The Last Shot
Encyclopedia
The Last Shot is a 2004
comedy film
starring Matthew Broderick
, Alec Baldwin
, Toni Collette
, Tim Blake Nelson
, an uncredited Joan Cusack
, Tony Shalhoub
, Buck Henry
, Ray Liotta
, Calista Flockhart
and Ian Gomez
. The movie is written and directed by Jeff Nathanson
, who wrote Catch Me If You Can
and The Terminal
.
) has been assigned to cook up an elaborate scheme to take down infamous mob boss John Gotti
. He assumes the role of a Hollywood producer and tells all the right lies to enlist a stooge to help execute his sting. He finds unsuspecting wannabe director Steven Schats (Matthew Broderick
), who'd do just about everything to get the chance to direct a feature. Schats falls hook, line, and sinker for the pitch, but what Devine doesn't tell Schats is that the movie will never be made. Everything goes according to plan — until Devine and his fellow agents start enjoying their new lives as Hollywood players a bit too much.
sting operation code-named Dramex. The sting operation was run by FBI agent Garland Schweickhardt, who recruited aspiring screenwriters Dan Lewk and Gary Levy to participate unwittingly in a sting operation aimed at ensnaring mobsters and Teamsters
union officials in a bribery scheme. Under the pretext of producing a movie, the FBI planned to catch people taking bribes in exchanging for promising not to make trouble when filmmakers used non-union truck drivers and non-union crew members. Shooting actually occurred in several cities including New Orleans and Las Vegas, while in other major cities, evidence was obtained without using an actual crew made up of FBI personnel. As the investigation progressed from city to city, sealed indictments were obtained and only unsealed when the operation was concluded. Many actual events happened during the shooting that were more hilarious than the movie portrays. At one point, the crew was stranded in the desert between LA and Las Vegas by a broken down Rolls Royce. Arriving at the location in Las Vegas, they found a genuine crew already there shooting Nasty Boys
(Which, ironically, was about undercover police officers). The grip truck ran into an elderly lady's car the first day of shooting in New Orleans and the crew wound up paying off the lady with hundreds peeled from a roll of bills. The operation eventually led to indictments against five individuals, several of whom were convicted. The movie itself was shut down before serious filming started. Lewk and Levy have yet to make a full-length feature film.
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
comedy film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
, Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
, Toni Collette
Toni Collette
Antonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
, Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Blake Nelson is an American director, writer, singer, and actor.-Early life:Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth Kaiser Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist father...
, an uncredited Joan Cusack
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
, Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
, Buck Henry
Buck Henry
Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
, Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
, Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
and Ian Gomez
Ian Gomez
Ian Gomez is an American actor best known for his comedic TV work, the most notable of which are his series-regular stints as Javier on Felicity and Andy on Cougar Town.-Career:...
. The movie is written and directed by Jeff Nathanson
Jeff Nathanson
Jeff Nathanson is an American film writer, film producer, and director.He is best known for his work on the Rush Hour series, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, and The Last Shot, and has also co-written a story draft for the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with George Lucas...
, who wrote Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...
and The Terminal
The Terminal
The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot...
.
Plot
FBI agent Joe Devine (Alec BaldwinAlec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
) has been assigned to cook up an elaborate scheme to take down infamous mob boss John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
. He assumes the role of a Hollywood producer and tells all the right lies to enlist a stooge to help execute his sting. He finds unsuspecting wannabe director Steven Schats (Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
), who'd do just about everything to get the chance to direct a feature. Schats falls hook, line, and sinker for the pitch, but what Devine doesn't tell Schats is that the movie will never be made. Everything goes according to plan — until Devine and his fellow agents start enjoying their new lives as Hollywood players a bit too much.
Background
The plot of The Last Shot is loosely based on the true story of an FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
sting operation code-named Dramex. The sting operation was run by FBI agent Garland Schweickhardt, who recruited aspiring screenwriters Dan Lewk and Gary Levy to participate unwittingly in a sting operation aimed at ensnaring mobsters and Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
union officials in a bribery scheme. Under the pretext of producing a movie, the FBI planned to catch people taking bribes in exchanging for promising not to make trouble when filmmakers used non-union truck drivers and non-union crew members. Shooting actually occurred in several cities including New Orleans and Las Vegas, while in other major cities, evidence was obtained without using an actual crew made up of FBI personnel. As the investigation progressed from city to city, sealed indictments were obtained and only unsealed when the operation was concluded. Many actual events happened during the shooting that were more hilarious than the movie portrays. At one point, the crew was stranded in the desert between LA and Las Vegas by a broken down Rolls Royce. Arriving at the location in Las Vegas, they found a genuine crew already there shooting Nasty Boys
Nasty Boys (film)
-Synopsis:The film was about a North Las Vegas narcotic unit of six undercover police officers who fought crimes against drugs and illegal automatic weapons. It became a series the following year....
(Which, ironically, was about undercover police officers). The grip truck ran into an elderly lady's car the first day of shooting in New Orleans and the crew wound up paying off the lady with hundreds peeled from a roll of bills. The operation eventually led to indictments against five individuals, several of whom were convicted. The movie itself was shut down before serious filming started. Lewk and Levy have yet to make a full-length feature film.
Cast
- Matthew BroderickMatthew BroderickMatthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
as Steven Schats - Alec BaldwinAlec BaldwinAlexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
as Joe Devine - Toni ColletteToni ColletteAntonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
as Emily French - Tony ShalhoubTony ShalhoubAnthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
as Tommy Sanz - Calista FlockhartCalista FlockhartCalista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
as Valerie Weston - Tim Blake NelsonTim Blake NelsonTim Blake Nelson is an American director, writer, singer, and actor.-Early life:Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth Kaiser Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist father...
as Marshal Paris - Buck HenryBuck HenryHenry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
as Lonnie Bosco - Ray LiottaRay Liotta[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
as Jack Devine - Ian GomezIan GomezIan Gomez is an American actor best known for his comedic TV work, the most notable of which are his series-regular stints as Javier on Felicity and Andy on Cougar Town.-Career:...
as Agent Nance - James RebhornJames RebhornJames Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
as Abe White - Russell MeansRussell MeansRussell Charles Means is an Oglala Sioux activist for the rights of Native American people. He became a prominent member of the American Indian Movement after joining the organisation in 1968, and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage...
as Himself - Pat MoritaPat MoritaNoriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
as Himself - Daniel Morton as Nicky's Son
- Joan CusackJoan CusackJoan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
as Fanny Nash (uncredited) - Robert EvansRobert Evans (film producer)Robert Evans is an American film producer, best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown.-Early life and acting career:...
as Himself (uncredited) - Judy GreerJudy GreerJudy Greer is an American actress, known for portraying a string of supporting female characters, including Kitty Sanchez on the Fox series Arrested Development and Cheryl on the animated comedy series Archer...
as Girl with Emily French at Movie Premiere (uncredited) - Eric RobertsEric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as Himself (uncredited)