Shoot 'Em Up
Short description
Shoot 'Em Up follows a drifter known only as Smith, who becomes entangled in a violent conspiracy after he helps deliver a baby during a gunfight and the mother is killed. He takes charge of the newborn, whose existence a powerful organization is determined to erase, and turns to an old acquaintance, Donna Quintano, a prostitute who cares for the child. Pursued by the assassin Karl Hertz and his men, Smith has to keep the baby alive while working out why the killers are so intent on it.
Michael Davis wrote and directed the film, his third feature after 100 Girls in 2000 and 100 Women in 2002. Clive Owen leads as Smith, with Paul Giamatti as Hertz, Monica Bellucci as Donna, and Stephen McHattie and Greg Bryk among the supporting cast. The production had a budget of 39 million dollars and returned 27 million worldwide.
Ratings place the film in middling territory. It holds 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 159,000 votes and 6.5 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 2,190 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 6.2 out of 10 from 159 reviews, broadly in line with the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role of the baby was played by five infants – three real and two dolls.
- This was Paul Giamatti's first role in his acting career where his character handles a weapon. Both he and Clive Owen specifically attended weapons handling courses.
- Oliver's baby was cast in the film even before his birth. The filmmakers specifically sought out a pregnant woman who was expecting twins and due to give birth around the start of filming, so the infant would genuinely be newborn.
- Work on the film began several years later than planned due to the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, in which 13 people were killed and 23 were injured.
- Firecrackers simulating gunshots were sold for $1,000 for 50 pieces. The budget allocated for them was $70,000.
- In one of the dialogues, the character calls himself the real Unabomber. In reality, the Unabomber was Theodore John Kaczynski, a mathematician and terrorist who mailed bombs to universities and airlines and was arrested by the FBI in 1996. As a result of the Unabomber's actions, 3 people died and 24 were injured.
- It is claimed that almost 57 liters of fake blood were used during filming.
- Filming took place from February 13, 2006, in Toronto.
- Around the 21st minute of the film, in the scene where Paul Giamatti's character intimidates a prostitute (Monica Bellucci), Smith (Clive Owen) appears, chewing on a carrot, and says, "How's it going, doc?" The carrot (which the main character constantly chews) and the phrase are a reference to the cartoon character Bugs Bunny.
- Over 200 different firearms were used in the film, some of which were created specifically for it.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
