The Last Shot (2004)

Interesting facts

The Last Shot is a 2004 American action comedy film starring Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Toni Collette, Calista Flockhart, Ray Liotta, Tim Blake Nelson, James Rebhorn and Tony Shalhoub. The film is written and directed by Jeff Nathanson, who wrote the Steven Spielberg films Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal. The Last Shot was released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution on September 24, 2004. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and grossed $541,330 at the box office.

Background

The plot of The Last Shot is loosely based on the true story of an FBI sting operation code-named Dramex which 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.

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.

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 woman with hundreds peeled from a roll of bills. The operation eventually led to indictments against five individuals, several of whom were convicted.

Lewk and Levy had yet to make a full-length feature film. They were, however, associate producers on The Last Shot and had cameo roles as 'Hollywood Boulevard Types'.

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