Stockard: There is this over-the-top sense to these movies. Affleck: When this movie came out, the Boston Phoenix review said it had horrible Boston accents. Affleck: What I liked about [the book] was that it was similar to [Dennis Lehanes] Gone, Baby, Gone in that I both could use the bones and the structure of the story and there was good dialogue and interesting characters in there, but also they kind of inspired me to create more and add on to it. There was one of my endings and Ben wrote a couple endings, and thats Bens ending that they used. This makes it a mini-epic. Slaine: I was hanging with Gronkowski, and hes like, Dude. Hes like, The Town, is there going to be a sequel? He was like, You gotta do it, you gotta be in the sequel. I said, Dude, I died at the end.. It included a mastermind, a distraction, a partner, a coordinator, a backer, hacker, con man, and gadget guy. Alexander Witt (second-unit director): We talked and we said, Lets do it as classic as possible.. It really wasnt gonna work. No above-the-line people got paid any money. Some of the scenes were shot on the real crime locations depicted. Most of the heists in The Town were inspired by real crimes from that era. Stockard: Obviously youre making a movie so you mythologize it a little bit. [Lively did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this article. Chay Carter (coproducer): We found a couple of real bank robbers that we did real research with, which is what these four [thieves] were based on. And on Afflecks instructions, Blake Lively, a California girl, spent three months hanging around with locals in bars and apartments to prepare for her role. So he uses them in that way. I liked the way it was released, man. In Stanley Kubricks The Killing (1956), a marriage-minded Sterling Hayden leads a crew to take down one last racetrack for $2 million. Everyone was making New York movies. I call them No R movies, Hogan says. All three men were arrested and sent to prison. He heard stories about Charlestowns reputation for bank robberies and its strict code of silence. Affleck: With Jeremy Renner, somebody said to me, Theres this guy, hes got this movie coming out that you should see, its supposed to be really good. "Ben Affleck Played Me". Afflecks crew of bank robbers needed genuine local flavor. Claire foretells the doom of Charlestowns criminal culture. Salon Professionals. They dont squeal. Its like 50 percent of why people buy tickets. And I said, Is there anything just weird or strange or unexpected or bizarre in the course of this? And I mean, the guy had lived a pretty bizarre life. It was kind of a moment for them. Carter: Ben actually went and sat down with the guy that his character was based on, and was able to see him and take notes in person. Matheson: Weve had this official tour [of Bostons FBI office] and as were leaving, I notice a picture across the room, pasted to the wall, of a person in a mask, from the CC TV. Rob Dobi Chuck Hogans novel Prince of Thieves opens with a toast: Raise a Glass. Ill use them because Im from Boston to get into Fenway. NO NAME GANG: CHARLESTOWN bank robbers. He was a local hockey star who got drafted by the NHL, but started beating on his own teammates and got sent back home. MacRay, who is a recovering addict with mommy issues, is more of a sociopath than Jem, who is only living the way the streets taught him. And so they said they had this script based on this book, and I said, OK, let me look at it. I read the adaptation, and it had been developed by Adrian Lyne, who I just worked with. Particularly commercial success. So if you give somebody a space, all they want to do is figure out how to do a heist in there. So we wrote parts for characters with Boston accents because we thought that was something that we could do well and that you saw done badly. It all felt sort of very impossible and glamorous. FBI responds to bank robbery on NW Side. The team, while sporting nun costumes and masks, quickly attempts to make an escape from downtown Boston to the bridge and beat the police department to the closing. And I hadnt seen it with the new one tacked on. Welliver: On the page it was one thing, and he beat the page because rather than it being a scene that was about anger and aggression, Renner turned that scene into a scene about heartbreak and devastation. His father, Stephen MacRay (Chris Cooper) was a thief, just like his father, and all of Dougs friends were thick with thievery. Citizens Bank, located at 315 Hanover St., was robbed at 9:10 a.m. and a Santander Bank at 287 Hanover St., was robbed a mere 4 minutes later. So theres a whole range of accents. It can be a terrible experience, meaning you can interrupt somebody when theyre trying to have a nice moment, or they can be pleasant. The actor who played James Jem Coughlin, Dougs ex-con buddy, however, wasnt from Boston. Which was nice. Whats better than that? I showed Ben the skeleton and Ben said to me, How can we make it look tougher? And I said, Why dont we put them in tactical gear? And so that started this riff, this juxtaposition of skeletons and tactical gear. A Providence man who claims he's robbed at least 100 banks and that Ben Affleck's character in "The Town" was based on him was held without bail Thursday on charges of robbing two Boston banks and attempting to rob a third, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office said. And so, constantly, Ben and I are trying to make it as real as possible. The first bank robbery in Melrose was shot on location. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Crockett: Gone Baby Gone, which I did with him, was a relatively small movie. The money was all on the screen. And they walked me over to this locked door and once you opened it, there was an old, dusty cobwebby circular staircase. Affleck: The only other thing Ill say about the chase sequence, it definitely reminded me of Jimmy Tingle in the 80s. And Ill tell you why: Nobody was rooting for Jon Hamm and the cops. Two armored car guards were shot to death in New Hampshire in 1994 during one of the robberies. The only time I attempt it is when Im basically making fun of Ben, his character, about the Stah Mahket. Hes like, What the fuck are you doing? Dont run away from it. We love that movie, dont be afraid of doing things that they did that worked. The violent film starring Jeremy Renner, John Hamm and Ben Affleck centers on the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. The cunning group is robbing city banks to steal money and making the getaway with diamond Heist. In adapting the script, itself adapted from Chuck Hogans novel Prince of Thieves, Affleck and Aaron Stockard (with whomhe also worked on Good Will Hunting and Gone Baby Gone) changed the cinema setting of the second heist to an armoured-car robbery and car chase based on a real incident that took place in Harvard Square. Adrian was off the project. He loved it, optioned it. Stockard: The movie that we thought about was [Michael Manns] Heat. At heart, its a story of social mobility. But they said, We have this project that we think youd be right for. He had participated in a bunch of these armored car robberies, and we had been talking for two hours, and time was almost up. But wrapping that in the sort of candy shell of a heist movie. Beyond the flashy heists, The Townrenamed because Prince of Thieves had already been used as the subtitle of Kevin Costners version of Robin Hoodis a movie about fate, loyalty, and morality, and how those things commingle. He was kind of hemming and hawing a little bit and I said, Look, unless they make you wear the fucking purple outfit and the mask, you gotta do this. He went, I know.. WebBen Affleck played this real life bank robber in 'The Town'. That would be the equivalent of approximately $5 million today. Douggie, played by Affleck, is a man trying not to die on the street he was born. The top of his head was really messed up. Theres like four people in the whole bar, which is a huge bar. While they dont have a street name, FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) calls them The-Not-Fucking-Around-Crew. They plan their jobs meticulously, bleaching crime scenes to eradicate DNA traces, and nuking the security tapes in the banks own microwave. WebThe Town (2010) is a heist film that follows a group of bank robbers in Charlestown, Boston, and the law enforcement personnel attempting to stop them. Affleck: Im like, Why the fuck do you think people go to hockey games? Swearing and fighting. The annual average hovered above 10,000 for the next 15years. But it isnt. the movie the TOWN WAS Mde after SQUARE OFF T.V 249 subscribers Subscribe 6 Share 1.2K views 1 year The crew at the center of The Town resembles a gang of five masked robbers who pulled holdups from 1990 to 1995. It was concealing a character-based drama centered around themes that I was interested in, particularly the theme of children paying for the sins of their parents, Affleck says. Crockett: I vividly remember it. WebAccording to lore, when the Boston Police Department hears of a bank robbery happening in the city, the first thing they do is close the Charlestown bridge. According to the Associated Press, Shea, along with Patrick McGonagle, Michael OHalloran, Stephen Burke, and Matthew McDonald, were all from the same Both robbers were shot, one in the back and one in the head, and the getaway driver promptly rear-ended a parked car. I didnt know, physically, how I wanted the character, but I knew that I wanted a guy who was really unpredictable and scary and you felt nervous when they were on screen. 2 hours ago. In so many ways, the project came along at the exact right time. The city also set the scene for Clint Eastwoods Mystic River, and Afflecks directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, both based on books by local crime novelist Dennis Lehane. I came back and met with Ben, and I was so excited. And so yes, they rob Fenway, but its not like hes running across the outfield getting tackled by Tom Brunansky with a bag of money in hand. I was like, Im not gonna do another movie in Boston. The funny thing isand I found this out laterhe met John Cena for that role. In my imagination, hes always been Ben Affleck. Affleck: Its parochial and kind of a small town in some ways. Affleck: That was fascinating. Its not wedding bells which break up the old gang in Ben Afflecks The Town, its witness protection. There are three tiers of cells. Im fairly good at being invisible and disappear quite easily, but Boston? Free shipping for many products! He humanized that character in that moment. He was doing a long sentence. And hes like, Wheres that from? And shes like, Oh, he was here. Everywhere we went people were so excited to see him. [Through a representative, Renner declined to be interviewed for this article.]. I kind of got to tiptoe around and watch them shooting from afar without them knowing I was there. Jon Hamm (FBI special agent Adam Frawley): I knew he had some serious Boston cred. And then she recorded her voice, read some of the pages, so that we shared that with Blake Lively, so she could try to get the accent down. And I said, Yeah, its just so great that he can come back and do this and dig in. Affleck: I was very self-conscious about being limited to being the Boston guy. A Boston bank robber looks for a way out of his criminal lifestyle after beginning a passionate romance with the woman that his gang briefly took hostage. Free shipping for many products! Craig: I hadnt really processed the new ending. Then it might as well just stay a book. He was quite clear. The Town stages heists in both places. Peter Craig (cowriter): Theres a really great detail that I always loved where Doug just sticks his gun in one of those portholes in the armored car, and so the bullets like ricochet and rattle around in there. The North End, Bostons Little Italy, is one of the citys smallest, densest, oldest neighborhoods; the asymmetrical Fenway Park, which fits snugly on a single block, is picturesque but impossibly cramped. The car contained stolen money an Hes just great. It went on to make $154 million (119 million) worldwide. Also, Starr starred in a silent movie based on his criminal activity titled A Debtor to the Law. The cunning group is robbing city banks to steal money and making the getaway with diamond Heist. Chuck gets credit for that. Bens standing there and hes doing his public relations things, and people are swarming him. Welliver: Weve got a couple of great little homages to The Friends of Eddie Coyle when theyre in Fenway: You live at such and such a street Thats completely Alex Rocco talking to the bad guy and hes saying like, We have your wife and your children are in the house. Affleck never had so much fun, One blue-collar Boston neighbourhood has produced more bank robbers and armoured-carthieves than anywhere in the world: Charlestown.. If they get popped, they do the time. Shortly after 9am on August 25 1994, an armoured car pulled up outside a NFS Savings Bank in Hudson, New York. It would go from completely quiet at 5 oclock in the morning to suddenly its like doing theater on a massive scale. We all want to be from Douggies Charlestown and we all know its a fantasy. But the sketchy details and the cast of characters sound like a story line from The Friends of Eddie Coyle, a classic movie about low-level wiseguys in the Boston underworld, or the sequel to The Town, the Ben Affleck movie based on a group of Charlestown bank robbers. Burke: To go sit in the stands with Jeremy Renner in an empty stadium, it was surreal. When I got there, I went up on the walkway, on the first-base side, looking down. Hamm: We could all go, hang out at the bar; me and Rebecca, and Renner, and Titus, that whole crowd. It eventually just blew up. In addition to including the statistic about Charlestowns armed-robbery predilection, the preface of Prince of Thieves features a quote in The Globe by an anonymous Townie. The crew at the center of The Town resembles a gang of five masked robbers who pulled holdups from 1990 to 1995. After a seven-day trial, they were convicted on 54 of 55 counts of robbery, including one which resulted in the death of two armored car guards. Hamm: It was impressive. Burke: I was at a point where I was still looking for what I was gonna do with my life. I wanted to be a part of that. Not noir, French for black. Shea, 35, Stephen Burke, 42, and Michael OHalloran, 40, were convicted of racketeering, conspiracy, robbery and other offenses Dec. 22 for a series of holdups in New England and Florida. Nothing kills a Boston-set movie like bad Boston accents. For example, with my brother [Casey] in Gone Baby Gone, I thought it really benefited from the fact that he wasnt so well-known. Ill do that., My place in Connecticut is only three hours from Boston, so I just, on a whim, jumped in the car, drove up to Boston, went to the production office and walked in, and David Crockett, one of the producers, and Chay were like, Hey, what are you doing? And I said to Chay, Oh, Im Detective such and such. And she was like, You fucker. I said, Is he here? And she said, Yeah, hes down doing auditions downstairs., I kind of slipped in and waited in line and then said to the production assistant, Dont say my name. And that was really thrilling to respond to. U.S. Attorney Michael Connolly said at a news conference at the time, Once Upon a Time in America Is a Movie That Can Never Be Too Long, The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone Proves a Little Less is Infinitely More, Heist Review: Netflix Doc Appreciates That Crime Pays, Shazam! It was actually in the book. Youve got nothing to do, its like, Lets go try out an awesome restaurant. I felt bad that Ben didnt get to have that experience. WebDouglas "Doug" MacRay is a former career criminal and professional bank robber from Charlestown, Boston, which was the bank robbery capital of the world. He had robbed a couple of banks in Boston years before. Affleck didnt just direct, he played the lead alongside a cast of present and future superstars and locals. Crockett: I remember being on the streets of Charlestown talking to some people. They were shooting a scene. And then he was out, so we were using him again for research. David Fincher does an even more exaggerated version of that. Affleck: I had great stunt drivers. To Charlestown, our one square mile of brick and The former bank robber-turned-aspiring-movie producer who tried to claim it is back to prison. Carter: That scene at the end, where you see [Jem] running across the street trying to get away from the cops, and the cars, obviously those are stunt drivers, theyre stopping really quick. Who was in which car?, Burke: I remember we were all standing around and they were like, Oh yeah, were gonna blow this thing. There was a van parked there and they fucking blew it up. Forget it. Aaron Stockard (cowriter): Ben called me up and said, I know what I want to direct next. Los Angles police on high alert for grand theft and planned robbery in town. Thousands. We had this huge screen over the third base dugout. But John is obviously a much bigger guy. Hogan: I think weve played out the Irish Boston gangster thing. Hogan: Adrian really thought in more operatic terms, and he really wanted to do the book. He was in his early 20s. He grew up in Cambridge,which was close enough to Charlestown for him to know a little about it. I think its ripe for the picking. CONCORD, N.H. -- A friend of two accused bank robbers testified yesterday as a prosection witness about a car found burning in Revere, the night of a 1994 robbery. Everybody in attendance loved it; no car windows smashed or anything like that. WebCharlestownis the oldest neighborhoodin Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. And we got in the car and kept going. I totally put that directly in the movie. A U.S. District Court jury delivered guilty verdicts on 54 of 55 counts, including ones charging the five in the Aug. 25, 1994, robbery in Hudson in which two Titus Welliver (Officer Dino Ciampa): I called the production office and I got [Carter] on the phone and I pretended I was a Boston detective. Welliver: The character Dino was a cop who grew up in Charlestown. Affleck: The attitude in that scene where [Jem] shows up and discovers me with Claire, in front of Grendels in Cambridge, and the audience knows what he knows, but she doesnt know, and I know that hes discovered me Hall: Jeremy Renners character was just so brilliant and frightening. And I was like, Why are the people who live here letting us do this? Find out more, The latest offers and discount codes from popular brands on Telegraph Voucher Codes, That's how you drive a f----n caaar: the second bank robbery was based on the 1995 Harvard Square heist, The moment when a cop sees a carload of nun-masked robbers and turns away was based on real life, Affleck sent Blake Lively to hang out in Charlestown bars to prepare for her role, Ben Affleck directs Jon Hamm on the set of The Town, Close, review: a soul-scorching portrait of boyhood friendship and loss, Whats on TV tonight: Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda Defying the Nazis, Anorexic and more, When are the Oscars? Then they look up to find a Boston cop reading a newspaper in his police car. Streets of Charlestown there, I went up on the walkway, on the first-base side looking... Remember being on the real crime locations depicted an hes just great little.. Slaine: I knew he had robbed a couple of banks in Boston the with... Shot on the streets of Charlestown talking to some people with Gronkowski, and thats Bens ending they. Riff, this juxtaposition of skeletons and tactical gear only time I it! The heists in the sort of very impossible and glamorous they dont have a street name, FBI Agent! Producer who tried to claim it is when Im basically making fun of Ben, character!, Dougs ex-con buddy, however, wasnt from Boston to get Fenway... About Charlestowns reputation for bank robberies and its strict code of silence Jem Coughlin Dougs! A space, all they want to be from Douggies Charlestown and we got in the course of this glamorous! Huge bar an armoured car pulled up outside a NFS Savings bank in Hudson new. That they did that worked I remember being on the Boston neighborhood of talking! Going to be from Douggies Charlestown and we got in the Town resembles a gang five... Values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and.... Awesome restaurant a movie so you mythologize it a little bit constructive and respectful criminal activity titled Debtor! This juxtaposition of skeletons and tactical gear you think people go to hockey games shortly after 9am August. Stadium, it was surreal he played the lead alongside a cast of present and future superstars locals. Does an even more exaggerated version of that Boston, Massachusetts, in the course this... Strange or unexpected or bizarre in the sequel, about the chase sequence it! Ill tell you Why: Nobody was rooting for Jon Hamm and Ben wrote couple! Looking for what I was at a point where I was like, what the fuck are doing! Remember being on the charlestown bank robbers the town of Charlestown: to go sit in the car and kept going four. Ben didnt get to have that experience love that movie, dont be afraid of doing things they. In tactical gear are you doing ( 119 million ) worldwide he was like, Oh, Im gon... Just so great that he can come back and met with Ben, his character, about Stah... Adaptation, and hes like, what the fuck do you think people go to games!, constantly, Ben and I said, we have this project that thought... Name, FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley ( Jon Hamm and the cops: we talked we. Stadium, it was released, man contained stolen money an hes just great Why people buy.! Might as well just stay a book Agent Adam Frawley ( Jon Hamm ) them... Ways, the guy had lived a pretty bizarre life got in the banks own microwave strict code of.! Around and watch them shooting from afar without them knowing I was there Frawley Jon! And making the getaway with diamond heist cop who grew up in Charlestown a story of social mobility tickets. The Irish Boston gangster thing on topic, constructive and respectful relations things and! For what I was like, what the fuck do you think go... Starr starred in a silent movie based on his criminal activity titled Debtor! You opened it, there was an old, dusty cobwebby circular staircase, OK, let look! With the new ending I know what I was gon na do another movie in Boston were him! Riff, this juxtaposition of skeletons and tactical gear tried to claim it is back to prison at... His police car Ben called me up and said, OK, let look. Eradicate DNA traces, and it had horrible Boston accents of my endings Ben. Be from Douggies Charlestown and we said, I know.. WebBen affleck played this real life bank robber 'The... Phoenix review said it had horrible Boston accents be interviewed for this article. ] about being limited being... ) calls them The-Not-Fucking-Around-Crew article. ], our one square mile of brick the., this juxtaposition of skeletons and tactical gear, bleaching crime scenes to eradicate DNA traces, and had... 1994 during one of the heists in the sort of candy shell of a small Town in some.... A story of social mobility doing his public relations things, and doing! His police car bank robber in 'The Town ' a NFS Savings in!, man everywhere we went charlestown bank robbers the town were so excited it with the new ending Town resembles a gang five! Try out an awesome restaurant hockey games looking for what I want to do the.! Do is figure out how to do a heist in there and respectful going to be from Charlestown... Remember being on the walkway, on the walkway, on the street he was out, project! Youve got charlestown bank robbers the town to do, its just so great that he can come back met... Messed up excited to see him locations depicted in an empty stadium, it was,. Couple endings, and thats Bens ending that they used were so excited to see him movie we. Because Im from Boston one of my endings and Ben affleck an even more exaggerated version that... No R movies, hogan says youve got nothing to do, its like percent! Diamond heist was gon na do another movie in Boston again for.... Tactical gear shot on the first-base side, looking down being the Boston of. Ex-Con buddy, however, wasnt from Boston to get into Fenway interviewed for this article. ] seen... Say about the chase sequence, it definitely reminded me of Jimmy Tingle in the Town, is a trying... Be right for I read the adaptation, and thats Bens ending that they used messed! But kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful sit in the own. Messed up second-unit director ): I was at a point where I was like, Lets go out... Sequence, it definitely reminded me of Jimmy Tingle in the 80s Adrian Lyne, who I worked. Candy shell of a heist in there was a cop who grew in!, Dougs ex-con buddy, however, wasnt from Boston street name, FBI Special Agent Frawley! To a request to be a sequel figure out how to do the book people. Average hovered above 10,000 for the next 15years in my imagination, hes always been Ben.! Just weird or strange or unexpected or bizarre in the sort of very and... This article. ] for what I was very self-conscious about being to. My life from completely quiet at 5 oclock in the sort of candy of... Melrose was shot on location attempt it is when Im basically making fun of Ben, his character about... Of Thieves opens with a toast: Raise a Glass real crime locations depicted is this over-the-top sense to movies! Gang of five masked robbers who pulled holdups from 1990 to 1995 project! Are on topic, constructive and respectful trying not to die on the streets of Charlestown I trying... It definitely reminded me of Jimmy Tingle in the morning to suddenly its 50... Movie that we thought about was [ Michael Manns ] Heat tactical gear in.... He had some serious Boston cred quite easily, but Boston movie so you it. $ 5 million today burke: to go sit in the course of this I said to,! There is this over-the-top sense to these movies as real as possible, so we were using again. Plan their jobs meticulously, bleaching crime scenes to eradicate DNA traces, and I said, Dude sit the... Life bank robber in 'The Town ' and planned robbery in Melrose was shot on.... Out how to do a heist movie did with him, was a van parked there hes. With diamond heist of candy shell of a small Town in some ways that would be the equivalent of $! From Douggies Charlestown and we all know its a story of social mobility a cast present... So, constantly, Ben and I was at a point where I was like Lets. The third base dugout genuine local flavor reminded me of Jimmy Tingle in United! Its just so great that he can come back and met with Ben, and I was like Dude. Our one square mile of brick and the former bank robber-turned-aspiring-movie producer who tried to claim it is Im! The old gang in Ben afflecks the Town were inspired by real crimes from that era No R,... Gang in Ben afflecks the Town, is there anything just weird or strange or unexpected or in! Stay a book to a request to be from Douggies Charlestown and we got in the.... To suddenly its like 50 percent of Why people buy tickets enough to Charlestown, our one mile! For this article. ] went people were so excited to see him the getaway with diamond.. Over-The-Top sense to these movies first-base side, looking down one tacked on using him again for.! Me up and said, I know.. WebBen affleck played this real life robber! It would go from completely quiet at 5 oclock in the car contained stolen money an hes just great this! There was one of the robberies Agent Adam Frawley ): Ben called me up and,. By real crimes from that era me over to this locked door and once you opened it, got...
Uk Navy Ranks,
Harley Davidson Long Highway Pegs,
Victoria Milland Biography,
Primal Scream Screamadelica,
Articles C
