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25th
HOUR
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
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25th
HOUR
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
This
page was created on January 12, 2003
This page was last updated on
January 13, 2003
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ABOUT
THIS FILM
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25th
houR
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
 The
clock is ticking on Monty Brogan's (Academy Award? nominee EDWARD
NORTON) freedom - in 24 hours, he goes to prison for seven long years.
Once a king of Manhattan, Monty is about to say goodbye to the life
he knew - a life that opened doors to New York's swankiest clubs but
also alienated him from the people closest to him. In his last day
on the outside, Monty tries to reconnect with his father (BRIAN COX),
who's never given up on his son, and gets together with his two closest
friends from the old days, Jacob (PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN) and Slaughtery
(BARRY PEPPER). Also in the mix is his girlfriend, Naturelle (ROSARIO
DAWSON), who might (or might not) have been the one that tipped off
the cops. Monty's not sure of much these days? but with time running
out, there are choices to be made. Acclaimed director Spike Lee ("Summer
of Sam," "Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X") sheds light on a man who's
unsure of how his life has led him to this point as he struggles to
redeem himself in the 25th hour.
Touchstone Pictures presents a 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks/Industry
Entertainment/Gamut Films Production, "25th Hour," directed
by Spike Lee from a screenplay by David Benioff, based on his novel.
Tobey Maguire, Julia Chasman, Spike Lee and Jon Kilik produce. Executive
Producer is Nick Wechsler. The film stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour
Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox and
Tony Siragusa. The film is distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
ABOUT THE FILM
 "I
like the idea of a film taking place over a 24-hour period," says
director Spike Lee. After previously exploring a story that takes
place over a single day in his Academy Award?-nominated screenplay
"Do the Right Thing," Lee sought to expand on the device. The idea
originated with David Benioff's acclaimed novel, published in 2001.
Before the publication of the novel, Benioff's book was optioned by
Industry Entertainment and Tobey Maguire. Producer Julia Chasman and
Executive Producer Nick Wechsler loved the material, and were willing
to give the first-time author a chance to adapt it into a screenplay.
Says writer David Benioff, "I figured that no one knew the story better
than I did."
The fact that the main character was unsavory - a convicted drug dealer
named Monty Brogan, played by Academy Award?-nominee Edward Norton
- didn't faze Spike Lee at all. "I don't choose which films to direct
based on how sympathetic the characters are," says the director. "Monty
Brogan is a drug dealer - and people will find that unsympathetic.
But a lot of times, unsympathetic characters make the best movies,
have the best stories. That's how I choose my projects - I choose
stories that are interesting to me."
"You can't judge the potential of a film or a character based on whether
someone in it is making choices that you wouldn't make in your own
life, otherwise you would never play anything," says Edward Norton.
 "Monty
is a drug dealer, but he is not necessarily a bad person," says Norton.
"He and his friends and his family have complicated, mixed feelings
about each other and about the choices he's made. To me, the script
felt like real life, which is rare."
The chance to do a character-driven ensemble piece was also appealing
to Lee; the film is as much about the characters that surround Monty
Brogan - his family and friends - as it is about him. "I was also
interested in the mindset of not just Monty's character, but the people
around him," says Lee. "It's just as hard for them to deal with the
fact that their friend's going away to prison in 24 hours. What do
you say to him? How do you act around him these last 24 hours? Do
you talk about it? Do you just say, 'Let's get him drunk and have
a good time?'"
"This is a story that explores themes that people will be familiar
with," says Norton. "We all have friendships that are based on past
history but perhaps have lost a strong connection in the present.
Sometimes you sit down with someone you have known for a long time
and think, 'If I met you now, we would not be friends.' But history
between you binds you. The script explores the way that friendships
can devolve, cruising on past history despite resentments that have
grown and not been expressed and the way that people can diverge without
acknowledging it."
TOUCHSTONE PICTURES'
Barry Pepper, who plays Monty's longtime friend Slaughtery, acknowledges
the turbulent relationships in the film, but feels that they are based
in love and not hate. "These are basic emotions that all friends deal
with," he says. "There are always elements of jealousy or a desire
for what the other has, and I think that those are very present within
our friendship. So, there are definitely a lot of turbulent emotions
throughout the film, but I think hate is far too strong a word for
any of the emotions that they feel for one another. I think love is
a much more resounding theme, because they realize in the end that
they love each other like brothers, but they despise some of the choices
each other has made in life, and wish that it could be like when they
were kids."
ABOUT THE CAST
 For
"25th Hour," Lee, along with producers Tobey Maguire and Jon
Kilik and executive producer Nick Wechsler, compiled a dream cast
of award-winners. Central to the film was, of course, Edward
Norton's portrayal of Monty Brogan, the man who is about
to go to prison for seven years. One of the most acclaimed actors
of his generation, Norton has been nominated for two Academy Awards?:
for Best Actor for his performance in "American
History X," and for Best Supporting Actor for his debut performance
in "Primal Fear."
"Ed has a great range, and the character of Monty called for an actor
who is both street smart and book smart; someone who is complicated,
who's nice but dangerous at the same time. It was easy to think of
Ed as Monty," comments Kilik.
Norton was immediately drawn to the project. "It is about the consequences
of moral passivity, of not taking a hard look at whether or not you've
drifted into some gray areas ethically. I think this is a story with
a cautionary intent."
In addition, the chance to work with Lee was a huge draw for the actor.
"Like half the good young actors I know, I have been hoping to get
something from Spike for years." says Norton. "I have been bugging
him as much as I felt like I appropriately could, and I have been
dreaming of working with him since long before that. He has been one
of my favorite filmmakers from the very beginning of his career. I
probably would have said yes without opening the script."
Of course, the fact that he had such a rich character to portray didn't
hurt. "Monty is a complicated character and that is thrilling as an
actor. Monty is really wrestling with what he has done and the difficulty
of taking responsibility for his choices when a big part of him wants
to blame other people. The story is about his journey to taking responsibility
for his own actions," says Norton.
Of Norton, Lee says, "Edward is one of the smartest people that I
know, and not just about acting. He's also a very hard worker. Everything
he does is what's best for the film."
 Rosario
Dawson had previously worked with Lee on "He Got Game,"
and they had often spoken about working together again. As a result,
the actress was a natural to play Naturelle, Monty's longtime girlfriend
- and possibly the one who sold him out to the cops. "I love working
with Rosario, and right away there was very good chemistry between
her and Edward," says Lee. Dawson sees something of herself in Naturelle
- a young woman having to make major decisions about her life. "Naturelle
seemed like someone who was really complex, a really smart girl and
just very interesting. At the same time, she is stalling about making
a lot of decisions in her life. And as I get older, I see myself deliberately
putting off making decisions and wanting to stay young and innocent,
and just have fun and not have to be responsible. For the first time,
Naturelle has to face her life and decide how she wants to live. I
can relate to that."
Naturelle's relationship with Monty is strained by his suspicion that
she is the person that betrayed him. That shadow of doubt creates
the dynamic that Dawson and Norton deal with throughout the course
of the film. "There is a strain in their relationship, but they don't
talk about it. Six or seven months have gone by, and he hasn't said
anything to her. So, Naturelle tries to be there for him, to make
it as easy a transition for him as possible," explains Dawson.
Norton was impressed by Dawson's approach to her craft. "She has a
very natural sense of understatement. She is very comfortable with
stillness, which I think is the key to film acting and which I think
is very rare in an actress as young as she is. I was very impressed
with Rosario's talent in 'He Got Game' and really wanted her to play
this part."
 The
two other major characters in "25th Hour" are Jacob and Slaughtery,
Monty's two friends from high school with whom he reconnects in his
last hours before going to prison. Lee chose Philip
Seymour Hoffman for the role of Jacob, a high school teacher
who is captivated and morally repulsed by his attraction to one of
his students. Hoffman was intrigued by the idea of undergoing what
he describes as a rite of passage on screen. "This movie is about
a rite of passage into adulthood which is a story we've seen before.
But this is a pretty creative and unique story on that theme. What
they ultimately have to do in order to move forward is very moving."
Hoffman describes Jacob as a multifaceted character who's stuck in
his past. "The story deals with a lot of colorful, different, very
human stuff, and I found that very interesting in order to build a
character on. The screenplay and the movie itself reveal that these
characters have a lot of depth, and color and you might want to point
a finger or create judgment, but I don't think the story allows you
to do that."
"When you see people you like, you know that you want to work with
them," says Lee. "Philip is one of those people that I wanted to work
with. I was patient because it always should be the right role."
Norton was in the midst of working with Hoffman when Lee asked for
his assessment of the burly actor. Norton gave an unqualified yes.
"I have admired Phillip's work for a long time," says Norton. "He
is one of the best actors of our generation. We didn't actually work
much together in 'Red Dragon' and I kept thinking to myself that it
would be really nice to do something more substantive with him. And
this turned out to be the next thing."
 For
the role of Slaughtery, Lee turned to Barry
Pepper, who intrigued the director with his performance
in "Saving Private Ryan" and his portrayal of Roger Maris in the HBO
film "61*." Pepper describes their unusual first meeting: "I was in
New York doing a press junket and I heard that Spike wanted to meet
with me. He took me to Madison Square Garden - right on the floor
- to watch the Knicks play the Raptors, but really, to talk about
'25th Hour.' I had never had a meeting with a director like
that before."
"It was a challenge for me, because I had never played a character
like Slaughtery. Spike wasn't sure that I could do it," says Pepper.
"He wanted me to convince him that I could make the character come
to life. I told him that it was the challenge that I had been looking
for years, to try and play a character unlike anything I had ever
played before. I think through those first, preliminary meetings,
he saw that I was dedicated to the film and that it was my number-one
priority, and I think my commitment convinced him."
Pepper describes Slaughtery as "the unlikely success story - the Wall
Street whiz kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He's a little rough
around the edges compared to the average Wall Street hustler, but
he is a hustler nonetheless. Like the rest of them, Wall Street is
his church and money is his religion."
He found it liberating to play Slaughtery. "He is so different from
who I am in my everyday life. I am a father and a husband, living
a pretty kicked-back life, but Slaughtery is fast-paced all the way,
living in the fast lane."
Norton enjoyed watching Pepper become Slaughtery. "Barry is really
not at all the character he is playing. It was fun to watch him go
down to Wall Street and absorb the cutthroat world of bond traders
and floor traders. He has had to absorb the aggressiveness and the
below-the-surface, explosive anger that is in these guys."
 The
role of Monty's father, a retired fireman-turnedpub owner is played
by veteran actor Brian Cox. Though
their relationship is a loving one, it's also rife with complications
and ambivalence. Lee comments. "He feels very responsible for his
son, as any father would if your son ends up being a drug dealer.
To complicate matters, he took money from his son to help with the
bar. So his hands are bloody too. So it was a very, very complicated
relationship - very complicated father/son relationship."
 Oscar?-winning
actress Anna Paquin plays high
school student Mary D'Annunzio, who is the object of attraction of
her teacher, Jacob. Paquin jumped at the chance to work with Lee.
"Spike Lee has made some of the most important movies, and it feels
great to get to be part of something that he's doing. I keep reminding
myself: 'I'm in a Spike Lee movie.'"
Paquin describes Mary as "a girl who is a little more mature than
her seventeen years. She uses her sexuality wherever she can to get
whatever she wants out of people. Mary is manipulative and enjoys
making Philip Hoffman's character, her English teacher, as uncomfortable
as she possibly can."
Hoffman sees the relationship as a confirmation that Jacob has to
grow up. "It's very disturbing to Jacob. He thinks that there's something
wrong with him. It's a special instance of him coming to terms with
the fact that he has to grow up. He has to accept responsibility for
being an adult. He has to let his adolescence go."
Ex-NFL player Tony Siragusa was
in the aisles at Home Depot when he got a call from Lee wondering
if he might be interested in playing Kostya - the Ukrainian henchman
assigned to protect Monty. Siragusa had never acted before and worried
that he might not be up to the challenge, but Lee's confidence in
his ability made the difference. "I didn't want to mess anything up
because he believed in me," says Siragusa. "He said, 'You're a natural
- you've got to go out there, you can do it.' I didn't want to let
him down and I don't think I did."
Siragusa also gives credit to Norton for teaching him some of the
tricks of the trade. "Ed took me under his wing and commented a lot
and helped me throughout the whole movie. For example, don't look
into the camera - that was a big one. But the toughest thing is to
remember what you do each time - to remember exactly how you move
- because when they cut and they move to a different area or a different
angle, you have to do the same thing and remember where your head
was and all this other stuff was."
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
For Spike Lee, filmmaking is a truly collaborative process. "For me,
I have to give my crew the same respect and time as I do the actors,"
says Lee. "Cinematography, costume design, production design, music,
editing - it's all part of the filmmaking process."
Many key members of his crew - including
musician Terrence Blanchard, costume designer Sandra Hernandez, editor
Barry Alexander Brown - follow him from project to project.
When they're not available, he is able to command some of the best
up-and-coming artists working - such as "25th Hour" director
of photography Rodrigo Prieto, A.S.C., A.M.C., who had previously
filmed the Academy Award?-nominated film, "Amores Perros," and has
gone on to shoot the critically acclaimed films "Frida" and "8 Mile."
Lee called on Prieto to create a look that was both classic and forward-looking.
"Anytime I work with a cinematographer, we always try to do something
different. It was a joy to work with him. He's not jaded, so he was
very open to suggestions. He also had ideas that I had never thought
of. We worked well together - we meshed. I think that the way the
film looks reflects that too."
Lee's perceptive use of music is one of the signature elements of
his work. Since "Jungle Fever," composer Terence Blanchard has been
his primary musical collaborator. "In 'Mo' Better Blues,' when you
hear Denzel playing, that's Terence. Music is important in this film
- maybe more important than any of my films since 'Mo' Better Blues'
- because there are long stretches in the script where I knew that
music would have to support the drama."
Blanchard's score was recorded in London using a team of 80 musicians
from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphonic Orchestra.
The story's 24-hour time frame presented a particular creative challenge
for costume designer Sandra Hernandez. "Before selecting the costumes,
I asked myself, 'How much do I love this costume?' The actors have
to wear the same things for the entire film."
For the majority of the film, the costumes are monochromatic colors
of greys, tan, blacks and blues, but Hernandez got to play with more
vibrant colors in the flash forward sequence that presents an alternative
outcome for Monty's life.
Lee credits casting director Aisha Coley, who he has worked with several
times, as being "very instrumental in helping to cast the film with
the best people possible. She's the one who suggested Anna, who is
amazing in the film. That's what a casting director is supposed to
do, because it's impossible for a director to know everyone out there.
SPIKE LEE'S NEW YORK
 The
film was shot on location in the five boroughs of New York City -
Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx and Manhattan - and captures
a city, like Monty, dealing with a difficult situation. "New York
City has always been an important character in my films," says Spike
Lee. "It's even more so in this film. People ask me what '25th
Hour' is about, and I say, 'Edward Norton plays a drug dealer
who spends his last 24 hours of freedom in a post-9/11 New York City.'
"Even though the novel and the screenplay were written before September
11th, we knew it had to be included in the film," adds Lee. "We felt
that we would be irresponsible artists if we shot this film in New
York City and people were walking around like 9/11 never happened.
We put it into the screenplay, and it became an element that was incorporated
through cinematography and some dialogue.
 "When
you watch this film, you see that it's definitely a post-9/11 New
York City," Lee continues. "We didn't have the mentality that we couldn't
talk about it. This was something that happened, and I think it should
be acknowledged."
"There is a picture window that overlooks the Ground Zero site. I
could see the entire site with all of the bulldozers and men working
and it was all lit up," remembers Barry Pepper. "It was just an awesome
sight. And it is just this powerful moment that is there for the audience
to absorb. It is so current with what we are all dealing with globally."
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
 Spike
Lee's many films have garnered Academy Award?-nominations, critical
acclaim, and audience response. To achieve this, Lee relies on his
actors for their creative input and demands an extensive rehearsal
process to make sure everyone is on the same page. "I think that every
actor wants to know that they have input - that what they say matters
and that you listen to what they say," says Lee. "I'm not that much
of a stickler on dialogue. If you are going to say something that
sounds better, or you feel that saying something differently makes
you more comfortable, I'm not against that. See if it works - if it
doesn't, that's okay."
"It differs," notes Hoffman. "Sometimes, I think it's important to
improvise a scene, but other times, I like to find what's on the page
and make that work, too. Spike is supportive of both - he just wants
to find something that's going to be alive. Ultimately, he was prepared
to shoot what he had to shoot and move along, so we had to be ready.
I like that."
"On a practical level, Spike is everything you hope for as an actor,"
says Norton. "He is so prepared and decisive about what he wants to
achieve, and that's important, because then you don't stand around
waiting while the director makes up his mind or shoot tons of unnecessary
coverage. He gives you so much room and encouragement to give the
performance; he doesn't micromanage. And I get the sense that his
assessment of performance is instinctive - he responds from the gut.
His filmmaking is like that too... very instinctive... like a great
athlete who's confident of his abilities and watches the play develop.
I don't even know how much he storyboards or prepares for a shot;
I think it's just instinctive, because he has such a sure hand."
 "Spike
brings such visual dynamism to his work, and I was really hoping that
we would find a way to bring some of the more surreal images in the
book into the film," says Norton. "Not scenes per se, but ideas suggested
by the book - and make them cinematic. Monty's monologue in front
of the mirror was the best example of that and is the kind of work
that I think is distinctively Spike."
"Spike had Ed and I work together for a week before we went to camera,"
notes Barry Pepper. "This was a week of very intensive rehearsals.
We went over every nuance of the script, every movement, every theme,
every idea that came up was mined to its fullest."
"I'm not the most patient of fellows," says Hoffman, "but Spike moves.
He works so hard. He always knew exactly what to do. Things often
have a way of going haywire on a set, but Spike has a way of not letting
that happen." |
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