Free Money (1998)

Interesting facts

Free Money is a 1998 Canadian black comedy film directed by Yves Simoneau, produced by Nicolas Clermont and written by Anthony Peck and Joseph Brutsman. The film stars Marlon Brando, Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Martin Sheen, Thomas Haden Church and Mira Sorvino.

Production

In spite of the high-profile cast, the movie was produced independently from Hollywood studios, by the Canadian studio Filmline. Charlie Sheen's independent production company Sheen/Michaels Entertainment (founded with Poison singer Brett Michaels) served as a co-producer, although the film's ownership rights were still with Filmline. It was filmed in Canada from August 1997 to October 1997, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

John Cusack, Alec Baldwin, Nicolas Cage, Alicia Silverstone and Japanese singer Seiko Matsuda were all originally attached to the project.

In a 2008 interview, Thomas Haden Church revealed that in order to do Free Money, he had to turn down a role in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, which was shot in western Europe between June 1997 and August 1997. He said, "at the exact same time I was offered the lead in Free Money with Charlie Sheen and Marlon Brando, I was offered a role in Saving Private Ryan. And I chose to march off to Canada to work with Marlon Brando.

The film was certified as a Quebec production since one of the leading cast members, Donald Sutherland, was a resident of the province. In addition to this, several supporting roles went to local actors. Producer Nicolas Clermont noted that the accents of the local actors could be integrated into the story, since it was set in a small, unidentified border town.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.