Blow
Short description
Blow traces the rise of George Jung, a young man from an ordinary background who sets out to make his fortune his own way. He starts out on the West Coast selling marijuana, building a thriving trade with help from his girlfriend Barbara and a dealer friend. An arrest interrupts that business, and in prison he meets Diego Delgado, who introduces him to Colombia's Medellín Cartel and its leader, Pablo Escobar. Jung becomes a key figure in importing cocaine into the United States, moving enormous quantities through an ingenious smuggling operation during the 1970s. His partnership with Diego and his marriage to Mirtha sit at the centre of a story shaped by ambition, loyalty and betrayal, and by the difficulty of walking away from the traffic once it has made him wealthy.
The film is based on a true story. Ted Demme directed it, working from a screenplay by David McKenna and Nick Cassavetes, with Denis Leary, Demme and Joel Stillerman producing. It was Demme's fifth feature, following Who's the Man?, The Ref, Beautiful Girls and Life. Johnny Depp plays Jung, with Penélope Cruz as Mirtha, Franka Potente as Barbara, Rachel Griffiths as his mother Ermine, Ray Liotta as his father Fred and Jordi Mollà as Diego. Around eighty cast members and roughly 152 crew were credited.
Made for about 53 million dollars, Blow took in some 83 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.5 from around 287,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.4 from roughly 4,700 votes. A critics' rating of 6.4 from 142 reviews places it below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- At the 35th minute, a microphone battery can be seen sticking out of Penelope Cruz's back.
- During preparation for filming, Johnny Depp spent several days with George Jung in a correctional facility.
- The film was banned from public screening in several US states due to scenes of violence and drug propaganda.
- The entire filming process was under the vigilant supervision of the police, monitoring every step of the actors, to prevent anyone from using real cocaine for greater realism.
- In the scene where George first meets Pablo Escobar, Diego, standing next to George, clearly has sweat stains on his shirt. In the next shot, the shirt is completely dry.
- Filming took place from February 2nd to May 2000.
- During filming, Johnny Depp impressed Penélope Cruz with his amazing sense of humor. For example, during the most dramatic scenes, when Penélope was dramatically reciting monologues with her hands clasped, Johnny would make rude noises, forcing the filming to be interrupted until the crew stopped laughing.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
