Movie Negotiator (Ace vs. Ace)

Ace vs. Ace The Negotiator (1998)

Behind the Scenes

The film's story was originally conceived by executive producers Robert Stone and Webster ·Proposed by the Stone brothers. Producer David Hauberman recalled: "The idea came from a real incident that happened in St. Louis. The best negotiator in the area claimed that he had been framed by his colleagues, so he took hostages to try to find the real culprit. He believed that only strangers could be trusted. , so he asked another negotiator in St. Louis to work with him. "Herberman was fascinated by the inherent contradiction in the story: Why would a law enforcer have to go to the trouble of proving his innocence? Herberman felt that this plot setting and the accompanying moral dilemma were particularly worthy of attention, so he hired screenwriters James DeMonak and Kevin Fox to write the script. The two screenwriters are very interested and passionate about the film material. Among them, Kevin Fox comes from a family of police officers and knows the police industry very well.

Arnone Milchan's New Regency Film Company decided to invest in the filming and selected F. Gary Gray as the director. "I think the story of the film is strange and novel," director Gray said. "This is a film that is difficult to define. For me, it reaches the extreme in terms of plot and action." Producer Milchan said: " The most interesting thing is the contest between the two sides. The hostage negotiator must rush to the scene immediately, but he does not know the opponent at all. He must narrow the distance between him and the criminal, penetrate into the other party's heart, and be able to sympathize with the other person's shoes, thereby changing the criminal's behavior. ."

The creative staff are all convinced that the film's story is enough to attract Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey to join. Gray recalled: "I really couldn't believe it, but when I agreed to sign on to direct, several producers asked me who I wanted to play Danny Roman and Chris Sabian, and I said Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey was my first choice, so they invited the two of them, and both big names actually agreed to star."

It was a pleasure for Samuel to star opposite Kevin Spacey. Jackson was particularly excited. He said: "I had read the script and was very optimistic about Roman's role. When I learned that I would be starring alongside Kevin, I was immediately happy. We talked about it while filming "A Time to Kill" and working together again, so when I bumped into him at a party and talked about "Ace vs. Ace," we both said, 'I'll do it if you do it.' That's how we agreed."

Kevin Spacey said: "Samuel and I have known each other for 18 years. We auditioned at the same time. After the experience of filming "A Time to Kill," we both wanted to work together again, so we became "Ace". When "The Ace" appeared, we were all eager to star together."

As early as the film's incubation stage, the main creative staff believed that it should be shot in Chicago because Chicago is a masculine city and has many people. The division between north and south provides unique conditions for Roman and Sabian's completely different worlds. The filming scene of the film was so crowded that the crew had to recruit 400 extras every night, and at the same time, 25 to 30 police officers had to use cordon to isolate the filming area and direct traffic. Chicago's transportation department rerouted buses and directed traffic in time to allow helicopters to hover above the streets. Water police also stopped traffic on the river, and the local police station also dispatched mounted police and police dogs to maintain law and order at the scene.

The film was filmed at the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Office at 77 West Wick Avenue in Chicago. Producer Hauberman said: "Initially we wanted to shoot in a low and old federal building, but Gray and our art director Hog Gross discovered this 50-story building located on the Chicago River. The building has a distinctive shape, and there are some construction barges used to support bridges on the river. They thought of using those construction barges as the command center of the Chicago SWAT team in the film. The barges can directly see the hostage-taking floors and keep the police away from the media. ""

Highlights

·The film is dedicated to the late actor J.T. Walsh.

·The film script was originally written for Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Spacey, who played Sabian and Roman respectively. When Stallone refused to star in the film, Spacey West wanted to play Sabian instead, so Samuel L. Jackson got the role of Roman.

·The scene of the crowds outside the building was filmed on two nights in September 1997, from 5 pm to 7 am the next day every day. Due to the wind and rain, many extras quit midway.

·Roman’s indoor scene of holding hostages in the Internal Affairs Department was filmed in a studio in Los Angeles. In order to simulate the view outside the window of the building, the crew used 6 cameras to capture 77 Westwick Avenue in Chicago. The view from a 20-story window was then turned into a 160 x 40 foot poster and hung outside the window of the Los Angeles studio office set.

I also like this movie very much. The criminal psychology in it is really great.