The Family
Short description
The Manzoni family has been placed in the FBI's witness protection program after its patriarch, Giovanni Manzoni, testified against his New York mafia associates. Relocated to a quiet village in Normandy under the name Fred Blake, he and his wife and two teenage children are expected to keep a low profile while an FBI agent watches over them. The family's old habits prove difficult to abandon, and their way of handling everyday conflicts draws attention they cannot afford, while the mobsters Manzoni helped put away keep looking for him.
Luc Besson directed and co-wrote the film with Michael Caleo, producing alongside Ryan Kavanaugh and Virginie Besson-Silla. It was adapted from Tonino Benacquista's novel Badfellas. This is the fourteenth of the twenty films Besson has directed in chronological order, following The Lady and preceding Lucy. Robert De Niro plays Fred Blake, with Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife Maggie, Tommy Lee Jones as Agent Stansfield, and Dianna Agron and John D'Leo as their children. The film was released in September 2013 and runs 111 minutes.
Made for a budget of 30 million dollars, the film took in about 37 million worldwide. Its ratings sit in the middle range, with 6.3 out of 10 on IMDb from around 128,000 votes and 6.4 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 3,200 votes. A film critics' rating of 4.6 out of 10 from 136 reviews places it below what general audiences gave it.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film went through several title changes: “The Blakes,” “Badfellas,” and “Malavita.”
- The film is based on Tonino Benacquista's novel "Malavita" (2004).
- Filming took place from August to October 2012 in Normandy, Gacé, Le Sap, New York, and at the Cité du Cinéma studio.
- At the film club, Fred was suggested to watch and discuss "Goodfellas" (1990), in which Robert De Niro also played one of the main roles.
- While filming the scene where Belle beats the guys with a tennis racket, the racket broke, and Dianna Agron, along with the entire crew, couldn't stop laughing.
- Luc Besson addressed Dianna Agron exclusively by her character's name, "Belle," but when he called her that off-set, Dianna wouldn't respond, which Luc found very amusing.
- The scene in the school cafeteria had to be reshot many times because the entire crew kept laughing due to some wardrobe malfunctions with Dianna Agron.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
