John Q
Short description
John Quincy Archibald is a factory worker in Chicago whose young son collapses during a baseball game and is found to need a heart transplant. When the family's insurance will not pay for the operation and the hospital prepares to send the boy home, John takes the emergency room staff and patients hostage, demanding that his son be placed on the transplant list. A police negotiator and the hospital's medical staff find themselves caught between the father's demand and the authorities closing in on the building.
Nick Cassavetes directed the film, his first feature behind the camera, from a screenplay by James Kearns; he went on to make The Notebook, Alpha Dog and My Sister's Keeper, among others. Denzel Washington plays John, with Kimberly Elise as his wife Denise, James Woods as Dr. Raymond Turner and Robert Duvall as the negotiator Lt. Frank Grimes. Made for about 36 million dollars, it took in roughly 102 million worldwide.
Opinion among audiences has been warmer than among critics. On IMDb the film holds 7.1 out of 10 from around 153,000 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 7.2 from more than 2,700 ratings, while the critics' score stands at 4.9 out of 10 from 133 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The scene where Denise calls John from the hospital had to be reshot because she was wearing the wrong dress.
- The scene where George W. Bush talks about healthcare while John and Denise watch television was also shot with Al Gore, because the election took place right between the end of filming and the film's release.
- The film was shot in a number of provincial government buildings in Toronto. There was one instance where the film crew blocked the entrance to a functioning emergency room of a real hospital.
- This film was the last in which Ted Demme appeared. He passed away on January 13, 2002.
- Despite the hospital scene where the eccentric couple falls apart looking truly gripping, all the actors actually laughed a lot during its filming.
- The film's director, Nick Cassavetes, appeared in a cameo role as a reporter on the courthouse steps.
- The amount and placement of dirt on Mike's face differs in the scene following his arrest.
- When Mitch and Max are talking, and Mitch picks up the scalpel, he puts it in his left pocket. Later, when he stabs John with it, he pulls it out of his right pocket.
- When Mike and John are eating breakfast at the beginning of the film, Mike's toast changes sides on the plate.
- After John is attacked by Mitch with a scalpel, he handcuffs him to a radiator on the wall. Later, we see that Mitch is handcuffed to a security guard.
- The bullet holes, as well as bloodstains on John Q's shirt, change position in the scene when he releases the pregnant woman and the Latina mother.
- When Dr. Turner walks through the doors into the glass-enclosed hallway where John takes him hostage, the legs of a crew member can be seen behind the door against a white background.
- The film is set in the US, but if you look at the scene where John drives away at the end, a Toronto Transit Commission Wheel Trans bus can be seen in the intersection ahead, traveling from left to right. This is a wheelchair-accessible bus used in Toronto, Canada.
- The son speaks to John Q during intubation. It is impossible to speak during intubation.
- When John attempts to kill himself, he pulls the trigger, and the hammer falls, but the gun doesn't fire because, as he says, it's on safety. When a Beretta is on safety, the hammer cannot be cocked and the firing mechanism is disengaged, thus the hammer wouldn't be able to fall and pulling the trigger would have no effect.
- When the donor heart is being prepared for surgery, the dead woman's mouth twitches into a smile for a moment.
- The inscription “For Sasha” appears before the end credits. This is a dedication to the director’s daughter, Sasha Cassavetes.
- The film “Citizen Kane” (1941) was originally intended to be titled “John Q.”
- During breaks in filming, Denzel Washington managed to film “Training Day.”
- In the very first scene, the “beautiful woman” sticks her head out of the car window, and her hair doesn't move, as if the car is stationary.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
