I need a drink. Keanu Reeves reunited with his ex-girlfriend on a new project, and it's blowing my mind.
The John Wick: Chapter 4 star and director Sofia Coppola teamed up for the 100th anniversary of Japanese whisky maker the House of Suntory, and this may come as a bit of a surprise since they have a romantic history.
The tribute film features Keanu and other people enjoying the whisky while "Crimson and Clover" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts play in the background. It feels like we're transported back to when the pair first met.
For context, Sofia and Keanu dated back in the early '90s after meeting on the set of her father's, Francis Ford Coppola, 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dacula, according to a People exclusive.
For Sofia, Suntory holds a special significance because the whisky brand was heavily featured in her 2003 film, Lost in Translation.
In the movie, Bill Murray starred as Bob Harris, a fading American movie star who travels to Tokyo to promote Suntory whisky in the middle of his midlife crisis.
The film includes the famous phrase, "For relaxing times, make it Suntory Time," and also features Scarlett Johansson in one of her first major roles as an adult actor.
As for Keanu's connection to the brand, he starred in a dated Suntory ad in 1990. It featured a young Keanu helplessly staring into the darkness, enamored by a mysterious woman who is actually just a bottle of Suntory Reserve. It's ridiculously accurate of '90s visual storytelling.
When asked about what it was like working with Sofia, Keanu told People it was an easy yes. "It was," he said. "It was cool [to get] a chance to work with Sofia Coppola and to work with [her brother] Roman Coppola on a kind of short commercial and then a docu-series. It was a really special opportunity."
The Matrix actor has long-held a passion for Japanese culture, telling Total Film in February, "Japanese anime and Japanese filmmaking have definitely been something I’ve loved and have been influenced by." So, of course, he had nothing but great things to say about filming the tribute in Japan under the artistic direction of Sofia.
"It was wonderful, really wonderful. It was extraordinary to have the opportunity to spend time with people from Suntory, in terms of going to the founding distillery Yamazaki, then going and just meeting master blenders and all the craftspeople."
"I got to meet some of the artisans, Kabuki actors, calligraphists, being an outsider and getting to spend time with people and talk about their passion and their craft," he said.
