'Max Payne' Movie's Stars: Gamers Always Came First

Image credit: Moore: Todd Williamson/WireImage; Ludacris: Michael Gibson

Kunis is being modest. A hardcore gamer, she brought along her laptop to continue her adventures in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. In between wielding weapons on set, she found time to bring her Mage and Shaman characters to level 70. It was Wilmer Valderrama who introduced Kunis to Max Payne on the set of That '70s Show. ''I wasn't good at it,'' she says. ''Shooter games and I don't get along very well. But it was a really cool game, and it was exciting to play. You take the drug [Valkyr] and everything slows down.''

Ahhh, that slow motion: Fans of Max Payne know it as ''bullet time'' — the time-altering effect inspired by The Matrix and the type of Hong King action movies made famous by John Woo. Moore employed a special ''phantom camera'' — outfitted with a digital hard drive capable of storing 1,000 frames per second — to add replicate this effect in his film.

Staying true to the spirit of the source material was important to the cast and crew. ''We have to take care of the gamers first,'' says Wahlberg. ''I think people who are huge gamers are going to be satisfied.'' In fact, those who sit through the closing credits will see a bonus sequence that sets up a sequel. (Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne shipped for PS2, Xbox, and PC back in 2003; a third game is reportedly in the works.) ''I have some ideas,'' says Moore, who'd love the opportunity to work with Wahlberg again. ''I think in the movie there are enough loose ends to make Max realize that it's not all over. That he didn't quite get 100 percent justice.''

Bridges and Kunis are also on board for a second film. Moore thinks the Bravura character has huge potential to come back and help Max take care of unfinished business — while there are plenty of potential story lines for Mona. Still, everything hinges on how the first film performs at the box office. And on the mindset of the guy who actually plays Max Payne.

''I've never made a sequel before,'' says Wahlberg. ''They've tried on a number of films I've done.'' He gives two preconditions for him to even consider stepping back into the role: It would have to be better than the first film, and Max would have to be on Valkyr the whole time. ''That was the sickest thing about this film,'' he says. ''Once he goes to that place, it's like, 'Crank up the volume!'''