In the action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.
After the success of "Zombieland", Ruben Fleischer's career kicked into full gear.
He was attached to direct the reboot of the Tom Cruise action franchise "Mission Impossible 4", but Fleischer passed on that project and chose "30 Minutes or Less" - A action-comedy/caper movie, which made the 2009 blacklist (Hollywood's 'most liked' unproduced screenplays). The film is written by Michael Diliberti and Michael Sullivan. Two relatively unknown writers, whom are writing the "Brewster's Millions" remake, and the Jody Hill/Danny McBride vehicle "L.A.P.I.".
The film is loosely based on the 2003 Collarbombing incident, in which a pizza delivery man was kidnapped and forced to rob a bank with a bomb attached to his neck. He managed to get the money, but police ended up catching him soon after. He told them he was forced to do the whole thing, and that the captors strapped a bomb around his neck. The police held him until the bomb eventually went off, killing him.
Now remember, this film is only LOOSELY based on the events. Meaning the writers took the basic idea of a pizza delivery guy who is forced to rob a bank with a bomb attached to his chest. This film is not a reenactment of the actual events - I can't stress this enough - Everyone who is aware of the Collarbombing back in 2003 immediately think this movie is adapting the devastating tragedy into a comedy...
THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE HERE, PEOPLE!
The filmmakers aren't 'Insensitive'. The film isn't 'in bad taste'. Let me clue you in on something. You know that movie Psycho? Oh, you do? Then you must know that other flick, The Silence of The Lambs, right? Okay, good. Guess what? Those films were loosely based on actual events, too!
Around a year ago, I managed to get my hands on the script to 30 Minutes or Less. The only thing I knew about it was that it was sort of based off the 2003 Eerie bombing. Nevertheless, the script ended up being one of my favorite reads of the year. I wasn't surprise it made the blacklist. However, I was surprised when I heard Ruben Fleischer was attached to direct. In the best possible way. The guy who directed Zombieland? A movie that placed #3 in my top 10 movies of 2009?! I'm in.
First of all, the cast is GOLDEN. I was a little skeptical at first when Eisenberg signed on for the lead, but after seeing the trailer, he was a great choice. Danny McBride's character was written for him. Literally. The writers obviously wrote his character with him in mind. Aziz Ansari and Nick Swardson are an added plus. Two of some of the best stand-up comedians in the business right now. I highly recommend you check out Nick Swardon's "Seriously, who farted?" special. It's spectacular.
What are the chances this film will be a box office hit?
I don't think this film will be the next Hangover, but however, I do think it'll pull the same numbers Zombieland did, if not, more.
Despite there being no zombies in this movie, i'd say this movie is an unofficial sequel to Zombieland, in a way.
No comments:
Post a Comment