10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Transporter
The Transporter was released on October 11, 2002. The movie (co-directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen and co-written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen) firmly established Jason Statham as an action movie leading man, an occupation he continues to this day.
The Transporter also spawned two direct sequels starring Statham, along with a fourth film and television series, not starring Statham.
It had been many years since I sat down and watched The Transporter. So when I saw a copy of the Special Edition DVD at my local Goodwill and saw that it included a commentary track with Producer Steven Chasman and the man himself, Jason Statham, I had to pick it up!
Not only did I get a much needed rewatch of a spectacular action movie, I also learned some things along the way thanks to the DVD commentary. I will now pass that knowledge onto you with these 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Transporter…
1. Jason Statham, who plays Frank Martin aka The Transporter, did the majority of the driving scenes in the movie.
2. The Transporter was the first movie that was ever allowed to film on the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes. The producers had to get permission from the mayor and have hundreds of safety personnel on hand to make sure nobody coming and going from the upscale shops and restaurants stepped into the action.
3. Frank Martin’s house did not exist prior to the movie going into production. The house was built on an empty piece of land overlooking the beach in Cassis, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Frank Martin’s house did not exist after the production either, since it is blown up during the course of the film. A total of 15 cameras were set up to catch the destruction of Frank’s seaside house from every possible perspective.
4. Even with three quarters of the movie’s 70+ day shoot taking place outdoors, only one of those days was rained out. So the weather was mostly cooperative for the shoot, despite everyone having to work in cold temperatures.
5. The original plan was for the Frank Martin character to have an American accent, but the decision was made prior to filming to have Jason Statham play it naturally and he used his combo English/American accent.
6. Producer Steven Chasman flew to Malaysia, the summer before The Transporter began shooting, to sign Shu Qi to play Lai. Shu Qi was in Malaysia shooting the Ringo Lam directed Looking for Mister Perfect at the time.
7. After filming the duct tape interrogation scene, Shu Qi had a rash around her mouth for the next two days due to the repetitive taking on and tearing off of the duct tape.
8. Luc Besson taught Jason Statham how to really hotwire a car for the movie. Statham quipped that he wish he would have known how to hotwire a car back when he was 15.
9. François Berléand, who plays Inspector Tarconi in the film, can not stomach madeleines. So the scene where Tarconi has to eat the madeleines that Shu Qi has baked, was amusing to everyone on set (with the exception of François, of course). Speaking of Tarconi, when Lai accesses Tarconi’s computer at the police station, the faces seen on the monitor were those of actual crew members. This reminded me of a similar behind the scenes story from RoboCop 2.
10. The oil fight was shot over the course of a day and a half and required Jason Statham to take 25 showers. He showered so much that they actually ran out of hot water. The oil used in the fight was not actual oil and was described as a sugary licorice like substance.
