The Substitute
Short description
A mercenary named Jonathan Shale returns to Miami to visit Jane Hetzko, a high school teacher he is close to. When she is injured by a member of a gang that terrorizes the school, Shale takes her place as a substitute teacher, using the position to investigate the group behind the attack. He soon finds a wider criminal operation at work within the school and brings back the team of freelance operators he had assembled for an earlier mission, setting up a conflict with corrupt forces inside the institution.
The film was directed by Robert Mandel, its fourth feature after Independence Day, F/X and School Ties. Tom Berenger plays Shale, with Diane Venora as Jane, Marc Anthony as Juan Lacas, Raymond Cruz as Joey Six, William Forsythe as Hollan and Luis Guzmán as Rem; the screenplay was written by Alan Ormsby, Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli. Made by Live Entertainment, it took in about 15 million dollars worldwide.
Audience response has been warmer than the critical one. On IMDb the film holds 6.1/10 from around 18,000 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 7/10 from a much smaller group of 608 voters. A critics' rating of 4.7/10, drawn from 26 reviews, is noticeably lower than both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was shot in the summer, and schoolchildren who continued to attend classes played in the extras scenes. Everyone who agreed to stay for filming after class was treated to free pizza.
- Cliff De Young's character plays high-alley (a game where a thrown ball must bounce off the floor to a wall).
- At the shooting range, a woman in white behind Sheila, played by Tom Berenger, does not pull the trigger; the pistol's slide remains stationary, and no casings are ejected. The woman simply lifts the gun barrel slightly to give the impression of recoil.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
