10 Things You Didn’t Know About Speed

On June 10, 1994, Speed rolled into theaters across the United States and would go on to be the surprise hit of 1994. Speed grossed over 100 million dollars and came in 8th overall that year at the box office… not bad for a movie that only cost 28 million to make.

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of this Keanu Reeves classic, I cracked open my Speed DVD for the first time in a long time, turned the commentary track on and relived the film along with producer Mark Gordon and writer Graham Yost. And now thanks to the behind the scenes trivia provided by Gordon and Yost, I proudly present, 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Speed…

1. The elevator shaft serving as the background for the opening credits was the idea of director Jan de Bont. The elevator shaft was not computer generated, but was actually a scale model that was created for the film.

2. Speaking of de Bont, he was not the first choice to direct the film. John McTiernan (Predator) and Walter Hill (Streets of Fire) both turned down the job. This opened the door for long time Jan de Bont to make his directorial debut. Up to that point de Bont was known primarily as a cinematographer, most notably on John McTiernan’s Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October.

3. One of the young executives in the elevator scene at the start of the film was played by Robert Mailhouse. Who is Robert Mailhouse? He is the guy who founded the alternative rock band Dogstar along with Keanu Reeves.

4. Jeff Daniels, who played Harry the partner of Keanu Reeves’ Jack Traven on the LAPD bomb squad, was not a fan of the film during shooting and figured it was going to be a flop. His opinion changed after seeing the finished product.

5. In the original script, there were going to be two villains instead of one. A twist ending was planned revealing that the Howard Payne character was working with Harry the whole time.

6. Another facet of the original script that did not make it to production, was the fact that the bus was supposed to circle Dodger Stadium and not LAX aka Los Angeles International Airport.

7. Randy Quaid was considered for the Howard Payne role that ultimately went to Dennis Hopper. Hopper did not get cast until the production was already three weeks into shooting.

8. Annie driving the bus in the opposite direction was Graham Yost’s homage to William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A.  

9. The bus scenes that took place on the freeway took over two weeks to shoot. The freeway used had been under construction and was not yet open to the public.

10. Halle Berry was offered the role of Annie but turned it down. This turned into a major positive for Sandra Bullock, who became a huge star as a result of her work in Speed. Berry would eventually work with Keanu Reeves more than two decades later when she co-starred with him in John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum.