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ABOUT THIS FILM |
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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
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| ABOUT
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PRODUCTION
NOTES
Tattooed.
Head shaven. Buff to the max. Attitude to spare. A walking advertisement
for anti-authoritarianism. And like the letter that begins his first
name (and is emblazoned into the back of his neck in triplicate
by ink-and-needle), extreme in every way. Xander Cage (Vin Diesel)
is XXX. He makes his questionable living by selling web videos of
his outrageous, thrill seeking exploits, whether parachuting out
of a stolen car as it plunges 700 feet off a bridge, or other renegade
activities which invite maximum adrenaline flow or, perhaps, a very
early grave. Xander has a coterie of friends and admirers in their
death-defying subculture, but after his umpteenth tangle with the
law, his world is about to take the most extreme detour yet...
...For
what Xander doesn?t know is that he?s been ?scouted? by Agent Augustus
Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), a veteran agent with the National Security
Agency whose tough attitude and scarred face mark him as a grizzled
but determined warrior for America. Gibbons and the NSA are facing
a desperate situation in distant Prague, where their undercover operative
has been killed by a gang of cutting-edge thugs calling themselves
Anarchy 99, headed by the brutal ex-Russian Army commander Yorgi (Marton
Csokas) and his beautiful but hardened girlfriend, Yelena (Asia Argento).
Gibbons
needs a new breed of agent to get to Prague, go undercover, and play
by Anarchy 99?s own rules...or lack of them...to stop them from destroying
the world and discover just how dangerous their game really is. And
Xander Cage, with his astonishing physical and athletic prowess and
indifferent attitude, is a perfect, if unlikely (and completely unwilling)
candidate. Gibbons will use any means possible to find out if Xander
is his man for the job, even if it means putting him through the most
grueling series of ?tests? imaginable.
For Augustus
Gibbons believes that a man can change--even a seemingly hopeless
if talented guy like ?X,? and so, Xander is compelled to acquire a
new occupation, and a revised identity to go with it:
Agent
Xander Cage, code name...XXX!
Rob Cohen,
Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel -- respectively, the director, producer
and star of the high octane summer 2001 smash hit The Fast and the
Furious--now catapult the secret agent genre into the new millennium
with the Revolution Studios action-adventure thriller XXX.
Vin Diesel
blasted to stardom with his starring roles as Riddick in Pitch Black
and then as street racing legend Dominic Toretto in The Fast and The
Furious following earlier roles in Steven Spielberg?s Saving Private
Ryan, Boiler Room and as the voice of The Iron Giant in the critically
acclaimed animated feature.
Starring
with Vin Diesel in XXX is Samuel L. Jackson, one of America?s most
acclaimed motion picture performers, who has created a series of unforgettable
characterizations in such films as Pulp Fiction, A Time To Kill, Unbreakable
and the two most recent entries in George Lucas? Star Wars series.
Rob Cohen,
one of film?s most prolific and versatile directors, has also directed
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Dragonheart, Daylight, The Skulls and
HBO?s The Rat Pack.
ABOUT
THE PRODUCTION WITH
XANDER ZONE
The idea
for Triple-X was hatched by screenwriter Rich Wilkes while he was
on his honeymoon in Bora Bora. ?I?ve always been a big fan of the
classic spy movies,? says Wilkes ?but I thought it was time for a
movie that spoke to today?s young audiences.? When Wilkes returned
to Los Angeles, he met with Revolution Studios partner Todd Garner
who sparked to the idea immediately. ?Rich?s pitch was fresh and clearly
had the potential to blow the lid off the action spy genre as we knew
it.? Garner brought the idea to Revolution founder Joe Roth who put
his full support behind the project. ?What Todd and Rich wanted to
do was create an entirely original character ? one the screen had
never seen. That was a movie I wanted Revolution to make.?
With Revolution
shepherding the project, Roth and Garner went to work on putting the
creative team together. In May 2001, producer Neal H. Moritz showed
them a rough cut of The Fast and The Furious which cemented their
next move. With Moritz signed on as producer, they committed to reuniting
Rob Cohen and Vin Diesel. The team first approached Cohen, who connected
with the project immediately. Once on board, the creative collaboration
between all parties began and continued throughout production. ?I
loved the new ideas in Rich?s script and the opportunity to team with
Revolution and reunite with Neal all made the film?s potential irresistable,?
said Cohen. But there was one condition. Cohen believed Vin Diesel
was the only man who could pull off Xander Cage. ?He is Triple-X.
I wouldn?t make this movie without him. I like to refer to Xander
Cage as the all-American anti-hero. He?s not the guy who does the
right thing because he believes in all the good principles. He?s the
guy who does the right thing because that?s what circumstances demand,
not conscience. And somebody who has that degree of attitude, defiance,
toughness, vulnerability, likeability and soul is Vin Diesel.?
Upon being
presented with the idea of XXX, Diesel agreed that the only way to
do it was together.
?When
you stumble across a great actor-director relationship like the one
I found with Rob Cohen on The Fast and the Furious,? notes Diesel,
?you are quick to get back into that environment again. A big part
of my attraction to Triple-X was to work with Rob again.?
?The role
of Xander Cage is all about attitude,? continues Moritz. ?The whole
film has an attitude. And this isn?t something you can just act. You
either have it or you don?t...and Vin exudes attitude.?
Diesel
was also intrigued by the character created by screenwriter Rich Wilkes.
?The idea of giving birth to a new breed of secret agent was interesting
and challenging. What attracts me to projects first is the content,
and with Triple-X I was attracted to the concept of a guy who is solely
concerned with his own thrill-seeking endeavors. He couldn?t care
less about political affairs outside of the ones that directly affect
him. I liked the idea that someone like Xander could be called upon
to step into the shoes of a secret agent. Taking a guy who?s the least
likely to want to save the world, and having him do just that, fascinated
me.?
Diesel
adds, ?Joe?s history developing high concept action films like Con
Air, The Rock and Die Hard gave me the ultimate confidence that this
project was in the right hands.?
?This
film does not give you a chance to catch your breath,? says Roth.
?Rob had created action set pieces that raise the bar for movies to
come.?
?Xander
Cage is definitely not your average secret agent,? declares Neal H.
Moritz. ?He?s today?s version of the secret agent. He gets to do everything:
sky surf out of a plane, snowboard in front of an avalanche, drive
fast cars, be with beautiful women...all in the name of trying to
stop the bad guys. ?Triple-X is an E-ticket ride like I?ve never seen
before, it has great action, humor and characters and most importantly,
it?s a really big, fun movie and a great way to end the summer. We?re
hoping that audiences will go out having a good time and wanting more.?
?Xander
is a rebel without a clue,? says Rob Cohen. ?He is going no place
fast, but he?s a man of great skills, which comes to the attention
of Agent Augustus Gibbons of the National Security Agency. And therein
lies the plot...?
Cohen
knew from the start who he wanted to breathe full life into the character
of Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). ?He?s the King of Cool,?
states Cohen. ?Sam?s inside his own skin, and he?s completely at ease
there. He?s as close to an enlightened man as I have met, because
the enlightened man is one who knows himself, the space he occupies
and is totally accepting and detached from it at the same time in
terms of ego. Sam is that man. He?s self-confident, supremely talented,
an ultimate gentleman. He?s got all the charisma one could ever want,
and then some. In fact, he would be a trillionaire if he could just
sell some of his charisma.?
Adds Vin
Diesel, ?he?s always been one of my favorite actors. The idea of working
with Sam is literally a dream come true.?
?The story
was interesting and exciting to me,? explains Jackson, ?and the character
appealed to me. Rob gave me a lot of liberty in creating my own back
story for Gibbons. I wanted him to be badly scarred from some mission
in the past, which Gibbons uses as a reminder of where he?s been,
who he is, what he sacrificed for his country and how proud he is
of that.
?Gibbons
sees the potential in Xander,? Jackson continues. ?He also knows that
you have to find someone who?s on the same page as the bad guys. That?s
how he sees Xander -- a renegade. But he also thinks there?s an untapped
source of dedication and patriotism that Xander can connect with.
What Xander and Gibbons have in common is that both men can think
in unconventional terms, and that?s what makes success in their line
of business.?
Vin Diesel
and Samuel L. Jackson had been looking for the right project to work
on together. ?We met years ago in London when Vin was doing Saving
Private Ryan and I was doing Star Wars Episode I,? recalls Jackson.
We accidentally ran into each other in a sushi bar and spent some
time together. We?ve had some common experiences, and our relationship
is such that we?ve wanted to work together for awhile.? Their on?screen
partnership marks the memorable of a new action franchise.
To cast
the other stars of XXX, Cohen was determined to find the best of the
best in the international acting community whether or not they were
well known in the U.S. His search for the actors to inhabit the roles
of Yelena and Yorgi, two Russian characters who are, respectively,
Xander Cage?s love interest and nemesis, Cohen literally scoped the
world, finally landing on two pinpoints: New Zealand and Italy.
?After
Vin and Sam, the next most important roles were the villain and the
female protagonist,? says Cohen. ?Heroes or anti-heroes are defined
by the villain...if that mountain isn?t steep enough, the hero?s climb
just feels empty. So you need the strongest villain possible to have
the strongest hero possible.?
Casting
director Ronna Kress, CSA had recommended an actor from New Zealand
named Marton Csokas for the rold of Yorgi. ?She said he was 6 foot
one, very good looking and an incredible actor. Marton traveled to
Los Angeles and I sat down with him for a meeting. At first, I was
a little taken aback, because although Marton was indeed tall, dark
and handsome, he was also so shy and mild-mannered that I wondered
if he could play a dangerous villain like Yorgi. Marton asked me how
I saw the character, and I explained that Yorgi is a military man
who was trained to fight for Mother Russia, and lived through the
collapse of everything he was taught to believe, which leaves him
completely disillusioned. He doesn?t want to run the world, he doesn?t
want self-aggrandizement...Yorgi wants the world, as we know it, to
disappear. He wants freedom, but in a way that?s sick, dangerous and
twisted. I told Marton that what we wanted was to see Yorgi as a demented
genius, which is a kind of villainy that?s much more frightening than
a big guy with a lot of guns.
?So Marton
said quietly, ?Oh, all right, I understand. Let me give it a try.?
And then, when he started to read a scene from the script in character,
he was suddenly seven feet tall! The transition was incredible, it
made me sit back in my chair. After Marton left the office, I turned
to Ronna and said ?Let?s get him. Let?s not even look any further.
I don?t care who else is out there, this guy?s amazing.??
For Csokas,
portraying Yorgi was the chance for the theatrically-trained actor
to create a fully-dimensional character who just happens to be the
villain of the piece. ?The empathy that we can find with Yorgi is
that he?s working from within the system in order to bring it down,?
says Csokas. ?And sure, the way he goes about it is extreme, but I
still think we can learn something from his intentions, metaphorically
or otherwise. In a way, both Xander and Yorgi set out to achieve the
same thing, initially. Perfect freedom and the end of oppressive systems
of belief. But where they depart is that Yorgi wants to save the world
by destroying it, and Xander comes to know that there?s a lot worth
saving.?
Cohen?s
selection of the performer to play Yelena--a consort of Yorgi in his
Anarchy 99 organization whose toughness is only matched by her beauty--was
equally unorthodox. ?Yelena is another Russian character, and I didn?t
want to cast an American actress that people knew. It was very important
to find someone who could really play the tough, razor-wire aspects
against Vin?s character so that there would be a love story at the
center that was unlike most love stories. These are two people who
are very strong, but also very vulnerable on the inside. I wanted
an unconventional beauty, not a doll. And Asia Argento provided everything
I was looking for.?
Argento
is a major star in Italy and France, an award-winning actress since
she was 12 years old, and the scion of an important Italian film director
(Dario Argento) and actress (Daria Nicolodi). However, aside from
a fanatical cabal of fans, Argento has been--until now, in any case--fairly
unknown in the U.S. ?I didn?t really know her work,? Cohen admits.
?I brought her in to screen test with two other actresses, and I called
her on a rainy Sunday night to welcome her to America. I was struck
immediately by this smoky, textural voice that Asia has. Then, when
she was in front of the camera with Vin for the screen test, Asia
was probably just four lines into the scene when I fell to my knees
behind the monitor saying ?Yes! Yes! Yes!? Because after Ronna Kress
and I had read 500 women from seven countries, there was Asia, acting
her heart out. I gave her the part that day.?
As for
Argento, although much of her work in Europe has been in ?art films,?
she was thrilled about the possibility of switching gears. ?This is
the first real action movie that was offered to me, and I love big
American action movies. I find them much more fun than some artsy,
boring European films. I thought it would be a real challenge for
me to do Triple-X. I saw Rob?s film The Fast and the Furious when
it came out in Italy before I was called to do the screen test, and
I thought it was amazing. I went after the role of Yelena like a real
warrior.?
Argento
was attracted to the character as well as the genre. ?Yelena is a
mystery almost to the end of the story. We don?t really know what
she is, where she?s coming from, and what she?s doing with Yorgi and
Anarchy 99. She?s not just good or just bad. She?s both. She?s also
both cerebral and physical, which really appealed to me.?
Among
Cohen?s other U.S. casting choices was Michael Roof, a stand-up comedian
who had recently made his acting debut in the ensemble of Ridley Scott?s
blockbuster war film Black Hawk Down. Roof was appropriately cast
as Toby Lee Shavers, a terrifically annoying (if endearing) young
NSA genius who devises Xander?s array of gadgets.
?I?m a
high school graduate playing an M.I.T. brain,? jokes Roof, ?so the
role of Toby Lee Shavers is really a stretch. But what I like about
the character is that he really loves his job, and he?s not a mean
person. Toby Lee is a pest ?cause he?s in your ear all the time--I
mean, I?d hate to drink a beer and hear about his love stories, you
know--but he?s totally into what he?s doing, and wants to do the best
job he can for the agency.?
With Rich
Wilkes? script set in Los Angeles, Colombia but primarily Prague--the
gorgeous, mysterious, enigmatic, romantic and incredibly historic
capital city of the Czech Republic--Cohen also knew that he wanted
to take full advantage of the acting talent pools of both Eastern
and Western Europe. He soon began lining up a cast which, though familiar
to viewers in their own countries, would be entirely fresh to American
audiences. This group included Germany?s Richy M?ller and Werner Daehn,
and the Czech Republic?s Petr Jakl, Jan Filipensky, Martin Hub, Radek
Tomecka and Martina Smukova, a well-known model making her feature
debut as a very sexy policewoman. ?I think the actors are all fresh,
charismatic and major screen presences,? enthuses Rob Cohen. ?And
that newness, combined that their level of skill and talent, was very
exciting to work with.?
XXX
Now that
they knew what they had ahead of them, Vin Diesel, Asia Argento and
Marton Csokas all set about the business of preparing. It would take
them on three very different paths, which would ultimately, merge
into one moviemaking highway. Recognizing the importance of convincing
audiences of Xander Cage?s relentlessly daredevil nature, Vin Diesel
plunged into training for the role with all sails unfurled.
?Part
of the draw to this character for me was that I?d have to do three
months of preparation and training,? explains Diesel. ?So I set out
to train with the best rock climbers, motocross, snowboarding and
weaponry experts, BASE jumpers and Navy S.E.A.L.S. for underwater
work. All of the different aspects of Xander?s proficiency had to
be worked out in pre-production. I?m a thrill-seeker myself, to some
degree, and I really enjoyed the process.?
Diesel
wasted no time getting into the thick of it. ?I?d never been on a
motocross bike before in my life, and on the first day I was doing
jumps. To have the opportunity of going off and doing these things
under the supervision of the best was a great opportunity. Ironically,
there wasn?t a lot of weight training. You try to slim down, if anything,
and play into the agility that Xander?s character would need to be
able to pull of all of his physical stunts. And you discover that
during training, your body starts to move differently. And then, when
you actually start shooting, you?re able to do things that you?ve
never been able to do before.?
Also undergoing
rigorous physical training was Asia Argento, who was already more
than fit as a highly proficient Muay Thai kickboxer...but who just
had a blessed event which complicated matters somewhat. ?I had just
had a baby when I was cast, but the five years of kickboxing helped
me get back into shape pretty quickly,? says Argento.
A different
kind of training was being undertaken by Marton Csokas, who helped
to prepare for his role as the disaffected Russian Army officer Yorgi
by literally immersing himself in the culture. ?The complete perfectionist
that Marton is,? notes Rob Cohen, ?he immediately left for Russia
after I cast him, spending a month to learn what it is to be a Russian.
He came back speaking Russian, speaking English with a Russian accent
and understanding the Russian psychology.? (In fact, Csokas would
retain a dialect coach during production to make certain that he never
wavered from his determination to keep the accent correct, whether
speaking English or Russian on camera).
While
his actors were finding their own ways into their roles, Rob Cohen
was assembling a team of the finest behind-the-scenes artists he could
find, along with a mind-boggling array of stunt performers assembled
by stunt coordinators Lance Gilbert and James Arnett. The time was
drawing near when the pedal had to be put to the metal by everyone
involved.
INCREASING
VELOCITY
The first
day of principal photography of XXX took place at a bucolic, leafy
green country club in the Los Angeles suburb of Westlake. It all started
fairly quietly--and quickly went zero to sixty as Vin Diesel?s Xander
Cage, posing as a parking valet, ?borrows? a reactionary state senator?s
Corvette for some fairly serious road testing.
Two days
later, the company descended on a secluded location north of L.A.,
where Cohen and production designer Gavin Bocquet had discovered a
perfect location to double for rural Colombia. All they needed were
thousands of imitation coca plants and several four-dimensional wooden
structures as a perfect replication of a drug farm. ?We knew that
we couldn?t actually go to Colombia and film this sequence,? says
Bocquet, ?but about an hour and ten minutes north of Los Angeles,
we found a really interesting green valley which had a river running
through it, and we were excited because it had a look remarkably like
South America. It was a big area to cover with the sets, not only
with full-sized buildings but also with imitation coca plants.?
This was
only the first of many environments created by Bocquet and his talented
art departments in three countries on two continents, and the amazingly
realistic five-acre coca farm was destined for an appropriate conclusion:
to be utterly destroyed in a conflagration of explosions and machine
gun fire from five ?Fuerza Aerea Colombiana? helicopters zooming overhead.
Aerial coordinator Cliff Fleming, who had just worked with executive
producer Arne L. Schmidt and director of photography Dean Semler,
AM, ACS, ASC on the Vietnam War epic We Were Soldiers, closely collaborated
with Rob Cohen and stunt coordinator Lance Gilbert to create just
one of the never-before-seen-or-attempted action sequences in XXX:
a cat-and-mouse chase between a 250cc motorcycle and a Huey helicopter,
replete with high jumps and ?tabletops.?
The sequence
really tested Vin Diesel?s mettle, as he roared down a dirt road on
the cycle with explosive squibs from the Huey?s guns going off in
every direction. Notes Cohen of the sequence, ?Our cinematographer,
Dean Semler, is a fantastic man and a brilliant cinematographer. To
light that huge amount of acreage at night and give it so much color
and fire was just amazing.? Even the Oscar-winnning Semler, who has
photographed big-scale action sequences for films like The Road Warrior,
Dances With Wolves and Waterworld, was somewhat intimidated by the
coca farm location. ?I hadn?t done anything like that before. It was
hugely challenging. We came in from every angle at once, with a maximum
of 13 cameras at one point.?
Heaping
thrill upon thrill, Cohen and company, joining forces with the second
unit under Alexander Witt (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down), then alighted
northward to shoot the incredible sequence in which Xander drives
a Corvette convertible off of the Foresthill Bridge in Auburn, California
(near Sacramento)--which rises 728 feet above the North Fork of the
American River--and ?surfs? the car down before deploying a parachute
that allows him to land safely. No wires. No nets. Twenty cameras
captured this incredible stunt, including 11 35mm, two 16mm and three
mini DV video cameras on the ground; one aerial in a helicopter; and
three specially-designed systems from Ed Gutentag?s Crashcam Industries
plummeting to its final resting place inside the Corvette.
?I worked
with Rich Wilkes to front load the first act with a lot of action,?
says Rob Cohen. ?I like to uncork something really big very soon,
like the highway truckjacking in The Fast and the Furious. This way,
the audience feels like they?re getting their money?s worth, and can
sit back and really enjoy the rest of the ride.?
Other
Los Angeles locations included the classic ?50s-style Pann?s Diner
near the airport, in which Samuel L. Jackson?s Agent Augustus Gibbons
is introduced to Vin Diesel?s character Xander Cage, and an abandoned
loft in the downtown district which was converted into Xander?s funky
domicile. The surprise party scene for Xander was jammed with just
about every top action sports star in America, many of whom also acted
or performed stunts in the film. The action roles included revered
sports god Tony Hawk, freestyle BMX superstar Mat Hoffman, Brian Deegan
(freestyle motocross), Jason Ellis (skateboarding), Rick Thorne (freestyle
BMX), Cary Hart (motocross), Mike Escamilla (freestyle bike), Colin
McKay (skateboarding) and Rob Wells (skateboarding/action sports commentator).
All of the above, plus such world-class stunt talents and athletes
as freestyle motocross experts Larry Linkogle and Jeremy Stenberg,
as well as world class BASE jumper Tim Rigby and the late, great skydiving
coordinator Harry L. O?Connor, would make tremendous contributions
to the often unprecedented action of XXX.
?They
hired all the right athletes,? noted Tony Hawk of the filmmakers.
?Rob Cohen and everyone here wants it to be authentic. They brought
in the right people, and really respected our opinions.? Hawk was
also impressed by Vin Diesel?s determination to ?get it right.? ?Vin
is athletic and that?s important. He?s not someone posing because
he has to look good,? said Hawk. ?I also appreciate that Vin respects
all the sports and is not looking at them in an exploitative manner.
He?s paying tribute to them in a meaningful way.?
Also featured
in a cameo appearance in the loft party scene is superstar rapper
Eve as Xander?s friend J.J., once again proving that Rob Cohen?s eye
is squarely on who?s who and what?s what in pop culture.
FAST-FORWARD
TO THE ?HOLLYWOOD OF EUROPE?
After
filming completed in California, the Triple-X company was off to the
?Hollywood of Europe,? the ancient, magnificent capital of the Czech
Republic...Prague. This city of spires, red-tile roofs, cathedrals
and castles has become one of the world?s most popular locations,
but all too often doubles for other cities. This time, Prague would
most definitely be playing itself, with Cohen, director of photography
Dean Semler, AM, ACS, ASC and the crew taking full advantage of the
city?s historic and atmospheric cobblestone streets, twisting alleyways,
soaring cathedrals and superb architecture that spans the centuries.
Cohen,
production designer Gavin Bocquet and director of photography Semler
discovered a stunning array of locations, in the heart of Prague,
the countryside and far south in the province of Moravia. Bocquet
had worked in Prague twice before, as the production designer of Steven
Soderbergh?s Kafka and an episode of George Lucas? The Young Indiana
Jones Chronicles. He knew the city well, but there was so much more
to discover. ?The projects I?d done in Prague were very period based,
and I always wanted to return to work on a film that was more contemporary,?
Bocquet notes.
Dean Semler
was also excited to film Prague in a way that it never had been before:
?I think that much of what we?ve been seeing are period stories with
gaslight and candlelight, which tend to be softer. We?re playing a
full-on contemporary piece here, which allows us to give the city
a different look. We?re lighting a lot of historical interiors with
full-on flourescence and neon, which give them a look they?ve never
had before.?
Filming
in the brutally cold Prague winter began in a filthy ground floor
apartment (made even more so by the art department)--Xander?s ?home?
in Prague--in the narrow passages of Liliova Street in Prague?s Stare
Mesto (Old Town). Then it was on to the Eastern Czech mountain burg
of Celna--quite literally almost the middle of nowhere--where the
filmmakers had discovered a crumbling, de-sanctified 150-year-old
church which was converted by Gavin Bocquet into one of the unique
Anarchy 99 nightclub locations. Here, Cohen summoned German electro/metal
band Rammstein--superstars in Europe--to recreate one of their highly
visual concerts, replete with roaring flames, eccentric costumes and
outer-limits makeup, as a backdrop to the film?s opening sequence,
which sets up the story. Hundreds of Czech extras, appropriately attired
by costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays and the hair and makeup department,
were actual Rammstein fans recruited from their most recent performance
in Prague, so little acting was required to cheer on their favorite
band.
Another
concert scene, a full-tilt rave featuring the popular British techno-duo
Orbital (another nod by Rob Cohen to authentic European popular culture)?performing
a song they composed especially for the film--was shot in a bizarre
Soviet-era electronic testing station north of Prague, which Bocquet
describes as ?looking like something out of a 1950s Russian science
fiction movie.? Cohen decided to match the backdrop with the drama
that unfolds in the sequence. ?It?s all about electricity, both the
techno-rave location and what?s happening between Xander and Yelena.?
A bewildering
number of historic locations were utilized by the filmmakers for XXX.
The extraordinary exterior and Baroque rotunda of the State Castle
of Vranov and Dyji was utilized as the headquarters of Anarchy 99.
Originally built in the 11th century, the castle was reconstructed
in 1687 by Austrian architect Johann Bernhard Fischer, painter Johann
Michael Rottmayr and sculptor Lorenzo Mattieli, but none of them could
possibly imagine that through the magic of the XXX art department,
and then Joel Hynek?s visual effects, in the film it has been re-set
in the midst of high, snowy, mountainous peaks about an hour north
of Prague!
This stately
pile of magnificently conflicting architectural styles spanning the
centuries sits atop a rocky promontory overlooking a little village
like a hawk about to sweep down on its prey. The great hall--a huge
Baroque rotunda with a massive ceiling covered from one end to the
other with rococo frescoes, and statues of ancient grandees peering
hautily from the walls--was appropriately decorated by Bocquet, supervising
art director Jonathan Lee, set decorator Hilton Rosemarin and property
master C.J. Maguire with humorously contrasting old chairs and sofas,
piles of CDs and magazines, bottles of booze and a makeshift bowling
alley in which priceless antique vases, bottles and statuary replace
more conventional ten pins. A fenced-in area filled with computers
and other high-tech equipment represents the operations center of
Anarchy 99. In the courtyard outside, Bocquet designed a 50-foot-long
wall with a neo-classical ?temple,? which was to be the site of a
huge battle during the film?s climax between the heroic Czech police
and ?soldiers? of Anarchy 99.
It was
also at this location where Vin Diesel had to do some serious rock
climbing up the nearly sheer face of the precipice, but the actor
was game. ?Thank God I did the rock climbing training in L.A.,? said
the actor, ?because if I didn?t, I?d be crying right now.?
Certainly,
such exotic locations had a definite effect on the actors. ?Vranov
was a lot quieter and more isolated after Prague,? notes Marton Csokas.
The location was used to demonstrate what Anarchy 99 aspired to and
the hypocrisy within that. I mean, Yorgi and his gang are living the
life of kings and are utilizing the capitalist system to get what
they want, although they have no respect for the property in any way.
Inside
Prague itself, major sequences were also filmed in the gorgeous Old
Town Square and outside the adjoining Tyn Church; inside and out of
the magnificent Francouzka Restaurace (French Restaurant) of the Obecni
Dum (Municipal House), one of the world?s greatest art nouveau masterpieces
of architecture and interior design; the abandoned turn-of-the-century
Patanka Brewery, its vaulted-ceiling basement converted by Bocquet
into Czech Police headquarters; an abandoned car factory, in which
crew members discovered a forgotten, framed award from the Czech Communist
Party...a dusty reminder of 50 years of totalitarianism that the Czechs
are still trying to put behind them; a long staircase in the city?s
Mala Strana (Little Quarter), which Xander surfs down on a silver
serving tray; and finally, a huge chunk of the Vltava River and above
it, the city?s single most famous historic site--the Charles Bridge
(Karluv Most), built in 1357 and trafficked by thousands of tourists
daily...
In a film
loaded with an embarrassment of riches as far as locations are concerned,
one of the most remarkable was Prague?s lavish State Opera, built
by the Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer in 1888. For a dialogue
scene between Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson counterpointed against
the backdrop of a rehearsal of Mozart?s Don Giovanni, Cohen called
upon the services of Richard Hein, the actual director of the Opera?s
orchestra, and a full complement of musicians. On stage, performers
Martin Barta and Martina Bauerova sing, respectively, Giovanni?s aria
?Fin ch?an dal vino? and Zerlina?s ?Batti, batti.? ?I suppose that
Mozart is as far away from Rammstein as possible,? laughs Rob Cohen,
?but that just shows the breadth of musical possibilities in the film.?
(Music has always played an important role in Cohen?s films, from
his start at Motown while still in his early 20s, to the platinum
soundtrack of The Fast and the Furious).
Bocquet
and his team of designers also created a plethora of imaginative gadgetry
for Xander Cage (in the film they?re invented by NSA techno-geek Toby
Lee Shavers, played by Michael Roof), including a very special field
revolver that fires a dart for every occasion (as well as real bullets
when the need arises), X-ray binoculars, a highly sophisticated ?tech-deck?
communicator and even innocuous-looking bandages, which actually pack
a very powerful explosive punch. Xander?s gleaming deep purple 1967
GTO muscle car--his wheels of choice in Prague--becomes fully loaded
by Shavers with such unique ?extras? as a flame thrower, rocket launchers
and an ejectable roof.
And then
there?s ?Ahab,? the 32-foot-long hydrofoil/submarine, capable of speeds
of up to 60 miles per hour and the agent of Anarchy 99?s most nefarious
scheme. Several departments worked in unison on ?Ahab?s? creation,
including Bocquet and his art department, the special effects unit
under special effects supervisor John Frazier and special effects
set coordinator Jim Schwalm, and marine coordinator Ransom Walrod?s
marine unit.
The sheer
scale of XXX often demanded several different units working at once,
all under the close supervision of Rob Cohen. For example, executive
producer Arne L. Schmidt points out that ? one day, we had no fewer
than five separate Triple-X units shooting simultaneously: the first
unit inside the great hall of the State Castle at Vranov nad Dyji...a
first unit splinter group shooting in the courtyard outside...the
second unit filming driving scenes down the winding road leading up
to the castle...a visual effects unit also filming at Vranov...and
a sky surfing unit shooting stunts high above Lake Tahoe.?
The first
and second units also spent several weeks shooting in the soaring
Alpine peaks above Kaunertal in Austria?s province of Tirol, featuring
roaring snowmobiles and some major-league snowboarding, much of it
done by Vin Diesel himself. In a Xander Cage-like way, Diesel defied
the Hollywood bureaucracy by insisting on performing some of his own
stunts. ?I had never snowboarded before except for a children?s benefit
in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and once at the Sundance Film Festival,
for which I received a black eye for my efforts,? admits Diesel.
?Vin was
up for more than I wanted him to do,? states Cohen. ?I mean, he would
come in and say ?I can do that,? and I would reply, ?Yes, probably
you could, and probably you?d break your neck. So for the benefit
of all these people whose livelihood depends on you staying healthy,
I think you should just let me do this with a stunt team.? Vin kept
reminding me of the player who keeps saying ?Let me in, coach.? He
wanted to do everything, and he did so much. Vin trained so hard in
speed climbing, the motorcycles, the jumps, snowboarding. His dedication
was extraordinary.?
X-STYLE:
COSTUMES AND TATTOOS
?I knew
that Rob wanted the whole movie to really be on the cutting edge of
fashion,? says costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays ?the idea was
to not try and show what?s happening now, but what will be happening
in the near future.? Hays was the perfect choice as costume designer,
not only because she had already delivered the goods for Cohen in
her rendition of street racing culture in The Fast and the Furious,
but also because as a European herself, Hays understands the differences
between the American and continental looks.
?Sanja
doesn?t think about what?s hip,? notes Cohen. ?She just does it, and
it is hip. We kept our main cast pretty realistic, and placed all
the high style stuff around them. Sanja has an eye both for what will
become a character and also inform the audience what that character
is really all about. It was fun to give her the freedom to really
play and make such a colorful tapestry of costumes, which are a critical
element to Xander?s journey.?
To begin
with, Hays had to appropriately attire Vin Diesel as Xander Cage.
Xander definitely has his own sense of style, including a big, shaggy
coat for the Prague winter. ?I wanted Xander to have a little bit
of a wild animal look,? Cohen recalls, ?and I always thought of Vin
like a bear. You know, he?s cuddly, but also very dangerous and powerful.?
?I loved
working with Asia Argento,? enthuses Hays. ?She understands fashion
and knows how to wear clothes, so even though her character is edgy,
we decided not to go for a street punk look. Luckily, fashion was
on our side because a lot of big designers are making fashion that
flirts with being street, but is still very stylish. So we went for
big name designers creating a kind of bratty look that Yelena has.?
?With
Marton Csokas as Yorgi,? Hays continues, ?we again made a decision
to stay away from punk. I?m Eastern European myself, and we tend to
dress up, unlike Americans, who tend to play down what they wear.
When Eastern Europeaners have money, they tend to show it through
their clothes. So we went with Marton wearing really expensive clothes,
with a tough edge.?
Hays certainly
had no problem outfitting Samuel L. Jackson. ?He?s just a pleasure
to dress. Whatever you put on him, you just go ?Wow.? It?s not the
suit, it?s the man.?
Hays and
her team dipped deeply into the wellsprings of their creativity when
they came up with the outrageous designs for the concert, rave and
nightclub denizens, aided and abetted by the hair and makeup departments.
?Rob told me that he wanted me to help create a different world,?
Hays informs. ?We researched what?s happening in European fashion
nowadays and just took it a little further. My favorite was the vaulted
?zither bar,? because Rob wanted to see Eastern European wealth, with
fur, feathers, lace, like a new millennium version of the continent?s
old opulence.?
Another
important aspect of the film?s style are the flamboyant tattoos that
adorn Xander Cage, Yorgi and even Yelena. The tattoos are crucial
to Xander?s character, even to the point where his code name--XXX--is
taken from the three X?s tattooed on the back of his neck. Tattoos
are very much a part of action sports culture, and Diesel and Cohen
were determined to remain true to the traditions. ?Basically, tattoos
should mean something to you,? notes freestyle BMX star Rick Thorne.
?A lot of tattoos I have are kind of spiritual, or reminders of things
in my life that I want to improve.?
Xander?s
tattoos were designed by Adrian Gallegos with input from Cohen, Diesel
and Christien Tinsley, his makeup artist. ?The tattoo construction
was as much a part of Xander?s personality as anything else,? profers
Diesel. ?Sean Connery was sexy in his tuxedo as James Bond, and now
we?re hoping that Xander will be sexy in his tattoos.
?I was
fortunate enough to have Christien, the best in the business, doing
my tattoos,? continues Diesel, ?and he designed a process that whittled
the ink word down from an initial three hours to about an hour-and-a-half.
And once it was done, you felt confident about it, and it almost never
required touch-ups on the set.?
As for
Asia Argento?s tattooed adornments...she didn?t have to have an application-and-removal
process, because they?re absolutely real.
Samuel
L. Jackson also has a vastly different look as the scarred NSA veteran
Agent Augustus Gibbons, thanks to his makeup artist, Allan Apone,
and hair stylist Robert L. Stevenson. ?Allan created a series of about
four different facial looks,? recalls Jackson, ?and we took elements
of each one and, along with Rob, decided on Augustus? final look.?
As the
Triple-X company came down to the end of four months of hard shooting
in Los Angeles and Prague, what was abundantly clear to everyone was
how right the chemistry had been between filmmakers and cast. ?This
was one of the most collaborative and positive experiences I have
had on any set and that comes directly from Rob, Neal and Vin," says
executive producer Todd Garner. ?Rob and Vin have an incredible relationship,?
notes producer Neal H. Moritz. ?It?s almost a father/son thing in
a way, with constant give and take. Vin is a dynamic force not only
in front of the camera, but also in helping us get the script into
shape and molding the character. He knows the character of Xander
Cage better than anybody and was really able to get that onto the
screen.?
With shooting
over, Cohen was facing a relatively brief post-production phase, which
would see him working daily with editors Chris Lebenzon and Paul Rubell,
and longtime musical collaborator Randy Edelman. ?Chris and Paul are,
very simply, two of the best editors in the world,? states Cohen,
?and Randy has an art with melody. I wanted the score of Triple-X
to expand and carry the scope of the picture...the music of the 2000s,
which is pure energy, but with something humanistic that you can hook
into.?
?It?s
fun for me every day,? Cohen admits. ?I just love making movies. I
live for it, really. It?s about the process, the people and the freedom
to imagine and take your dreams, fancies and crazy ideas and put them
into reality. It?s about actors and characters and populating the
world with little morality tales that you want to tell. I?m never
unhappy on a set. It?s my theatre of tremendous joy.? |
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