Podcast 42: Speed (1994)

December 30, 2021 Jon S Movies, Podcasting 01:33:1188KB 0 Comments
Speed

The 3 Guys Podcast

Recorded on 12/02/2021

In this podcast episode we review the listener requested movie Speed (Released 1994) starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton and Jeff Daniels. For this review, we are joined on the mic by our friend Gerard.  WARNING: There will be SPOILERS!

Interested in picking up a copy of the blu-ray?
Click this link to check it out on Amazon.com.

Speed Blu-Ray

Notes From The Show

  • Quick Synopsis

  • Released: June 10, 1994

    Directed By: Jan de Bont

    Written By:  Graham Yost

    Rewritten By: Joss Whedon (uncredited)

    Produced By: Mark Gordon

    Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels

    Plot:      A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.

    How did this movie do
    Budget: $37 Million
    Box office: $350 Million

  • Awards

  • Academy Awards

    • Best Sound
    • Best Sound Effects Editing
    • Best Edited Feature Film

  • Casting

    • Jan de Bont cast Dennis Hopper because he didn’t want a typical villain. He wanted Payne to be a regular guy who just snapped one day.

    • Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro were considered for the role of Howard Payne.

    • A pre-stardom Halle Berry turned down the role of Annie, without regret, even though the movie became a huge hit. She said, “It would not have done for me what it did for Sandra Bullock. I would’ve just been the black bus driver.”

    • Various actors were offered the role of Jack Traven and reportedly turned it down: Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin, Michael Biehn, Jeff Bridges, Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Bruce Campbell, George Clooney, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Michael Keaton, Christopher Lambert, Dolph Lundgren, Viggo Mortensen, Chuck Norris, Brad Pitt, Dennis Quaid, Mickey Rourke, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Selleck, Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Swayze, John Travolta, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Willis.

    • Ellen DeGenerous, Rosanna Arquette, Joan Cusack, Geena Davis, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brooke Shields, Halle Berry, Madonna, Demi Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sharon Stone, Lea Thompson and Debra Winger were considered for the role of Annie Porter.

  • Issues

    • The security guard in the building is carrying a radio, but doesn’t call it in when he sees something weird, like a bag out in a restricted area.

    • They do a lot in 6 minutes (30 minutes when they got there) and still stay the bomb goes off early.

    • They checked out all the main elevators but nobody thought “hey let’s check the freight elevator”.

    • 2 years it took to set up the elevator, but 2 weeks to set up the bus.

    • Jack jumps in a car to chase down the bus instead of calling it in to see if police were close by to slow the bus down before it hit 50.

    • LA Traffic

    • Lady with carriage is crossing the street with a “don’t walk” signal.

    • Why did the cops rush into the bomb’s house? He is obviously good at setting bombs, so maybe be cautious.

    • During the police escort, one cop car clearly brakes in front of the bus causing it to brake…but no boom.

    • How did Howard see Anne’s logo on a black & white tv screen from so far away.

    • After the conductor died on the subway, the dead man’s switch would have engaged to stop the train.

      • In most trains, a basic level of protection is provided by a “dead man’s handle” or pedal. If the driver is taken ill and releases this, the power will be shut off and an emergency brake application will be initiated to stop the train.

    • As a former cop, Howard would know to expect a paint bomb put in with the money.

    • The one control that still works can speed up the train, but not slow it down.

    • Nobody thought to call ahead on any of these issues…like opening the other side of the freeway, letting the subway workers a bomber was lose in the subway tunnels, a subway car was out of control, etc.

    • Jack’s white shirt keeps getting more white.

  • Trivia

    • Keanu Reeves breaking the glass on the bus door in the beginning of the movie was an accident, however it was left in the final cut.

    • Sandra Bullock actually learned to drive a bus for the film, passing her test on her first attempt.

    • The scene in which Annie (Sandra Bullock) takes the chewing gum out of her mouth and pretends to put it on her seat in order to have an excuse to change seats and move away from the obnoxious Stephens was improvised by Bullock.

    • The bus jump scene was done twice, as the bus landed too smoothly the first time. The bridge was actually there, but erased digitally.

    • The bus jump scene was not in the original script. Director Jan de Bont came up with the idea one day when he was driving around Los Angeles and noticed one section of the I-105 Freeway missing.

    • The film literally ran out of money before it was completed. When the film was first previewed for an audience, the subway scenes were animated storyboards. The audience loved them so much, the studio came up with the funds to shoot the scenes properly.

    • Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels trained with real SWAT personnel to perfect their movements.

    • Keanu Reeves initially turned down the lead, as he found Graham Yost’s original script to be too much like Die Hard (1988). He signed on after Jan de Bont brought in Joss Whedon to re-write the script.

    • Keanu Reeves did approximately ninety percent of his own stunts.

    • Jan de Bont insisted that Keanu Reeves get a sensible haircut as would befit a hard-working cop. 20th Century Fox executives were horrified when they saw the buzzcut he adopted for the film, going so far as to threaten postponing the film so he could grow his hair back.

    • Ten buses were used in the making of the film. Each one had two steering wheels, one for Sandra Bullock, the other for the stunt driver, which was more often than not, on the roof of the bus.

    • Joss Whedon re-wrote the script uncredited. According to Graham Yost, the credited writer, Whedon wrote most of its dialogue.

    • In early drafts of the script, the bus was supposed to circle around the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium, as opposed to LAX. However, the studio couldn’t get the rights to film there.

    • The birds flying through the gap in the freeway were digitally added visual effects.

    • When the police were looking at police mugshots, the first photograph was of David Macmillan, who is a sound mixer on the film. Michael J. Coo is a Key Grip on this movie, and is the cop in the second photograph of police mugshots. The name on the file reads Michael Coo.

    • In the original script, the bomb was triggered to go off when the bus goes over twenty miles per hour.

    • The original name for the movie was going to be Minimum Speed.

    • The opening credits sequence descending down an elevator shaft was created with a thirty-five-foot miniature laying horizontally.

    • When Dennis Hopper blows up the batch of explosives, he says, “Don’t fuck with daddy.” Hopper’s character also liked being referred to as “daddy” in Blue Velvet (1986).

    • The bus number is 2525. 25+25=50, and 50 mph is the level the bus needs to stay above to prevent the bomb from exploding.

    • The subway train that comes crashing up onto Hollywood Boulevard at the ending was actually a bus decked out to look like a subway train.

    • Jack’s sidekick Harry was originally going to be revealed as the mad bomber.

    • All trains have what is sometimes known as a “dead man’s switch”. This would automatically slow the train down to a stop, provided the driver either stopped tapping a certain button within a set time frame, or released their grip on a trigger type mechanism whilst operating the vehicle. The shots fired at the train driver’s cab obviously cause the emergency brake to fail, but the scene can then be inferred aa justifying why the “dead man’s switch” system failed to deactivate the slow down and stopping procedure.

Released: June 10, 1994

Directed By: Jan de Bont

Written By:  Graham Yost

Rewritten By: Joss Whedon (uncredited)

Produced By: Mark Gordon

Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels

Plot:  A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.

How did this movie do
Budget: $37 Million
Box office: $350 Million

Academy Awards

  • Best Sound
  • Best Sound Effects Editing
  • Best Edited Feature Film
  • Jan de Bont cast Dennis Hopper because he didn’t want a typical villain. He wanted Payne to be a regular guy who just snapped one day.

  • Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro were considered for the role of Howard Payne.

  • A pre-stardom Halle Berry turned down the role of Annie, without regret, even though the movie became a huge hit. She said, “It would not have done for me what it did for Sandra Bullock. I would’ve just been the black bus driver.”

  • Various actors were offered the role of Jack Traven and reportedly turned it down: Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin, Michael Biehn, Jeff Bridges, Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Bruce Campbell, George Clooney, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Michael Keaton, Christopher Lambert, Dolph Lundgren, Viggo Mortensen, Chuck Norris, Brad Pitt, Dennis Quaid, Mickey Rourke, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Selleck, Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Swayze, John Travolta, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Willis.

  • Ellen DeGenerous, Rosanna Arquette, Joan Cusack, Geena Davis, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brooke Shields, Halle Berry, Madonna, Demi Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sharon Stone, Lea Thompson and Debra Winger were considered for the role of Annie Porter.
  • The security guard in the building is carrying a radio, but doesn’t call it in when he sees something weird, like a bag out in a restricted area.

  • They do a lot in 6 minutes (30 minutes when they got there) and still stay the bomb goes off early.

  • They checked out all the main elevators but nobody thought “hey let’s check the freight elevator”.

  • 2 years it took to set up the elevator, but 2 weeks to set up the bus.

  • Jack jumps in a car to chase down the bus instead of calling it in to see if police were close by to slow the bus down before it hit 50.

  • LA Traffic

  • Lady with carriage is crossing the street with a “don’t walk” signal.

  • Why did the cops rush into the bomb’s house? He is obviously good at setting bombs, so maybe be cautious.

  • During the police escort, one cop car clearly brakes in front of the bus causing it to brake…but no boom.

  • How did Howard see Anne’s logo on a black & white tv screen from so far away.

  • After the conductor died on the subway, the dead man’s switch would have engaged to stop the train.

    • In most trains, a basic level of protection is provided by a “dead man’s handle” or pedal. If the driver is taken ill and releases this, the power will be shut off and an emergency brake application will be initiated to stop the train.

  • As a former cop, Howard would know to expect a paint bomb put in with the money.

  • The one control that still works can speed up the train, but not slow it down.

  • Nobody thought to call ahead on any of these issues…like opening the other side of the freeway, letting the subway workers a bomber was lose in the subway tunnels, a subway car was out of control, etc.

  • Jack’s white shirt keeps getting more white.
  • Keanu Reeves breaking the glass on the bus door in the beginning of the movie was an accident, however it was left in the final cut.

  • Sandra Bullock actually learned to drive a bus for the film, passing her test on her first attempt.

  • The scene in which Annie (Sandra Bullock) takes the chewing gum out of her mouth and pretends to put it on her seat in order to have an excuse to change seats and move away from the obnoxious Stephens was improvised by Bullock.

  • The bus jump scene was done twice, as the bus landed too smoothly the first time. The bridge was actually there, but erased digitally.

  • The bus jump scene was not in the original script. Director Jan de Bont came up with the idea one day when he was driving around Los Angeles and noticed one section of the I-105 Freeway missing.

  • The film literally ran out of money before it was completed. When the film was first previewed for an audience, the subway scenes were animated storyboards. The audience loved them so much, the studio came up with the funds to shoot the scenes properly.

  • Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels trained with real SWAT personnel to perfect their movements.

  • Keanu Reeves initially turned down the lead, as he found Graham Yost’s original script to be too much like Die Hard (1988). He signed on after Jan de Bont brought in Joss Whedon to re-write the script.

  • Keanu Reeves did approximately ninety percent of his own stunts.

  • Jan de Bont insisted that Keanu Reeves get a sensible haircut as would befit a hard-working cop. 20th Century Fox executives were horrified when they saw the buzzcut he adopted for the film, going so far as to threaten postponing the film so he could grow his hair back.

  • Ten buses were used in the making of the film. Each one had two steering wheels, one for Sandra Bullock, the other for the stunt driver, which was more often than not, on the roof of the bus.

  • Joss Whedon re-wrote the script uncredited. According to Graham Yost, the credited writer, Whedon wrote most of its dialogue.

  • In early drafts of the script, the bus was supposed to circle around the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium, as opposed to LAX. However, the studio couldn’t get the rights to film there.

  • The birds flying through the gap in the freeway were digitally added visual effects.

  • When the police were looking at police mugshots, the first photograph was of David Macmillan, who is a sound mixer on the film. Michael J. Coo is a Key Grip on this movie, and is the cop in the second photograph of police mugshots. The name on the file reads Michael Coo.

  • In the original script, the bomb was triggered to go off when the bus goes over twenty miles per hour.

  • The original name for the movie was going to be Minimum Speed.

  • The opening credits sequence descending down an elevator shaft was created with a thirty-five-foot miniature laying horizontally.

  • When Dennis Hopper blows up the batch of explosives, he says, “Don’t fuck with daddy.” Hopper’s character also liked being referred to as “daddy” in Blue Velvet (1986).

  • The bus number is 2525. 25+25=50, and 50 mph is the level the bus needs to stay above to prevent the bomb from exploding.

  • The subway train that comes crashing up onto Hollywood Boulevard at the ending was actually a bus decked out to look like a subway train.

  • Jack’s sidekick Harry was originally going to be revealed as the mad bomber.

  • All trains have what is sometimes known as a “dead man’s switch”. This would automatically slow the train down to a stop, provided the driver either stopped tapping a certain button within a set time frame, or released their grip on a trigger type mechanism whilst operating the vehicle. The shots fired at the train driver’s cab obviously cause the emergency brake to fail, but the scene can then be inferred aa justifying why the “dead man’s switch” system failed to deactivate the slow down and stopping procedure.

The 3 Guys Rating

2.5/5

About The Movie From IMDB

Speed Action, Adventure, Thriller | June 10, 1994 (United States) 7.2
Director: Jan de BontWriter: Graham YostStars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra BullockSummary: When a young Los Angeles police department, Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) officer called Jack Traven angers retired Atlanta police department bomb squad member Howard Payne, by foiling his attempt at taking hostages stuck in an elevator with a bomb, Payne in retaliation arms a bus with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. With the help of spunky passenger Annie, Jack and his partner Detective Harry Temple try to save the people on the bus before the bomb goes off, while also trying to figure out how Payne is monitoring them. —Jwelch5742

Photos


See all photos >>

Videos


See all videos >>

Cast

Keanu Reeves
...
Jack Traven
Dennis Hopper
...
Howard Payne
Sandra Bullock
...
Annie
Joe Morton
...
Capt. McMahon
Jeff Daniels
...
Harry
Alan Ruck
...
Stephens
Glenn Plummer
...
Jaguar Owner
Richard Lineback
...
Norwood
Beth Grant
...
Helen
Hawthorne James
...
Sam
Carlos Carrasco
...
Ortiz
David Kriegel
...
Terry
Natsuko Ohama
...
Mrs. Kamino
Daniel Villarreal
...
Ray
Simone Gad
...
Bus Passenger #1
Loretta Jean
...
Bus Passenger #2
Sherri Villanueva
...
Bus Passenger #3
Margaret Medina
...
Robin

See full cast >>
Countries: United StatesLanguages: EnglishBudget: $30,000,000 (estimated)
Source: imdb.com
Previous
Next
7.2
Speed Action, Adventure, Thriller | June 10, 1994 (United States)
Director: Jan de BontWriter: Graham YostStars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock
Summary: A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Countries: United StatesLanguages: English
Source: imdb.comDisclaimer: This plugin has been coded to automatically quote data from imdb.com. Not available for any other purpose. All showing data have a link to imdb.com. The user is responsible for any other use or change codes.

Quotes

Howard Payne: Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

[Jack is helped onto the bus after trying to defuse bomb]

Stephens: Did you have any luck with the bomb?

Jack: Yeah, it didn't go off.

Annie: What is that smell?

Jack: It's gas.

Annie: We're leaking gas?

Jack: We are now.

Annie: What, you thought you needed another challenge or something?

[Traven spots the explosive device (it's huge); Stephens is relaying his observations by cel-phone]

Jack: Fuck me!

Stephens: "Oh, darn."

Harry Temple: All right, pop quiz. Airport, gunman with one hostage. He's using her for cover; he's almost to a plane. You're a hundred feet away... Jack?

Jack: Shoot the hostage.

Jack: STOP! L.A.P.D! Get out of the car!

Maurice the Tune Man: Hey man, this is MY car, I OWN this car, it's NOT stolen.

Jack: [pulls gun out and points it at him] It is now. Move over.

Howard Payne: [Payne wrestles with Jack for a deadman-switch detonator on top of a runaway subway train] I'm smarter than you, Jack! I'm smarter! I'm smarter!

[Jack sees a hanging light approaching and forces Payne into its path. Payne looks up and screams before the light decapitates him]

Jack: [grabbing the detonator before Payne's body falls away] Yeah? Well, I'm TALLER!

[last lines]

Jack: I have to warn you, I've heard relationships based on intense experiences never work.

Annie: OK. We'll have to base it on sex then.

Jack: Whatever you say, ma'am.

Howard Payne: See, I'm in charge here! I drop this stick, and they pick your friend here up with a sponge! Are you ready to die, friend?

Harry: Fuck you!

Howard Payne: Oh! In two hundred years we've gone from "I regret but I have one life to give for my country" to "Fuck you!"?

Annie: So you're a cop, right?

Jack: That's right.

Annie: Well, I should probably tell you that I'm taking the bus because I had my driver's license revoked.

Jack: What for?

Annie: Speeding.

Jack: It's a game. If he gets the money he wins, if the bus blows up he wins.

Annie: What if you win?

Jack: Then tomorrow we'll play another one.

Annie: But I'm not available to drive tomorrow. Busy.

[after surviving the bus explosion]

Annie: You're not going to get mushy on me, are you?

Jack: Maybe. I might.

Annie: I hope not, 'cause you know, relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last.

Jack: Oh yeah?

Annie: Yeah, I've done extensive study on this.

Jack: You're crazy! You're fuckin' crazy!

Howard Payne: NO! Poor people are crazy, Jack. I'm eccentric.

Harry Temple: You shot me, I can't believe it. They're giving you a medal for shooting me, you little prick!

Jack: Harry... you TOLD me to.

Harry: [drunk] Well, I'm gonna go home, have some sex.

Jack: Harry, you're gonna go home and puke.

Harry: Well that'll be fun too.

[repeated phrase]

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Don't get dead.

Annie: You didn't leave me. I can't believe it... you didn't leave me.

Jack: Didn't have anywhere to be just then.

Jack: Tell me again Harry, why did I take this job?

Harry Temple: Oh come on, thirty more years of this, you get a tiny pension and a cheap gold watch.

Jack: Cool.

Swat Cop: Anything else that'll keep this elevator from falling?

Jack: Yeah. The basement.

Jack: Harry! Tell me good news, man.

Howard Payne: Oh, I'm sorry, Jack. He didn't make it.

Jack: You FUCK!

Howard Payne: It was the watch that led him to me, wasn't it? Huh? It seemed a little hammy to me to build a bomb out of my precious retirement gift, but, you know, I figured a sign that said "Howard Payne" would be pushing it.

Jack: I'm gonna rip your fucking spine out, I swear to God.

Howard Payne: This day has been rather disappointing, I don't mind saying.

Jack: Why, because you didn't get to kill everyone?

Howard Payne: There's gonna come a time, boy, when you will wish you never met me.

Jack: Mister, I'm already there!

[after the elevator falls]

Young Executive: Jesus. Bob, what button did you push?

Jack: Miss, can you handle this bus?

Annie: Oh sure. It's just like driving a really big Pinto.

Ortiz: You're not too bright, man, but ya got some big round hairy cajones.

Jack: That's very gross, Ortiz.

Ortiz: Huh, can't even pay him a compliment.

Harry: Guts'll get you so far, then they'll get you killed.

Annie: [Jack has just killed Payne on the train roof] Where is Payne?

Jack: He lost his head.

Harry Temple: What do you think?

Jack: You're the expert, I just work here.

Harry Temple: Looks pretty solid.

Jack: Anyone we know?

Harry Temple: I don't recognize the work, but he's pro.

[checks watch]

Harry Temple: Oh, he's cutting it close.

Jack: I don't like it.

Harry Temple: What's to like? Mac said we hold, so we hold.

[Jack begins looking around; Harry thinks]

Harry Temple: Alright, pop quiz. Airport, gunman with a hostage. He's using her for cover. He's almost to a plane. You're one hundred feet away.

[Jack doesn't respond]

Harry Temple: Jack?

Jack: Shoot the hostage.

Harry Temple: What?

Jack: Take her out of the equation. Go for the good wound and he can't get to the plane with her. Clear shot.

Harry Temple: You're deeply nuts, you know that? "Shoot the hostage."

[chuckles]

Jack: Harry, this is wrong. He's gonna blow it anyway.

Harry Temple: Why?

Jack: I don't know, gut feeling.

Harry Temple: Yeah, well, right now Mac outranks your gut. So we sit.

Jack: How much you think that elevator weights?

Harry Temple: Jack, come on!

Jack: Maybe we can do something about those hostages.

Harry Temple: We're not gonna shoot em right?

Annie: Annie.

Jack: What?

Annie: That's my name, Annie.

Jack: Annie.

Annie: As opposed to "ma'am"?

Stephens: [Dismayed] We're at the airport.

Ortiz: Yeah, so?

Stephens: I already seen the airport.

Howard Payne: You think I wouldn't have been prepared? Two years I spent setting up that elevator job, two years I invested in it. You couldn't understand the kind of commitment that I have. You ruined a man's life's work and you think you can walk away? You got blinders on to the world! But I got your attention now, didn't I Jack?

Jack: [distressed] Why didn't you just come after me?

Howard Payne: No this is about ME! This is about my money, this is about money DUE ME! Which I WILL collect! 3.7 Million dollars! It's my nest egg, Jack, at my age you have to think ahead.

Jack: [angry] When I find you...

Howard Payne: [cuts him off] Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

Jack: I'd want to know what bus it was...

Howard Payne: You think I'm going to tell you that?

Jack: Yes.

Howard Payne: Aha, very good. There are rules, Jack, and I want you to get this right. NO ONE goes off the bus. If you try to take any passengers off the bus, I will detonate it. I want my money by 11AM.

Jack: We can't pull that kind of money in time!

Howard Payne: [shouting] FOCUS, JACK! Your concern is the bus. And don't try to call. The radio's down. Now, the number of the bus is 2525, it's running downtown from Venice. It's at the corner of Ocean Park & Main.

[Jack takes off for his car as sirens from approaching fire engines can be heard]

Jack: Was it good for you?

Harry Temple: It was great for me.

Jack: Elevator dropped.

Harry Temple: Oh, that's good to know.

[both sit down]

Jack: Is your watch slow?

Harry Temple: No, no, he jumped the gun. We had three minutes left.

Jack: Why's he do that? He's losing his three million.

Harry Temple: I don't know maybe he couldn't hold his wad long enough. It's a common problem among middle-aged men. So I'm told.

Jack: [gets up; realizing] He's here.

Harry Temple: He could have blown that thing from Pacoima!

Jack: No, he knew we were up to something. He's close by.

Harry Temple: He's not gonna corner himself in a building. We evacuated anyways.

[Jack looks disappointed]

Harry Temple: Alright. He'd wanna be here but he'd wanna stay mobile. Right?

[Jack nods]

Harry Temple: The elevators.

Jack: The passenger cars were stopped. They checked em out.

Harry Temple: What about the freight elevators?

Ortiz: I'm telling ya, honey, he's somewhere jerking off.

Annie: He didn't have to get ON the bus in the first place, Ortiz. Hey, get your ass behind the yellow line!

[after remotely killing a hostage, then promptly hearing about it on the TV news]

Howard Payne: Interactive TV, Jack! Wave of the future - ha ha ha, huh?

Helen: Are they going to help us?

Stephens: Sure they are, they're the police. Hey, your taxes are paying their salaries. We die, they gotta take a pay cut.

Howard Payne: Jack, nothing tricky now. You know I'm on top of you! DO NOT attempt to grow a brain!

Ortiz: Just keep it steady.

Annie: Oh, thank you for the tip, Ortiz.

Jack: He's the asshole, Annie, the guy who puts us here. Remember that, ok?

Annie: Big asshole.

[the bus has just entered LAX]

SWAT Driver: He's just entered the airport.

SWAT Officer: The airport? There's thousands of people there.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: All right! That's my boy Jack! We should be able to circle the runways and buy us some time. The choppers can't fly in there; it's restricted air space.

SWAT Driver: He's headed for the end of the field.

SWAT Officer: That must be Bravo Tango, an emergency runway.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Yeah, let's hope it's built. Let's move!

[Jack is trying to get Sam's attention]

Jack: Hey!

[honks horn repeatingly]

Jack: I'm a cop! LAPD! There's a bomb on your bus! There is a bomb on your bus!

Sam: What?

Maurice the Tune Man: There's a -WHAT? FUCK!

Jack: Yeah?

Howard Payne: I think we have trust, but it looks on TV like you're trying to get those passengers off the bus.

Jack: Look, you've got to let me have one.

Howard Payne: We went over the rules.

Jack: As an act of faith. We have an injured man here. The driver's been shot.

Howard Payne: Jack, tell me that you haven't been shooting the passengers. I thought it was customary for a police officer to shoot the bad guys.

Jack: This man has no time.

Howard Payne: No one gets off!

Jack: It'll grease the wheels with the money men if you show some charity. There's still gonna be plenty of us to kill.

Howard Payne: OK, son, you can try and unload the driver. You tell that wildcat behind the wheel not to slow down, though, or he won't even get a chance to bleed to death. And, Jack, don't slip.

Annie: [Annie has just driven the bus into a woman's baby carriage]

Annie: Oh my God, oh my God.

Jack: It's cans. It's Ok, it's cans.

Annie: What?

Jack: They were just cans.

Howard Payne: Be prepared! This is the Boy Scout marching song.

Jack: [after taking Maurice's car and breaking off the door] Sir I'm gonna need to take your phone.

Maurice the Tune Man: Take the phone!

Jack: [after contemplating a solution] Maybe we can do something about these hostages.

Harry: We're not gonna shoot them, right?

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: You're fired! Everybody's fuckin' fired!

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: And here... is to Harry. For his quick thinking... for his grace under pressure, and for his brave and selfless act.

[everyone cheers]

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: And to Jack for shooting Harry. Something we've all wanted to do for a very long time.

Howard Payne: What do you think, Jack? You think you pick up all the bus driver's teeth they'll give you another medal?

Jack: Jeez...

Howard Payne: You think I wouldn't have been prepared? Two years I spent, setting up that elevator job. Two years I invested myself in it. You couldn't understand the kind of commitment I have. You ruined a man's life's work and you think you can walk away? You got blinders on to the world! But I got your attention now, didn't I Jack?

Jack: Why didn't you just come after me?

Howard Payne: Now this is about my money. This is about money due me. Which I collect. $3.7 million. It's my nest egg, Jack - at my age you gotta think ahead.

Jack: When I find you...

Howard Payne: Oh, quiz hot shot. There's a bomb on a bus, once the bus goes 50mp/h, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

Jack: I'd wanna know what bus it was...

Howard Payne: You think I'm gonna tell you that?

Jack: Yes.

Howard Payne: Aha, very good. There are rules, Jack, and I want you to get this right. No one goes off the bus. You try to take any passengers off the bus, I will detonate it. I want my money by 11 A.M.

Jack: We can't pull that kind of money in time!

Howard Payne: Focus, Jack! Your concern is the bus. And don't try to call. The radio's down. Now, the number of the bus is 2525, it's running downtown from Venice. It's at the corner of Ocean Park & Main.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Alright gentlemen, what we have here is 13 passengers in a express elevator. Below floor 30. Bomber's already taken out cables, bomber wants $3 million or he blows the emergency brakes.

Harry Temple: What's our clock?

Norwood: He gave one hour. That leaves us twenty-three minutes exactly.

Swat Cop: Anything else that will keep this elevator from falling?

Jack: Yeah, the basement.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: The city would like to avoid that event, Officer Traven.

Harry Temple: We can't just unload the passengers?

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: This is an express elevator gentlemen. The only way in or out is through access panels. Bomber's also wired the hatch to trigger the bomb, which seats him in the crazy-but-not-stupid section.

Jack: Sir, Harry volunteers to examine the device.

Harry Temple: Yeah, right.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Fine. The two of you check it out.

Norwood: The nearest access panel is on the thirty-second floor in the lobby.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: I want reports only, we're in a holding patern. Worthy, Briggs, I want you to secure base area, no one in or out. Everyone else, I want you to confirm building evac. Move!

Jack: [to Harry] Looks like we're walking.

Howard Payne: A bomb is made to explode. That's its meaning. Its purpose. Your life is empty because you spend it trying to stop the bomb from becoming. And for who? For what? You know what a bomb is, Jack, that doesn't explode? It's a cheap gold watch, buddy.

Jack: [answering phone] Harry! Tell me good news man.

Howard Payne: Oh, I'm sorry Jack. He didn't make it.

Jack: [realizes; slight pause] Fuck!

Howard Payne: It was the watch that lead him to me, wasn't it? It seemed a little hammy to me, to build a bomb out of my precious retirement gift. But you know, I figured a sign that said "Howard Payne" would be pushing it.

Jack: I'm gonna rip your fucking spine out, I swear to God.

Howard Payne: You're gonna do exactly as you're told! Jack, we both know he was the brains of your particular operation. You can't beat me, you're gonna pay me every dollar. Otherwise, you, the wildcat, and every innocent person on that bus, are gonna end up just like your friend. You paying attention? Jack, you listening to me? Jack? Jack!

Jack: Yeah...

Howard Payne: Good! Now you tell them that the drop point is Pershing Square. You drop the bags and leave. I don't show until all your people are gone. It's getting on to 11 AM, Jack, and I think it's gonna be a very pretty day.

[laughs nefariously]

Howard Payne: [hangs up; Jack flips out]

Annie: Jack stop it! We're really scared and we need you right now. I can't do this by myself! Jack, please?

Jack: [chuckles] We're gonna die.

Annie: No we're not. We got this far alright?

[Jack looks at Annie's jacket]

Jack: I'll be damned. You go to the University of Arizona?

Annie: Yeah, so?

Jack: Good football team.

Annie: Yeah? I guess so, I wouldn't know.

Jack: Arizona Wildcats.

Annie: Right...

Jack: He can see you.

Annie: What?

Jack: He can see you. Just keep looking straight ahead.

Jack: [Jack looks around; finds the camera] He called you a Wildcat before. I didn't even pick up on it. Bastard's got a camera right in your face. He can see the whole bus. He's been playing me from minute one.

Annie: Well, he can see me but can he hear me?

Jack: Doesn't look like it he's just watching you.

Jack: Harry, there's enough C-4 on this thing to put a hole in the world!

Stephens: First time in LA.

Annie: Oh no, I live here.

Stephens: No, mine. Oh that's just funny, you heard me wrong. Nah, I'm sight-seeing.

Annie: Oh, really?

Stephens: Yeah. I hate to use the word 'tourist,' but it's not like I can hide it...

Annie: Not really.

Stephens: [sigh] Did you know it took me three hours to get here from the airport? I got so lost. LA's one big place, but I guess you don't notice, seeing as you live here. I'm such a yokel. There, I said it!

Annie: Oh jeez. You know what? I got gum on my seat, GUM!

[sits on a different bus seat nearer the front]

Robin: [Shows Harry a newspaper clipping] Howard Payne, Atlanta P.D. Bomb Squad! Retired to Sun Valley in 1989 when a small charge left him with fingers numbering nine!

Harry: That's our SCUMBAG!

Annie: There's gum on my seat... GUM!

Stephens: It's okay. If you need to, you go right ahead and vomit.

[Payne points a shotgun at Jack's face]

Howard Payne: I don't suppose anybody'll give me three million just for you?

Jack: Will the mystery guest please sign in?

Howard Payne: What do you think, Jack? You think if you pick up all the bus driver's teeth, they'll give you another medal?

Howard Payne: [repeating what a news reporter just said] "The whim of a madman" - I like that!

[Jack jumps from Maurice's car onto the bus]

Maurice the Tune Man: [repeatedly] Whoa, shit!

Maurice the Tune Man: [crashes into the barrels of water] Whoa, SHIIIITT!

Howard Payne: Do not fuck with daddy!

Norwood: Sir, uh, we have a serious problem.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: What?

Norwood: This freeway isn't finished.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: What are you talking about?

Norwood: The aerial unit caught it about three miles ahead. There's a section missing.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: [taking out his map] Section missing? But it's on the map. It's finished on the God damn map!

Norwood: I guess they fell behind!

Harry: Forget the files. I want you to start going through the pension fund. This guy's drawin' disability. He may not be LAPD, but he's livin' here now. I want pictures!

[muttering to himself]

Harry: I've seen this asshole.

[after five minutes worth of screaming from the armed elevator]

Norwood: Usually they fall down now.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Ok, Jack, this is it. Don't get dead.

Annie: Hey! Get your ass behind the yellow line.

[first lines]

Workman: Hey, this area's restricted.

Howard Payne: Oh, hi. Yeah, I know. They called me down here. Some of this wiring got screwed up.

Workman: Nobody called it down to me. I'm going to have to see a work order.

Howard Payne: Yeah, just a second. There you are.

[stabs workman in the ear with a screwdriver]

Howard Payne: Nothing personal.

Young Executive: [Bob pushes elevator button that has already been pushed] Thanks for pushing that, Bob. The light's on but you never know, it really might be broken.

Young Executive's Friend: Shut up.

Jack: You've gotta let me off.

Howard Payne: Oh, no! That's not good!

[after five minutes worth of screaming from the armed elevator]

Mr. Bagwell: Usually they fall down now.

Howard Payne: I hate talking to negotiators, Jack. They talk to you like they're your best friend and they don't even know you.

[the bus is caught in a gridlock]

Annie: Hey, Sam?

Sam: [whispers under his breath] Shit!

Annie: SAM!

Sam: What?

Annie: Why don't you just drive around these people?

Sam: Don't spit on my bus, Annie.

Howard Payne: [to Annie, who is crying and hysterical with fear] Hey, buckaroo! It's not because you're a woman.

Jack: I gotta get on that bus.

Maurice the Tune Man: You gotta get... yeah, yeah, you get on the bus.

Jack: [calling to Sam] Drive straight! Stay in this lane!

Maurice the Tune Man: Watch the road.

[speeding forward, Jack opens the door]

Maurice the Tune Man: W-Wait a minute. What are you doing?

Jack: Are you insured?

Maurice the Tune Man: Yeah. Why?

[Jack slams on the brakes, and the passing bus breaks the door off]

Maurice the Tune Man: No! No! AHH! Broke my-my door.

Annie: We gotta stop this thing!

Jack: No! Don't! Stay above 50!

Annie: But Sam's been shot! We gotta get him off!

Jack: You slow down, and this bus'll explode!

[the passengers all look up, alarmed]

Jack: There is a bomb on this bus. If we slow down, it'll blow. If anyone tries to get off, it'll explode.

Terry: Bullshit! Yeah, there's a bomb. Some funny joke, man.

Jack: Are we gonna have a problem now?

[repeated line]

Sam: This ain't no bus stop!

Annie: So, why is all this happening? I mean, what did we do, bomb the guy's country or something?

Jack: No, it's just a guy who wants money.

Annie: I don't buy that. It's not a very good way to make money. So, um, what is this guy's deal?

Jack: A while back, he held some people for ransom. It went sour, and now he's a little pissed at me.

Annie: Well, what does that have to do with us?

Jack: Nothing.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Temple, we just got a ransom demand from your dead terrorist. Says he's rigged a city bus. Where's Jack?

Harry: Where do you think?

Ray: Stop the bus!

Jack: He can't.

Ray: Sit down!

Jack: Listen...

Ray: Stop the bus! Stop it!

Jack: Look, look! Listen! Look, I'm putting my gun away, okay? Okay?

[doing so]

Jack: Now, listen. I don't care about your crime. Whatever you did, I'm sure that you're sorry. So it's cool now. It's over. And I'm not a cop right now.

[putting his badge down]

Jack: See? We're just too cool guys hangin' out...

[Ortiz tries to restrain Ray, and in the melee, Sam the bus driver is shot]

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: Let's get these passengers off the bus!

Jack: We can't do it, sir.

Lt. Herb "Mac" McMahon: There's no time for any stunts, Traven. We gotta get these people out of harm's way!

Jack: I got orders!

[indicating the news helicopters following above]

Jack: We move these people, he'll see. Remember: crazy, not stupid.

Jack: Everybody, I'm Jack Traven, LAPD. We have a slight situation on the bus here. Ma'am, if you'll please sit down...

Annie: No, I won't sit down. You're scaring the shit out of these people.

Jack: Ma'am, please!

[she sits down]

Jack: If everybody will stay in your seats and remain calm, we should be able to diffuse the situation. So sit tight and...

Ray: [standing and drawing a gun] Get away from me!

Jack: [drawing his own] I don't know you, man. I'm not here for you. Let's not do this.

Jack: [a secondary bomb detonated when a passenger tried to get off] How are you doing? You all right?

Annie: Mm-mm.

Jack: What can I do?

Annie: When that bomb went off...

Jack: I know.

Annie: I thought that was it. I thought that was the bomb and I was dead. And then when I saw her body fall under the bus, it was like...

Jack: You were glad you were still alive.

Annie: Mm-hmm. I'm so sorry.

Jack: Don't be. You should be glad. We all are. It doesn't mean you don't care.

Annie: I know, but she was so scared.

Jack: She was scared. She was a nice lady who didn't deserve to get killed. But, Annie, if she'd gotten off, it would've killed us all.

Jack: I need to know, can you handle this bus?

Annie: I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Just tell me what the plan is. Is there a plan?

Jack: Just for you to drive. We're okay for now. Just keep us above 50.

Annie: Good plan.

Jack: Three triggers. One on the axle I can't really see, a cellular remote...

Annie: [nervously] Officer.

Jack: ...and a timer running off a wristwatch.

Harry: A watch? What kind of watch?

Jack: Gold. Gold band, fairly cheesy.

Annie: Officer.

[he gives her the "hold on" gesture]

Annie: Officer!

Jack: What's on your mind, Harry?

Annie: Shit, what do I do?

[grabbing the bus's internal PA microphone]

Annie: OFFICER!

Harry: The watch is a shitty timer. Why use it? What's he sayin'?

Robin: Lots of people have watches, Harry.

Harry: This guy has no M.O. A bomber falls in love with one kind of bomb, and they're very monogamous. This guy uses C4, dynamite, different trigger every time, and now he throws in this watch.

Robin: He's an encyclopedia of bombs. He knows every kind.

Harry: Yeah, and everything we do to dismantle it.

[a thought strikes him]

Harry: Wait a minute. I wanna look at the files for the last ten years.

Robin: We did the mug shots already. That's not gonna help.

Harry: No. I wanna look at cops.

Harry: [Howard Payne has Harry as a hostage whilst holding a detonator stick] Go ahead, drop the stick, do it!

Jack: Shut up, Harry!

Howard Payne: Oh, we got all the balls in the world right here man!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque imperdiet eros leo, eget consequat orci viverra nec. Suspendisse pellentesque sem metus, et mollis purus auctor in eoses eget. Powered by SecondLineThemes