Hello everyone, this is Spike Lee
and this is the director's commentary for my film, Inside Man.
It's a very special day today because today is my 49th birthday.
March 20th, 1957, I was born.
And also tonight is going to be the premiere, the big premiere for the film.
So, I'm very glad to be sharing this with you on this special day.
Another good thing about today is that
usually I have done director's commentaries long after I have forgotten about the films.
So, this film is still fresh in my mind.
...because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself.
I've told you my name. That's the "who."
The "where" could most readily be described...
The script was written by Russell Gewirtz
and when I read this I thought automatically that
the character, Dalton Russell, should say this facing the camera,
address the camera, address the audience.
Also for this shot was one of my signature shots, double dolly shots.
So, we start on dark, but as we keep moving
you see the wall behind him.
Clive is a great, great actor and we get along great, have a lot of fun.
It was a pleasure working with him.
Now, that's the Cyclone, Coney Island, the great borough of Brooklyn, New York.
The song you're hearing, Chaiyya Chaiyya,
is a song from a Bollywood musical, Dil Se.
I'm a professor at the New York University Graduate Film School
and one class, we were talking about musicals,
and there's an Indian woman who was a student of mine.
She said, "Do you know anything about Bollywood film?"
And I said "No. "I said, "Suggest some."
So, next class she gave me the DVD of this film Dil Se.
I liked the film very much.
I loved this song Chaiyya Chaiyya.
And I made a mental note to myself that
somehow I would try to put this song in a movie.
So we had the original song, but Terence Blanchard,
long-time collaborator, music composer,
wrote an orchestral arrangement behind it.
And for the end credits we have a rap by MC Panjabi.
That's Brooklyn Heights, right there. The Promenade.
So this opening credit sequence is not in the script.
I figured that if we start with the van at Coney Island
and you just see, one by one as the bank robbers are gathered,
on their way to the bank on Wall Street.
My main man, Matthew Libatique, cinematographer.
Second time Matt and I worked together.
Matty also shot for me She Hate Me, my previous film.
The bull there on Wall Street. Brian Grazer.
Many skeptics said that Brian and I would not be able to coexist on a film together.
But we proved them wrong.
We had a wonderful time working together.
And looking forward to working together in the near, near, near future.
That also, the opening credits sequence done by Big Films.
Randy Balsmeyer, they've been doing my opening, end credits
since School Daze, all the way back there.
It's right here the bank robbers get out.
And we intercut back and forth.
What I told Matty that we never want to see their faces.
So keep the camera off their faces.
Now, these people you see in the bank
next minute or so, they will become hostages.
They will become hostages within this contained space in the bank.
So, I felt it was a good opportunity to have these hostages
represent the diversity which is the New York City that I know and love.
People from all around the world come here to New York City.
And again we wanted these hostages to reflect that.
Because it's been like over a year now. Yeah.
I want to snap this guy's neck, I swear to God.
So what?
This is a nice crane shot, right here. Clive coming up the steps.
We'll lean up the steps
and we'll pull... Crane up all the way back
to the top of the bank.
I got this guy in front of me that thinks I don't see him looking at me.
Fantastic. God damn it.
- Excuse me. - Yeah.
Can you lower your voice just a little bit, please?
Right there, that's "Bear" Jackson
who most of the time is my AD on my films, but he's also a very fine actor.
Also good third baseman. He's on our...
Every film we have, we have a softball team.
Last year, we played The Sopranos.
We beat them 52-3 in a softball game.
That's seven touchdowns.
Seven touchdowns and a field goal versus a field goalie, killed 'em.
Edie Falco was the only one that showed up from the cast.
Everybody else was just crew members.
Well, we beat them like an African drum.
Excuse me. Sir?
Easy.
Everybody get down on the fucking floor! Now!
This bank is a key location.
In fact, it is the last location that we found.
It was built during 1920s. It's right there in Wall Street,
on a corner of Exchange and Hanover Place.
And it was empty.
So, it was perfect. It was like having a bank on a back lot in Lower Manhattan.
We were able to close the five streets in all directions surrounding the bank.
So, thank you, the Mayor's Office of Film and Television, for making it possible.
Now, my friends and I are making
a very large withdrawal from this bank.
Anybody gets in our way gets a bullet in the brain.
Lie down, old man! Put your fucking hands down!
- Get your face on the floor. - All right, I'm down! I'm down!
Hey, Officer, there's smoke coming out of there.
This is Victor Colicchio.
Victor was one of the co-writers on my film Summer of Sam.
It was Victor, Mike Imperioli and I who wrote Summer of Sam.
In fact, Victor and Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos fame brought that idea to me.
You fucking cops come near this door, I start killing people.
I not fucking kidding, man.
The accent, another one of the devices
Clive's character uses to throw people off.
Central. Give me an 85.
Back up, sir! Back up! You!
- Shit! - Back up! Back up!
Stay around the corner!
Central, give me an 85.
Perp with a gun.
Now, we come to Denzel Washington's introductory scene.
There he is. D.
Fourth time I worked with Denzel.
The first time being Mo' Better Blues,
Malcolm X, we all know he was robbed an Oscar in that one,
He Got Game and now Inside Man.
When I took this script to Denzel,
he was on Broadway playing Brutus in a production of Julius Caesar.
And when I send this script to Denzel
I gave him the option of choosing
the role of detective, which he chose, or the bank robber.
He says, "Spike, I wanna do it.
"And I wanna play the detective
"because the other guy has his face covered the whole movie."
And it's true and that is the reason why
Clive was hesitant to do this role at first,
because his face would be covered throughout.
But we worked it out and eventually it always comes down to trust.
And I'm happy and grateful that Clive put his trust in me
that we look out for him even though his face would be covered.
- ...feel about you? - Oh, he's thrilled.
To have a detective sleeping in the next room,
banging his sister. Then she tries to bring it all back on me.
You know, "If we had a bigger place, we wouldn't have this problem."
Of course, if we got married...
Now, Denzel's partner in there is Chiwetel Ejiofor.
I first saw Chiwetel's work in a great film Dirty Pretty Things.
He also has a small role in She Hate Me, also.
Yeah, but she won't call me back.
- You guys cops? - Oh, shit!
Denzel's character's name is Keith Frazier,
named after New York Knick great Walt Frazier.
And I wanted Mitchell's name to be Monroe,
as in Wolfrage Earl Monroe.
But Denzel squashed it. He says, "Spike, this film is not about the Knicks."
So, that's why Chiwe's name was not Monroe.
Oh, good. Good.
I'm giving you a break, here. Don't make me look like a fool.
- This is it, baby. The show! - Yeah.
You got the call, man. God damn!
Now, the hat. That's something Denzel definitely wanted.
Head bad guy puts a gun to your head and makes you...
Play with the hat, look at that. Fix the brim. I see you, D.
Fix the brim.
There's a New York City detective,
Detective Neil Carter, who was a consultant on this film.
A lot of stuff Denzel got was from him.
Detective Neil Carter just recently retired
as a New York City detective for over 20 years.
He's sharp.
I love that shot you just saw before.
Put the camera on top of the roof.
Now, this is very hard scene to shoot,
just the logistics of all these vehicles and trucks, everybody arriving.
In New York, see those guys, right there?
In New York City they don't call it SWAT.
It's E.S.U., Emergency Service Unit.
Sarge, what do you got?
I got a perp in the bank. Possible hostage situation.
That guy right there, with the microphone,
he's a real E.S.U. guy. His name is...
He retired, also, Ed Bogdanowicz.
He was also a consultant.
This theme you hear here is the E.S.U. theme.
There goes that shot I like again from the roof.
Stuck a crane out from the top of the roof.
- Collins? What you got? - Hernandez.
I got a perp inside with a gun. He claims he's got some hostages in there.
Everyone, heads up! Let's clear the way!
Let's go. Set them up. All right.
We've got it under control.
Step back, please!
- Step back! - Get back! Thank you.
Now, we get introduced to Arthur Case.
Arthur Case played by the great, great, great Christopher Plummer.
I like this shot, too.
Steadicam shot, we tilt down from the ceiling.
And that's Christopher Plummer, right there.
Christopher Plummer was also in Malcolm X.
He had that great scene with Denzel
where they talked about the origins of Jesus Christ.
- Has anybody been hurt? - I don't think so, but there are hostages.
Oh, how awful.
- Which branch is it? - Number 32. 20 Exchange Place.
Which one?
You might have recently seen
Christopher Plummer also in two very fine films,
Syriana and The New World directed by Terrence Malick.
So, Christopher is still doing his thing.
And I hope to be doing the same thing, that high quality, when I reach that age, too.
Get these people out of here. Come on, open these gates. Back up.
Up on the sidewalk. Come on in.
Now, the music you hear, this is Denzel's theme.
We call it "Big Willie and the twins."
Big Willie and the twins being a penis and two testicles.
Big Willie and the twins.
I think you people knew that already, though.
...in some foreign accent about killing hostages.
- See any other gunmen? - No, sir. I couldn't see anything at all.
- You hear anything inside? - No, sir,
but with that .357 sticking in my face, I can't really be sure. I'm sorry.
Okay.
Good, good. Good, good, good, good. You did a good job, Sergeant.
You ever had a gun stuck in your face before?
Denzel's working that hat.
As we call them, "Brimskys."
You got the front brim broke down.
All right, well, look.
As soon as we get this thing cleared up, we'll cut you loose, all right?
If you don't mind, I'd rather hang around a while,
at least until we make contact.
That's what I like to hear, Sergeant.
Now, this is not the bank location per se.
This is a set.
This set was built in Brooklyn.
The Steiner Studios was in a Brooklyn Navy yard.
The production designer on this film was the great Wynn Thomas.
Wynn Thomas was the production designer of my very first film,
She's Gotta Have It.
Did She's Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X.
Gone on to do many more films,
but it'd been a while since Wynn and I had worked together.
Bank employees, this side! Everyone else, over there!
So all this is Steadicam work.
Great operator's name is Steve Consentino.
...I need everybody to take your cell phones and your keys
out of your pockets and handbags and hold them in the air.
- What's your name? - Peter.
- Peter what? - Peter Hammond.
Where's your cell phone...
This is where Dalton has to establish to the hostages that he means business.
Peter, think very carefully about how you answer...
People have to be terrified. They are not called terrorists for nothing.
...your headstone will read,
"Here lies Peter Hammond, hero,
"who valiantly attempted to prevent a brilliant bank robbery...
People have to know that if they mess up then you get a bullet in the brain.
"...wound up getting shot in the fucking head."
Now, Peter Hammond,
where is your cell phone?
I'm telling you, I did. I left it at home.
Now, we are gonna go to a Steadicam shot where we pan
all of, right here, all the hostages
and we end up on the phone,
where there's a big laugh coming up.
When he gets the phone, you're going to hear the ring tone,
one of my favorite songs this year.
Gold Digger.
Right here.
Kanye West.
...mess with no broke niggaz
Kanye West, Jamie Foxx.
Okay, I fucked up. I'm sorry. Please.
Hey. Don't worry about it.
This is where Clive has a little fun here
when he goes through a little pantomime behind frosted glass
whether he should kick this guy's ass.
Yeah, he's made his mind up.
Here comes an ass whooping.
Just let me talk to you! Please, please, listen to me.
Let me explain.
Help! Help me.
Stop!
Now he's getting stomped, Brooklyn style.
That reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. Remember when
the house fell on the wicked witch
and you just saw the legs sticking out?
That's what we wanted right there.
- And you are? - Vikram Walia.
Vikram Walia.
That's my man Waris.
Hey, mister.
Keep it.
Men here. Women here.
Move!
I need all of you to strip down to your underwear.
Now.
So the extras...
All these people knew this scene was coming up,
so people were working out.
Because people want to look somewhat correct
once they had to disrobe.
People are... They're tucking them tummies in, too!
Now, Marcia, right here,
she's one of the hostages in Dog Day Afternoon.
There are numerous homages to Sidney Lumet's landmark film,
Dog Day Afternoon, starring AI Pacino and John Cazale.
This is one of them.
What's with you mishegoyim?
Go ahead. Make my day.
- Take your fucking clothes off, lady. - No!
Stevie?
Let's go!
Now, I need all of you
to put on one of these suits and these masks.
So, there's one other actor
who's also in Dog Day Afternoon, too.
In fact, we went through the whole... We know we weren't getting Pacino.
But, besides Pacino, we got the only two people that are still alive
or we could find from that film, Dog Afternoon.
Willem Dafoe.
I have seen Willem Dafoe in around New York City a million times.
And Willem Dafoe, we're at the opening night
of Denzel's play, Julius Caesar.
And in the intermission, I found myself...
Willem and I were side by side in the men's bathroom.
I mean, the urinals were side by side.
And, so, while both of us were urinating, I said, "You know, we should work together."
He said, "Yeah, Spike. We should."
We both zipped our pants and walked out.
And then soon after that I sent him the script.
That's the way it's gonna be. You got vests for us?
And he was in the movie.
- ...check them into the command log. - Okay.
You know what? I'm gonna get out of your hair
and let you get control of this crime scene, okay?
You'll let me know when you're ready with a detailed briefing?
- Okay. - We're gonna take a walk down to the diner.
Don't go in the bank without calling us first, all right? Okay?
- All right. - Good to see you, Captain.
Shouldn't we be in there?
Let's give him some time. See what he does. Come on.
Until he secures his position and gets the physical layout,
he'll only dump on us.
If the show starts, he'll call us. Trust me. I've seen him work.
See, another variation of
the "Big Willie and the twins" theme right here.
As I said before, which is Denzel's character's theme.
...to them it's a tactical situation.
Us being here means there's a mental side to it that they don't get.
- Told you, you could handle this. - Yeah.
I keep waiting for someone higher up on the food chain to show up and say,
"Here's what we do."
What happened at the hospital?
Guy shot himself, shot his girlfriend. Thank you.
I told you, I've got
a heart condition.
That's Gerry Vichi.
You know, even though you have the stars like Denzel, Clive,
Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer,
Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel,
you still gotta have a good supporting cast.
And I think we got great performances from everybody,
especially like this guy Gerry Vichi.
So, you gotta have the supporting roles, too.
People who are in the supporting roles got to come through also.
- Don't move! Don't move! - Don't shoot! Don't shoot!
- Don't move! Don't move! Come here! - I haven't got...
- Come here, come here, come here! - I work in the bank!
On your knees! Down on your knees now!
- They sent me out here! - Now!
- He said stay away! - Cuff him.
If you come near the bank, he'll throw out two dead bodies!
- Who said this? Who? - I don't know who!
The guy with the big fucking gun!
- That's who! - All right, get on your feet. Let's go.
- There's four of them in there! - Come on.
Christ!
- Calm down! - Let's go!
- Am I gonna be on TV? - Yeah. A big star. Let's go. Come on.
Is he gonna be on TV?
Was it a time when I thought I might not see my family again?
Again, that's "Bear" Jackson,
who, when he's not in front of the camera, is part of the Assistant Director staff.
He's on our softball team, third baseman,
power, throw.
His knees are messed up, so he doesn't have the range at third or he can't run,
but he can usually bat on third or fourth.
Good actor, too.
Now, these interrogation scenes
that are throughout the body of the film, that was scripted.
Matty Libatique and I, the cinematographer,
decided that we should give those scenes a different look than the rest of the film.
And so, once we shot that stuff and we were editing those at the end of the film,
we really had to play with where and what interrogation scenes we would use.
So, there was a lot of shuffling before we came
to the final spots where they would appear.
I like this push in to Clive's face.
Again, a Steadicam shot.
Beautiful.
Crane shot.
Now, if you want to buy this lot, it's probably still open. $10 million.
You can have it.
It's all yours, $10 million.
Empty, raw space.
Now, an introduction to Jodie Foster.
When Jodie said she wanted to do the film,
she said she loved the character but she also said,
"Spike, I want to look glamorous in this movie.
"I'm tired of playing these run-down mothers and whatnot.
"I want to look glamorous, want to have the hair,
"the makeup, the nails,
"the lipstick, the jewelry,
"the Chanel business suits,
"Manolo Blahniks, whatever you call them, shoes."
We'll need to end this here.
I'm gonna need a copy of your purchase agreement,
your mortgage application, and the other documentation...
Check out Jodie's legs.
I said, "Jodie, you should show your legs more often.
"You've got some hell of fine legs." Was kidding around the set. Look at that.
Jodie Foster and my brother David Lee attended Yale together,
Calhoun College, Yale University,
and they have remained good friends over the years.
And Jo and I have been wanting to work together
but just couldn't find something till this movie.
But that's the way it usually works, you know.
When it's gonna happen it's gonna happen.
You have to just be patient, should not try to force stuff.
You know, they're great actors but
number one, they're busy, they might not have the time in their schedule.
Number two, they might not be right for the part.
Everything is timing.
...complete discretion.
Are you such a person or have I been misinformed?
Go on.
Can I pick you up in front of your office building in five minutes?
- I'll be downstairs. - Thank you.
They had a kind of genius plan...
Again,
this is adlib right here.
So was Bear's, also.
We had stuff that was scripted,
but in the script the hostages were just retelling
what we have already seen on camera.
So just told D. and Chiwetel, "Just interrogate the guys."
And they called you what?
They didn't call me anything. They just told me...
You're lying to me. Tell me the truth, now. You're lying to me.
Tell me the... Look at me and tell me the truth.
All improv.
...AK-47s out. Four of them.
- You know a lot about guns. - No.
- I don't know anything about guns, except... - But you know they had an AK-47.
- Everybody knows what an AK-47 is. - Everybody?
Anybody who's ever watched a decent action movie would.
You ever rob a bank before?
That's kind of ironic, "a decent action film"
because when you look at it, there's not that much action in this film.
Again, another interrogation scene, improvved.
That one time. That one time, that one time.
All this improv.
...my grandmother's pocketbook once.
She was Polish.
I used to go up to her and say...
You can't write better stuff than this, I don't feel.
One day, I opened her pocketbook and there was a nickel.
I took it.
That was the only thing I ever took.
Look, Detective, I didn't mean to give you a hard time back there.
Forget about it.
Now, we're gonna walk from the cafe which is across the street from the bank
all the way back to M.C.C., M.C.C. meaning the Mobile Command Center.
...if any cops came near the door,
they'd throw out two dead bodies.
He thinks there's four perps...
This is hand-held here, not Steadicam.
There's a video system in the bank.
We're working on getting a download
from Manhattan Trust's central...
It's a lot of dialog, this scene, that's why we have the movement.
In fact this is a very, very talkie film.
So, Matty and I, Matty Libatique again, the cameraman,
he had to try to devise a visual style,
so we'd not just have stagnant talking heads.
So, we just walked a block right here.
- 911? - It's up on the screen.
Any call about a bank gets routed straight to us.
Well, that's my end of it, Detective.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm not calling them yet.
Beg your pardon?
See that street behind them? That's Wall Street, right there.
That's Wall Street.
Let's see what he does.
Your call.
Now, Mr. Case, why don't you let me explain to you how I work?
This location is Battery Park.
Well, you say that there are family heirlooms inside your safety deposit box.
That's fine.
But in my experience, people like you have people working for them
that handle these kinds of things.
And when they can't, well, they don't call me.
This scene, look at two great pros,
Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer.
When you're around Christopher Plummer, any of you people who do get the chance
to get the pleasure, do not mention The Sound of Music
around Christopher Plummer. I'm telling you.
Please do not mention
The Sound of Music around Christopher Plummer. You'll thank me.
What's inside that box, young lady,
has belonged to me since before you were born.
It's very valuable and poses no danger whatsoever to anyone.
Except you.
Okay. Well, first, there are men with guns in there,
so I can't guarantee any results. Agreed?
- Of course. - All right.
Now, what makes you think that they want to rob your box?
I don't.
Well, why don't you tell me how you would like this to end?
I'd prefer that nobody ever touch my safe deposit box.
Not them, not you, not the authorities.
The thing I remember about this day, is that the great screenwriter
Budd Schulberg came to the set. Budd won an Oscar for his script,
Best Original Screenplay for On the Waterfront,
wrote the novels The Harder They Fall, What Makes Sammy Run?
In fact, Budd and I have written a script call Save Us, Joe Louis
which is about Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, we co-wrote this script
and we've been trying to get it made for the last five, six, seven years.
Hopefully it will get done. Budd is 93 years old.
In fact, Budd was at the second Joe Louis-Max Schmeling fight,
all the way back in 1938.
Clearly, they must have been satisfied.
Steve?
Mr. Carlos Gómez. Carlos came in, auditioned. He's a spoken word artist,
he has that flow. And got the part.
Guess what I found?
I like the way we shot this. This scene started without a focus
and then we racked it back in.
Probably stolen.
Have them run it and check it for prints.
Now, this is a set. This Mobile Command Center is a set.
The exteriors is on the street, the interiors is on that stage in Brooklyn.
- Sure you got the right number? - Absolutely.
Okay. Nothing yet.
We got video.
That's my man, Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.
What happened to that camera right there?
Wait. Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Daryl's paralyzed from the waist down. He got into a horrible motorcycle accident.
And you can see he's in a wheelchair. And every time I would see Daryl,
he would say, "Spike, can you put me down, put me down?"
And I had a part for him in this film.
He could knock out the cameras without no one knowing.
He knocked out the cameras about 10:00.
So, for approximately two minutes,
we got no evidence of people leaving or entering the bank. That's great.
Again, that's Marcia Jean Kurtz, she's one of the hostages from Dog Day Afternoon.
They just told us to put our heads down. And then close our eyes.
And then I just remember one of them
telling the others to just go down and fix the cameras.
The video cameras?
Again, this interrogation scene, improvised.
Denzel does some great stuff here, too. Playing with her.
Could you give us the names of the bank robbers, maybe?
I'm just messing with you, sweetheart.
- You okay? - Thank you.
Okay.
- It was pretty awful. - Was it bad?
I mean, they made us strip.
They made us take off our clothes.
I don't understand why they had to do that.
I really just thought...
I thought I was gonna be killed.
Well.
All right, my dear.
"All right, my dear."
- I can go? - No.
- No? - No, you got to stay.
- You got to stay. - No, you can go.
No, stay. No, go.
Did you rob the bank?
- You did. - Did you rob the bank?
- No. - You sure?
- There's movement at the front door. - Let's go.
Now,
this is one of the ways we wanted to show that we live in a post-9/11 world.
Not just a post-9/11 New York City but a 9/11 world.
With this character right here.
Easy.
- I can see him. I got a clear shot. - Any weapons?
- Who are you? - Vikram Walia. I work in the bank.
Vikram.
Okay. Vikram? Is this a bomb?
- Oh, shit! A fucking Arab! - What? No. I'm a Sikh!
- Answer me, Vikram. Is this a bomb? - No.
- Are you booby-trapped? - No, fuck, no.
Most people don't know the difference between a Sikh and an Arab.
Anybody with a turban on their head, or that racist comment "towelhead,"
is a terrorist, you know, an AI-Qaeda or the Taliban.
What the fuck are you doing? Give me my turban back.
An Arab's now the new bogeyman.
Supplanted the Russians, who supplanted the Nazis. It's the Arabs now.
And the 11:00 and 12:00...
And don't forget about your 1:00 with Chancellor Joel Klein.
- Oh, Madge. What a day... - Your Honor.
Peter Kybart, who plays the Mayor of New York City.
In no way, shape or form is this supposed to be Mayor Bloomberg.
So don't even come here with that, please.
Who are we saving this week?
Well, I'm doing a round of support
for the Joseph Freidkin Memorial Fund for Spinal Cord Research
and we're having our annual fundraiser next month.
If you could attend, it would give us such a boost.
Now there's a term coming up there was some discussion about.
At the end of this scene, the Mayor tells Jodie Foster's character's name,
Madeline White, that she's a "magnificent cunt."
I asked Jodie, "Do you feel comfortable with this?" She said, "Fine.
"I want this character to be called that." I said, "Bet, it's in the movie."
But that is an ugly word, "cunt," a very ugly word. That's worse than "bitch."
That's worse than "bitch" and "ho."
You're out of your fucking mind.
If it was easy, it wouldn't square us, would it?
But you know, it's hard out here to be a pimp.
Bitches and ho's jumpin' ship.
I may have to give out a few.
Then that's exactly what you'll do.
You're a magnificent cunt.
Thank you.
It's unclear how many hostages are inside...
She's a real reporter forNY1, Sandra Endo.
...but has turned into this hostage situation.
That's these things they use now,
see if there are bombs hidden underneath armored vehicles.
They're towing the van that the robbers came in.
Now this is a robot, for bombs and stuff.
Now this scene right here, again, this scene is improvised.
I said, "Waris, think of all the times since September 11,
"where you've been suspected of being bin Laden's brother.
"And the treatment you received. Because that's what this script is about."
I don't need this. I need my turban. It's part of my religion.
- We'll get you your turban. - We'll find it for you.
No, no, no. Not "get me." I want my turban now.
You just got to start thinking about the people inside the bank now.
It's a dangerous situation.
You got to start telling us about what's going on inside the bank.
We can talk about this later. We'll get an officer to come down.
You can write a formal complaint.
But for now, we got to deal with this situation.
First you beat me, and now you want my help.
That was improvised.
I could apologize on behalf of the NYPD, but that was not us. We are detectives.
- We're gonna try and find out... - What do you want to know?
- How many were there? - I think there were about four.
- How many hostages? - I don't know how many hostages, 20, 30.
I'm fucking tired of this shit. What happened to my fucking civil rights?
Why can't I go anywhere without being harassed?
Get thrown out of a bank. I'm a hostage. I get harassed.
I go to the airport.
I can't go through security without a "random" selection.
Fucking random, my ass. I nearly lost my job...
I bet you can get a cab, though.
Now, for those who don't live in New York, here's what that line is about.
Most of the cab drivers in New York City
are from Pakistan or India.
Now here's the thing, black people been here 400 years,
and these people just got here and black men still can't catch a cab.
Them motherfuckers drive by me all the time.
That's why Denzel... I mean, a couple of years ago,
there was that famous thing where Danny Glover didn't get picked up for a cab
and there was a whole big brouhaha behind that.
That's why Denzel put that line there. All right, you're persecuted, all that stuff,
but at the same time, you motherfuckers still get a cab.
When Denzel said that line, I screamed out loud.
I would have liked to have a little more time, a couple of seconds at least,
after he says that line, but it cut right away because you would've heard me screaming.
I'm so sorry. I must have misunderstood.
That's quite all right, Mr. Case.
Where can we reach you if we need anything?
Well, those are my people in there, you know,
and I would like to stay here for a while. And I won't disturb you.
This kills me, too.
I told Chris,
I didn't tell the other guys, I said, "Chris, sit down
"like you wanna chill out there."
And thank you all so much.
- Thank you. - This way, sir.
I like this crane shot.
Come down from the perch, the windows right opposite the bank door,
come out with the note. This is a Steadicam shot here.
That's another camera.
Now.
"Fifty hungry people need food now."
We had Willem Dafoe come back and add that line.
He did not say that line when we shot it.
It was also very important to be able to read that.
All right. Are we ready with the listening devices?
I'm gonna need 15 minutes once we get the food.
Pizza's the best. No sandwiches.
- Is she for real? - Are you for real?
Well, if we send in, say, 10 pizzas boxes with transmitters,
maybe we'll get some conversation if we give them something to group around.
Give them each a sandwich, it's hit or miss.
They can move around and I don't have 50 transmitters.
- What's this? - It's a digital recorder.
You click it, and it'll record for half an hour.
- James Bond shit. - Well, you can get them on Amazon.
- You gonna ask for a hostage? - He already gave us one, didn't he?
I ask for another one, he says no, then what?
No, he knows what he's doing.
He gave us a hostage. We'll give him some food.
I don't want to get caught bluffing this guy.
Fuck this shit. Look, they wanna...
That's James Ransone.
One of my favorite TV shows is The Wire.
And he was very important about the second season.
So we had him come in and read.
The guy to the right of him is called Lemon, Puerto Rican brother from New York,
from Brooklyn in fact, he was part of Def Poetry Jam.
I told you to shut up! Leave him!
So James gets dragged from one.
See, the way Wynn Thomas designed the offices,
the offices open up into each other.
So we can have this long corridor if you open up the doors.
One guy did most of the talking.
He told everyone else what to do.
- So they were talking amongst themselves? - We couldn't hear them.
They had us in these rooms.
The doors were locked all the time.
We didn't know what they were doing.
- Did you hear anything they said? - I have problems with my hearing.
- I see. - I wear hearing aids.
Again, improvised.
- Where are they? - They're in my ears.
- Let's see. - Let me see them.
And Denzel, I mean, he does this great.
That's your other one, there?
What's the red part, there? What does that do?
See, Dennis is rehearsed.
You need two different...
- Distinguish right from left? - Yeah.
I didn't even know he wore hearing aids till he pulled that shit out of his ears.
What Den's doing here is great. "Steve? Steve. Is that your name?"
Steve-O?
- How much are they gonna pay you? - I'm sorry?
- You heard me. - No, I didn't.
- How much are they going to pay you? - Who's gonna pay me?
- Were you involved in this robbery? - Absolutely not.
Were you involved in this situation?
- What situation? - Don't lie. Don't lie.
Now, the actor who has this line,
"If he gives me a tip, I'm keeping it,"
he was also in Dog Day Afternoon.
His name is Lionel Pina.
If he gives us a tip, I'm keeping it.
That's him right there.
In fact, in Dog Day Afternoon he's the one
that delivers the pizzas to AI Pacino.
So he's delivered... Think of this, people, he's delivered pizza in two movies,
Dog Day Afternoon and Inside Man.
Also, if you look at the boxes of those pizzas,
the top of the box, if you read, it says "Sal's Famous Pizzeria."
Now where's that from?
Sal's Famous Pizzeria is from Do the Right Thing.
So Sal, his pizzeria was burnt down in Brooklyn and they moved to Wall Street.
Nice talking to you.
Shit. Fucking Russians.
Call Operations. See if they can get a Russian translator over here ASAP.
And get some fucking body bags.
I hope you know what you're doing.
Because if my guys got to shoot it out with those fucking savages...
Okay, okay, okay. Mitch?
Check with either one of the hostages.
Find out if they heard any Russian or Russian accents when they were in there.
We'll be all right.
Kim Director right there. She's been in several of my films.
And Kim and Samantha,
they wanted there to be similarities because of their,
how should we say this, their cup size.
That's something that the detectives are going by.
And this is where the robbers, the bank robbers,
do this old switcheroo right here.
Come on, sweetheart. Let's go. Let's go.
Stop crying! Shut the fuck up!
Get in there! Sit down! Put your masks on!
Come on, let's go. Come on, boobs.
- "Boobs"? Who the fuck you talking to? - Let's go. You heard me! Shut the fuck up!
- Why? - Move that fat ass! Let's go! Come on!
That's Samantha right there.
If you don't shut the fuck up, I'm gonna put my foot up your fat ass!
Put your masks on!
Put your hands on the ground!
Now this is real right here. She really hits her head.
She had a knot on her head,
right here.
That was an accident,
but she had a little knot on the side of her head right there.
She was on line in front of me.
He was the teller on my line.
This guy was to my right and his kid was in front of him.
He was playing with a video game.
I remember her.
- Why do you remember her? - Great tits.
- You remember seeing any of them after? - Yeah, I saw her one time afterwards.
- How are you sure you saw her again? - I could see under the suit.
Can't hide quality like that.
This guy, he almost got us all killed.
How?
They put eight or nine of us in an office for a while.
This guy took off his mask and was talking like he wasn't afraid.
"I don't have to wear this damn mask," you know?
So, they come in, pull him out of the room and smack him around a little.
- You see him again after that? - No.
- Was he okay? - Seemed fine.
- You recognize anyone else from that room? - I can't be sure about the others.
No one?
- Why don't you keep looking? - You know, I was terrified.
What about before it began?
You didn't look around while you were waiting in line?
I was talking to my girlfriend on the phone.
The detective is trying to be slick, trying to sneak a peek.
You wanna take another picture?
I could bend over and pick up a pencil.
Whatever.
This guy.
Asshole.
Now we cut to Kim Director's breast.
What the fuck? This ain't Russian.
No? What the hell is it?
It's not Polish. Not Hungarian.
Bulgarian, maybe.
It's Central European. Sort of.
That's it? I mean, you're the language expert.
What? No.
- What do you think? - Well, okay.
Again, this is a set.
I'm gonna cut to the real M.C.C. on a street.
There's a crane shot.
That's... Goes from the air as Denzel goes down the block.
Now all those people, not at the rear, but behind,
those aren't extras. Those are just people on Wall Street, who just are watching.
Now coming right here is my main man Al Palagonia.
You might remember Al from He Got Game, played the agent.
Again.
Part of the 40 Acres & A Mule softball team. AI's a great, great player. Funny too.
Whoa.
AI, from Howard Beach.
I have no idea what they're saying.
You got no idea? I thought you said you spoke Albanian.
No. I never said I speak Albanian.
You said you spoke Albanian.
I never said I speak Albanian.
Well, how do you know it's Albanian?
My ex-wife and her parents are Albanian.
Her parents couldn't speak English for shit.
"For shit."
...but I'll tell you right now that the language is 100% Albanian.
- 100%? - "100%."
Call the Albanian Consulate. See if they can get somebody over here
to translate this for us. Make it happen fast.
Okay, you hang out in the back for me, okay?
"Not again."
Van was stolen two days ago, but it's clean. No prints.
- Nothing? - Nothing.
Albanian?
My man, like I told you, 100% Albanian.
Undeniable.
This is one of my favorite scenes.
Right here.
And again it was not scripted.
But I really wanted to make a comment
on this bullshit, this gangster rap,
infatuation with violence. That shit is just so dumb.
It's stupid, it's ignorant and it ain't about shit.
And even though we do mention 50 Cent, and he's not the only guy.
I'm not out to crucify 50 Cent.
He didn't invent gangster rap, he's not the only one.
Now, we made this up.
How does this game work?
You get points for doing dirt, like jacking a car...
So you get points for killing people.
And you lose points if someone jacks your ride or shoots you.
So we found this animation house, it was good. I said,
"Look, we want this to be the most violent game ever."
Kill that nigger!
Look at that, put the grenade in the mouth, blow the head up.
You win the game.
Like my man 50 says...
"Like my man 50 says..."
"Get rich or die tryin'."
See, that shit, "Get rich or die tryin'," that shit is pure genocide.
You trying to get paid, too.
I don't care what I gotta do, I don't care if I gotta steal, shoot, maim, rob,
do all kinds of crazy shit, as long as I get my money,
then it's all right. I'm sorry, that is not all right.
So, I'm not on Interscope Records, so fuck them, I don't care.
You know what, Jimmy Iovine does not own me.
It's gonna be okay.
Cool.
You'll be home soon.
That's whassup.
- Sir? - Yeah.
- No luck with the Albanian Consulate. - What do you mean?
I couldn't tell what the guy was talking about. I think he wanted money.
And I tried the State Department. That takes a month.
Okay.
- Call her. - Are you crazy?
- I hate that bitch. Come on. - You said she speaks Albanian, right?
- Yeah, she was born there. - Call her.
I'm gonna regret this.
Now this is the scene where we reveal Clive's face for the first time. Fully.
And so Terence Blanchard wrote music I feel was very appropriate for it, too.
- Who's Detective Frazier? - Right here.
- I have Ilina Maria over here. - Miritia.
- Oh, how you doing? - Hello.
How you doing?
- What's this? - Parking tickets. You can fix them?
Yeah, I'll see what I can do.
Can you listen to this and tell us what they're saying?
You can't smoke in here.
Shit. Go ahead.
What's so funny? What, you know what they're talking about?
I know what they're talking about. I even know who it is.
You know who it is? You mean you know their names?
- Who? I mean, who is it? - Parking tickets?
- They're taken care of. Who is it? - It's Enver Hoxha.
- Who? - He was the president of Albania.
Wait.
You're telling me the former president of Albania is in there robbing a bank?
Enver Hoxha's dead.
That's a tape of him discussing how Albanian people are great people.
They are immortal people. I wouldn't worry.
It's a tape. You're sure about that?
I had to listen to all this nonsense in school.
"Communism is great. Capitalism is evil. Lenin, Marx, blah, blah, blah."
It's Enver Hoxha. It's a tape.
Okay. Okay, well, Officer, you can take her home.
And do me a favor, huh? Watch where you park next time, okay?
So, they're playing tapes for us now.
They knew we were gonna bug them.
Yeah, you're damn right they knew we were gonna bug them. And they knew how.
What makes it even worse, they wanted us to bug them
so they could send us on a wild goose chase.
Last time I had my johnson pulled that good, it cost me $5.
$5?
Yeah, Tijuana. Don't ask.
Denzel added that line right there.
Oh, fuck that.
This is where we reveal the bug.
Or the fact they are being bugged.
This is Kim Director.
She had to take a quick lock-picking course.
There's this look coming up where she gives
Clive's character. It's like a hint. Like, that's her man.
"Look how powerful and so smart my man is, I love you so."
Where is it? It's coming up.
Where's that look, Kim?
Right there.
Yeah, buddy.
Here comes Denzel's heroic shot, one of the many.
And, right here.
The Denzel heroic shot.
Crane up from the shoes, the Mayor's car coming down the block.
Gets in.
- Detective Frazier. Nice to meet you. - My pleasure.
This is Madeline White.
- How do you do, Miss White? - It's an honor, Detective.
Miss White may be able to assist you.
Good. Good. What do you have in mind?
She has a certain amount of influence in these matters
for reasons which I can't share with you.
What are you trying to say, sir?
What the Mayor means is that there are matters at stake here
that are a little bit above your pay grade. No offense.
And he's offering to help you.
Well, why don't you just tell the Mayor to raise my pay grade to the proper level
and problem solved.
From what I hear, that would have happened a long time ago
if you'd been a little bit more diplomatic. But we can certainly discuss it.
Look, I'm kidding. I mean, I make First Grade when I make First Grade.
You want to speed that up, I'm not gonna talk you out of it.
Then there's also the matter of $140,000 that seems to have walked away
from the Madrugada check-cashing bust.
Oh, I see.
Well, I had nothing to do with that.
Yeah, Collins, we got snipers in the windows here.
We got guys in the building next door.
Putting the lights up. Stuff like this shows
where you are time wise, instead of just cutting to a clock.
- Well? - Is this the President of Albania?
- Speaking. - Pretty funny.
- You shouldn't eavesdrop on people. - Well, you better get used to it, pal.
There's not gonna be much privacy where you're going.
You're damn right.
This time next week, I'll be sucking down piña coladas
in a hot tub with six girls named Amber and Tiffany.
More like taking a shower with two guys named Jamal and Jesus,
if you know what I mean. And here's the bad news,
that thing you're sucking on, it's not a piña colada.
"A piña colada."
- Maybe you like that kind of thing, huh? - You really want to piss me off.
All right, here's where we stand.
I don't need your fucking status report, Serpico.
Serpico, another homage to another great film
by New York director, Sidney Lumet.
Serpico, starring AI Pacino.
Very clear. I'm trying to get you what you want.
But you got to understand this.
You know, it's not like the City of New York has 747s waiting around for days like today.
I understand that...
Oh, I'd like to say,
most of the scenes in this movie
where Denzel and Clive are on the phone,
they're actually doing it at the same time.
It's a studio, so we have a camera in the set for here on M.C.C.
and we have a camera on the bank set.
So they were actually talking to each other while we were filming this.
We had two cameras, they were talking to each other
on two different parts of the set.
Another crane shot I love.
Start here, go across the bank
and end up on Jodie sitting in the window in the coffee shop.
Terence's theme again for the E.S.U.
And we end up on Jodie in the window.
A lot of crane shots in this film.
- So, Mr. Damerjian... - Damerjian.
- Damerjian. Is that Albanian? - Just call me Kenneth.
- Kenneth? - Is that Albanian or...
It's Armenian.
What's the difference?
I like this...
Albanian, Armenian...
Let's be honest, most Americans don't know the geography of United States,
alone the world.
"My throat is parched."
Denzel...
Denzel broke out laughing when he said, "My throat is parched."
I didn't know they were robbing the bank until they pulled a gun in my face.
Is that why you held the door open for them?
How do you know they robbed the bank?
Because they pulled a gun in my face...
That doesn't mean they were robbing the bank.
Did they take money? Did you see them take money?
I was in a bank and I was locked up for who knows how long.
- Okay. - Tied up in a room. I saw you see me.
You saw me see you?
I saw you see me see... What?
Listen, I can't work miracles over here. I'm gonna need more time.
Well, perhaps if you'd...
Again, once again,
these two actors have been shot simultaneously.
Okay, listen.
I promise you, as God is my witness, I'm working on it as hard as I can.
Denzel's being shot on the M.C.C. set
and Clive is on the other end on the bank set
on the same stage.
They're talking to each other on the phone.
I mean, if we could work it like that we'd love it,
where we could shoot both actors on either end of the phone at the same time.
Which weighs more?
All the trains that pass through Grand Central Station in a year,
or the trees cut down to print all US currency in circulation?
Here's a hint...
You know, this riddle stuff,
I didn't even know they had this stuff in Die Hard,
in one of those films, not the first one, as a riddle.
Because I found out about it afterwards.
If I'd have known about that before we wouldn't have had this riddle stuff.
- Are you sure? - Yeah. 100%.
Okay.
I got it.
- Wait a second. Wait a second. - I'll call you back.
Call right back.
It's a trap. They both weigh the same.
Tell him they both weigh the same. They both weigh nothing.
They both weigh nothing or they both weigh the same?
Tell him they both weigh the same.
Do it now.
They both weigh the same. Got it.
- Well? - They both weigh the same.
This time, send sandwiches.
That's pretty good. This guy's nuts.
He said, "Grand Central Station."
Grand Central Terminal is the train station.
- Grand Central Station is the post office. - Is the post office.
- He's wrong. - Who's wrong?
Perp One. Trains don't pass through Grand Central.
It's the last stop for every train.
- What about the subway? They run through. - Metro-North goes there.
- How the fuck do you know? - Metro-North goes there!
No. Metro-North starts there.
What are you guys talking about? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
- Metro-North goes through! - Let's just get the sandwiches.
- Metro-North... - Deal is, he said, "Passes through."
Yeah, but the Metro-North goes up there, though.
Look, shut up. It doesn't matter, anyway.
I know what he meant. What he said is one thing, but what he meant is another.
- Yeah. That's always a problem, isn't it? - Sandwiches.
I'm on it, I'm on it.
You know, right now I could go for a nice kosher hot dog and a beer.
I had Met tickets tonight. And Pedro's pitching!
They're gonna get their asses kicked anyway.
- Tell me about it. I'm better off here. - I'm glad they didn't separate us.
- Do you think they're terrorists? - They're robbers, not terrorists.
How do you know? They could be AI-Qaeda.
Big clues right here, this scene. Big clues as to who's what.
Now I teach courses at Columbia Law on genocide, slave labor...
Right there. That's a big clue.
- ...sue anybody when this is over? - Oh, sure. Go nuts.
Go meshuga.
Now that's a good looking shithole.
- Hello? - Hey, baby, how you doing?
Baby, I'm worried about you. You coming home?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Soon.
It's gonna be a long night, though, so don't wait up for me.
Why don't you let me come down there?
Because I don't want to be distracted by you, that's why.
Well, if you're still there when I come on duty in the morning, you will see me.
- I cannot wait. I cannot wait. - So, how you doing?
It's all right. We got a couple of the hostages out. Thanks a lot.
- No, no. How you doing? - I'm doing okay. I'm doing all right.
Oh, I saw the Mayor on TV. He said you're doing a great job. I saw you, too.
- You saw me on TV? - Yeah.
- How'd I look? - You looked good, baby. Real good.
- All right, listen. I got to go. - All right. Hey.
- Keep your head down. - All right, I will. Love you.
Come on.
So, are we clear about the ground rules?
- There's no need to worry, Detective. - I get paid to worry, okay?
I just need you to look me in the eye
and make me believe that you understand everything we talked about.
- I understand. - Okay.
Here's another way where we could
still make you see that we are in the post-9/11 world
with that mural behind Jodie Foster and Denzel Washington.
- Hello? - Who is this?
Let's not get into any names.
- What matters is what I can offer you. - And what's that?
Well, if I can be assured that certain interests are protected,
I might be able to help you get what you came for.
I doubt that.
Tell me about these interests that you are trying to protect.
Why don't you let me worry about that?
Now, what is it you were hoping to get out of all this?
- Rich, of course. - Of course.
But you may have bitten off more than you can chew.
- How? - I can't discuss that on the phone.
- You work for the bank? - No.
And you're not a cop.
That's right.
Come on in.
You got 10 minutes. No more.
If you're not out before the lights come back on,
you can stay inside until this thing is over.
- You don't need to threaten me. - That's not a threat, lady, but this is.
I know this game is a mile over my head, but I'm telling you, if you fuck me over...
I got where I am by collecting friends, not enemies.
Trust me, okay?
You're on your own.
Love this shot right here.
Jodie laying down being frisked.
Cameras high up in the ceiling.
And we crane down slowly
as she walks towards Clive Owen at the bank tellers.
Respond with the opposite crane down
with Jodie facing camera.
This was a long, long, long, long, long night.
- It's not good enough. - Well, I wasn't finished.
When you get out, you'll have $2 million.
Dialog was twice as long and we just cut a lot of it out
and we cut even some more out during the editing.
Oh, come on. I made you such a sweet offer.
I really don't think you have much in the way of alternatives.
Why don't you talk to me about these interests that you're in here to protect?
I like these profile shots that are cut back to back.
During World War II, there was an American working for a bank in Switzerland.
There goes our signature shot, right there.
...that this period in history
was rife with opportunity for people of low morals.
People like this man.
He used his position with the Nazis to enrich himself while all around him
people were being stripped of everything they owned.
Then he used his blood money to start a bank.
Now,
does this sound like it might be the man you work for?
Or am I just whistling Dixie out of my ass?
- I believe we understand each other. - Good.
So, what the hell can you do for me
since I clearly know more than you do, and I've planned this to perfection?
Believe me, if I need to, I can change your entire program.
So, the sooner that you stop being my problem
and you start becoming my solution, the better off you'll be.
- What is it you want? - Two minutes.
The safety deposit box room. I just need to go to one box.
Silhouette.
This could be very embarrassing to your employer.
The swastika.
He should have destroyed this a long time ago.
He didn't, so now it's mine.
Now, if the day ever comes where I have to stand before a judge...
Now, that's what Alfred Hitchcock referred to as McGuffin.
We don't really show what is in that envelope.
But, with the swastika...
With the swastika stamped on the top of it, you know it can't be good.
All this Nazi stuff was really worked on more
during the script we built up.
The great writer/director Terry George has brought in, added some stuff to the script.
Really?
Good.
So, we spoke.
Oh, no. You're gonna have to give me more than that.
- Let me have this window, fellows. - Yes, sir.
I told him that, well, since he hadn't killed anyone,
it wasn't too late to surrender and get off with a lighter sentence.
And?
This is the first of two key scenes with Jodie and Denzel
where they're one-takes, where they just talk,
no cutting, and we are just dollying slowly
and let these two great actors just work.
Don't get in the way.
Just pushing slowly, let them do their thing.
Oh, fuck...
Universal Pictures, when they looked at the dailies, I got the word back.
They said, "So, Spike..." I mean, they didn't say it to me but,
"Is there going to be any coverage on this scene?"
I said, "Hell, no, there's no coverage.
"This is the motherfucking shot. We don't need coverage."
I didn't tell 'em that, but that's what I was thinking, though.
Why do you need coverage on this? It's one-shot.
I don't understand that stuff. How are these people, they're gonna tell directors,
you know, "You need stuff like that"? They don't know anything about it.
Most of the guys up in Sing Sing
weren't murderers until they killed somebody.
You never know what a person will do until you push him into a corner.
But it doesn't seem like you've pushed him into a corner.
It doesn't, does it? Seems more like he chose the corner.
You're right.
So, you through?
- I guess. Are you saying I'm dismissed? - Yes, I am.
You got a card, in case I need to call you?
Please don't take this personally, but no.
I don't think you can afford me.
Well, don't take this personally, Miss White. Kiss my black ass, okay?
Careful, Detective Frazier...
That's another thing the studio didn't like.
"Should we have Denzel saying 'Kiss my black ass'?
"We don't know if Denzel should say that."
Why not?
Jodie had the line for it, too.
My bite is worse than my bark.
- No? Not at all, huh? - Nope. I'm from Brooklyn.
You're from Brooklyn, huh? I understand.
- Guns don't scare me. - They don't scare you?
- Brave, too, huh? - Yeah.
So the guys that had the guns, do you remember them saying anything?
- Yeah. - What'd they say?
They asked me about my game.
- Who did? - The guy that robbed the bank. Duh.
Son, be respectful.
Okay, Brooklyn. But it... Was he the one in charge?
Okay.
And you don't remember anything else?
He was kind of tall.
He had a mask.
Again, this is the young man
who was playing the video game in the vault with Clive.
His name is Amir Said.
...just take a look.
I saw Amir, he was in this skit in one of those Dave Chappelle Shows.
With the mask, they all look the same. That's right, Brian.
My main man, Lemon.
As I said before, one of the original members of the Def Poetry Jam.
I got to hand it to you, Pablo.
First of all, it's Paul. Not Pablo...
Puerto Rico.
And second, I didn't do it, all right?
What? I made a few mistakes when I was a kid.
I was out with some friends and they held up a liquor store.
What was I supposed to do?
Where'd you grow up, you Wassa Wassa, Park Avenue?
He improvised that line, "Wassa Wassa."
You know, a person that don't come to your neighborhood.
How do you say "Rikers Island"...
Denzel had an answer, too.
How do you spell "Rikers Island"?
These two? No.
- Nothing? - Nothing.
Don't they look suspicious to you?
I mean, I would think that you would want to know who they are.
No.
- Well, thank you very much. - Thank you.
Hey, just out of curiosity do you know anything about diamonds?
A bit. What do you need?
What do you think a guy like me should pay for a diamond ring?
Depends. How many karats?
If you'd like, I could give you my nephew's number.
- Okay. - You'll get a very good deal.
What do you have on underneath?
- Excuse me? - Underneath your painter's coat?
- What do you have on underneath? - Clothing.
Could you show us, please?
Miss Director.
You see, there's just you and one other woman
that fit the physical description of the female suspect.
What's that?
It's your height, your age, and your...
Your cup size.
So, I violated Section 34 double-D?
That's what you're telling me?
How dumb do these morons have to be to think they're gonna get a plane?
This guy's no moron.
I don't just mean him. Any hostage taker.
Those ragheads at the Munich Olympics.
Ragheads, towelheads,
sand niggers.
That's what they call them.
You know why we wanted that? That's the way people speak.
You should put it in there.
Not just the way they speak, the way they think of Arabs
or Sikhs.
This whole time, we're trying to stall him, right?
Wrong. They're the ones that are stalling.
Think about it. The bullshit questions, the Albanian thing...
So, you're saying he what?
I'm saying that he wants to give us more time. He makes demands.
He gives us deadlines. We stall. Then he gives us more time.
I don't think he's in a rush.
- Why? - That's what I'm gonna find out.
In the cast, we needed someone really strong to play opposite Denzel.
Someone who had some weight,
who would dig their feet in the ground and not just be pushed over
by the power of a Denzel Washington.
And Clive was that man.
I mean, Clive's a man, you know.
You could tell that right away, he is a man.
And, of course, he had deep respect for Denzel,
but he wasn't going to get run over, either.
And that's what we needed for the film.
You know, it was key that we not cast some roody-poop, some ope-doke
that Denzel could just bulldoze over.
That's not good for the film.
We need to have someone just as smart and strong as he is.
So this cat and mouse game... So he could play that part.
It's like sports.
How you gonna have a rivalry
when one team is killing the other team all the time?
You know, it's when two teams are evenly matched,
that's what makes a rivalry a real rivalry.
Down the stairs.
So again that scene upfront, that was a real bank location.
Now, they are coming down the steps. This is the bank set.
- Gum? - Excuse me?
- Would you like some gum? - No, thank you.
All this is the fine Steadicam work of Steve Consentino.
Again, Matthew Libatique, the director of cinematography.
The origin of the script is this.
Russell is a first-time screenwriter.
And the script was sold to Imagine.
Imagine being co-founded and owned by Brian Grazer
and very fine director Ron Howard.
They bought it with the intention of Ron Howard to direct this film.
That was the intention. In fact, he was working with Russell on this script
when sometime during that process
Russell Crowe approached Ron and said, "Let's do Cinderella Man instead."
They had won Academy Awards,
honors in box-office for their film A Beautiful Mind.
So, Ron Howard left Inside Man to do Cinderella Man.
And several other directors were brought in,
re-wrote the script and whatnot.
But, they could not attract talent.
The way films get made today, in Hollywood today, is this.
You know, a lot of stuff is cast pending,
which means that they give you a list of Hollywood stars,
stars who are box-office.
By box-office, I mean that when a film opens,
the opening weekend, people are gonna come to the theaters
based solely on that actor's name, no matter what film they are in.
So, luckily for us Denzel, you know, was on that list.
The script was slipped to me on the down low.
On the down low means somebody gave it to me
and I read it, I liked it.
Had a meeting with Brian Grazer about another project
and as the meeting was about to end I told Brian that I had read Inside Man
and I would like to do it.
Brian was taken aback by it.
First of all, he never knew I'd even known the existence of the script.
And he was pleasantly surprised but still had a little apprehension,
Brian Grazer being one of the most successful producers in Hollywood today.
You know, he respects my filmmaking abilities
but he didn't know if we could work together,
by meaning that we're both very strong, very opinionated,
so he didn't know if we could work together.
And as Brian walked me to the elevator in their office building
I told Brian that "Look, you shouldn't worry about anything.
"You and I will be able to coexist, get this film made,
"it's gonna turn out good."
And we shook hands, I pressed the elevator button,
elevator came and I got in and that was it.
And then that's when I sent the script to Denzel.
He came in.
And the film was put on the fast track, right away.
So, we had to cast around Denzel.
Next was Clive, next was Jodie,
Christopher Plummer, Chiwetel, Willem Dafoe.
As I said before, Denzel had a window that was open,
and that if we could shoot this film or shoot him out...
What I mean is get rid of all his scenes first.
Because he had an out date, he had to be out by a specific date.
So we had to finish all of Denzel's scenes before that date.
And that's what we did. It took 39 days to shoot this film.
And a budget a little under $50 million.
And when you look at it, I think Universal Pictures
got a kind of bargain.
Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Plummer,
Chiwetel and myself in New York City on location,
not Toronto, on location in New York,
39 days, under 50.
Basement bargain.
It's gonna cost them next time, though.
In actuality, this is the sixth film I have done for Universal Pictures.
This is number six for Universal.
Let's count.
Let me see, so we got Do the Right Thing,
Mo' Better,
Jungle Fever,
Crooklyn,
Clockers and Inside Man. That's the sixth.
I gave him every excuse to blow my brains out.
Yeah.
He doesn't bite. Why? He ain't the type.
Let's just step back and think about this for a second.
We know that they planned this whole thing. The tape, the cameras, the costumes.
There was a game plan, but it never included airplanes.
He's up to something but it ain't violence.
- I'm listening. - How's the reception?
- Excuse me? - The camera on the truck.
Give me a close-up on the second-floor window.
- Rourke? - I'm on it, I'm on it.
Now wait a minute, let's see the guy get shot in the head.
Now comes the signature shot right here.
Denzel on the Dolly. Right here.
What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing?
You mean beyond the obvious?
I like this scene, this big confrontation scene between the two.
...this ain't no bank robbery!
This is your fault. I told you to get the buses.
Fuck you! I didn't kill anybody.
I got 50 more people in here. You fuck with me again,
I'll give you two of the longest days of your life.
All right, look, just tell me what it is you really want and I'll get it for you.
- I promise. - I've told you. Two buses, a plane.
Right, right. And box seats behind home plate at Yankee Stadium.
Come on, don't bullshit a bullshitter.
You planned every inch of this thing right from the start.
You got everybody marching to your beat, including me, and I'm through buying it.
You're too damn smart to be a cop.
Now get the fuck out of here.
What? You going to shoot me?
"You going to shoot me?"
Do it. Shit, you got nothing to lose.
I damn sure ain't got nothing to lose, so shoot me.
He shows New York right here, "Shoot me.
"Do it."
Fuck you.
Tell them to send someone sane over here.
Now this next shot right here.
There, walks away.
Then you see the, yes, you guys,
reflection slightly fade into black.
We got a big problem.
Hey, Detective, this ain't your day.
Denzel's commander, right here.
Peter Gerety, he's another actor we got
from one of my favorite shows, The Wire, which is on HBO.
He played a judge on that show.
But if you're going down on this one, I can't go with you.
You got to understand this, though, sir...
No, no, no. Let me just tell you what my problem is, okay?
I go to bed, everything's hunky-dory.
I get a call at 3:15, and there's what? A dead hostage.
- Right, right, right. But I can end this... - It is ended.
See, you think I got options.
I got to answer to the Chief of D's.
Darius is calling the shots on this. That's it.
Pizzicato bass, that's what they call it,
basically your fingers and not a bow.
- What'd he say? - That's it.
Shit.
- It's a tactical nightmare. - I know.
Well, first, this is the only way in.
Then we got to make it up the stairs blind.
Once we get up there...
This fantasy sequence is not scripted.
But I felt that it's a good time
to interject some action, even though it's not really reality.
So, we shot this the last day in the stage of the bank
so we could shoot it up.
Open the door!
Real-life shootout.
- Keep moving. - To the right.
Watch the hands, watch the hands.
And let's not forget the possibility of hostages being killed.
Right now! Put the gun down!
Back off or I shoot! I said back off!
Well, our best hope is to separate them from the hostages.
If we can get two or three upstairs and take them out?
Kill them?
I like this coming up.
Watch the money fly.
What if there's more than four?
Yeah, well, that's what's so nuts about it. Anybody in a painter's suit could be a perp.
Maybe we should dress our guys up like a bunch of painters.
And we should use rubber bullets. Take head shots. Put their lights out.
- Not a bad idea. - Yeah.
Rubber bullets it is, baby.
Transition shot to know that another day is gone by.
It's the crack of dawn.
...this whole mess in your lap, you know?
- I'm making First Grade. - What?
I'm making Detective First Grade. Things ain't all they appear to be.
- What the fuck does that mean? - Detective First Grade Keith Frazier.
- Are you fucking kidding me? - Yes.
See there's Marv Albert right there.
"Walt Frazier shoots, yes."
Former long-time New York Knicks announcer.
...to let that happen.
Everybody's getting theirs. I'm gonna get mine.
I'll be outside.
What a day, what a day.
So, this is the set right here.
Steps outside, we are on location.
Again, actor Victor Colicchio.
As I said before, Michael Imperioli and I co-wrote Summer of Sam.
Do me a favor, Sergeant. Just tone down the color commentary.
So I bust up the fight,
I turn around and this kid is pointing a .22 at my chest.
- Is that right? Now, which kid was this? - Another kid, an African-American.
- An African-American, right? - Yeah.
Came out of nowhere. I didn't see him.
So, what'd you do?
What did I do then? I'll tell you what I did then.
I got shot in the fucking chest. That's what I did then.
Yeah, so you'll pardon my euphemisms, Detective,
but I would rather wind up an old bigot than a handsome young corpse.
Now, no offense, Detective,
but I'm just trying to keep them away from us.
Now, what do you say we just get these people safely out of the bank?
I hear that.
And I'll try and watch what I say in the future.
You never know who's listening.
Now I made him think.
What are you doing?
Jesus. Shit.
They bugged us.
Darius!
Darius, don't make a move!
- What? - It's all fucked up!
Do not make a move! Keep your men back!
What are you talking about?
They heard everything we said in the M.C.C.
- What? - Stand down! Stand down!
The drawer with the demands in it! They heard everything we said!
They put a transmitter in it! They bugged us!
No, no, no. I'm going in.
Shit.
Get everyone together.
Smoke bombs.
They're coming in.
- Everybody good? - Yeah.
All right! Everybody out!
- Put your masks on! - Everyone out! Out!
- Go now! - Go!
Go! Go! Go!
- Now! - Get the fuck out!
Move!
Everybody up the fucking stairs! Move!
A human stampede, right here.
And my favorite sequence is coming up here.
The stampede, right here.
Listen to Terence's... Please listen to Terence's score.
Door explodes, now you have this lull.
Bring the sound down.
That's some sensitive background, very low.
Now all hell's going to break loose.
As they come streaming out right here.
And the guys, first few out get shot with a roll of bullets. Boom.
Cease fire!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
More shots in slow motion.
That's the roof shot.
Now here it is, mayhem.
Chaos.
Bedlam.
Used a 45-degree shutter speed to give it that jittery feeling.
Something Spielberg did in the Normandy invasion stuff
on Saving Private Ryan.
He said he did it because he wanted to get the feel of the old newsreel cameras.
Do not move!
- Get down, put your hands on your head! - Put the cuffs on them! Let's go!
Got the Spanish cops talking right there.
Terence is playing the trumpet solo.
Guess Terence is also an accomplished trumpet player.
It's his own jazz band.
Cuffs!
Don't shoot! Don't shoot!
- Don't move! - I'm not moving!
- Don't move! - Do not move!
Check them. Make sure they ain't got no weapons on them and shit.
- Hernandez! - Right here.
E.S.U. team, line up!
Now hear this, look, that trumpet right there.
That's from Patton.
Jerry Goldsmith. Do you hear that?
That trumpet right there, that's from Patton.
The great Jerry Goldsmith, the late Jerry Goldsmith did the score.
Another of the great scores he did was Chinatown, too.
I'll admit, I mean the guy did over 100 films, more than that.
That's an homage to him.
One more time, there it is, right there.
That's the real bank location.
We're going down the steps, it's gonna be on the stage, right here.
Team in, team in. Let's go.
Those lights, you remember E.T.? We had those... We're looking for E.T.
with the flashlights? That's what this reminds me of, right here.
Looking for E.T. in the night time with these strong flashlights...
Shaft of light. The smoke.
All Steadicam.
Moving around.
You're back to Willem Dafoe.
- I'll keep looking. - Stay on it.
Roger that.
Ready? Let's go.
This is the last door.
- Clear, Sarge! - Come on down.
Steadicam brings Dafoe, Chiwe and D down.
Go into the bank vault.
Maybe, but I'm pretty sure we're the only ones moving around down here.
Check this out. They forgot to rob the joint.
- Holy shit. - And you didn't find anybody?
We're still looking, but there are no bad guys,
no booby traps, no tunnels, no damage.
- And nothing missing. - Great, great, great.
We'll put out a city-wide description for David fucking Copperfield, then, huh?
Listen, I'm not trying to tell you your jobs, Detectives,
but unless they swam out through the toilets,
whoever did this is upstairs sucking pavement.
All right, good job.
What's that?
Cell phones.
- Hey, guys! You need to see this. - Okay.
That guy right there, that's Jeff Ward. Jeff Ward's the stunt coordinator.
Not only for this film, Inside Man, but many others.
Don't let anybody get tempted, including you!
Yes, Sir!
Right here, Detective.
Like the camera work here. So he's come in. Follow the rifle.
Goes Denzel.
Follow the rifle back.
- Toys. - As if it wasn't weird enough already.
Cap, come to the ladies' room.
Now, I'm gonna turn around
and lead Denzel through this office,
go out behind the door, I'm going to follow him,
and it's gonna take us all the way to the bathroom door
where we see the fake hood.
Right here.
We can stop looking for that body.
Fake guns.
Fake execution.
Nobody goes home till we get everybody's story.
Cap, we got something else in the storage room.
Now we go to the storage room.
And little does Detective Keith Frazier realize
that Dalton Russell's right behind that fake wall right there.
- Porcario? - Yo.
- Where's the men's room? - Down the hallway on the left.
Another one of my favorite shots right here, and score.
This reminds me sort of that shot like in Gone With the Wind
when we see all those fettered soldiers dead and wounded.
It took a long time to set this up. Crane shot.
And when we get to the end, the bus pulls up right into it.
Female hostages to be searched by female officers only!
All right, listen, let's get these people up.
- I can't hear you. What? - Valerie Keepsake.
Valerie Keepsake. Go, go, get on the bus.
- Kenneth Damerjian. - Yeah.
Person one.
- I'm Peter Hammond. - Eric Dodge.
- Wait! - Chaim. My name's Chaim.
Fucking cocksucker.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Just give me your name. Just give me your name.
Say your name.
I work in the bank!
I'm the bank security guard! Nobody's listening!
Okay, we'll straighten it out.
Everybody's saying listen! Nobody's listening!
We'll straighten it out. Come on.
- Listen, I'm not getting on the bus! - Yes, you are.
- Move! Move! Move! - I am not! I work at the bank!
Now you crane down to find all the robbers
sitting in a row.
Embedded with everybody else.
There goes Kim,
Bernard, the Rabbi.
Carlos.
And James, right there.
Steve, Steve-O, Stevie... I forget the other one.
Now the siege is over, and we fade out.
But the mystery has been solved.
Fade up. Push in.
Denzel with his superior officer.
"...from soup to nuts."
We photograph everybody that came out of the bank.
We sit them down, we question them, we show them the photos.
Most of them can't point to anybody that's guilty of anything.
We ask them if they could recognize anybody who was not one of the bad guys.
Even if we considered someone as a possible suspect,
there's one or two or three other people that would rule them out.
It's like the thing never happened.
- What about prints? - Everywhere. So what?
- All it shows is that these people were there. - Alibis?
Just about everyone.
Even if their alibi was weak,
a hostage would identify them as being one of the good guys.
There we are, back to square one.
Priors?
We got one employee who had some juvie stuff. One customer had...
Excuse me.
One customer had an out-of-state warrant for child support.
Another one had a couple of priors, G.L.A. mostly.
Again, same problem. Plus, he was a fucking idiot.
"Fucking idiot."
I'm telling you, they thought of everything. Almost.
- Sounded like everything to me. - But this.
We haven't found that .357 or the perp that was holding it.
If you did, there'd be no prints on it anyway.
- Bury it. - Bury it?
What the fuck do you expect me to say?
Captain, this thing stinks to high hell. I mean, somebody did something here.
You said it yourself.
You got no robbery. No suspects.
Nobody's breathing down my neck to come up with answers.
I'm not gonna breathe down yours. Bury it.
I wasn't expecting this.
I promise you, I'll find you guys more cases to solve.
Okay.
Oh, here's something that you probably did expect.
- They found that missing Madrugada money. - No shit.
Yes, you want to know where it was?
- In my bank account? - No.
- My summer house in Sag Harbor? - No.
- My wallet? - No.
Then, no. I don't want to know.
"Don't wanna know."
Keeps appearing throughout the whole film.
That 392 safety deposit box.
I'll tell you what. Every one of your accusers, man,
I say we go after them all, Keith, Michael Corleone style.
Homage to Godfather right here.
Francis Ford.
There's no 392.
- Huh? - Safety deposit box number 392.
According to these records, it doesn't exist.
Pinstriped, mayonnaise, lying motherfucker.
- Didn't Coughlin say we should move on? - Let's go.
This is another one of those one-take scenes
with Denzel and Jodie Foster.
Denzel, right here looking like he's with the Fruit of slam.
Harkening back to Malcolm X, the bow-tie.
Pan, then we dolly in. Then he sits down. No cutting.
One take.
Push in slowly.
Very like the music here, just a piano solo.
Let me tell you how this works. You...
No, let me tell you how this works.
And the music will drop out while we hear the recording.
It rings out, actually. There's this slight ring out.
And it will come back in when the recording stops.
We'd like to be in your corner on that.
In exchange for what? I mean, what, do you want me to do something unethical?
This is the same location as Arthur Case's office.
This is the Immigration Building,
which is now the Museum for Native Americans, down at Battery Park.
Great location.
Done.
Kaput.
Score comes back in, right here.
Jodie showing off those legs.
Manolo Blahniks, whatever they call them.
Know they cost $900. My wife got too many of them.
"When there's blood on the streets, buy property."
I think Mr. Case really took that sentiment to heart.
But he is no different than half the Fortune 500.
Let it go, Detective.
You're a good cop.
This city needs you.
Now this shot coming up.
The spiral staircase,
as Detective Frazier
descends into the bowels
of this corruption
and these dirty people who sell their mother for money.
- Lady! Lady, you're in the wrong place. - I have an appointment.
Now the actor, right there,
Ernest Rains, he was in my first student film, NYU.
The film was called The Answer, a 20-minute film.
He was the lead actor in it.
Arthur.
- Good morning. - Miss White.
Have a seat.
Thank you, Vincent.
Very funny thing about this character, Arthur Case.
Now, when I did press here in the States,
they would comment about it. But it was only when I got to Europe,
when journalists would say,
"Was Arthur Case based on Prescott Bush?"
And I was unaware of this. I said, "Who is Prescott Bush?"
They said, "That is President Bush's, W's grandfather."
And that there've been allegations
that he did business, collaborated with the Nazis.
And so that's something that I know I wasn't aware of.
I don't think the screenwriter, Russell Gewirtz, was aware of.
But they definitely picked that up in Europe.
Everybody thinks, automatically, that this character
is based on Bush's grandfather. Interesting.
I dispute it.
I'll just say, I was unaware of it.
Adds another layer to the film, doesn't it?
If someday he comes back to blackmail you, well,
you'll pay him. And you'll get it back.
- So, I guess that's it. - I suppose so.
- Bullshit. - I beg your pardon?
He didn't go through all that just to stick your envelope under his mattress.
Look, they left money untouched, Arthur.
String quartet doing the score, right here.
So, he had to have walked out of there with something else.
We had a discussion as to whether it should be played as source or score.
Source, meaning as it was coming from the radio, in this barbershop.
I decided it should be played as score.
There's only one thing it could be anyway.
This is the Arthur Case theme, right here.
- Diamonds. - "Diamonds."
And then there's the ring.
This whole diamond ring thing again
was stuff that was worked at during the shoot.
Terry George came up with this stuff.
...the ring and everything else they owned
was confiscated and they were shipped off to concentration camps. None survived.
We were friends.
I could have helped them.
Love this line.
But the Nazis paid too well.
Love that line. "The Nazis paid too well."
Can I trust that you will keep what you've learnt...
See that photo right there, right in front of Christopher Plummer, Joe Louis?
Hopefully I get to make that film one day. Soon.
While Budd Schulberg is still here with us.
Still here amongst us. Budd's coming to the premiere tonight.
As I said before, he's 93 years old.
Well, I'd love to tell you what a monster you are,
but I have to help bin Laden's nephew buy a co-op on Park Avenue.
"Bin Laden's nephew."
If that were true, you wouldn't tell me.
We're listing you as a reference.
Smile disappears.
My name is Dalton Russell.
Now,
unlike the beginning of the film,
we're dollying away from the wall.
As you remember, in the beginning, we dollied towards the wall.
That's the signature shot.
The actor's on the dolly, with the camera.
The "what" is easy.
Recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the...
And this is where it all comes together. Right here.
As for the "why," beyond the...
One of the many things that made me want to do this film is
I was surprised. Usually when I read a script,
or when I'm in a movie theater,
the first 10 minutes of the film,
the first 10 pages of the script,
most of the time, I know where it's gonna end.
I cannot do that with this script.
So therefore, if I didn't know where it was gonna end,
there's a good chance the audience would not know until the final scene.
The final scene is where we want all the revelations to come out.
Where everything that was in darkness is exposed to light,
and the audience can have that "Ah-ha" moment, like that "Oh, shit" moment.
Which I think we deliver in this film.
Plugs that up.
Crane down from the flag
to the Volkswagen,
with the crew, waiting for Dalton
to walk out the front door, like he said.
The window rolls down, now we see
the Rabbi. "Oh shit, the Rabbi was part of it."
Kim, Carlos, James...
And just as Dalton's coming out,
Frazier and Mitchell, pulling up.
Clive got the Yankee joint on, the interlocking "N" and "Y".
- ...for me? - Can't say. It's just the two of them.
Steadicam, down the steps.
He walks towards the camera.
And we're gonna make a 360.
He slips out of the storage room.
Going up the stairs and out the door.
Crane down from top of the bank.
Denzel and Chiwe walking up.
Clive walking out. Boom.
Another angle right there, boom, the bump.
Go over to Peter Hammond, face still a little bruised.
Dalton's theme.
Intercut back and forth between the two.
All coming together now.
Putting everything together.
Oh, thank God.
Kisses lady, she kisses her man.
Where is it?
I left it in there.
This way, Detectives.
Why did you do that? You left the ring.
Trust me.
I left it in good hands.
I'm no martyr.
392.
Pushing in, all the way.
Peter Hammond gonna try to open it up.
Denzel says, "Yo, hold up. I got it."
I was stealing from a man who traded his away for a few dollars.
Voiceover by Clive.
Well-written, intelligent script.
...of good deeds and a sea of respectability.
Hold up, I got it, I got it. Step back.
But inevitably...
Now you can see the contents.
What? That motherfucker left the Juicy Fruit...
Son of a bitch.
It will not fail.
Wanna thank our friends at Cartier.
If you wanna buy that ring?
Cheap. Million and a half dollars.
1.5.
Thank you, Cartier, that's the real thing.
Three days we needed that on the set,
and they came through with flying colors. Appreciate it.
The showdown. Right here.
- Detective Frazier. - Mr. Case.
- How are you? - I am great.
Heavyweights. Mr. Washington and Mr. Plummer.
That's wonderful. Wonderful.
- Detective Mitchell. - Mr. Case.
- Be seated, gentlemen. - Thank you.
Showdown.
I must say
I was most impressed
by the way you handled that business.
Thank you, Mr. Case.
Whenever I hear the term "New York's Finest"
you're who I think of.
You keep the rest of us safe and make it look easy.
- Pardon me. - Well, what's so amusing?
When you say "the rest of us", Mr. Case, I mean, you got to look around.
"The rest of us" is a category that you haven't qualified for in a long time.
Touché, Detective. I won't deny it. I've done well.
Yes, you have. But I'm very confused.
You see, I got a case
where armed robbers laid siege to your bank.
It is your bank, right?
Well, I'm Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Then...
The robbers disappear. Poof.
And they don't take a nickel, right?
- You're asking me? - Yes, I'm asking you.
I mean, it's your bank. You own it. I'm asking you.
It's a tiny part of our organization.
No robbers. No real victims. No loot missing.
It's got to be the first time in law-enforcement history.
I never heard of it before.
So, you got to ask yourself, "What the fuck happened?" Don't you, Mr. Case?
"What the fuck happened?"
I'm not quite sure I like your tone, Officer.
You don't like my tone? Then give me a straight answer.
It's the founding bank of your empire.
The photo behind, right there, that photo.
That's George and Barbara Bush, photographed with Christopher Plummer.
His character, let me say, Arthur Case.
But there's another shot that was in focus. Not right here.
392.
Safe deposit box 392. What's the story on that?
- I have no idea what you're... - Don't lie to me, Mr. Case.
- I don't lie. - I looked at all the records.
All the bank records for safe deposit boxes at your bank.
At first glance, everything looked fine,
but there was one safe deposit box that had no records.
I mean, going all the way back to 1948.
So I started thinking. Who would have the answer to this riddle?
Probably the man who forgot to mention
that he built the bank in the first place in 1948.
It doesn't add up, Mr. Case. It does not add up.
I'm afraid I can't be of any further use to you, Detective.
Arthur Case had enough. It's getting too hot in there.
Mr. Frazier, I have spent my whole life serving humanity.
You can ask anyone who knows me.
Margaret Thatcher.
That was shot of Giuliani and him that we cut out.
That's a re-shoot, right there.
That shot, right there is a re-shoot.
Come back, add that shot where he said
"Fuck you" with the ring, that was a re-shoot.
I want you to know, we really appreciate that.
How gracious.
Let's go.
Break down the hat.
We're gonna follow that ring.
That's an ADR line right there, "Follow that ring."
Chiwe gives him the evil eye.
And they split.
- Hey, Keith, let me see your shoe. - What?
- Let me see your shoe. - Why?
'Cause I have never seen anybody put their foot...
That's Trinity Church, right there. Very close to Ground Zero, World Trade Center.
You cut him an ass the length of the Lincoln Tunnel.
We're gonna need a traffic cop on that shit.
This is an additional scene that we came back to shoot at Four Seasons.
Good afternoon, sir. Do you have a reservation?
It was felt that there be no mistake that Detective Keith Frazier
is gonna go and pursue this till somebody ends up in prison.
"When there's blood on the streets, somebody's got to go to jail."
That's why we came back to shoot this.
...please excuse us for a minute?
What's this about, Detective?
I believe Detective Frazier is looking for some closure?
That's a good word. Closure.
Case closed, you know what I mean?
This is the number
of the War Crimes Issues office in Washington, D.C.
How'd you like to be on the front page of the New York Times?
That'd be great.
Make sure they spell my name right, though. That's Frazier with a "z".
Now look at that hat. That hat does not look the way it looked at the beginning
of the film. Even the previous scenes. Brim is all messed up.
We got to keep the real criminals off the streets, Your Honor.
All right, well, thanks for lunch.
War crimes, huh?
What have you got me into this time?
Right there, that's Brad Williams.
He's on our softball team.
Great, great, great centerfielder.
That thing he's holding there, that's "Da Bomb."
Da Bomb. Malt liquor.
Mama?
- Did you bring Big Willie? - And the twins.
Big Willie and the twins.
This is like a film noir film, right here. I mean, the look and the feel.
Slow down, girl.
I'll get my gun off before I get my gun off, okay?
Pow pow.
I love what she does with the hat. Posing.
These little shots here, pick-ups, too.
All the stuff right here.
Came back to get it later.
It happens a lot, you know. You shoot and you shoot and then you find,
well, you missed some shots. So you have to go back later to get them.
But you don't have the time to get them.
Now there was some debate.
I don't really think we should have done this shot.
I think the audience would've remembered automatically.
But I conceded on that, just to put that in.
See, this is the revelation, right there.
What is he going to do with that ring?
I think that's going to be an engagement ring. He's gonna have it set.
Well, I want to thank you, everyone, for listening to the Director's Commentary
of Inside Man.
I thought it would be nice to do this little thing right here.
James Brown used to say, "Give the drummer some."
Right here, we're saying, "Give the actor some."
Everybody contributed, one line
all the way up to Denzel, and everybody contributed.
Everybody was a positive force on this film.
I want to thank Brian Grazer, Universal,
Ron Howard, cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
The costume designer, Donna Berwick, my main man, Barry Brown, Editor,
Jon Kilik, production designer Wynn Thomas,
Russell,
Leora Rosenberg and her husband.
So, thank you very much for being part of my birthday.
Thank you, see you later.