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MARK WAHLBERG (Charlie Croker):
“This certainly isn’t a remake, this has the spirit of the original, obviously the title and the cars, but it’s its own movie. It has a life of its own.”
F. GARY GRAY:
“The biggest draw for me when I read the script was the ability to pull together a cast like this. I’ve known Mark for a few years, and I thought this would be perfect for him. And when you have a role like Stella Bridger, who is a tough safe-cracker, you can’t just hire any model or actress from Hollywood, because it just wouldn’t fly. I thought Charlize was perfect for the role, because she’s not only beautiful but down-to-earth.”
CHARLIZE THERON (Stella Bridger):
“I’m a huge fan of everyone in the film – including the MINIs. This is a wonderful character driven piece, and the way the cars are worked into the plot, they’re just as much a part of the cast as any one of us.”
WAHLBERG:
“I grew up admiring Donald Sutherland, and the fact that he wanted to do this movie was just amazing to me. You think that he’s this really serious guy, and he’s the complete opposite. Donald is just Don. He was so giving as an actor too. He’s really a team player. I think the guy is a genius and a legend.”
DONALD SUTHERLAND (John Bridger):
“In this movie, I had to create a template that would vitally exist in the memories of the characters, and therefore the memories of the audience. That’s hard. Mark just made it all possible. He was so available, generous, good and talented, he just was wonderful. And I think we succeeded.”
GRAY:
“The first thing I did in rehearsals was to tell the cast to drop their scripts because we were going to pull off a heist. They said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘You guys are going to play thieves, you have to perfect it.’ I think they were game for it and really excited. They pulled together this plan, and I can’t go into a lot of detail, but they ended up breaking into the studio and stealing a few things, and escaping without being caught. It was harmless because I sent my poor assistant back to return all the things they stole; the costumes, the props, the dailies from people’s offices. I did that to establish a bond and a trust between them that you need when you’re shooting a movie like this.”
WALHBERG:
“I get motion sickness pretty easily, especially in a stick-shift car with a psycho driver like Charlize Theron. She wants to be Rambo or something – she’s a wild woman! I loved driving and doing my own thing, but I’m not a stunt guy with something to prove, I’d rather have my stuntman in there.”
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THE CONCEPT:
