Digging into ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ with Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman

This week, Kim Masters talks to writer-director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman about their latest Knives Out installment, Wake Up Dead Man. Johnson opens up about leaning on his producer when he panics during the writing process—and why, oddly enough, he never hit that wall on The Last Jedi. Bergman explains why he and Johnson prefer to bankroll early development themselves rather than put up with studio input. And they dive into the Netflix of it all: a global megaphone for Benoit Blanc mysteries, but not much of a run in theaters.

Plus, in a truly baffling twist, Paramount is set to distribute Rush Hour 4—with the once-canceled Brett Ratner back in the director’s chair. Even stranger, reporting from Semafor suggests President Donald Trump pushed Larry Ellison to revive the Jackie Chan–Chris Tucker franchise. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni attempt to make sense of the latest happenings at Paramount.