Ladder 49
![Watch film Ladder 49 — Ladder 49 Trailer [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jpU7gzT6CdM/sddefault.jpg)
Short description
Ladder 49 follows Jack Morrison, a probationary firefighter who joins a Baltimore fire station and gradually earns his place under the guidance of Captain Mike Kennedy. Over years of service, Jack becomes a seasoned member of the crew known as Ladder 49, but the danger of the job takes a growing toll on his marriage to Linda and his role as a father. When a rescue inside a burning building leaves him trapped and cut off from help, his fellow firefighters work to reach him while he looks back on the life and relationships that brought him there.
Jay Russell directed the film, which sits between Tuck Everlasting and The Water Horse in his filmography. Lewis Colick wrote the screenplay, and Casey Silver produced. Joaquin Phoenix plays Jack, with John Travolta as Kennedy, Jacinda Barrett as Linda, and supporting turns from Robert Patrick, Morris Chestnut and Billy Burke. The production had 138 credited crew members.
Released in October 2004, the film had a budget of 60 million dollars and took about 101 million dollars worldwide, a solid return for a drama of its scale. Audiences gave it the same steady verdict on IMDb and TMDB, both 6.5 out of 10, though the two sites differ enormously in how many people voted, from tens of thousands on IMDb to under a thousand on TMDB. A critics' rating of 5.6 out of 10 from 161 reviews places it slightly below those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Each fire shown in the film recreates a tragedy that actually happened somewhere in the United States. The episode where Joaquin Phoenix’s character saves a man on the 20th floor of a building once occurred in New York.
- Initially, Steven Lange was considered for the role of Mike Kennedy, but as soon as John Travolta expressed interest, the decision was immediately made in his favor.
- The report on the warehouse fire gives the address as the intersection of Newgate Avenue and Newkirk Street. The building in question is actually located at that address.
- Over 2,000 real firefighters (some even came from North Carolina) showed up for the casting call in Baltimore. More than 800 firefighters and numerous fire trucks from the entire East Coast volunteered to participate in the funeral scene. Their participation in the scene was coordinated through the website www.firehouse.com.
- Before filming began, actor Joaquin Phoenix was so afraid of heights that he couldn't even bring himself to slide down a 6-meter pole from the second floor to the first at the fire station. By the end of training, the actor was hanging from a cable on the wall of a building at the height of the 20th floor without any fear.
- Model and actress Jacinda Barrett, who plays the protagonist's wife, was born into a firefighter's family. The actress admitted that it always felt to her like a movie about her own life.
- The actors and crew prepared for filming at a firefighter training college under the guidance of Baltimore firefighter Mark Yant.
- John Travolta came up with the scene where his character drinks and talks to the character played by Joaquin Phoenix. The script originally called for just a conversation, but Travolta thought it would be good to add alcohol to the scene.
- The firefighters where Joaquin Phoenix interned gave him the nickname “Hollywood.” They didn't start calling him by the actor's name until he had earned the respect of his temporary colleagues.
- Looney's Pub is a real bar in Baltimore. After filming the movie, it became a favorite hangout for all film crews working in the city.
- The Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley, played himself in the film.
- To prepare for the shoot, Joaquin Phoenix spent a month at a firefighter training college and another month with a fire brigade in Baltimore. Eventually, the actor was made an honorary member of the team and was allowed to get a distinctive tattoo—a bumblebee wearing a fire helmet and holding a small axe.
- Jack Morrison was born on April 22, 1971, and died on May 18, 2003. The dates of his birth and death are shown in the funeral scene.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
