Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Short description
Harry Lockhart is a small-time crook who, while fleeing the police after a botched break-in at a New York toy store, stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood detective film. The producer is taken with his attitude and flies him to Los Angeles for a screen test. To prepare for the part, Harry is paired with private investigator Gay Perry, while an aspiring actress named Harmony Faith Lane, whom Harry knew in high school, is also in contention for the female lead. The three are drawn into a real murder case that echoes the Johnny Gossamer crime novels Harry and Harmony both grew up reading. Shane Black wrote the screenplay and directed, with Joel Silver producing for Warner Bros. Pictures and Silver Pictures.
The film was Black's first turn as a director, arriving after his earlier career as a screenwriter, and it was followed by Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys, The Predator and Play Dirty. Robert Downey Jr. plays Harry, Val Kilmer plays Gay Perry, and Michelle Monaghan plays Harmony, with Corbin Bernsen, Dash Mihok and Larry Miller in supporting roles. The credited cast numbers 41 and the crew 45.
Made for 15 million USD, the film took about 16 million USD worldwide, a modest theatrical return. On IMDb it holds 7.4/10 from roughly 249,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2/10 from just over 3,100 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 7.5/10 from 185 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on Brett Haliday’s novel “Bodies Are Where You Find Them” (1941).
- Perry is listening to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” on her mobile phone, which is often used as an anthem by the LGBTQ+ community.
- Filming took place in Los Angeles from February to May 2004.
- Nine-year-old Harry Lockhart was played by Robert Downey Jr.'s son, Indio Falconer Downey.
- Val Kilmer had to lose around 20 kilograms after “Alexander” (2004) for filming in this movie.
- The song "Broken", written and performed by Robert Downey Jr., plays during the end credits of the film. It first appeared on his debut album, "The Futurist", released in 2004.
- The film's title is related to James Bond – in 1962, an Italian journalist referred to him as Mr. Kiss-Kiss, Bang-Bang.
- Shortly before filming began, Robert Downey Jr. completed a course of rehabilitation treatment for alcohol and drug addiction. To support Robert, Val Kilmer abstained from drinking during the filming of the movie.
- Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. met at a party in Hollywood. A week later, Kilmer received the script for this film for review and agreed to star in it, even without finishing reading the script. He then learned that his co-star would be Robert Downey Jr., which greatly pleased him.
- Warner Bros. was ready to invest in the project if Harrison Ford was cast as the detective, but Ford declined the offer.
- As a favor for helping Robert Downey Jr. return to the top of the acting profession thanks to this film, Downey Jr. facilitated the arrival of director Shane Black into the Marvel franchise, and Black became the screenwriter and director of the action film "Iron Man 3" (2013).
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
