Trivia / Man on Fire (2004)

• Approval of God: A. J. Quinnell had a favorable reception to this adaptation, mainly because the film used many of the book's lines. Quinnell said that usually screenwriters "like to leave their mark on the product." Quinnell added that even though he usually dislikes film adaptations of books, the writers "did a good job with Man on Fire and I loved the chemistry between Creasy and the girl" and "When I first heard Denzel was playing the part of Creasy I missed a couple of heartbeats but he played the part brilliantly. The film is violent and if the anger is not portrayed properly, the result can be awful."
• Cast the Runner-Up: Christopher Walken was originally chosen for the role of Samuel Ramos' lawyer, Jordan Kaufus, but Walken wanted to play the role of Rayburn to break away from playing the role of bad guys.
• Deleted Scene:
  • Two sex scenes were filmed but then cut. One was between Creasy and Lisa and the other between Lisa and her husband.
  • A deleted scene showed Samuel cutting off his lawyer's head with the sword.
  • A deleted scene shows Creasy and Rayburn describing their long history together. Tony Scott said, "In the end, you don't need it. I love to keep an audience working for their information."
• Fake Nationality: Several of the Mexican characters are played by non-Mexicans.
  • The Ramos family are portrayed by US actors. At least the wife is supposed to be an American immigrant... but is played by an Australian!
  • Manzano is played by Italian Giancarlo Giannini. This gets a Lampshade Hanging when his character mentions that he worked for Interpol in Rome for a few years before returning to become director of the AFI.
  • Aurelio Rosas Sanchez, the Voice's brother, is played by a Brazilian actor.
  • Mariana Garcia Guerrero, the reporter who helps Creasy, is played by Rachel Ticotin (mixed American with a Puerto-Rican mother and a Russian-Jewish father).
• Harpo Does Something Funny: Most of the scenes between Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken were completely improvised.
• Hostility on the Set: Denzel Washington and Mickey Rourke didn't get on during filming.
• Method Acting: Denzel Washington stayed in character whenever he was on set.
• Saved from Development Hell: Tony Scott tried to have a version of the film made in 1983. Production went forward on the film after Scott dropped out, and it was released in 1987, directed by Élie Chouraqui.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: Pita looks strikingly similar to her mother, Lisa.
• Throw It In!: The kitchen scene between Creasy and Pita where she asked him about concubines were mostly ad-libbed by both actors. It started when they "accused" each other of smiling.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Will Smith and Bruce Willis were offered the role of Creasy.
  • Marlon Brando was the original choice to play Rayburn.
  • Antoine Fuqua was offered the chance to direct the movie but he was already busy with production on King Arthur (2004). Michael Bay was also offered the job, but passed.

---