Bandits
Directed by	Barry Levinson
Produced by	Michael Birnbaum, others
Written by	Harley Peyton
Starring	Bruce Willis Billy Bob Thornton Cate Blanchett
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	October 12, 2001
Running time	123 min.
Language	English
Budget	$80,000,000 (est.)
IMDb profile

Bandits is a 2001 comedy/crime/drama/romance movie directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001. Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett were nominated for Supporting Actor and Actress Golden Globes for their performances in this film. The film's release and box office intake was marred by the initial Anthrax attacks at NBC on the morning of its release. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (510x755, 85 KB) This image is of a movie poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the movie or the studio which produced the movie in question. ... Barry Levinson Barry Levinson (born April 6, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a Jewish-American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. ... Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. ... Billy Bob Thornton (born William Robert Thornton on August 4, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor, as well as occasional director, playwright and singer. ... Catherine Élise Blanchett (born on May 14, 1969) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... For the 1968 science-fiction film and novel, see 2001: A Space Odyssey The year 2001 in film involved some significant events. ... Barry Levinson Barry Levinson (born April 6, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a Jewish-American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. ... Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. ... Billy Bob Thornton (born William Robert Thornton on August 4, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor, as well as occasional director, playwright and singer. ... Catherine Élise Blanchett (born on May 14, 1969) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress. ... The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. ...

Tagline: Two's Company, Three's A Crime.

Plot outline

Two friends and convicts, one charismatic Joe, (Bruce Willis), the other neurotic Terry, (Billy Bob Thornton) break out of Oregon State Penitentiary in a cement truck and start a bank robbing spree, hoping to fund a dream they share. They become known as the "Sleepover Bandits" because of their modus operandi: they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery, then spend the night with the manager's family; early the next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money. Using a dim-witted would-be stunt man (Troy Garrity) as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. ... Billy Bob Thornton (born William Robert Thornton on August 4, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor, as well as occasional director, playwright and singer. ... Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), the first state prison in Oregon, United States, was originally located in Portland in 1851. ... Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as mode of operation. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949, during a game of Hearts between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson,[1] International News Service (the predecessor of the United Press International) Editor-in...

When a housewife with a failing marriage (Cate Blanchett) decides to run away, she ends up in the hands of the criminals. Initially attracted to Joe, she also ends up in bed with Terry and a confused love triangle begins. Catherine Élise Blanchett (born on May 14, 1969) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress. ... A love triangle refers to a romantic relationship involving three people. ...

The three of them run away and manage to pull off a few more robberies, but after awhile the two begin to fight over Kate, and she decides to leave them. The two criminals then decide to pull off one last job.

The story is told in flashback, framed by the story of the pair's last robbery of the Alamo Bank, as told by Criminals at Large, a fictional reality television show. The show tells the story of the last job to be a failure when Kate tips off the police and the two are caught in the act. The two then begin to argue when Joe tells the police "You won't take us alive!" and the argument gets to the point where the two of them shoot each other dead. In literature, film, television and other media, a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. ...

But at the end of the film the real story behind the last job is revealed, when after the bodies are taken away in an ambulance, and the duo's real plan is revealed. They used fake blood to fake their death, and then got away, while the stunt man faked an accident with the ambulance and it exploded, leaving the public to believe the bodies were destroyed.

Reunited, Joe, Terry, and Kate make it to Mexico to live out their dream.

Cast

• Bruce Willis - Joe Blake
• Billy Bob Thornton - Terry Collins
• Cate Blanchett - Kate Wheeler
• Troy Garity - Harvey Pollard
• Brian F. O'Byrne - Darill Miller
• Stacey Travis - Cloe Miller
• Bobby Slayton - Darren Head
• January Jones - Claire
• William Converse-Roberts - Charles Wheeler
• Richard Riehle - Lawrence Fife
• Peggy Miley - Mildred Kronenberg
• Micole Mercurio - Sarah Fife
• Mildred Kronenberg - Peggy Miley
• Azura Skye - Cheri
• Scott Burkholder - Wildwood Policeman
• Anthony Burch - Phil
• Sam Levinson - Billy Saunders
• Scout LaRue Willis - Monica Miller
• Tallulah Belle Willis - Erika Miller
• John Evans - Ralph
• John Harrington Bland - Flamingo Clerk
• Cindy Goldfield - Debbie Days
• Heather Mathieson - Debbie Days
• Erin-Kate Whitcomb - Debbie Days
• Kim Bogus - Bend Bank Teller
• Michael X. Sommers - Policeman
• Rich Sickler - Policeman
• Michael Birnbaum - Desk Sergeant
• Joe Unitas - Detective
• Richard Shuster - LA Chopper Pilot
• Jennifer York - LA Reporter
• Jose G. Garcia - Local Youth
• Alfred De Contreras - Mexican Priest
• Peter Weireter - SWAT Commander
• Kerry Kilbride - Male Debater
• Jane Velez-Mitchell - Female Debater
• Mia Lee - Los Angeles Anchor
• Louis LeRay - Band Member
• Peter Hutchinson - Band Member
• Maya Rossi - Band Member
• Joan Palmateer - Bank Teller
• Giulio Magnolia - Butler
• Rose Aispuro - Bank Hostage
• Carrie Casano - Bank Manager
• Jaye K. Danford - Alamo Bank Manager
• Darryl D. Stewart - Detective
• Greg Wilmarth - US Marshall

Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. ... Billy Bob Thornton (born William Robert Thornton on August 4, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor, as well as occasional director, playwright and singer. ... Catherine Élise Blanchett (born on May 14, 1969) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress. ... Troy ODonovan Garity (born 7 July 1973 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film actor. ... Brían F. OByrne (sometimes billed as Brian F. OByrne or Brian OByrne) is an acclaimed theatre and film actor. ... Stacey Travis is an American actress from Dallas, Texas, USA. She has starred in many films, including Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), Hardware (1990), The Super (1991), Traffic (2000), and Ghost World (2000). ... Bobby Slayton (born May 25, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian known as The Pit Bull of Comedy. Slayton, a native of Massapequa, New York, is probably best known for a supporting role in the 2001 film Bandits. ... January Jones in a screenshot from film American Wedding January Jones (born January 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA) is an actress. ... Richard Riehle is an actor who has been in movies such as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, potraying Deuces father, Office Space, as well as being on the show Grounded for Life. ... Azura Skye Azura Skye (born Azura Dawn Storozynski, November 8, 1981 in Northridge, California) is an American actress best known for her role as Jane in the one season TV Show Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane (also known as Zoe). ... John Evans may refer to: [[John Evans *John Evans (bishop), Bishop of Bangor from 1701 to 1715, later Bishop of Meath. ... A Court-TV host who often fills in for Nancy Grace on her CNN Headline News Show. ... Peter Hutchinson (born December 17, 1949) is a candidate for the office of governor of Minnesota in the 2006 election. ...

Trivia

• The film was originally meant to be an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel Bandits, to which Bruce Willis owns the film rights, but the producers felt it was too weak and brought in writer Harley Peyton to write a new script from scratch.

• The story is (very loosely) based on the real-life exploits of Joseph W. Dougherty and Terry Lee Conners, who, during the 1980s, staged a series of successful bank robberies using the "sleepover" method. (Both Dougherty and Conners had committed several solo bank robberies before joining forces.)

• The song "Kill the Rock" by Mindless Self Indulgence was used prominently in the film, but was not included on the soundtrack CD.

• When Terry wakes up saying "Beavers and Ducks", it's a reference to two arch-rival Oregon college football teams, the Oregon State University Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks.

• The interior of the reporter's house in which Joe and Terry film their interview is the Sheats-Goldstein Residence by Architect John Lautner. It was also used in The Big Lebowski (1998).

• The little girl who belches during the dinner scene is Bruce Willis' daughter, Scout... and according to him, that belch was not enhanced. The other girl is another one of Willis' daughters, Tallulah.

• Val Kilmer was originally considered for the part of Joe, and Bruce Willis was originally going to play the part of Terry, but due to scheduling conflicts, Kilmer backed out, and Willis took over the part of Joe.

• Billy Bob Thornton has a phobia of antique furniture in real life, and the producers wrote it in as part of his character.

• At the cabin right after they "pick up" Kate, Joe stretches a drape between the two sides of the bed, saying he saw it in a movie once. This is a reference to a scene which takes place in It Happened One Night where Peter (Gable) places a sheet between his and Ellie's (Colbert) beds. Kate then asks, "How does [the movie] end?" Joe says, "With a wedding." At the end of the movie Harvey marries the Pink Boots girl.

• Director Cameo: Barry Levinson - The last staff to the right of the camera in the studio room from Darren's point of view when he presented "Criminals at Large" at the beginning of the film.

• Producer Cameo: Michael Birnbaum - The desk sergeant near the end of the film when Cate Blanchett goes to the police station to turn herself in.

• Hans Zimmer was the only choice for the music composing. However, Zimmer was just finishing Hannibal and Pearl Harbor at the time in London, and he already committed himself to Black Hawk Down, which was recorded in the US. Barry Levinson said that he would move the film for a later release, waiting for the German composer, since they are good friends since Rain Man. Zimmer politely refused it. The second choice was Moby, who was interested but, ultimately, was unable to fit the film's score into his schedule.

Elmore John Leonard Jr. ... Mindless Self Indulgence (commonly referred to as MSI) is an American-based band. ... Oregon State University (OSU) is a four-year research and degree-granting public university, located in Corvallis, Oregon in the United States. ... The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University, which is located in Corvallis, Oregon in the United States. ... The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. ... The Oregon Ducks refers to the mascot and sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. ... John Lautner (16 July 1911-24 October 1994) was an influential American architect whose work in Southern California combined progressive engineering with humane design and dramatic space-age flair. ... The Big Lebowski, a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, chronicles a few days in the life of an unemployed California slacker and recreational bowler after he is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name. ... Val Edward Kilmer[1] (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. ... Billy Bob Thornton (born William Robert Thornton on August 4, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor, as well as occasional director, playwright and singer. ... It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her fathers thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). ... Barry Levinson Barry Levinson (born April 6, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a Jewish-American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. ... Hans Florian Zimmer (born September 12, 1957) is an Academy Award, Grammy, and Golden Globe award-winning film score composer from Germany. ... Hannibal is a 2001 film directed by Ridley Scott, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Black Hawk Down is a 2001 film by Ridley Scott, based on the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden. ... Rain Man is a 1988 film which tells the story of a selfish yuppie who discovers that his father has left all of his estate to the autistic brother he never knew he had. ... Moby (born Richard Melville Hall, September 11, 1965), is an American songwriter, musician and singer. ...

External links

• The Curse of Homer & Eddie, an October 2001 review from Willamette Week
• Bandits at the Internet Movie Database
• Bandits at Rotten Tomatoes
• Bandits at Box Office Mojo