In 2018, Dwayne Johnson is the headliner of “Rampage: Out of control”, a disaster film adapted from a video game. Did you know that the actor had learned sign language for the needs of the film?
Rampage: an adaptation of an unknown video game
Directed in 2018 by Bard Peyton (the man behind San Andreas and Journey to the Center of the Earth 2: The Mysterious Island), Rampage: Out of control tells the story of David Okoye, a primatologist who took a liking to George, a huge albino gorilla. But his life is turned upside down when he turns into an uncontrollable creature after a science experiment goes wrong.
Also worn by Naomie Harris and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Rampage is adapted from a video game unknown to the general public. rampage is indeed an arcade game published in 1986 in which three giant creatures devastate entire cities. The feature film proved to be a success with over 428 million dollars in box office receipts for a budget of 120 million.
learning sign language
For the purposes of the film, the actors Dwayne Johnson and Jason Liles learned sign language. Jason Liles is the actor who embodies the monkey George in motion capture. Indeed, the two characters communicate by sign language. And for this duo to be unbeatable in this field, the production brought in Paul Kelly, an expert on the matter. The latter therefore allowed the two actors to familiarize themselves with sign language and to be able to know the signs necessary for their respective roles.
However, the sign language of primates is obviously different from that of humans. Paul Kelly, therefore, appealed to Terry Notary, a primate sign language expert. Sign language is often simplified in gorillas. To match their animal abilities, the two specialists were forced to invent certain words, and above all simplify the classic sign language. Indeed, for certain words used in the film, such as “poacher”, Paul Kelly was forced to improvise, taking synonyms like a hunter for example. Thus, thanks to rampage, Dwayne Johnson will have tried his hand at sign languages, an exciting exercise that can be very useful in everyday life.
