Connection with the previous post (1941): Robert emekis co-wrote 1941 and directed CAST AWAY.
Trivia (From IMDB):
The film came in two million dollars below its budget. Co-producer Rhonda Tollefsoncredits this to Producer Sean Connery's thrifty Scottish ways. Connery drove his own car, instead of hiring a driver, and flew on commercial planes, instead of using private ones, so that all of the money, would show up onscreen.
The building used for exterior shots of Mac's safe house (Castle Duart on the Isle of Mull) is the ancestral home of the chief of the Clan MacLean, which is the maiden name of Connery's mother.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was completely naked under the blankets when Sean Connerysneaks into her room at night and interrogates her.
Catherine Zeta-Jones performed most (some sources say all) of the climbing and gymnastics in the rafters herself, during the "I stole the Rembrandt" sequence at Mac's castle.
This was Sean Connery's last role as a romantic lead in a movie. He did several more films after this, but they were all character roles.
Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones's love scene was voted the second worst of all time by readers of American movie magazine "Film" in 2003. They were narrowly beaten by Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci in Casino (1995).
Sean Connery is 39 years older than Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The DVD contains a more ambiguous and much shorter alternate ending in which Gin simply reappears on the platform and smiles at Mac.
The street that Sean Connery is parked in waiting for Catherine Zeta-Jones to leave the antiques shop is the same one that Hagrid and Harry walk down in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) when they are heading for the Leaky Cauldron.
Ronald Bass' original screenplay contained numerous additional spectacular action sequences involving Mac, including a robbery taking place onboard a moving luxury train, but 20th Century Fox balked, when the initial budget for this script was estimated at over 130 million dollars. The final film excised many of Bass' envisioned super-action scenes (keeping a handful for the theatrical release) and came in at a final budget of seventy million dollars.
In the original script, the climactic events were set to take place the minute that Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule. However, director Jon Amiel preferred to use something more timely, so the Millennium Eve became the catalyst event.
While Antoine Fuqua was briefly attached to direct, he wanted to increase the action sequences. Fuqua envisioned a rather large, epic scale car chase for the scene where Gin and Mac escape from the shady antiques dealer, and the climactic heist was to feature more high-tech gadgets and a much more intricate escape. Sean Connery was not happy about Fuqua's plans for the film, in fact, in a 1999 issue of Premiere magazine, he said that Fuqua tried to turn the film into "The Rock", which Connery believed wouldn't have worked for the picture.
Malaysia objected to the depiction of their country as a backwards one when a shantytown in Malacca was superimposed over a tilt shot of the Petronas Towers. In reality, Malacca is nowhere near the Towers.
Nicole Kidman was the original choice for the female lead.
Jon Amiel reports that in the scene in the market in Kuala Lumpur, when Gin is confronted by Hector Cruz, a large rat ran right by her head, and she freaked out, abruptly ending the first take.
Angela Bassett auditioned for the role of Gin, but lost out to Catherine Zeta-Jones.
During the swiping of the mask, Sean Connery tells Catherine Zeta-Jones that she has only 75 seconds left. In The Great Train Robbery (1978), Connery told Donald Sutherland that he had only 75 seconds to steal a key impression.
In the opening sequence, the passcode on the security unit that the thief uses is 1007 for Sean Connery as he was the first cinema 007. In truth, Barry Nelson was the original James Bond. He played the part on U.S. television, playing CIA Agent James Bond in Climax! (1954) (Casino Royale (#1.3)).
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Maury Chaykin previously starred in The Mask of Zorro (1998), and in that film, the main protagonist Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) is a thief, who becomes the masked hero, Zorro. Also, Catherine Zeta-Jones played Elena, and Maury Chaykin had a small role as a prison warden.
An early scene, in which Gin sneaks into Mac's hotel room, and leaves the Time magazine on his bed, was deleted, but can be found (without audio) on the DVD. Jon Amiel said test audiences thought the scene unnecessarily delayed the first encounter between Gin and Mac.
Some of the information in Mac's file includes D.O.B. (August 21, 1937); P.O.B. (Edinburgh, Scotland); Citizen (UK); Height (6' 3"); Weight (210 lbs); Race (Caucasian); Hair (Brown - graying); Eyes (Brown). This is almost identical to Connery with the only differences being D.O.B (August 25, 1930) and Height (6'2). Mac's file also states; family (Age 5 - father died, age 12 - mother died, no known siblings); Marital Status (Widowed 1955, Camilla Charles); Languages Spoken (English, Mandarin, Japanese, French, Malay); and Military Service (Royal Marines 1956-1962, Commando Unit, Malaysian police). This is very similar to the character of James Bond. Family (Age 11 - both parents died, no siblings); Marital Status (Widowed in the book 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'); Degree in Oriental Languages, fluent in French; Military Service (Commander in the Royal Navy).
Antoine Fuqua was the original director attached to the project.
The film had a different original ending with Gin, not being the thief that the FBI were looking for. The undercover assignment was a set up by Hector, with help from Mac, Aaron Thibadeaux, and Conrad Greene; these three staged the whole thing, to frame Gin for the theft of the mask, and the eight billion dollars. Hector is revealed as the thief, and that he made a deal with Mac, to help him frame Gin, in exchange for his freedom after the FBI arrested him.
During Catherine Zeta-Jones' breakdown of the intensive security measures she and Sean Connery will encounter in the millenium heist, Rolf Saxon is continuously shown throughout the sequence as the director of the millenium compliance testing. He was introduced in a similar fashion, as C.I.A. Analyst William Donloe when Tom Cruiseconducts the breakdown of the C.I.A. break-in at Langley, Virginia in Mission: Impossible (1996).
Writer Ronald Bass's pitch to Fountainbridge Films consisted of only seven lines.
In Ving Rhames following film, Mission: Impossible II (2000), the main protagonist, American spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), recruits professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton) to recover a stolen item, later revealed to be an engineered virus. Sean Connery, who plays Mac, is famous for playing British secret agent James Bond, and Rolf Saxon (Director) had played CIA Analyst William Donloe. Ving Rhames played IMF operative and computer specialist Luther Stickell in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.
The lights in the train station appear out of nowhere. The lights were installed in between shots for no apparent reason.
Spoilers ―
Pudu Station, where the protagonists meet at the end, is in fact Bukit Jalil Station, with all the signs changed. Bukit Jalil is a much more attractive station than Pudu, but too far from central Kuala Lumpur, to be feasible for the plot.
The Waverly Insurance database states that Mac was born in 1937 and is 62 years old in the film. Sean Connery (Born 1930) was 68 during production of the film.
RATINGS: IMDB ―6.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 38%, ME ― 50%
Gin: I stole the Rembrandt.
[pause]
Gin: Mac! I stole the Rembrandt.
Mac: ...and I painted the Sistine Chapel.
Gin: Oh come on! Ask me how I did it.
Mac: So how'd you do it?
Gin: I came in from the roof. I dropped twenty floors down on a McNeel descender.
Mac: Well, you must be one hell of a climber.
Gin: I am a hell of a climber.
[begins to scale the side of the room]
Gin: I am, one, hell of a climber.
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gin and Sean Connery as Mac
Trivia (From IMDB):
The film came in two million dollars below its budget. Co-producer Rhonda Tollefsoncredits this to Producer Sean Connery's thrifty Scottish ways. Connery drove his own car, instead of hiring a driver, and flew on commercial planes, instead of using private ones, so that all of the money, would show up onscreen.
The building used for exterior shots of Mac's safe house (Castle Duart on the Isle of Mull) is the ancestral home of the chief of the Clan MacLean, which is the maiden name of Connery's mother.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was completely naked under the blankets when Sean Connerysneaks into her room at night and interrogates her.
Catherine Zeta-Jones performed most (some sources say all) of the climbing and gymnastics in the rafters herself, during the "I stole the Rembrandt" sequence at Mac's castle.
This was Sean Connery's last role as a romantic lead in a movie. He did several more films after this, but they were all character roles.
Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones's love scene was voted the second worst of all time by readers of American movie magazine "Film" in 2003. They were narrowly beaten by Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci in Casino (1995).
Sean Connery is 39 years older than Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The DVD contains a more ambiguous and much shorter alternate ending in which Gin simply reappears on the platform and smiles at Mac.
The street that Sean Connery is parked in waiting for Catherine Zeta-Jones to leave the antiques shop is the same one that Hagrid and Harry walk down in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) when they are heading for the Leaky Cauldron.
Ronald Bass' original screenplay contained numerous additional spectacular action sequences involving Mac, including a robbery taking place onboard a moving luxury train, but 20th Century Fox balked, when the initial budget for this script was estimated at over 130 million dollars. The final film excised many of Bass' envisioned super-action scenes (keeping a handful for the theatrical release) and came in at a final budget of seventy million dollars.
In the original script, the climactic events were set to take place the minute that Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule. However, director Jon Amiel preferred to use something more timely, so the Millennium Eve became the catalyst event.
While Antoine Fuqua was briefly attached to direct, he wanted to increase the action sequences. Fuqua envisioned a rather large, epic scale car chase for the scene where Gin and Mac escape from the shady antiques dealer, and the climactic heist was to feature more high-tech gadgets and a much more intricate escape. Sean Connery was not happy about Fuqua's plans for the film, in fact, in a 1999 issue of Premiere magazine, he said that Fuqua tried to turn the film into "The Rock", which Connery believed wouldn't have worked for the picture.
Malaysia objected to the depiction of their country as a backwards one when a shantytown in Malacca was superimposed over a tilt shot of the Petronas Towers. In reality, Malacca is nowhere near the Towers.
Nicole Kidman was the original choice for the female lead.
Jon Amiel reports that in the scene in the market in Kuala Lumpur, when Gin is confronted by Hector Cruz, a large rat ran right by her head, and she freaked out, abruptly ending the first take.
Angela Bassett auditioned for the role of Gin, but lost out to Catherine Zeta-Jones.
During the swiping of the mask, Sean Connery tells Catherine Zeta-Jones that she has only 75 seconds left. In The Great Train Robbery (1978), Connery told Donald Sutherland that he had only 75 seconds to steal a key impression.
In the opening sequence, the passcode on the security unit that the thief uses is 1007 for Sean Connery as he was the first cinema 007. In truth, Barry Nelson was the original James Bond. He played the part on U.S. television, playing CIA Agent James Bond in Climax! (1954) (Casino Royale (#1.3)).
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Maury Chaykin previously starred in The Mask of Zorro (1998), and in that film, the main protagonist Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) is a thief, who becomes the masked hero, Zorro. Also, Catherine Zeta-Jones played Elena, and Maury Chaykin had a small role as a prison warden.
An early scene, in which Gin sneaks into Mac's hotel room, and leaves the Time magazine on his bed, was deleted, but can be found (without audio) on the DVD. Jon Amiel said test audiences thought the scene unnecessarily delayed the first encounter between Gin and Mac.
Some of the information in Mac's file includes D.O.B. (August 21, 1937); P.O.B. (Edinburgh, Scotland); Citizen (UK); Height (6' 3"); Weight (210 lbs); Race (Caucasian); Hair (Brown - graying); Eyes (Brown). This is almost identical to Connery with the only differences being D.O.B (August 25, 1930) and Height (6'2). Mac's file also states; family (Age 5 - father died, age 12 - mother died, no known siblings); Marital Status (Widowed 1955, Camilla Charles); Languages Spoken (English, Mandarin, Japanese, French, Malay); and Military Service (Royal Marines 1956-1962, Commando Unit, Malaysian police). This is very similar to the character of James Bond. Family (Age 11 - both parents died, no siblings); Marital Status (Widowed in the book 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'); Degree in Oriental Languages, fluent in French; Military Service (Commander in the Royal Navy).
Antoine Fuqua was the original director attached to the project.
The film had a different original ending with Gin, not being the thief that the FBI were looking for. The undercover assignment was a set up by Hector, with help from Mac, Aaron Thibadeaux, and Conrad Greene; these three staged the whole thing, to frame Gin for the theft of the mask, and the eight billion dollars. Hector is revealed as the thief, and that he made a deal with Mac, to help him frame Gin, in exchange for his freedom after the FBI arrested him.
During Catherine Zeta-Jones' breakdown of the intensive security measures she and Sean Connery will encounter in the millenium heist, Rolf Saxon is continuously shown throughout the sequence as the director of the millenium compliance testing. He was introduced in a similar fashion, as C.I.A. Analyst William Donloe when Tom Cruiseconducts the breakdown of the C.I.A. break-in at Langley, Virginia in Mission: Impossible (1996).
Writer Ronald Bass's pitch to Fountainbridge Films consisted of only seven lines.
In Ving Rhames following film, Mission: Impossible II (2000), the main protagonist, American spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), recruits professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton) to recover a stolen item, later revealed to be an engineered virus. Sean Connery, who plays Mac, is famous for playing British secret agent James Bond, and Rolf Saxon (Director) had played CIA Analyst William Donloe. Ving Rhames played IMF operative and computer specialist Luther Stickell in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.
The lights in the train station appear out of nowhere. The lights were installed in between shots for no apparent reason.
Spoilers ―
Pudu Station, where the protagonists meet at the end, is in fact Bukit Jalil Station, with all the signs changed. Bukit Jalil is a much more attractive station than Pudu, but too far from central Kuala Lumpur, to be feasible for the plot.
The Waverly Insurance database states that Mac was born in 1937 and is 62 years old in the film. Sean Connery (Born 1930) was 68 during production of the film.
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