Sometimes the very talents and expertise that have long defined a person’s existence can ultimately lead to their demise. That’s certainly the case for the titular group of skilled military mercenaries in the new action drama, ‘Hounds of War.’ The movie chronicles how the group is sent on a final mission by their creator that ultimately proves to be a carefully planned trap set up to destroy them.

The project is now available on Digital, courtesy of XYZ Films. Isaac Florentine directed ‘Hounds of War,’ which was written by Jean Pierre Magro. The drama stars veteran action actors Frank Grillo (‘The Purge’ franchise, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’), Robert Patrick (‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day,’ ‘The Faculty’) and Rhona Mitra (‘Underworld: Rise of the Lycans,’ ‘Doomsday’).

Florentine generously took the time recently to talk about helming ‘Hounds of War’ during an exclusive interview over Zoom. Among other things, the filmmaker discussed how he appreciated that the actors crafted their own ideas about their characters upon being cast, but also embraced developing the story together. The director also noted that he emphasized the importance of creating the stunts before production began, in order to help amplify their stylistic appeal on camera.

Film Factual (FF): You directed the new action drama, ‘Hounds of War,’ which was written by Jean Pierre Magro. How did you become involved in helming the film?

Isaac Florentine (IF): With this film, I received a phone call one Saturday morning from a friend of mine who’s also a producer. He said that there was a movie that he knew about that just lost its director. So they were looking for another director. He also said that the movie’s description was right up my alley.

So he asked me, “Would you like to read the script?,” and I said okay. I then read the script and really liked it.

A few days later I had a Zoom call with the three other producers. A week later, I found myself on a plane to Malta, where we shot the film.

FF: The movie stars Frank Grillo, Robert Patrick and Rhona Mitra. How did you collaborate with the actors to create their characters and the overall story?

IF: So the experiences the actors have had helped them see the character in their mind before we began filming. Some of them even developed the history of the character, including all the small details, on their own.

Then, of course, we sat together and made sure that we were all on the same page. That way the character that they saw went well with the character that I saw. Then we determined if we would have to do some tweaks together so that we were all on the same page. Frank saw his character in this way, as did Robert and Rhona.

FF: Once the actors were cast in ‘Hounds of War,‘ how did create the action sequences?

IF: It’s always work to collaborate with other people on set. But I knew some of the cast and crew really well before we started production on this film, which really helped.

I knew the second unit director on this film, David Wald, as we also worked together on ‘Power Rangers.’ I also knew Ross Clarkson, who worked as the camera operator on this film. I also worked on this movie with Ericson Core, the DP (Director of Photography). So these are people that I grew to trust, and they helped the actors and I figure out how to shoot the stunts.

The locations also helped us determine how we shot the action sequences. Of course, the most important thing in creating the stunts was the way that the actors saw their characters. We wanted the action to fit a location and the character development in a way that would help tell the story while also being entertaining.

It’s not really a violent movie – it’s more action-driven, so the violence is kind of stylistic. The main thing was to pre-plan, so there isn’t any last-minute decisions. That way, we knew what we wanted to shoot, and that we could go in and capture whatever we wanted to finish. That way, we didn’t have to drop anything, if we ended up fighting against time.

FF: Speaking about the locations, how did you decide where you wanted to shoot the film?

IF: The film was supposed to be shot in Malta from the beginning. But overall, the hardest thing for me when I make movies is finding locations. I lost some locations on this movie because in the beginning of production, I wanted to shoot in a studio that could do almost everything.

Then Ridley Scott came and started shooting ‘Napoleon’ in the studio where we were going to shoot in. So I could no longer film there, of course, because he’s the priority.

Then I was supposed to shoot, for instance, a big action scene in a big palace, as I wanted to be able to shoot 180 degrees. So then I had to rethink everything, and go with what we had. I said, “Okay, I don’t have a fancy palace. Now let me think about a bombed hotel.”

We had to tailor everything we had into that location, which was pretty hard. That was also true with the square. In the beginning of the movie, I was supposed to film the American president in St. George Square in the middle of Valletta. But about two or three days before we were supposed to shoot in that location, we lost it.

So to go find another location at the last minute was challenging overal. But I saw that they were building, and there was scuffling, in the. church right across the street. I said, “Okay, I can make it work.”

We also shot in the real catacombs, but we couldn’t bring the whole crew down there because of the oxygen level. So we could only bring only four or five people with us at a time. So that was also pretty challenging.

FF: Earlier, you mentioned working with your Director of Photography, Ericson Core, on ‘Hounds of War.’ What was your experience collaborating together on the film?

IF: It was a fantastic experience. When you’re working with people who gel with you and they understand what you’re trying to do, it really helps in the process of making the film.

Ericson Core was more than a DP; I think he should also get a producer credit on the movie. He’s a problem solver and an overall amazing person. Without him and Ross Clarkson, our camera operator, I don’t know if we were able to complete the movie.