I had an absolute blast sitting down with Reno Wilson, Dylan Playfair, and Jackson Pace to talk about Above the Line. I’m a huge fan of all three guys, so getting to talk shop with them about this film felt like a genuine moment. Reno is out here killing it in Dexter: Original Sin, and I will always stand by the fact that Fatal Attraction deserved way more love. Plus, you go back through his resume, and it is stacked with everything from Transformers: The Last Knight to Fallen, Sgt. Bilko, and even The Cosby Show. Jackson continues to crush it in 9-1-1: Lone Star and brought so much to The Walking Dead. And Dylan… come on man, one of my favorite characters in Letterkenny, plus great work in Influencers, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, and the Descendants films. So yeah, this one meant a lot.
And then you throw all three of them into a dark, chaotic Hollywood heist story about a group of struggling dreamers trying to take back what the industry took from them, and it just clicks.
From the jump, what stood out talking to them was just how thoughtful they were about the story itself. This is a film that plays with a meta idea about Hollywood without losing its footing. Dylan talked about how tricky that balance can be, pointing out that the film is very aware of what it is but never lets that awareness pull you out of the story. He explained that there are moments where you feel that wink, but it never turns into a crutch, and that comes down to the writing being tight and intentional throughout. For him, it was a script you could not put down, something that keeps you moving forward while planting seeds that pay off later in really satisfying ways.
Jackson echoed that but took it a step further, really diving into how difficult it is to make an ensemble piece feel cohesive while still giving every character a clear voice. He pointed out that not only do all the moving parts need to line up structurally, but every character’s wants and needs have to feel real. Looking back on the finished film, he said it is even more impressive seeing how cleanly everything connects, especially with so many perspectives in play. And at its core, he kept bringing it back to something simple and human. This is a story about people chasing dreams, people who want something so badly that they start asking themselves how far they are willing to go to get it.
That idea hits hard, and Reno grounded it in a way that really stuck with me. He talked about how, on the surface, people might think they are not interested in a Hollywood story, but underneath all of that, this is about disappointment, about hitting a wall again and again, and about what happens when you feel like you are out of options. He framed these characters as people at the end of their rope, people who have been let down enough times that the opportunity in front of them, as wild as it is, starts to make sense. And when the film leans into that, when it lets you ride with them all the way through, it becomes something surprisingly satisfying and honestly pretty relatable.
Another thing that really stood out was how much the chemistry between these three guys carries the movie. That is not an accident. Reno said straight up that one of the biggest keys was that everyone understood the same tone from the start. He pointed out how sometimes you see movies where it feels like every actor is in a different film, but that was never the case here. Everyone was locked in, playing the same game, moving toward the same goal, and that unity comes through on screen.
And a lot of that came from the environment they built while shooting. Jackson described it as basically being thrown into a kind of creative camp. The cast and crew were living in the same space, eating together, working through night shoots together, just constantly around each other. There were no big trailers or separation. It was all hands on deck, all the time. That kind of setup does something. It breaks down barriers and lets real connections form. Reno laughed about it and said it felt like they were all just hanging out and then suddenly a movie broke out around them.
Dylan backed that up, emphasizing how important it is on a film like this for everyone to fully buy in. When you are working with a smaller budget, you cannot have people just showing up to clock in and out. Everyone has to believe in what they are making. He talked about how that shared commitment made it easier to trust the process, especially knowing how much would ultimately be shaped in the edit. Scenes evolved, moments shifted, and little details turned into major payoffs by the time everything came together. For him, seeing the final version was almost like discovering the film all over again.
One of my favorite parts of the conversation was when Jackson and Dylan started talking about a small moment between their characters, literally just a look they share. It is something quick, something that could easily go unnoticed, but for them it became one of the most powerful emotional beats in the film. That moment was not even fully realized until reshoots, which just goes to show how much care went into shaping the story all the way through post-production. It is that kind of detail that separates a fun concept from something that actually sticks with you.
At the end of the day, Above the Line is doing a lot. It is a heist movie, it is a dark comedy, and it is a character-driven story about ambition, failure, and the need to matter. But what really sells it is the fact that these guys lived in it together. They understood the tone, trusted each other, and brought a level of honesty that makes the chaos feel grounded.
And honestly, sitting there talking with Reno, Dylan, and Jackson, you could feel that same energy. Just three guys who love what they do, who respect the craft, and who were all in on making something that hits.
Jessie Hobson