© DR- HORS D'ATTEINTE de Steven Soderberg (1998) p7 par tellurikwaves blog (75 Paris)

Michael Keaton reprises his role as "Ray Nicolette" in a small cameo. He originally played him in another Elmore Leonard novel-adapted film, Jackie Brown (1997).

During their DVD commentary, director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Frank reveal that the actors ad libbed several memorable lines in the script. Don Cheadle wrote the line, "in a situation like this, there's a high potentiality for the common motherfucker to bitch out."

Hors d'atteinte (1998) is one of George Clooney's favourite films on his resume. He said "It was the first time where I had a say, and it was the first good screenplay I'd read where I just went "That's it." Even though it didn't do very well box-office wise-we sort of tanked again-it was a really good film."

The mug shot of George Clooney's character Jack Foley (of which Karen says "He doesn't even look like that") is the mug shot of Clooney's character Seth Gecko from Une nuit en enfer (1996).

Sandra Bullock almost got the part of Karen Sisco but Steven Soderbergh was against it. He said: "I spent some time with Clooney and Bullock, and they actually did have a great chemistry. But it was for the wrong movie. I'm sure they could do a movie together. But not an Elmore Leonard movie." Clooney and Bullock appear together in 2013 movie Gravity (2013)

When Jack sees the photo of Karen's father, he remarks that he has a "cop's face". In real life, Dennis Farina, who plays Marshall Sisco, is a former Chicago police officer. As an actor Farina has had several roles as a cop.

Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton did their cameos free of charge.

Steven Soderbergh saw this film as a conscious decision on his part to climb out of the arthouse ghetto. He had to do a film like this because half the business was still off-limits to him.

The exterior of Ripley's mansion is that of an actual house. The interior was a set. The owners of the mansion liked the look so much that they asked for the plans of the set.

The trunk scene was shot 45 times. However, none of these takes were used in the final cut, as the test audience dislike the long single take. The scene as it appears in the movie was a re-shoot. The original long take is available on the DVD extras.

At the time of its release, the only major motion picture to feature two different actors who have played Batman, Michael Keaton (in an uncredited role) and George Clooney.

Steven Soderbergh shot the initial scene between Karen and Foley in a trunk because he liked the forced intimacy it generated between the two strangers. Before the scene was over, he knew they had spent enough time in each other's heads that the intimacy between them was real now. And that can only lead to love. Which is why the film works.

The elderly man who gets into the elevator with Jack and Buddy (when Karen sees Jack at Buddy's apartment building) is Philip Perlman, producer Danny DeVito's father-in-law.

Foley appealed to George Clooney because as a boy, his heroes in crime films were always the bank robbers. He liked "the Cagneys and the Bogarts and Steve McQueen. The guys who were kind of bad who you rooted for. And when I read this I thought this guy is robbing a bank but you really want him to get away with it."

Elmore Leonard envisioned Jack Nicholson or Sean Connery as Jack Foley when he sold the film rights of his novel.

Miramax Films owned the rights to the Ray Nicolette character due to the fact that Jackie Brown (1997) went into production first, that film's director, Quentin Tarantino felt it was imperative that Miramax not charge Universal for using the character. This move gave Universal Pictures enough leeway to use the film's character free of charge from Miramax. Michael Keaton''s limited appearance as Ray Nicolette was a much more substantial element of Jackie Brown (1997).

The snow falling outside of the hotel where Jack and Karen have a drink was computer generated.

Lopez's Karen Sisco and Clooney's Jack Foley ranked #4 on Moviefone's 'The Top 25 Sexiest Movie Couples'. [May 2008]

The scenes at Glades were filmed at Angola Prison in Louisiana where 500 real cons were used as extras.

The Polaroid photo of Jack Foley that Adele shows to Karen was taken outside a Star Waggon, an on-set cast trailer, by Steven Soderbergh.

In November 2008, Entertainment Weekly magazine ranked Hors d'atteinte (1998) as #1 in their list of sexiest movies ever.

Catherine Keener was originally slated for the Karen Cisco role, later taken by Jennifer Lopez.

The fish tank in Richard Ripley's home has some of the same species from Le monde de Nemo (2003). Albert Brooks (Ripley) voiced a fish in Le monde de Nemo (2003).

The Bank Customer character in an early scene, credited to the actor Elgin Marlowe, is Mike Malone, Steven Soderbergh's friend and star of his earlier work, Schizopolis (1996).

Maurice's comment to the Midge the maid - "...you're gonna be a dead Hazel..." - is most likely a reference to the television show of that name. The show Adèle (1961) starred Shirley Booth and ran from 1961 - 1966.

The first of several George Clooney - Steven Soderbergh collaborations.

Jennifer Lopez trained for 10 weeks with a real FBI agent, learning how to shoot sniper rifles.

Jennifer Lopez had to screen test for the part of Karen Cisco. The scene chosen was the intimate one between Lopez and George Clooney in the trunk of a car, enacted on a couch at Clooney's home. Lopez later joked that that was her only brush with the casting couch.

George Clooney claimed that he was four pages into reading Scott Frank's screenplay when he was convinced that he had to appear in the film.

Initially Steven Soderbergh was going to turn down the chance to direct this film. He had another project lined up which he wanted to make even though he really liked Scott Frank's screenplay and the idea of working with George Clooney. Universal head Casey Silver was determined to get Soderbergh on board and was able to persuade the director by telling him that an opportunity like this doesn't line up very often. Soderbergh quickly realized that Silver was right.

Titled in Brazil as "Irresistible Passion".

Another Batman connection is the film features Michael Keaton in an uncredited cameo, and the film has Danny DeVito as a producer. Keaton played Batman and DeVito the Penguin in Batman, le défi (1992).

CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration

© DR- HORS D'ATTEINTE de Steven Soderberg (1998) p7

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