Collateral
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Michael Mann
Tom Cruise
Jamie Foxx
Jada Pinkett Smith
Mark Ruffalo
Peter Berg
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Professional assassin Vincent arrives at Los Angeles International Airport, where an anonymous contact passes him a laptop computer with detailed information on the individual locations of five victims to be murdered that night. Simultaneously, cab driver Max Durocher meticulously tidies his taxi before beginning his daily shift. At dusk, Max picks up Annie Farrell, a prosecuting attorney returning to her office in preparation for an important upcoming trial. During the ride, Annie is impressed by Max's sharp observations and shrewd assessment of her and confides a little about the tensions of her work. Max reveals his plans to start his own private limousine company to be called Island Limos. Upon arriving downtown, Annie offers Max her business card and as she enters the court building, Vincent exits it and hails Max's cab. After settling into the car, the impeccably dressed Vincent gives Max his destination address, notes the car's cleanliness and mentions his distaste for the cold anonymity of Los Angeles, where a man can die on the subway and no one notices. Arriving at the address, Vincent reveals that he is closing a critical real estate deal and needs several signatures all over town before catching an early morning flight, then offers to hire Max all night for six hundred dollars. Although it is against his company's policy, Max reluctantly agrees. Unable to double-park on the main street, Max drives to a back alley to wait for Vincent and moments later is stunned when a body crashes onto the cab's roof from a floor above. Bolting from the car, Max surveys the body in horror, and when Vincent returns, realizes by his detached demeanor that he is the killer. When Max demands to know why Vincent killed the man, Vincent coolly points out that he only shot him, the bullets and the fall killed him, then orders the shocked Max to help him place the body in the trunk. Astonished, Max refuses until Vincent pulls a gun on him. After Max and Vincent place the dead man in the trunk and return to the cab, Vincent asks Max why he should care about the death of a stranger and assures him the victim was a criminal. As they proceed to the next address that is listed in Vincent's laptop, the cab is stopped by the police, who inquire about the cracked windshield and dented roof. Terrified that Vincent will kill the officers, Max claims to have hit a deer, but as the police order the men from the car, their dispatcher issues an immediate summons to a crime in progress. At the next location, Vincent apologetically ties Max's hands to the steering wheel, and as Vincent is about to leave, Max's dispatcher radios to ask about the police report on the damaged cab. When Max fumbles for an explanation, Vincent abruptly grabs the radio and tells the dispatcher he is a lawyer, bullying him into silence. After Vincent enters the building in search of his next victim, Max struggles to untie his hands and in frustration honks the horn and flashes the car lights, which draws a passing gang. Several men approach the car and a grateful Max pleads for them to untie him, only to have one man pull a gun and demand his wallet. Spotting Vincent's briefcase, which contains the laptop, in the back seat, the man takes it and he and his partner walk away only to be confronted by Vincent. The men scoff at Vincent's demand to return his briefcase and, as Max watches in dismay, Vincent shoots both men and retrieves his bag. Returning to untie Max, Vincent reproaches him for causing unnecessary deaths by drawing attention to himself. To Max's bewilderment, Vincent declares that as they are ahead of schedule they should visit a jazz club. Meanwhile, undercover narcotics detective Ray Fanning discovers that informant Ramon Aiella, Vincent's first victim, has disappeared and summons his chief, Richard Weidner, to Aiella's apartment. Dismissing Fanning's suggestion that Aiella has been murdered, Weidner reconsiders when a bullet casing is found in the apartment. Across town at a jazz club, Vincent listens with appreciation to a jam session, then invites the horn soloist and club owner, Daniel Baker, to join him and Max for a drink. Vincent listens enthusiastically as Baker rhapsodizes about jazz, but when Vincent makes a reference to drugs, Baker falls silent. Realizing Vincent's mission, Baker sends apologies to the drug lord for whom he once worked, acknowledging that he turned state's evidence against him in order to avoid returning to prison. Vincent then shoots Baker point blank in the head. Dazed, Max stumbles from the club, insisting he cannot continue. Vincent throttles Max against the cab, but is interrupted by the dispatcher's angry call asking Max to contact his mother. Startled, Vincent presses Max for an explanation and the driver reveals he visits his hospitalized mother every night. Insisting Max cannot break routine and draw attention to himself, Vincent forces him to drive to the hospital to see his mother Ida. Vincent accompanies Max, but when the hit man charmingly engages Ida, the disgusted Max abruptly snatches Vincent's briefcase and races from the hospital. Vincent follows but is unable to prevent Max from flinging the briefcase onto freeway traffic. Meanwhile, Fanning visits the hospital mortuary to examine three new bodies. The medical examiner points out that although two of the men were brought in separately, they were all murdered and have identical bullet wounds. Upon examining the body of Vincent's second victim, Fanning recognizes crooked lawyer Sylvester Clarke, and immediately contacts Weidner, as both Aiella and Clarke were informants in their investigation of drug lord Felix Reyes Torina. Just outside the hospital, Vincent forces Max back to the cab and orders him to drive to another nightclub, El Rodeo, where the assassin directs Max to impersonate Vincent and meet with Felix in order to recover the information about his final two victims that was on the laptop. Although terrified, Max complies, unaware that the club is staked out by the FBI, who are also investigating Felix. Posing as Vincent, Max gains an audience with Felix, who is dumbfounded when "Vincent" reveals he has lost the detailed hit information. During their conversation, Fanning and Weidner join the federal agents, led by Frank Pedrosa, to warn him about Aiella and Clarke's deaths and the just reported murder of Baker. Stunned, Pedrosa reveals that all three men were federal witnesses in their case against Felix. Using the security monitors surrounding the club, the agents see and hear Max identify himself as "Vincent," and Fanning spots the damaged cab sitting in the alley. Checking the license number, Fanning learns from the cab company that Max is law-abiding and has driven for a dozen years without incident, but Weidner insists "Vincent" is the hitman. Inside El Rodeo, Max abruptly overcomes his nervousness and demands the information needed to complete his job and Felix grudgingly complies, giving him a computer memory key. Back at the cab, Vincent plugs the computer memory key into the cab's mobile data terminal and orders Max to drive to a Koreatown club, Fever. Meanwhile, Pedrosa has his men follow the cab while Fanning reminds Weidner of a suspicious case years earlier where a cab driver inexplicably committed several murders before killing himself. Fanning suggests that Max is a "front" for the real murderer, but Weidner, content to let the federal agents take over, departs. At Fever, Vincent forces Max to accompany him into the crowded, pulsating club in search of his next victim, Peter Lim, unaware that the federal agents are close behind, and believe that Max is the assassin. As the men push through the crowd and the agents also move in, Lim's private guards panic and begin shooting. In the ensuing melee, Pedrosa is wounded, several of the agents are killed and Vincent unexpectedly saves Max from being shot by a guard. As the club crowd flees in panic and the agents continue focusing on Max, Vincent reaches Lim and kills him. Meanwhile, Fanning, who has followed the agents to the club, grabs Max to rescue him. As they get outside, however, they find Vincent already back at the cab, where he shoots Fanning and orders Max to resume driving. Outraged by the depth of Vincent's callousness, Max furiously races through the streets and, when Vincent berates Max for being a weak failure, purposely crashes the cab. Both men survive, but as police sirens wail nearby, Vincent flees. A policeman arrives and offers to help Max until he spots Aiella's body in the trunk. As the policeman is about to handcuff Max, the cabbie spots the picture and information of Vincent's last victim on the monitor and is stunned to recognize Annie. Galvanized, Max overpowers the policeman and, taking a pistol, races toward the court building several blocks away. On the way, Max steals a cellphone from a pedestrian and, reading the number on Annie's business card, phones her. Although confused and startled when Max babbles about the killings and Vincent, when he mentions Felix, Annie realizes she is in danger. Meanwhile, Vincent arrives at the court building, kills the security guards and makes his way to Annie's top floor office, not realizing she is in the library two floors below. Frustrated when the cellphone battery abruptly dies, Max hastens to the building and confronts Vincent just as the killer finds Annie in the library. Max wounds Vincent, then flees with Annie down to the subway. Vincent revives and follows the couple onto a mostly empty subway train, chasing them into the last car, where the men have a violent shootout in which Max survives, but Vincent is fatally wounded. As he slumps down on a seat before dying, Vincent asks Max if anyone would notice a dead man on the subway. As dawn breaks, Max and Annie get off at the next stop together.
Director
Michael Mann
Cast
Tom Cruise
Jamie Foxx
Jada Pinkett Smith
Mark Ruffalo
Peter Berg
Bruce Mcgill
Irma P. Hall
Barry Shabaka Henley
Richard T. Jones
Klea Scott
Bodhi Elfman
Debi Mazar
Javier Bardem
Emilio Rivera
Jamie Mcbride
Ken Ver Cammen
Charlie E. Schmidt Jr.
Michael A. Bentt
Ian Hannin
Robert Deamer
David Mersault
Anthony Ochoa
Omar Orozco
Edgar Sanchez
Cosme Urquiola
Thomas Rosales Jr.
Wade Andrew Williams
Paul Adelstein
Jessica Ferrarone
Troy Blendell
Inmo
Howard Bachrach
Chic Daniel
Corinne Chooey
Jonell Kennedy
Steven Kozlowski
Roger Stoneburner
Rodney Sandberg
George Petrina
Donald Dean
Elliott Newman
Trevor Ware
Bobby English
Auggie Cavanagh
Ronald Muldrow
Peter Mckernan Jr.
Ivor Shier
Daniel Luján
Eddie Diaz
Joey Burns
John Convertino
Josh Cruze
Martin Flores
Rick Garcia
Lawrence Goldman
Maurilio Pineda
Daniel Sistos
Jacob Valenzuela
Luis Villegas
Yussi Wenger
Jason Statham
Angelo Tiffe
Ismael Vidrio
Ron Eckert
Manuel Urrego
Jessie Bernard
Luis Moncada
Dyna Teal
Sandi Schroeder
Michael-john Wolfe
Addie Yungmee
J. D. Mcelroy
Megan Hiratzka
Kate Gopaoco
Christy Yi
Lisa Marie Basada
Wilson Wong
Mark Stainbrook
Brandon Molale
Marianne M. Arreaga
Spike Silver
Ben Mihm
Niles Roth
Crew
Tsuyoshi Abe
Annica Ackerman
Millicent Ally
Edward R. Alvarado
Gui Amabis
Dale E. Anderson
Mike Anderson
Scott M. Anderson
Terry Anderson
Pete Anthony
Pete Anthony
Michael Archuleta
William L. Arjona
Ty Arnold
Jeff Atmajian
Paul Aulicino
J. S. Bach
Howard Bachrach
Joseph Bailey
Iris C. Barbarino
Michel Barrère
Bruce Barris
Dominic Bartoloe
Art Bauer
Stuart Beattie
Jose Becerra
Jason Bedig
Dion Beebe
Curt Beech
Shaku Bell
Rich Bennetti
Big Red Pixel
James P. Bittl
Robert A. Blackburn
Ken Blackwell
Dave Bleiler
Jeremy Bloch
Gary Blufer
Fawn Boardley
Simone Boisseree
Michael Bondelli
Steve Borgese
Pieter Bourke
Mike Boustead
Carla Bowen
Richard M. Brasic
Thom Brennan
Tom Briggs
Carrie Brody
Chad Bronson
Corey C. Bronson
Toby Michael Bronson
Michael W. Broomer
Glenn Brown
Mark Brown
Joey Burns
Lois Burwell
Eddie Bydalek
George F. Caccamise
Dave Calaway
Paul Cameron
David Canning
Marie Cantin
Bryan H. Carroll
Bryan H. Carroll
Derek Casari
Al M. Castillo
Bill Cawley
Gusmano Cesaretti
Gusmano Cesaretti
Matthew B. Chamberlin
Darryl Chan
Olivia Doc Chang
John Characky
Gary L. Cheek
Andy Cheng Kai Chung
Cody Chestnutt
Liz Chiz
Mike Chock
Robert Chookhachian
Christopher Ciketic
Charlie Clouser
Angie Lee Cobbs
Andrew Cocup
Martin Cohen
Keith Collea
Timothy Commerford
Frank Connor
Christopher Cornell
Deborah A. Cornett
Ed Cortés
Judith A. Cory
Nicole Crandlemire
Sophia Crawford
Josh Cruze
William Cueto
Chris Cuevas
Chic Daniel
Max Daniels
Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont
Miles Davis
Phyllis Davis
Jack Davison
Cisco De Luna
Brad Dechter
Sandy Decrescent
Jan Dennehy
Marc Deschaine
Beau Desmond
Maria Devane
Anthony A. Devito
Deidra Dixon
Rob Doolittle
Daniel T. Dorrance
Ernest A. Dottlinger
Michael Doven
John J. Downey
Matt Downey
Kathleen Driscoll-mohler
Dan Duggan
Craig Eastman
Siba Eastman
Michael L. Eisenberg
Kofi W. Elam
Michael Endoso
Gretchen Engel
Kendall Errair
David Evans
Steve Fagerquist
Skip Fairlee
Jamal Farley
Kenny Farnell
Michael Farrow
Dave Feinner
Leslee Feldman
Robyn-alain Feldman
Armando Feria
Chris Ferrence
Thomas Findlay
Keith Fisher
Paula Fisher
Thomas L. Fisher
James Flamberg
John W. Forester
Rodney Foster
Bruce Fowler
Tarn Fox
Joe Francis
Chris W. Freeman
Sue Frey
Rob Fried
Glenn M. Friedman
David Fulton
Sean P. Galvin
Patrick Garbutt
Rick Garcia
Tom Garelick
Joe Gareri
J. Armin Garza Ii
Sari Gennis
Lisa Gerrard
Mike Gibbons
Shawn K. Gillespie
Sydney Gilner
Mike Ging
Peter Giuliano
Betsy Glick
Elliot Goldenthal
Monica Goldstein
Ronald D. Goldstein
Rob Gomes
Al Gotto
Michael Gould
Brick Graham
Thomas Graham
Christopher Grandell
Andrew Gray
Christopher Gray
Joseph Gray
Kurt Greufe
Christopher Griffie
John Grillo
Michael Grillo
Chris Haarhoff
Mark Haimes
Keith Hall
Jennifer Hammon
Chris Hampel
Larry Haney
Julie Hannum
Barbara Harris
Josh Harris
Shane Harris
Coleman L. Hart
Joe Hathaway
Richard Havens
Lindsey Hayes Kroeger
Steve Hellerstein
Mo Henry
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Editing
Best Supporting Actor
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to a March 2000 Hollywood Reporter news item, Collateral was originally developed as a possible feature for HBO cable television. DreamWorks then purchased Australian writer Stuart Beattie's script to produce as a feature film. According to the same item, the title refers to "hitman slang" for a murder for which a professional assassin has not yet been contracted. A Daily Variety item, noting DreamWorks' purchase of Beattie's script, indicated its setting as New York City and described the title as "in underworld terms, a person who, if he sees a murder, must execute one himself." Although a July 2000 Hollywood Reporter news item reported that executive producer Frank Darabont was "polishing" the script and Hollywood Reporter production charts list Beattie, Darabont and director Michael Mann as writers, only Beattie is credited onscreen.
In August 2000, Daily Variety indicated that Mimi Leder was in negotiations to direct Collateral. The item clarified the title further by describing it to mean "a witness [to murder] who is then forced to commit murder himself, so as to discourage any report of the crimes." In October 2000, Daily Variety reported that Leder was unable to reach an agreement with DreamWorks for the production budget on the film and withdrew from negotiations. Although Forward Pass, Inc. and Darkwood Productions were listed in some pre-production news items as participating in the project, they are not listed in the onscreen credits. Forward Pass is Mann's production company.
In January 2002, a Hollywood Reporter news item announced that former cinematographer Janusz Kaminski was set to direct the film. The date at which Kaminski left the project and Mann took over as director has not been confirmed. A later Daily Variety article mentioned that Australian actor Russell Crowe was initially interested in the script. The same article revealed that Beattie got the idea for the story's plot after he had gotten friendly with a cab driver in his native Australia and reflected on the driver's trust in him when he could just as easily have been a "homicidal maniac."
A June 2003 Hollywood Reporter item indicated that Tom Cruise had been set by that time in the role of the assassin and that Adam Sandler was to meet with Mann to discuss a co-starring role. A September 2003 pre-production chart in Hollywood Reporter included Dennis Farina in the cast. According to an August 2003 Hollywood Reporter article, Val Kilmer was in negotiations for a co-starring role with Cruise and Jamie Foxx. In October 2003, Hollywood Reporter reported that Mark Ruffalo would replace Kilmer in the role of the detective. It is not clear when the script's original setting of New York was shifted to Los Angeles.
Reviews of the film indicated that it was almost completely shot by cinematographers Paul Cameron and Dion Beebe using high definition digital video cameras, called the Thomson Green Valley Viper Filmstream and the Sony Cine Alta. The cameras enabled Cameron and Beebe to have as much light, clarity and color as possible for the all-night setting of the film. An August 2004 Los Angeles Times article retraced the film's numerous stops throughout predominantly East Los Angeles and downtown, and noted that the exteriors of the Renaissance Hotel at Hollywood and Highland doubled as the high-rise condominium belonging to "Sylvester Clarke"; the nightclub Cheerio's served as the front for "Baker's" jazz club, with the interior shot at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown; and the real El Rodeo club was used for the meeting between "Max" and "Felix." The club Fever was based on an actual Koreatown locale, Café Bliss, which was recreated entirely on a sound stage. Another Los Angeles Times news item noted that a reporter checked on the story told by "Vincent" to Max at the film's beginning, about a man dying on the Los Angeles MTA subway and no one noticing for several hours. The story could not be verified, but the reporter noted that there was such an account of a dead New York City subway rider who went unnoticed for a number of hours.
Collateral was selected as one of AFI's Top Ten films of 2004 and received two Academy Award nominations, one for Jamie Foxx for Best Supporting Actor and one for Jim Miller and Paul Rubell for Best Film Editing. In addition, the film won the National Board of Review's Best Director award for Michael Mann and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography. Foxx received many critical accolades, including Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2004 Foxx also starred in the Universal release Ray, for which he received the National Board of Review Best Actor award, as well as SAG and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. Foxx, who also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television category for Redemption, was the first actor ever to receive three Golden Globe nominations in the same year.
Many reviews commented that the role of hard-edged sociopath "Vincent" was a departure for leading man Tom Cruise, and noted that the actor's characteristic dark hair was lightened to salt and pepper in order to age and toughen his boyish features.
Miscellaneous Notes
Winner of the 2004 award for Best Cinematography by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
Winner of the 2004 award for Best Cinematography by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).
Winner of the 2004 award for Best Director by the National Board of Review (NBR).
Winner of the 2004 award for Best Supporting Actor (Jamie Foxx) by the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA).
Winner of two 2004 Satellite Awards including Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing & Editing by the International Press Academy (IPA).
Released in United States Summer August 6, 2004
Released in United States on Video December 14, 2004
Released in United States June 2004
Released in United States August 2004
Released in United States September 2004
Shown at IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival June 17-26, 2004.
Shown at Urbanworld Film Festival (Opening Night) August 4-8, 2004.
Shown at Venice International Film Festival September 1-11, 2004.
Val Kilmer was previously attached but dropped out due to his commitment to appear in Oliver Stone's "Alexander the Great."
Adam Sandler was previously in discussions to star alongside Tom Cruise.
Fernando Meirelles was previously attached to direct.
Mimi Leder was previously attached to direct and dropped out because of a budget dispute.
Stuart Beattie reportedly received mid six figures for this project.
Stuart Beattie reportedly received mid six figures for this project.
Kodak
Avid
Released in United States Summer August 6, 2004
Released in United States on Video December 14, 2004
Released in United States June 2004 (Shown at IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival June 17-26, 2004.)
Winner of the 2004 award for Best Actor (Jamie Foxx) by the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC).
Voted one of the 10 best films of 2004 by the American Film Institute (AFI).
Released in United States August 2004 (Shown at Urbanworld Film Festival (Opening Night) August 4-8, 2004.)
Released in United States September 2004 (Shown at Venice International Film Festival September 1-11, 2004.)
