A Boston bank robber looks for a way out of his criminal lifestyle after beginning a passionate romance with the woman that his gang briefly took hostage. Hogan: Warner Bros. didnt want to make the movie for that amount. And well, why not nuns and tactical gear? Hogan: I was playing on a softball team, and this friend, he works for one of the prisons here and he was walking by someones desk and they had a picture of Ben Affleck on her screen saver. And on Afflecks instructions, Blake Lively, a California girl, spent three months hanging around with locals in bars and apartments to prepare for her role. When we started, I said, I need a driver whos Charlestown born and bred. Interestingly enough, my driver was a guy named John Fidler who was a major suspect in many bank robberies, and also bread truck robberies. Claire foretells the doom of Charlestowns criminal culture. I was playing a character that was from Boston and I worked really hard on the accent and went in and did my first rounds and the director said, That was great. . This week marks the 10-year anniversary of The Town, Ben Afflecks Oscar-nominated crime thriller about a group of bank robbers in Charlestown who target Fenway Park for one final score. And to that end, its 100 percent on Ben. Theyre locked, loaded, and trained in automatic weapons, and launder their take immediately. Crockett: As he puts it, you have so many fame chips you can use. Slaine: I worked at Fenway Park when I was a kid, so to go in there and be shooting machine guns was pretty cool, pretty surreal. Hogan: Adrian really thought in more operatic terms, and he really wanted to do the book. And they walked me over to this locked door and once you opened it, there was an old, dusty cobwebby circular staircase. It has a failed romance, a foiled heist, an unsolved crime, enough car chases for three movies, and yet is a coming-of-age film and a portrait of an eras end. When I got there, I went up on the walkway, on the first-base side, looking down. Thats how you drive a f----n caaar, declares the getaway driver, Gloansy (played by rapper Slaine). I was up there for what Im sure was a good half hour. But does it? But if Charlestowns present reality as a yuppie stronghold is easy to establish, its past status as a mythical crime mecca is difficult to entirely dismiss. Theyd closed off the street, working on this story that I had cooked up in my bedroom at home. But it isnt. In one of his final roles, Academy Awardnominated English actor Pete Postlethwaite plays Fergus Fergie Colm, a menacing mob boss/florist who gives Doug orders while chomping gum and stripping roses. Thats my quote that you used in the book. I was like, Oh man, whats up? He was excited. See more. We had bank robbers, we had career criminals, people that couldnt show up certain days because theyd be violating their parole. And so if you cant do it, just dont do it. He wanted to tour the prison and see it. And the guy said, Oh, the guy who wrote the book that that movies based on is on my softball team. And she said, Dennis Lehane is on your softball team? And thats when I was like, Its a small circle here.. The way John tells the story is, Of course I do two [moves] on him and Ive got him and he cant move, and [Afflecks] like, alright, alright, alright!. The two banks Jem would rather battle it out with the law than go back to prison. It was as simple as that. 10 Patty Hearst Burke: I was at a point where I was still looking for what I was gonna do with my life. So theres a whole range of accents. They set up a date and Jeremy Renner and I both arrived at Walpole to go through the screening. Determined to get a better grip on the place, he brought in another local, his old school friend Stockard, and began an intensive period of research. I look over and its Pete, and hes having his breakfast, and hes reading the paper, and I hadnt met him before because I didnt have any scenes with him. Hes been forever. Hes just great. And that looks like a detail youd come up with writing a script. Some residents felt it portrayed the locals as in the words of onequoted in The Christian Science Monitor, a bunch of dumb bums. Tyre marks matched those found in Houston, and five men were eventually convicted. In Black Mass, Johnny Depp plays South Boston mobster James Whitey Bulger, an Irish gangster who informed on the Italian mob to the FBI. He was definitely a bad guy and was going to take as many people with him as he could, but you still kind of went, You know what, this is a kid that came along, and in a different environment he wouldve been a different person but he is a product of all of this dysfunction and horror that hes grown up in. Its brilliant. He has a certain thing in that town. He didnt want to option it himself, so they set him up with [producer] Graham King, who got the option. Affleck: Id been in action sequences plenty, so I kind of knew how they worked. Jem is also Riff to Dougs Tony in West Side Story. Hamm: It was an ambitious shoot and it was pulled off without a hitch. He saw it and he was like, This is perfect. Affleck: My favorite moment in the movie, cinematically, came directly from a conversation I had with a guy who was in MCI-Norfolk at the time. I love Adrian. I knew it was one scene and it was gonna be an important scene: [Dougs] relationship with his father. And so Adrian developed it for quite some time. And I was like, Who the hell is this guy? And more than anything, just from a noise standpoint, it was kind of unique. Carter: That scene at the end, where you see [Jem] running across the street trying to get away from the cops, and the cars, obviously those are stunt drivers, theyre stopping really quick. Welliver: If anything, people were kind of burned out on the New York gangster genre. The only time I attempt it is when Im basically making fun of Ben, his character, about the Stah Mahket. Hogan: I had a friend who worked at Fenway Park, who snuck me in while they were shooting that whole sequence. And I was talking to people right next to him. The bank robbers, who were very much an element of life in the neighborhood for decades, have been gone for 15 years, replaced by a new Charlestown where gentrification has taken hold and the more accurate stereotype of the moment is: Oh, you must be a yuppie. This shooting game is the newest brilliant sneaking FPS game. When I was a kid, I was scared to go there. He poses as a florist, just like Dean OBanion, the Irish gang leader who celebrated St. Valentines Day with Al Capone in Prohibition Chicago. Agents with the FBI believe Gage Haws robbed five small town banks throughout northwest Ohio. Affleck: Typically people you saw who did it badly would err on the side of doing the Kennedys. And then a few months later I got a call and they were like, Oh, we want you to come back in and audition for the director. I show up at this office in Cambridge to go in and read and all of a sudden I see Ben Affleck walk in. Hogan: Dick Wolf from Law & Order somehow read [the book] early. They were excited. They happened to be casting this action movie across the street from where I live. Theres like four people in the whole bar, which is a huge bar. I wrote the book, then I went away for a while, then I worked on the script for a year, then I went away for a while, then other people wrote the script. With a relatively modest budget of $37 million, he made a classic heist flick thats well, porn for New Englanders: the heavy Boston accents; the scene in a Dunkin Donuts; and, oh yeah, the fact that a crew of robbers takes down Fenway Park. Colin Burch (vice president of marketing and broadcasting, Boston Red Sox): We had filmed a number of movies before at Fenway, starting with Fever Pitch, and we did Ted, and RIPD, and Moneyball. Claire represents the real problem at the center of the proceedings. According to FBI statistics They get their tips and kick up to local crime lord Fergus Fergie Colm, played by veteran character actor Pete Postlethwaite. He had participated in a bunch of these armored car robberies, and we had been talking for two hours, and time was almost up. But it still has to be divvied up among the team. Because along with watching the movie, I was working hard to process it. The car chases get stuck in traffic, and the dialogue comes directly from testimony. We did not have legal clearance to use the logo. I lived in South Boston, Roslindale. Itd be good to have him around for authenticity. Hes in the movie. Something the character of James (Jeremy Renner), aka Jem, could appreciate. Upon his exit, the bank employees activated Ben Affleck grew up in Cambridge, only a few miles away from Charlestown, but to him the distance between the two places felt vast. Tuesday October 30, 2012. When Doug wakes Jem up in the middle of the night to do some damage and ask no questions, the only thing his friend wants to know is which car they should take. And its absolutely authentic. I watched a screening with a different ending and it hadnt been testing well. Dont run away from it. We love that movie, dont be afraid of doing things that they did that worked. Although we dont have the exact figures for Charlestowns crime rate in the 90s, statistics suggest that there was indeed a surge in the rate of robberies in When its not, its predictable and obvious and trite. Shooting there had been a condition of Afflecktaking on the film. Its worth bearing in mind that these are state-wide statistics, which do not differentiate betweenneighborhoods. It was really more of an erotic thriller: The criminal who falls in love with the captive kind of thing. The Den of Geek quarterly magazine is packed with exclusive features, interviews, previews and deep dives into geek culture. Affleck: Im like, Why the fuck do you think people go to hockey games? Swearing and fighting. Los Angles police on high alert for grand theft and planned robbery in town. Affleck gives the gang its last hurrah on-screen. Hes maybe four people away. And they led me into this little alleyway. It was kind of a moment for them. Colm bribed a man on the inside to show the crew into the basement of the stadium, where they would enter the cash room and steal $3,500,000 in gate money (money spent on beer, food, admissions, etc. To Charlestown, our one square mile of brick and It also had a scheme so ingenious that Frank Sinatra supposedly considered pulling the job over doing the film. The cunning group is robbing city banks to steal money and making the getaway with diamond Heist. R Thriller Drama Crime Movie 2010. hd. WebIn a stroll of Charlestown on a sunny day, its hard to believe this tiny Boston neighborhood could be the bank robbery capital of America the Warner Bros. hype about Ben Affleck said he picked up the term from a guy at New Sullys bar:I asked, Whats the thing with the Tunies? And he said the Tunies moved in and the Townies stole all their car stereos. They dont squeal. Slaine: When he cast me in Gone Baby Gone I had no acting experienceand I wasnt the only one. Affleck: The Red Sox were really smart and understood how vital and central their organization was and is to the city, and they loved the idea of it. Thats the one moment that gives you a glimpse into how damaged and how profoundly broken Jem is. Whats the best way to get there?. The money was all on the screen. He claims that Ben Affleck played him in the movie, but now this former bank robber i. A man who was in the square at the time recalls thinking: Whoscrazy enough to pull off a bank robbery at noon in Harvard Square? Charlestown guys. This is their story. Titus Welliver (Officer Dino Ciampa): I called the production office and I got [Carter] on the phone and I pretended I was a Boston detective. He has that capacity, and I think that makes him a classic American filmmaker. Affleck: Jeff Robinov and [worldwide marketing president] Sue Kroll were working at Warner Bros. at the time, and they asked to have a meeting with me. On Feb. 7, 2019, Brady pleaded guilty to bank robbery. He was quite clear. I dont even think they had sidewalks. Cooper: I think he was just having a ball with this character. The FBI says the vestibule was actually a "man-trap," designed to capture people like Hamilton. Carter: Ben actually went and sat down with the guy that his character was based on, and was able to see him and take notes in person. Robert Brady, 40, was arrested in Charlestown shortly after he allegedly robbed the branch at 11:21 a.m. 2023 date, start time and how to watch, From the stripper to the slap: the worst moments in Oscars history, Pedro Pascal is the best actor on TV even behind a mask. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. WebCharlestownis the oldest neighborhoodin Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. And they said, We like what you did, we think youre a good director and we believe in you. And I was kind of struck by the enthusiasm they had considering for the most part, Hollywood operates based on success. We all sat there, and he did it. But the Associated Press, which broke the Coyman story, reported Burke is also from Charlestown and was sent to prison in 1988 for six bank robberies in Florida. Oceans Eleven set the cinematic standard for a heist team. Hes probably still there. Jem is his right hand muscle, and unquestioning backup. Ben Affleck made a minor heist movie classic with The Town, a thriller which shines light on the legendary history of Boston's Charlestown. Slaine: I think he was just really going for authenticity. For instance, the shot in which a cop supervising a traffic stop takes one long look at a carload of nun-masked robbers and turns the other way? Norbums. Stockard: As much as it felt like, We know this story, we know these people, there was also this entire world for us to discover. The productions biggest scoop, location-wise, was being granted permission to shoot the Fenway Park heist scene in the real Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. the movie the TOWN WAS Mde after SQUARE OFF T.V 249 subscribers Subscribe 6 Share 1.2K views 1 year [Lively did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this article. MacRay is pulled between the devil and angel who sit on his shoulders: Jem, who spent nine years in prison for killing someone who was supposedly planning to kill Doug; and Claire, the bank manager Doug falls for after a job. No above-the-line people got paid any money. Afflecks reluctant bank robber Doug desparately wants to redefine himself as a serious Hollywood player after misfires like Gigli and Jersey Girl. Stockard: Ben and I went and spent a day with this FBI task force. A Boston bank robber looks for a way out of his criminal lifestyle after beginning a passionate romance with the woman that his gang briefly took hostage. And then he was out, so we were using him again for research. Welliver: It [was] like doing photo shoots in front of Graceland with Elvis when Elvis was still alive. Affleck: The hothead friend. Theres two ways that this can go. And so yes, they rob Fenway, but its not like hes running across the outfield getting tackled by Tom Brunansky with a bag of money in hand. We all want to drive a f----n caaar like Gloansy. Stockard: There is this over-the-top sense to these movies. He looks at them. Im like, You know what, if its terrible, Ill get a great story out of it. I sit down and I watch it, and it was really bewildering. But wrapping that in the sort of candy shell of a heist movie. Beyond the flashy heists, The Townrenamed because Prince of Thieves had already been used as the subtitle of Kevin Costners version of Robin Hoodis a movie about fate, loyalty, and morality, and how those things commingle. He goes, Yeah, you know, Ill tell you, Ty. Theres something so tomb-like and archaic about Fenway. But I certainly was familiar with his work. I remember one day going to set because he and Ben were doing that great scene where it ends up with them having a fight. But how many people, speaking frankly, want to see a movie about a child murderer? David Fincher does an even more exaggerated version of that. WebThe crew consisted of Doug MacRay, Jem Coughlin, Desmond Elden, and Albert MacGloan, four veteran Charlestown bank and armored car robbers. Martin Scorseses The Departed cast Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, who was loosely based on Bulger. Craig: Adrian was at this really ambitious double-album phase of his career, and he didnt want to cut anything. Affleck: The day that were shooting the shoot-out with Jeremy, where he gets killed out in front of the McDonalds behind Fenwaywhen you do these stunts with cars, you have to really clean the streets immaculately because these drivers are precision drivers. The Friends of Eddie Coyle starred Robert Mitchum in the title role and Peter Boyle as a hitman who ran a bar. Solemn now: To The Town. WebWhitey Bulger and his friendss and some of the Charlestown robbers operated from Marshall Street Garage was actually in Winter Hill, Somerville. I walked the city for something like two, three hours, and by the end of it, I realized two things: The first thing was, I really like the movie and I cant wait for it to come out. Blake came in and read the scene and was amazing. Hall: I remember going to the premiere and a group of Charlestowners were there and they all said to me, You ever come back to Boston, well get you a car. For his turn as Jem, Renner was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, though he lost out to Christian Bale, who played the troubled brother of boxer Micky Ward in yet another movie set in Massachusetts: The Fighter. Affleck: He played that so deftly, and made that scene work so well, when hes sort of smiling and laughing, but theres so much menace underneath it. R Thriller Drama Crime Movie 2010. hd. They are holding their automatic weapons and wearing their disguises. Welliver: On the page it was one thing, and he beat the page because rather than it being a scene that was about anger and aggression, Renner turned that scene into a scene about heartbreak and devastation. And so, constantly, Ben and I are trying to make it as real as possible. The Town took $23.8 million (18.4 million) at the box office on its opening weekend, from a budget of just $37 million (28 million). I feel like were still in the black. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! He gets punished. I just still really thought that way. Hogan: I went in to go see it in a screening room in Manhattan like two months before it came out. ], Affleck: Having been through an experience myself where I felt that people had a sense of me that wasnt really fair, Im very sympathetic to and interested in people who are, I think, sort of pigeonholed. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But as I was signing books afterwards, I see this guy coming up. I went in to audition. Welliver: I still think that The Town and Gone Baby Gone, thats the bar. David Crockett (producer): They read, and not saying who she was or what she was in, she did the [Boston] accent. You can come over to my house for dinner. It was just short of, If you need protection, were here for you. It was incredible. The crew at the center of The Town resembles a gang of five masked robbers who pulled holdups from 1990 to 1995. It all felt sort of very impossible and glamorous. WebThe Town. These interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity. Ten years ago this week, Ben Affleck and his crew put on nun masks, robbed Fenway Park, and made the ultimate Boston movie. The film makes Jem out to be the loose cannon in the arsenal, but he makes criminal sense. They dont fink. Burch: When theyre down in Gate D, where the shoot-out scene was before they exited the ballpark, that was probably the most challenging part of it. Ive never felt all that interested in literally translating from book to page. Jem spent nine years in prison for killing a local thug who was planning to kill Doug. Hall: It felt like cinema in the classic sense. Just because the echo in the ballpark. Especially when youre in a park thats not open to the public. An alternate title for the film could be Ben Afflecks Boston, and no one would have had it any other way. I was like, Im not gonna do another movie in Boston. Affleck: Those little streets created something visually interesting that you dont see in many car chases. These were to prove fundamental to the films success, yielding some of its most memorable moments. Location scouting was uppermost in his mind. We all want to chortle,like Jem,there goes college soccaaar, while shooting a guy we dont like in the knee. Youve got nothing to do, its like, Lets go try out an awesome restaurant. I felt bad that Ben didnt get to have that experience. Crockett: I vividly remember it. The Town stages heists in both places. The length of them runs, I would think, like 150 feet. Afflecks big killing in The Town is Fenway Park, and over 60 years later, the take is the same. Its gentrified and diverse now, a local TV show host told The Christian Science Monitor. And this was toward the end of the shoot. Stockard: The movie that we thought about was [Michael Manns] Heat. Ex-felons are not allowed to hold even fake weapons. 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