Mean Machine
Short description
Danny Meehan was a star of English football, a national team captain with money, fame and expensive cars, until a drunken attack on a police officer sent him to prison for three years. Inside Longmarsh, his reputation counts for little. The football-obsessed governor wants him to help a team the prison already runs, but the chief guard refuses to take orders from a convict, so Danny goes his own way and assembles a side from the inmates instead. The result is a match between prisoners and their warders, with Danny caught between the men he now leads and the authorities who control his remaining time behind bars.
The film is Barry Skolnick's feature directing debut after a career in advertising, and it is a British remake of the 1974 American prison sports comedy The Longest Yard. Andrew Day, Chris Baker and Charlie Fletcher wrote the screenplay, with Matthew Vaughn and Georgia Masters producing. Vinnie Jones, a former professional footballer, plays Danny, heading a cast of twenty-five credited performers that includes David Kelly, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown, Vas Blackwood and Robbie Gee.
Made for about 3 million dollars, it returned roughly 7 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.4/10 from around 44,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.3/10 from some 657 votes, so a fairly broad audience has seen it and judged it modestly.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the first scene of Danny's arrest, his silhouette in the car constantly changes: sometimes he is in a left-hand drive car, sometimes a right-hand drive, and vice versa.
- During the explosion of the director's car, the walls of the prison can be seen shaking, which would be impossible in real conditions.
- When Mian speaks with the prison warden during a timeout, the scar is missing from his cheek.
- After being beaten by the guards, Mian is pulled away, and shoes without laces are visible on his feet. In the next shot, he is lying on the floor already wearing sneakers, which is unacceptable in prisons.
- One of the criminals is serving time for the murder of more than 20 people, making him a particularly dangerous serial killer. In the UK, people are sent to maximum-security prisons for such atrocities, a place an innocuous character like Mian could not possibly be sent.
- In the scene of the prison warden's car explosion, one can notice the prison walls shaking, which would be impossible in real conditions.
- Before starting his acting career, Vinnie Jones was a professional footballer, playing for "Chelsea" for a time, and earned the nickname "Bonecrusher" for his playing style.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
