Hunter Killer
Short description
Hunter Killer follows Captain Joe Glass, an American submarine commander who takes the USS Arkansas into the Arctic Ocean to look for a missing U.S. submarine. What begins as a search and rescue mission turns into something larger when Glass learns of a secret coup in Russia. A faction is holding the Russian president prisoner, and the conspirators' plans could destroy the balance between the world's major powers. To stop them, Glass works with a team of Navy SEALs, guiding his boat through hostile waters and sending the SEALs ashore to reach the captive president before the situation escalates into open war.
The film is directed by Donovan Marsh, its fourth feature after Spud (2010) and Avenged (2014), from a screenplay by Arne Schmidt and Jamie Moss. Gerard Butler plays Glass and also produced alongside Neal H. Moritz and Les Weldon. The cast includes Gary Oldman as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Toby Stephens, Common, Linda Cardellini and David Gyasi. The production involved 43 credited cast members and 344 credited crew, and was mounted on a budget of 40 million dollars.
Released in October 2018, the film took in about 32 million dollars worldwide, less than its production cost. Audiences have been kinder than critics: it holds 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 80,000 votes and 6.9 out of 10 on TMDB, while the critics' rating stands at 4.8 out of 10 from 115 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The same rescue submarine, Mystic, was used during the filming of John McTiernan's "The Hunt for Red October" (1990). It remained in service until 1977 and was decommissioned in 2008.
- The film shows Glass hunting deer with a bow in winter. The fact is that the deer hunting season is closed in winter, and bow hunting is generally prohibited in the United Kingdom.
- The adaptation of the novel “Firing Point,” written by George Wallace, a former captain of the submarine “Houston” (SSN 713), and Don Keith, a journalist and writer, saw its 700-page novel reworked by screenwriters Arnie Schmidt and Jamie Moss.
- Most of the scenes taking place in Russia were filmed in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian naval base in Varna on the Black Sea coast served as the base for the Russian Navy in Polyarny. It is in Polyarny that Admiral Durov takes the president of his own country hostage. The sets for the interiors of the command center in Polyarny, the Russian submarine under the command of Andropov, and the acoustic compartment of the American submarine were created at a studio in Sofia.
- To ensure the film's accuracy regarding submarine design, the filmmakers consulted with U.S. Navy specialists at every turn.
- The film depicts soldiers swimming with uncovered faces and in standard wetsuits beyond the Arctic Circle. Later in the films, characters are shown diving without any protection from the cold. The maximum temperature in the Barents Sea, even in summer, is such that the use of specialized wetsuits is necessary to avoid rapid hypothermia.
- Initially, the film was to be shot in Alaska, with the city of Whittier intended to portray a base for the Russian fleet. These plans were thwarted by logistical problems, specifically a lack of accommodation for the film crew.
- Even before filming began, Donovan Marsh and Gerard Butler traveled to Pearl Harbor, where they visited a nuclear submarine. It was during this trip that Marsh came up with the idea of mounting the submarine on a huge hydraulic platform to simulate its movement on the waves.
- The interior of an American Arkansas-class nuclear submarine was created in every minute detail at a studio in London and placed on a massive moving platform. These submarines are renowned for their maneuverability and ability to perform multiple missions simultaneously. They began to be introduced into the Navy in the 1990s, and in 2018, they began to be equipped with weapon and intelligence-gathering systems that will allow these vessels to remain in service for at least until 2043.
- Filming of the movie began in London and Bulgaria on July 25, 2016. The submarine's interior was created in the studio based on blueprints coordinated with the Navy, with some spaces enlarged for the convenience of camera operators. The sets were then placed on a moving platform. The same studio also created the sets for a room in the US Department of Defense, from which the military observe the actions of the submariners. A mock-up of the 'Hunter Killer' submarine was built and placed in the Pinewood Studios pool for exterior shots. Underwater filming also took place in the Warner Bros. Studios pool near London.
- The submarine model for 'Arkansas' was filmed in the famous Pinewood Studios pool, which has hosted the filming of many movies. It is here that Captain Glass and his subordinates prepare for an operation in the territorial waters of the Russian Federation. The attempt to rescue the President of Russia was filmed in a pool at the Warner Bros. studio complex near London.
- When listing the names of his students, Captain Andropov mentions Alexey Vostrikov among them. That was the name of the character played by Harrison Ford – the captain of a submarine in Kathryn Bigelow's drama "K-19" (2002).
- The lead actor, Gerard Butler, and director Donovan Marsh were aboard the submarine "Houston" (SSN 713) from May 6th to 9th to gather material for upcoming filming.
- On June 16, 2015, Alaska Dispatch newsfeeds reported that Alaska Governor Bill Walker had signed a bill withdrawing state subsidies for film shoots within the state, after which the filmmakers abandoned their plans to shoot outdoor scenes in Alaska.
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