Tom Cruise is perhaps best known for his role in the mission: Impossible movies. But a closer look at his career shows that he had many compelling roles before those films. For example, he plays a cab driver who meets a hitman and then becomes involved in a series of murders over the course of one night.
Michael Mann directed the Academy Award-nominated action movie. It also stars Jamie Foxx as well as Jada Pinkett Smith. The former received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor award. It was praised for its gritty storytelling and compelling cast. Here are some facts about the movie’s origins and whether it is based on true life.
Is Collateral a True Story?
“Collateral” is not based upon a true story. The script was written by Stuart Beattie, an Australian director, and writer. He was just 17 years old when the idea struck him. Beattie began talking to the taxi driver, and they had a lot to talk about, which made him stop and think. “I had one strange sicko thought, which was like, “Man, I could become some homicidal maniac sitting back there, and here we’re talking like best friends, and you have your back to me. It just grew from there,” he stated.
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Because Beattie views taxi cabs as “unique islands” in modern society, it was a tempting idea to tell a story. He shared that this is the basis for cab transactions every single day. Beattie stated that the tighter space in a taxi would allow for more tension and would also place the villain and hero nearby. This is when you “start to get into the meaty stuff.”
Beattie wrote the original draft of the film in 1991. It was titled “The Last Domino” and looked very different from the final version. The story was originally set in New York. However, Michael Mann changed the location to Los Angeles. Beattie didn’t mind the change. He was fine with it as long as it was in a busy city. It was also the point that this story could be set anywhere, not just in one place, much like Tom Cruise’s mysterious hitman Vincent.
Vincent’s “everyman” look was a key part of his personality. He is the type of person who blends into his surroundings. Vincent is an anonymous character, so even if there are witnesses to his story, no one can paint a picture of him. Beattie had an idea of the characters by the time he finished the final draft. Even though they don’t reveal much about their characters, because the story is only one night long, the writer/director created detailed background information for the characters that they could share with the actors to better understand their roles.
All of this required extensive research into the jobs their characters would have to do. Max and Beattie spent much time with taxi drivers for Foxx’s character. He said, “We drove around with cabbies. We just did shifts and got to know Max’s world.” Vincent relied on interviews and the available material regarding the work ethic of contract killers. He had, however, reduced Vincent’s thoughts to a scene that didn’t make it into the film.
“They cut a scene from the film script that was about collateral. I liked it because it got Vincent’s mindset. He said, “I’ve killed 40 people and 3 collaterals.” What is collateral? It is innocent bystander-type persons. People who are in the wrong place at the wrong times. Max asked, “Does that bother you?” It is as if it bothers you because nobody likes to work for nothing. Once you get into that mindset, writing is easy and fun. In a way, you are in someone else’s head. “So that’s really what the research does to me, I get inside people’s heads,” Beattie said.
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The characters of “Collateral” are limited in time and space. Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise play that role brilliantly. We can safely say that the film is not based on an actual event. However, the research Beattie did, and the work done by the cast and crew make it a great movie.
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Starz’s Power‘ universe consists of four television shows: ‘Power,’ three spin-offs, and a total of four TV series. ‘Power Book II is Ghost,” Power Book III is Raising Kanan, and ‘Power Book IV is Force.’ The prequel ‘Power Book III is Raising Kanan’ revolves around Kanan Stark, one of the most infamous villains in the ‘Power’ Universe. American actress Patina Mills portrays Kanan’s mother, Raquel Thomas, as the deuteragonist in the prequel. Raq, a brilliant, ambitious and ruthless woman, establishes her control over the drug trade in South Jamaica. You might be curious about her whereabouts during the ” Power ” events since she is one of the most important characters in the prequel. SPOILERS BELOW.
Where is Raq in the Timeline of Power
Raq does not appear in “Power”, but her son does mention her. Curtis Jackson plays Kanan Stark in season 2. He tells James Ghost and Thomas Tommy Egan about his visit to his mother. This may suggest that his mother is still alive at the time of the series. He is released from prison sometime later. It is known that Shawn, his son, was the first person he saw after being released. Furious to learning that Ghost is still alive, Kanan sets out on a hunt for Pink Sneakers. This assassin was the one he had tasked earlier in order to kill Ghost. Then he reaches for Dre, his lieutenant, and starts planning his next move. He soon goes to Ghost, and the reunion is complete.
In season 5, Kanan is shot and killed. A news report says that he doesn’t know anyone who is his next of kin. This sequence of events makes it possible to speculate about Raq’s whereabouts during “Power.” Kanan tells the Ghost and Tommy that he went to visit his mother. However, it is possible that Kanan is lying to conceal the fact that he was looking for the man he hired to murder Ghost. It must be a lie, but it must contain some elements of truth. Ghost and Tommy are likely to have an intimate relationship with Kanan because of the way they know her whereabouts. Ghost and Tommy also know that he may have meant to say he visited his mother when he said he did.
Courtney A. Kemp, the creator of “Power”, reportedly said in an interview that they began seriously considering the possibility of spin-offs around the fourth season. This could explain discrepancies between characters. This could mean that Raq dies in the second season of Season 2, or she is dead throughout the entire series.
Another possibility exists. Raq speculates that she might leave the life of a drug kingpin in a few episodes of “Raising Kanan”. She can accomplish this by the end of the series. She must have an exit plan. This could explain the news report and any potential reappearance of her character in a sequel show.8
