On Thursday, August 4th, Netflix held a screening in Atlanta for “Day Shift,” their newest feature starring Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco.
The film centers around Bud Jablonski (Foxx), a hardworking dad whose family thinks he’s a pool cleaner when really, he hunts and kills vampires. When his ex-wife (played by Meagan Good) suggests moving from the San Fernando Valley to Florida, Jablonski has one last chance to earn enough money to keep his family in town. His “parole officer” in the union for hunting and killing vampires is Seth (Franco), and together they learn a thing or two about teamwork.
At the “Day Shift” screening in Atlanta, Foxx states that he wouldn’t have done the film without Dave.
“When I was asked to play [a role in the film], I said the only person that can play Seth is Dave Franco. I’ve been watching Dave Franco for a long time, watching him develop. I said, I won’t even do the movie if he’s not in it [and then] he does the movie. We’re lucky and blessed to have him and he steals every scene, Franco is amazing.”
DAY SHIFT. (L to R) Jamie Foxx as Bud and Dave Franco as Seth in Day Shift. Cr. Parrish Lewis/Netflix © 2022
In turn, Franco speaks nothing but the highest praise for Foxx.
“Jamie is my favorite person on the planet. Not only is he my best hype man but truly he is the best actor I’ve ever worked with. He is the most selfless actor I’ve worked with. He just makes everyone around him better. He recognizes for a movie to be good everyone has to be good. And so, he just builds you up and he makes you, he makes you feel safe. And so, I just love this man. And I want to do everything with him.”
It’s safe to say a bromance was formed on set, which developed and even led to Foxx & Franco recording music together.
“I didn’t even know I was recording music.” Franco states. “So, I say a line. They call cut. Jamie comes up to me, he’s recording me. [Foxx] says, “Hey, say that line, but say it again like this, (with a rap feel) mowing down vamps with my best friend Bud! Little do I know he sends that video to his music producer [and] within an hour his music producer puts together a full song. Jamie is now playing that song through his boombox backpack on set and suddenly, I’m a musician. I don’t even know what happen.”
DAY SHIFT. (L to R) Dave Franco as Seth and Jamie Foxx as Bud in Day Shift. Cr. Parrish Lewis/Netflix © 2022
Franco even appears in the music video that ends the film.
Foxx and Franco are a dynamic duo on screen together, but the stunts are what makes the film different from vampire films we’ve seen in the past.
Director J.J. Perry, known for his stunts on John Wick and “The Fast & The Furious” series’ “saved all his best stunts for his first feature,” according to Foxx.
The trailer for Day Shift showcased one of the most shocking and hilarious stunts in the film, where Jablonski shoots an old lady and slices her head off, and there’s plenty more that will take you by surprise.
With a special cameo from Snoop Dogg and kickass stunts, Perry shows vampire hunting in a new form with action, laughs, and a few twists.
DAY SHIFT. (L-R) Jamie Foxx as Bud and Snoop Dogg as Big John in Day Shift. Cr. Andrew Cooper/Netflix © 2022.
Day Shift premieres Friday, August 12th, 2022, on Netflix.
