‘Bonding experience’: Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s ‘man sandwich’ for A Minecraft Movie

LOS ANGELES – Actor Jack Black found the world of A Minecraft Movie easy to navigate because he had played the 2011 Swedish video game Minecraft, on which the fantasy adventure comedy film is based.

“I had (my) kids that were obsessed with Minecraft years before I heard about this movie. So, I learnt how to play the game because I love games,” said the 55-year-old American star and father of two boys aged 17 and 19.

Minecraft is a globally popular game known for its blocky imagery, and is about creating almost anything imaginable using farmed resources.

The film, which is showing in Singapore cinemas, was developed by the video game’s creator Mojang Studios. It follows Steve (Black), a man who has spent most of his life trapped in the alternate dimension called Overworld, whose look is defined by simple geometric shapes or blocks.

However, characters including Garrett (Jason Momoa) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) stumble across Steve’s belongings in the real world.

A magic cube sends them through a portal to Overworld, where they must learn its secrets to survive.

American actor Momoa, 45, and Black had the unique challenge of getting up close and personal when they had to perform what they dubbed a “man sandwich” for a scene.

They were required to get as close as possible to each other to fit through a hole while sharing a flying device.

“‘The man sandwich’ was a bonding experience and it was comedy gold,” Black said.

“When I read it in the script, I was like, ‘Holy cannoli, are we really going to go there? We’re going to go all the way?’ And I was like, ‘Is it even doable? How are we going to do that? A complex system of weights and pulleys? We’re flying through the air, and I’m riding him like a llama.’ And by God, we did it.”

While American director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, 2004; Nacho Libre, 2006) sought to make the look of the film authentic for gamers, not everything completely mimics the game.

“This is a Minecraft story. It doesn’t get every nook and cranny of the game, but it gets lots of great, great things that the real gamers who love Minecraft will be stoked about,” Black said.

“They will be thrilled to see the creepers, the zombies, the villagers.” REUTERS