If we’re holding up the all-time finest financial institution theft motion pictures, a particular place is reserved for classics like Bonnie and Clyde, Canine Day Afternoon, Warmth, and a handful extra. However in the case of probably the most underrated latest cinematic financial institution heists, Christian Gudegast’s 2018 film Den of Thieves ranks proper up there with probably the most entertaining and hyper-violent examples like The City, Level Break, Hell or Excessive Water, and the like. Now that Gudegast not too long ago unloaded Den of Thieves 2: Pantera on the plenty this January, it’s excessive time to replicate on the making of the unique.
Whereas a tad lengthy and baldly impressed by Michael Mann’s Warmth, Den of Thieves was launched in January 2018 to industrial success and middling essential acclaim. For these in the dead of night, the story considerations a unit of former Marines turned financial institution robbers referred to as The Outlaws led by Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber) who directs a gallant mission to steal $30 million from the impenetrable Federal Reserve Constructing in Los Angeles, billed because the bank-robbing capital of the world.
As viewers watch The Outlaws orchestrate the heist with ruthless navy precision, an equally hardened and morally compromised gang of Los Angeles County Sheriff detectives referred to as The Regulars, led by Massive Nick O’Brien (Gerard Butler), doggedly pursue the thieves in any respect prices. The story cuts backwards and forwards between the heroes and villains, with the crooked cops and criminals changing into equally compelling characters testing the viewers’ sympathetic allegiance. Regardless of the fundamental plot, the film is a clear-cut case of execution trumping originality. Now, right here’s What the F*ck Occurred to Den of Thieves!
Los Angeles native Christian Gudegast started his filmmaker profession within the Nineteen Nineties and logged his first writing credit score with the 1997 TV film Soldier of Fortune. After penning scripts for Rip it Off in 2001 and the Vin Diesel motion flick A Man Aside in 2003, Gudegast wrote the screenplay for Den of Thieves with plans to make the movie as early as 2003. In line with Gudegast, the challenge was within the works for 14 years, relationship again to a blind deal he and his writing accomplice had with New Line Cinema. When the rights lapsed and New Line misplaced the property, Den of Thieves moved to Relativity Media, the now-defunct unbiased distributor and media firm.
With the challenge lingering for over a decade, Gudegast went 12 years with out logging one other writing credit score. Nonetheless, all that modified in 2016 when Gudegast wrote the script for London Has Fallen, a breathless motion image starring Gerard Butler. Two years later in 2018, Butler and Gudegast reunited for Den of Thieves, persevering with a fertile artistic rapport that has led to Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. It might have taken a decade and a half for Gudegast to make Den of Thieves in his directorial debut, however discovering Butler to star as Massive Nick was a lucky partnership definitely worth the wait.
Talking about his inspiration for the challenge, Gudegast said:
“I was fascinated by the specificity of their worlds and how these two crews operate. Understanding what they do, and why they do it, became the fuel for the movie.”
Strapped with a $30 million finances, principal pictures on Den of Thieves started in January 2018 and wrapped after a 52-day movie shoot. Regardless of the story being set in Los Angeles, the break-neck shoot occurred within the better Atlanta space in Georgia to benefit from the state’s tax incentives. As an example, Ziggy’s nightclub within the film was filmed at Johnny’s Hideaway in Atlanta. Talking of Ziggy, he’s performed by Gudegast’s father, Eric Braeden.
Addressing the Atlanta for Los Angeles movie shoot, Gudegast burdened the significance of authenticity, stating:
“When the production team arrived in Atlanta, I was hyper-specific when looking for how we were going to reproduce those elements there. It was down to how the murals on walls looked, the color scheme, rims on cars. So as careful as we were in choosing our locations, that same specificity applied to the shots where we sort of went for a hot, Los Angeles weather look; kind of smoggy and golden but not pretty. At night, we play with the natural elements and there’s a cooler blue metallic light.”
The Financial savings & Mortgage financial institution seen in Pico Rivera was shot on Lakewood Avenue in Atlanta. The savage showdown between Massive Nick and Merrimen was filmed on Bluff Avenue. The one footage in Los Angeles consists of aerial pictures of downtown, the Vincent Thomas Bridge, Terminal Island, and the Federal Corrections Establishment.
The visceral visitors jam shootout alongside the Alameda Hall was filmed on Murphy Avenue. The sequence took 10 days to movie, utilizing 4 metropolis blocks and destroying 50 of the 250 automobiles allotted. Ten thousand rounds of ammo have been pumped out in the course of the Alameda Hall sequence. The extreme shootout was achieved by rigging machine weapons with trunnion weapons, “which are tubes rigged to go off at the same time as the big machine gun,” in line with Particular FX Supervisor, Yves Debond. “I wanted the hits to look more like a gouge, and we’d run an electrical loom to the car to fire it.” The end result creates a rapid-fire hail of bullets that seem as uncooked and practical as potential.
With characters firing as much as 30 rounds each two seconds, an estimated half 1,000,000 rounds have been used whereas filming the ultimate shootout alone. In line with Jackson Jr., residents close by needed to be warned to keep away from calling the police earlier than the taking pictures occurred.
To organize for his function because the ethically challenged Nick O’Brien, Gudegast inspired Gerard Butler to realize 25 kilos, which the actor obliged. Butler additionally drew inspiration for his efficiency from Jay Dobyns, who was credited as an actor and a technical guide on the film. Dobyns is a former Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent who made a profession of risking his life to infiltrate violent Los Angeles gangs and convey them to justice as an undercover officer. Along with inspiring Butler’s character and lending technical assist to the crew, Dobyns makes a cameo as a patron closing his tab on the bar the place Donnie works on the finish of the movie.
In describing Massive Nick, Gudegast notes:
“The character’s a silverback gorilla who devours everything within reach,” laughed the director. “He’s a force. He walks in and he just takes over the environment. Nick is classic. He’s funny and he’s a badass. He’s in major crimes, so he’s got to be – he’s dealing with the worst of the worst every day, hunting them. We drilled that character all the way down and Gerry was unbelievable.”
Butler chimed in about what attracted him to the film, including:
“What I love about this movie is that it has a taste, an ingredient, of many of my favorite films, like Heist and Heat, with touches of a Dog Day Afternoon and The French Connection. But it stands entirely on its own. It may be a complex heist film, but there’s a surprising amount of heart and emotion. It has the potential to become one of those unforgettable movies because of the characters we’ve created.”
Past Butler’s preparation, Gudegast divided the actors into two sides to coach for his or her roles. Earlier than filming, boot camps have been arrange with the police detectives on one aspect and the financial institution robbers on the opposite. The actors underwent intensive weapons coaching for 2 weeks to make sure their onscreen gunplay was fluid and genuine. The 2 teams dealt with actual weapons to get a really feel for the burden of every gun however practiced taking pictures with paintballs to grasp firing on the transfer whereas strolling, operating, and leaping.
The separate coaching regiments have been additionally meant to foster camaraderie on either side and bolster their rivalry. Though every camp skilled individually, each have been supervised by real-life lively navy guide Paul Maurice. Between Maurice and Dobyns’ contributions, it’s straightforward to see how muscular and masculine the film turns into. To this finish, real-life UFC veterans Michael Bisping, Max Holloway, John Lewis, and Oleg Taktarov play numerous supporting forged members in Den of Thieves, including to the retro machismo of halcyon-day motion classics that give the film its badass edge.
Concerning Maurice’s contributions, Gudegast said:
“He gave the Outlaws tremendous confidence. They trained hard out on the firing range. They drilled in repetition until their movements with the firearms were completely fluid: They could load, unload, change mags – the way they manipulated the firearms was just awesome, and that was Paul’s doing.”
Though Den of Thieves runs for a relatively prolonged 140 minutes, Gudegast’s unique minimize lasted 20 minutes longer. A lot of the deleted scenes, which might be discovered on YouTube, contain intimate character improvement, with Massive Nick and Enson (Curtis Jackson) spending time with their households in between the heists. One scene options Nick and Debbie (Daybreak Olivieri) hashing out their marital issues on the seashore, with the previous vowing to attend remedy. One other consists of Enson coping with his daughters at dwelling over breakfast. Nonetheless, it’s price noting that Gudegast deliberate a a lot completely different ending for Den of Thieves than what made it into the theatrical minimize.
Additionally obtainable on-line, the 2-minute alternate ending depicts Massive Nick realizing that Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson) masterminded the complete heist the entire time. Nonetheless, relatively than fleeing to London to arrange one other theft, Donnie is captured and jailed. Not solely is the alternate ending far more standard and anticlimactic than the theatrical model, however it additionally robs followers of a possible sequel. Due to the ending featured within the theatrical minimize, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera expands its sticky fingers to Europe for a model new heist.
Earlier than detailing the specifics of the sequel, it’s price recognizing how commercially viable the unique proved to be. Upon its launch in early 2018, Den of Thieves bagged $80 million in worldwide ticket gross sales, almost tripling its modest $30 million finances. Whereas most critics couldn’t look previous the film’s overt Warmth imitation with wannabe Michael Mann aesthetics, Den of Thieves blasted its approach to such monetary success {that a} sequel was inevitable. Though it took roughly seven years to supply mentioned sequel, the fortunate quantity guarantees one other relentless and hyper-violent affair this coming new 12 months.
Following the Den of Thieves’ success, a sequel was deliberate to movie as early as 2022. Author/director Christian Gudegast has returned for the sequel, with Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. reprising their respective roles. The movie grossed about the identical quantity as the primary movie, and certainly, a 3rd movie is now on the best way.
