Summary
Overview
Paul Scheer hosts Last Looks for Law Abiding Citizen, featuring insider revelations from an anonymous crew member about the chaotic production. The episode includes corrections from a prison librarian, details about the film's 25+ script revisions, and the joke ending where Gerard Butler's character would have exploded the entire orchestra. Jason Manzoukas joins for Just Chat with extensive TV, music, and book recommendations.
Production Chaos: Anonymous Crew Reveals Inside Story
An anonymous crew member shares stunning details about Law Abiding Citizen's production, revealing the film was shot entirely in script order because there was no third act when it was greenlit. The production received constant script revisions, reaching an unprecedented 'quadruple goldenrod' status with over six writers working simultaneously. The crew jokingly created fake pages for an ending where Gerard Butler's character blows up the entire orchestra at his daughter's recital, which everyone agreed would have been more fitting than the actual ending.
- Film was shot entirely in script order due to lack of third act and need to adjust for continuity
- Script reached 'quadruple goldenrod' status - the 25th revision, with pages slipped under hotel doors at 3 AM
- Over six high-end writers worked on the film simultaneously
- Producer sent fake ending pages as a prank where the entire orchestra explodes into a mushroom cloud
- Crew agreed the joke ending would have been more entertaining than the real ending
" With a day or two left in production, the shooting script had reached quadruple goldenrod. And there was a joke around set, has anyone ever worked on a quadruple cherry script? Which would be the 25th script that has come out. "
" On the final day of production, one of the producers jokingly sent around pages for a quote-unquote new ending where Nick and his wife settle into their seats, the lights go down, the conductor starts the recital, and the viola explodes. And then the drums, and then the violins, and the oboes, etc. The entire theater detonates into a mushroom cloud, fade to black. "
Behind the Scenes: FedEx Blood Incident
A listener shares a story from a friend who worked on the movie about production shipping unused fake blood back to the special effects company. The package wasn't packed properly and leaked all over a FedEx truck, nearly causing a hazmat response until the regular FedEx driver recognized it came from the movie production.
- Production shipped unused fake blood back to effects company but PAs didn't pack it properly
- Blood leaked all over FedEx truck, driver thought they were carrying evidence of a murder
- FedEx was about to call hazmat team until regular driver realized package came from movie
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