Facts About Miami Vice You Should Know
“MTV Cops”, When Miami Vice first premiered on television, the show was reportedly pitched in just those two words. It was later adapted into a movie many years later. The movie’s backstory turned out to be as intriguing as the action on screen. Are mojitos your favorite drink? Then you might like these 20 details about the Miami Vice movie.
Miami Vice Facts
Michael Mann is often associated with Miami Vice, the TV series and the motion picture. However, you might believe that he wasn’t as engaged in the TV show. He did write and direct the movie, but his contribution to the TV programmed was less substantial than many might have thought. Mann was a producer on the show and contributed to its aesthetic, but he did not invent it, direct any episodes, and only authored one, “Golden Triangle.”
The idea to create a “Miami Vice” movie wasn’t Mann’s.
The idea to adapt the popular TV show into a movie was not Mann’s. Jamie Foxx had the original idea for the film. Foxx and Mann had previously collaborated on the film Ali, and at a party held to promote the movie, Foxx suggested to Mann that they make a movie out of Miami Vice.
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Many characters from the television series Miami Vice are included in the movie, including Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx’s portrayals of Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs. The film also features many additional show characters, such as detectives Trudy Joplin, Larry Zito, and Lieutenant Martin Castillo.
From the source, Mann received a recommendation for Sonny.
Don Johnson played Sonny in the TV series, and Mann discussed casting when Miami Vice was just getting its production going. Farrell was released in the role after Johnson recommended him.
Mann used on-location filming in the Americas.
Of course, Mann filmed in Miami in South Florida, but the movie was shot worldwide. The movie was filmed in the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Mann had to do with Atlantida in Uruguay because he could not film in Cuba.
The weather was a significant issue.
The Miami Vice movie’s filming encountered lots of issues. While some of that could have been prevented, some of it was beyond Mann’s control. Three consecutive hurricanes, Rita, Wilma, caused delays in the filming. To the dismay of the actors and crew, Mann did attempt to work through the hazardous weather on a few occasions.
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Mann used additional methods to try his crew’s patience.
It appears that Mann changed the plot for his movie at random, which is never simple for actors. Mann also shot anywhere he pleased, regardless of whether it was wise to do so. The filmmaker would travel to places where the police were reluctant to go, thus Mann would frequently find himself recruiting gang members from the neighbourhood to act as security.
Foxx later quit the set and changed the movie.
One day while filming in the Dominican Republic, shots were fired on the set. Foxx had enough of this. He left the nation, came home, and refused to travel abroad once more. Foxx refused to film the original conclusion, which was meant to be shot in Paraguay. Then Mann was forced to go back to an ending he had abandoned so he could film it in Miami.
One of the show’s actors declined to appear in the movie.
Mann provided Edward James Olmos with the chance to reprise his Lieutenant Castillo role from the Miami Vice TV series in the movie. Olmos declined, and in the end, Barry Shabaka Henley was cast in part.
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Gong Li wasn’t entirely sure of her own words.
Li achieved significant success in Asian movies and was a star in her home country of China. She had previously appeared in Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005, which led to her accepting a second English-language role in Miami Vice. Li had some knowledge of English, but not much. She phonetically learned each of her lines and delivered them.
Crockett’s vehicle is capable of it.
Crockett travels in a Ferrari F430. Blue flames can occasionally be seen coming from the exhaust. This wasn’t a whim on Mann’s part. When cranked up to full power, that car does emit blue flames from the exhaust.
In the film, an actual criminal appears.
Who is operating the “go-fast” boats but the drug trafficker from the movie’s opening? Sal Magluta, one of Miami’s actual “Cocaine Cowboys,” plays him. Magluta was ultimately found out and received a life sentence for money laundering.
There was a staged sting operation.
Mann sent his actors on actual drug busts to assist them in getting ready for the picture. Farrell was involved in a figure when weapons were drawn. The actor was informed the next day that the sting operation had been staged and that he had not been in actual danger, but he had undoubtedly been frightened by the experience. Parts of the bust that were filmed are provided as extras on the DVD.
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In the movie, Mann used a sentence he liked.
Isabella tells Sonny that life is brief, and luck is all we have. Mann has a soft spot for this particular line. It also appears in Heat and Manhunter.
Mann took the music differently.
With his musical selections, Mann aimed to set the movie apart from the TV programme. The famous Miami Vice theme song is absent from the film, and Jan Hammer, who composed the show’s music, was not commissioned to score it.
The score wasn’t ultimately completed by the individual who was initially recruited.
Mann hired RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan instead of Hammer, choosing a new course. RZA, however, decided to leave the project for an unspecified reason. The Organized Noize production crew then took his position.
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The film was somewhat of a failure.
The cost of Mann’s movie reached $135 million. Although the film opened at the top of the domestic box office, it was not all that popular. The movie brought about $164.2 million globally. Additionally, reviews for the film were highly unfavourable, and it currently has a 47 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
One performer left their seat at the box office.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dean Man’s Chest lost its position as the number one movie at the box office when Miami Vice debuted. Naomie Harris co-starred in each of the films. She was doing the movie simultaneously for a period, filming Dead Man’s Chest on weekends and Miami Vice throughout the week.
Even the actors don’t particularly like it.
In an interview with Total Film in 2010, Farrell expressed his dissatisfaction with Miami Vice, calling the film “style over content.” Mann has also said that the film “ran away” from him and expressed disappointment in the new ending that he was forced to write because of Foxx.
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