. We got on the phone with them, and they saw the value in blending this authentic cultural story with a big action canvas. As we started to develop the movie, what became evident was that this was going to be an epic vehicle for Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Priyanka had done the cover shoot for Variety with Zoe. Chris Pratt and the Russos a few months ago. You look at her, and you're like, "This is our Ercell. This is who's going to bring this to life," then you sit with Priyanka, who came on also as a producer. You start to flesh it out even more and get to the heart of what the movie's about, the backstory, the depth of the character, and it all blew up from there, man. We made this incredible soup that we call The Bluff.

Can you tell me how Ismael [Cruz Córdova], Safia [Oakley-Green], and Temuera joined the cast and how they filled out?

Absolutely, the next step on the podium was Karl Urban, who's got more swagger than any person on the planet. He brings that heat and those vibes. Karl was going deep. We were really developing his character, and we thought about how we surround these two titans with some fresh faces, this international crew of people who represent what it would have been like living on the island at that time, being on a pirate ship comprising of the best killers from all around the world. They'd roll around with a tactical prowess, and they'd take stuff, so being over there in Australia, we started to develop, and I heard Temuera was in town. There wasn't even really a role for him, and I said, "Let's take a meeting," and Temuera's like, "I'll take a general meeting." We set him up because we had swords and guns out there.

We had the whole crew ready to pounce, and as soon as he came in, I mean, Once Were Warriors (1993) is one of my favorite movies and one that lit my fuse as a director, where I was like, "I didn't even know you could do that. I didn't know you could tell stories like that." Being in the room with him, I told him, "The Bluff stands on the shoulders of Jake and Once Were Warriors," and he was like, "Oh, man, I'm going to wind up doing this movie, aren't I?" and he did. He lifted everybody up and then… Sarah Finn, who's a producer on the movie and one of the greatest casting directors in the world, who includes all the Marvel stuff. She did this worldwide search and found Safia, Vedanton [Naidoo], and then the last piece of the puzzle. We're sitting there, and I go, "Man, who can represent the Caribbean side?" A man who got that, has this vibe, and represents the ones who fought back? Who can have that blend of sensitivity and masculinity? There was one person who came to mind, and that was Ismael Cruz Córdova, my man!

What was the most difficult thing about balancing the authenticity of the 19th-century experience with the action and story?

Gotta be honest, having collaborators and crew like I had who believed in the value of that made it pretty seamless, and you'll see with the action, right? We were taking cultural items and spinning them into tactical weapons. Every department signed on for that methodology. The studio was super supportive of that, and it led to like a blend of something we haven't seen before, which is this cultural authenticity on this big scale. I have to be honest, it wasn't that difficult. Once you commit to something, once you go like, "Hey, this is what we're doing." It all falls into place, man, and so I was blessed with an incredible cast and crew, and incredible producers who saw that mission, saw the value of that mission, and knew that it would make for a better movie.

The Bluff is available on Prime Video.

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