Johnson says 'Baywatch' is summer's 'sexiest, funniest' pic

by LINDSEY BAHR, The Associated Press

The cast of "Baywatch," bottom center, Zac Efron, from center left, Jon Bass, Kelly Rohrbach, Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario and Priyanka Chopra, are flanked by models dressed as lifeguards during the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2017 at Caesars Palace on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — CinemaCon just got a little less dressed.

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The cast of "Baywatch" took the stage Tuesday afternoon alongside around two dozen scantily clad men and women sporting the classic red bathing suits to preview the film for exhibitors and theater owners at the annual convention.

Star Dwayne Johnson told the audience of theater owners and exhibitors that their movie is going to be the craziest, sexiest, funniest R-rated comedy of the summer. Johnson called their group the "'Avengers' of the beach." He also introduced new footage in what they called a "fuschia band" trailer, riffing on the risque nature of the NSFW "red band" trailer.

Indeed, there was a fair amount of skin in the footage — including a naked male cadaver that Zac Efron's character has to inspect — which highlighted both its self-aware comedy and action/adventure on the beach.

"Baywatch" also stars Alexandra Daddario and Priyanka Chopra. It hits theaters on May 26.

Paramount Pictures in their presentation put the spotlight on a different kind of heat, too, debuting the first trailer for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Sequel," which comes out July 28. The former Vice President, who walked out to Nelly's "Hot in Herre," was on hand to introduce the ad, saying that he hopes the film "will be a tool for galvanizing action in our communities."

Audiences also got an extended look at "Transformers: The Last Knight," the fifth film in the franchise, which imagines that transformers fought alongside King Arthur. Mark Wahlberg stars alongside Anthony Hopkins and comedian Jerrod Carmichael in the film out June 23.

The studio, now under the new leadership of Jim Gianopulos, also made sure to highlight its more prestigious films on the slate, like "Ex Machina" director Alex Garland's "Annihilation," a sure to be mindbender starring Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac, and Alexander Payne's "Downsizing."

Matt Damon and Payne were on site to preview footage from the satirical "Downsizing," out in December, which imagines a world where people can literally shrink themselves down to save money and lead a better lifestyle. Damon also joined Julianne Moore and George Clooney to discuss "Suburbicon" — a Coen brothers-scripted and Clooney-directed dark crime comedy set for a Nov. 3 release.

Clooney noted that their Nov. 3 release puts them up against the superhero pic "Thor: Ragnarok" which comes out the same day.

"Thor is a handsome, good looking man with a hammer ... and we have Matt," Clooney deadpanned.

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CinemaCon runs through Thursday.

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