Johnny Martin Blends Action and Emotion in Lionsgate's OFF THE GRID
- Tammy Reese
- Jul 8
- 9 min read
By Tammy Reese
In a cinematic landscape often dominated by explosive set pieces and relentless pace, director Johnny Martin takes a bold, emotional detour with OFF THE GRID, an upcoming action-thriller from Lionsgate which hit theaters, digital, and on-demand platforms on June 27, 2025. Starring Josh Duhamel, Greg Kinnear, Peter Stormare, and María Elisa Camargo, the film doesn’t just deliver on adrenaline, it dares to feel.
Martin, known for Hangman and Alone, brings his raw passion and relentless vision to a story that fuses guerrilla warfare with intimate human stakes. After over 50 rewrites, countless location changes, and a cast he calls “family,” OFF THE GRID emerges not only as a genre piece but a character-driven experience that challenges the very formula of the action film. In this Heart of Hollywood Magazine interview, Martin opens up about creative risks, cast chemistry, emotional storytelling, and what it really means to go “off the grid” both on screen and behind the scenes.
Johnny, what was the creative journey like from script to screen with OFF THE GRID? What moments really lit your fire as a director?
Johnny: The script was very hard, because we wanted to try to do a movie that wasn’t just about an action hero or a guy that was tough, and so to try to create a character that really didn’t have the skills was very difficult. After 50 rewrites, we finally got it down and got Josh Duhamel to say yes to the movie.
By the time that we’re ready to shoot, we’re heading to Italy, then I get a call saying we’re not going to Italy, we have to go to Spain. So another drastic rewrite happens. Then we find out we’re not going to Spain, we’re going to Mississippi. So then I’ll send another drastic rewrite, and then we’re finally ready to go.
Going into this movie, we had so many different stories, and we had to now focus on this one story from Mississippi and the guy’s journey. I think the thing that was most difficult was the shooting schedule. With doing action, you really want to put the time and energy in, because to me, emotion is 80% and 20% is physical.
You should really dig deep into the character’s mind and his looks and his reactions then deliver the action. And to do that, it takes a lot of time, and that was a struggle for me because I had no time to shoot. Worked on days off and even two months after the shoot we were still trying to figure out ways to make this movie better till we knew that we could entertain the audience. We finally got there.
So what can audiences really brace themselves for when they sit down to watch this movie?
Johnny: What I’m hoping that the audience takes from this movie is that there are ways to do action movies where you could start with seeing a guy killing a few people and beating up a few guys, and go on that journey the whole way. Where I didn’t want to start that way. In most movies, you have to start with action. I really wanted to start this movie with emotion and to show you what it would feel like if you had to leave this world and go to a different city and not ever have to talk to anyone, and what would your life be like? What would the journey be trying to meet people but you can’t talk to anyone because you know you’re going to put them in danger.
And I think that getting to that point of telling that side of the story, and then going into hardcore action of following this guy. You now have this emotion for this character that you just want to go on that journey, and you feel like a fly on the wall. And I think that’s where this movie really gets peaked up at the end of this movie, to where you’re already involved in this ride and you’re on board.
If you could describe the film in three words, what would they be — and why?
Johnny: It would definitely be “let’s do this”. Let’s do this because that’s what Guy (Josh Duhamel) is saying to you. It’s time to take care of business and time to take care of this world.
What makes OFF THE GRID stand out from other action thrillers in theaters right now?
Johnny: I feel like when you start this movie, you don’t know if you’re in an action movie. I’m really happy to hear that most people are calling this an action drama because there is no action without emotion. If you could be titled an action drama, it’s a home run because that means you’ve related to these characters and now you understand their pains and when they get shot or hit or when they’re in trouble, you’re in that emotional journey with them.
How do you hope viewers feel walking out of this film — or after they finish watching it at home?
Johnny: A lot of my other movies had dark endings, and I just thought that that was a way to give the audience a chance to really remember and think about this movie. I gotta be honest, I think I was wrong. I think now I really believe that the audience is there for an hour and 40 minute break of their lives to take and just enjoy.
I think that you have to leave the audience smiling at the end and coming out talking and not being depressed about a movie. You know you’re there for a great journey and have a good time. I really don’t want to do another movie that really leaves you in a dark way. I hope that they leave this movie smiling and happy.
You worked with a phenomenal cast. What would you like to say about their performances and what they brought to the project?
Johnny: Well, Josh is easy. He’s like a brother to me now. We had two years of this movie being pushed, and it made us really dig in this movie tighter and really know that we could tell each other that we thought the other one was wrong, or what better way that we could fix it. Our journey together really packaged this movie into what you see is a film by Johnny Martin and Josh Duhamel.
Greg Kinnear was so prepared, and I could not have done this movie without him. He would come to set every day with script changes and notes and have ideas of why is my character doing this? He was always evaluating every bit of the story throughout the whole movie which I appreciate.
And Ricky, I needed that villain that would come in and not have to be over the top and loud, but to melt in with these two characters. You just felt like once you have a break from these two amazing actors, then you go into this great actor that’s doing it all visually. His words that come out are very short but have meaning to him.
Then, of course, you have Maria, who is so important in the movie. I needed someone that was fun and just had a good time, and you smiled when you saw her and and you felt her happiness and you felt her depression. Maria is just a happy soul, she’s a princess, and I love her to death. I hope I get to work with her again.
Then there’s Michael. I needed someone that could really portray the heartwarming character of Chase. He’s a genius on his own as well.
Can you share a memorable behind-the-scenes moment with the cast or crew that reminded you why you love filmmaking?
Johnny: We shot in an area where there were snakes, chiggers and ticks. One day we were buried in the woods, and we’re running, and I’m on the ground, running with them. All of a sudden, I felt this weird feeling in my body, I got attacked by chiggers. My whole body swelled up, I could barely walk. I’ve never felt support from my cast before like this in my life. They knew that I was down and I was hurting. I had doctors come to give me shots and Josh was right there by me, he took good care of me. I knew that right there and then we had this movie, and I didn’t feel anything after that.
Sure enough, it went away after a few weeks, but I didn’t feel it the next day because I knew the support and we were ready to go. It just made me even more fired up to do this movie.
What does a great crew mean to a director like you and how did this team elevate the story you wanted to tell?
Johnny: A great crew? To me, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. I’m going to make tons of them on this movie. The key thing is to just stay loyal to what we’re making. Movies last longer than our lives. We have to remember when we’re gone, these movies are still going to be playing and someone’s still going to be enjoying them. We got to remember that we got 20 days together. Let’s make sure that all these 20 days forget about all the bad things, stop talking behind everyone’s back, just be together and work together as a filmmaker. I welcome everyone, the craft service person, anyone to come up with an idea and come up to me and tell me what they think. I welcome it. I am not the smartest guy in the room. I want my crew and my actors to know that we’re making this film together. We have as much to lose as I do. So let’s do this thing together. And if you could work as a team together and forget all about the pity problems, you can make a great movie with everyone.
What was it like collaborating with Lionsgate to bring this vision to the big screen and beyond?
Johnny: Wow, Lionsgate has supported a few of my movies already, but this movie, I gotta tell you, whenever you deliver a movie, you get so scared because you just hope that people see what you see. I worked so hard on this movie to deliver something and also have them watch it and come back and tell me that they said, Johnny, we really have a movie here. It made my day. Not only did they do that, but then all of a sudden, they turned around and they gave me the best PR I’ve ever had in a movie, doing interviews like I’ve never done in any one of my movies. The support that Lionsgate and Grindstone have done for me is unbelievable, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If this is my last movie, this is the way to go out. I hope it’s not. But if I do, thank you Lionsgate and Grindstone.
What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to aspiring directors trying to break into action or thriller filmmaking today?
Johnny: You know what? Just when you think you got the greatest script in the world, just know that your script is not going to be what you want it to be at all times. You have to adjust, like when you’re out casting, you don’t think that the actor is going to love what you think is great. You got to relate to the actor. Do your homework, find out what actors are like and find out what their likes are. Find out what characters they like playing. Adjust your character before you even give them the script to what you think they will look at the script and say, this is me.
If you could do that on every casting you go through, even when I went to Greg, I adjusted the script again after Josh approved it and made it for him. I try so hard to make everyone feel so comfortable and wanting to do this movie that it makes a better team at the end of the day. So if you could, stop making the script for yourself and what you think is great, but make it for what the audience will think is great and what the actors will think that they could act to.
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