10 behind-the-scenes facts about the bullet train
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bullet train is the new action movie starring Brad Pitt set on a train, but despite its interesting premise, the movie isn’t getting the best reviews. Nevertheless, it’s a fun popcorn movie filled with awesome action scenes, and it’s good enough to pass the time for anyone who’s looking forward to it. John Wick 4.
The David Leitch-directed film had an interesting production that was full of casting failures and no cameos, along with a very different original draft. bullet train evolved dramatically throughout its production, and the story behind the scenes of the film might actually be more interesting than the film itself.
Pitt was directed by his former double
David Leitch has become a great director in his own right. The filmmaker has directed some of the slickest action films of the 2010s, including Atomic Blonde i Deadpool 2and co-directed one of the most influential action films of the 21st century, John Wick. However, he wasn’t always a director, and even before he was a stunt coordinator in Hollywood, he was a stuntman.
Leitch was Pitt’s stunt double fight club, Troy, Ocean’s Eleven, and several others, and Pitt has spoken about what it’s like to be directed by his former double. The actor explained what their working relationship was like then and what it’s like now, noting, “He trained me for those fights and was kind of helping me develop the character; now he’s a director with own voice and own language. and I’m serving him, he’s the boss.”
Lady Gaga was almost cast in the film
Lady Gaga is now both an established actor and musician. After two highly acclaimed roles in A Star is Born i House of Guccilooks like she’ll be playing Harley Quinn Joker 2 too.
Gaga almost threw herself bullet trainwhich would have referenced his earlier kitschy roles in films like Machete Kills. While he won’t reveal which character it was for, Leitch revealed that the pop star was in early talks to star in the film, but it didn’t work out because the shooting schedule overlapped too much with House of Gucci.
The fight scenes were inspired by Jackie Chan
Leitch popularized gun-fu in Hollywood with John Wick. Since the 2014 film, every action film has tried to imitate his fighting style, even Leitch films like Atomic Blonde. However, the filmmaker took a different approach to hand-to-hand combat this time around. The filmmaker explained that he was influenced by Jackie Chan in the way the fight sequences mixed combat and comedy.
Leitch explained, “There’s a bit of physical comedy. The fights are designed to enhance the characters. We’re here to have fun in this super-content space.”
Joey King didn’t think he’d get the part
Joey King could have had minor roles in great movies like The dark Knight Rises, The great and powerful Ozi The Conjuration, but he’s not exactly the A-list movie star that Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock are. However, he has one of the biggest roles in the film as he plays the villain who tries to retrieve Pitt’s character’s suitcase.
However, according to The Independent, I didn’t actually think I’d get the part when I was auditioning. King commented, “I remember auditioning and thinking to myself, ‘Oh, okay, I’m never going to get this part, but, you know, I’m going to give it my all.’
Leitch didn’t think he could get Pitt to log on
Although Leitch and Pitt go way back and have worked together on six films, according to collider, Leitch still feared the actor might have turned down the offer. The director knew the character was to be played by Pitt, but admitted, “It was a lot of anxiety sending him in. I just said, ‘Will he want to do it?’ It’s so crazy, crazy and irreverent, and I don’t know.’ And I say, “I don’t want to waste your time.”
Being who he is, Pitt is offered countless roles from every studio every year, and Leitch couldn’t understand why he would accept the bullet train over any other. But the director was surprised when he received a call from Pitt himself, who was delighted to work in the film. He also said that once Pitt signed on, the studio immediately got behind the film and put all its resources into it.
Pitt was paid $20 million
While Pitt might have been excited to work on the film, he won’t do it for less than his minimum wage. Many movie stars like Pitt don’t appear on set for less than $10 million, and that figure was double for bullet train.
Pitt is such a bankable actor and comes with an assured audience as thousands of people will see the movie in theaters just based on him. And while he’s a great performer, his box office power is exactly why studios want him in every movie.
Keanu Reeves almost had a cameo
The new action film has an incredible ensemble cast, but many of the passengers on the titular train also have familiar faces. The film features some great cameos by Channing Tatum and Ryan Reynolds, however, according to Weekly entertainmentthere was a cameo planned which unfortunately didn’t happen.
The cameo would have been one speed reunion, as Keanu Reeves would have joined Sandra Bullock on screen. Throughout the film, Ladybug quotes Barry, her therapist, and although viewers don’t see Barry, Leitch wanted a scene with the off-screen character played by his John Wick partner in crime
It was originally darker and much less fun
The film has such a great cast and along with Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson also has a major role. However, he seems to have been attached to the project much longer than anyone else, as he recalled how different the original story was.
Scripts go through many drafts before going into production, but according to Taylor-Johnson, the final cut of the film is unrecognizable from the first draft. The actor commented: “Originally this thing was a pretty dark, R-rated, vicious piece of action, but we made it and made it fun. I don’t know what happened, but it became a comedy!”
It was originally developed by Antoine Fuqua
Seconds Limit date, the idea was originally developed by Antoine Fuqua. This explains why the script was originally so dark, as Fuqua directed such dark crime films as training day, Door handlei The best of Brooklyn.
There’s no word on whether Fuqua originally planned to direct it himself, but it would have been interesting to see a dark thriller film set entirely on a train and directed by Southpaw film director.
Pitt did 95% of his own stunts
Even though Leitch hasn’t been Pitt’s stunt double for a while, that doesn’t mean the actor doesn’t have one. However, Pitt did 95% of his own stunts bullet trainwhich is impressive considering he is much older than the 23-year-old fight club, and he wasn’t even doing all his own stunts back then.
Greg Rementer, the film’s stunt coordinator, says of the actor, “He’s like a natural athlete. He really got into it!” The actor is hitting 60, and he’s still giving it his all in $90 million action movies. Rementer also commends the rest of the cast for their commitment, adding, “I’ve never cast so many huge actors in a role where they all excel in the physical movement of our training.”
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