FILM · 2013 · USA
Escape Plan
23 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (23)
- #001
Director Mikael Håfström said that 90 percent of the film was shot in an empty facility in New Orleans that had previously been used by NASA to build space shuttles.
- #002
An idea for a film starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger had been discussed between the two men for many years, dating back to the mid-1980s. Various scripts were prepared or written, but Schwarzenegger said his and Stallone's schedules never matched. Schwarzenegger's departure from the governorship and Stallone's small role in The Expendables (2010) led the two to reconsider the idea of working together, both on this film and on The Expendables 2 (2012).
- #003
The passage Rottmayer quotes in German is the parable of the madman on the nature of power from Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay Science (also known as The Joyful Wisdom), which makes the film one of the few in which Arnold Schwarzenegger is heard speaking in his native language.
- #004
During shooting on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a military meeting caused uniformed soldiers and sailors to wander onto the set by mistake. As the crew began clearing the set for filming, Sylvester Stallone stopped and pointed to a spot so he could take photos with several uniformed men and women.
- #005
Sylvester Stallone's last day on set was spent shooting the scene in which his character, Ray Breslin, surfaces in the ocean and signals the helicopter. Stallone had torn his right bicep the day before and could not use his right arm. For this reason he waves at the helicopter and begins climbing the rope ladder with his left arm.
- #006
While shooting Arnold Schwarzenegger's scenes in the helicopter, director Mikael Håfström asked writer Miles Chapman to add a line for Rottmayer after the explosion on the ship. Chapman noticed that Warden Hobbes had earlier said in the film, "Good morning, Mr. Rottmayer." Chapman then added the line "Good morning, asshole." for Rottmayer. Chapman said he received requests from fans to produce a T-shirt bearing the words "Good morning, asshole."
- #007
The German dubbing studio decided to re-dub Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice with Ralph Schicha (who used a slight Austrian accent, adding a bit of extra entertainment for German viewers, since Danneberg normally dubbed Schwarzenegger in Standard German). This was because Thomas Danneberg, who normally dubbed Schwarzenegger, was also Sylvester Stallone's German dubbing voice. There were fears that the two actors having the same voice would confuse viewers. However, some fans disliked the decision and begged for a new dub, but this was ultimately rejected by the German license holder Concorde.
- #008
A deleted scene explicitly explains how Rottmayer's daughter found Rottmayer and Breslin.
- #009
The cargo ship converted into a prison in this film, the Rika, has IMO number 7621932. It can be seen in the scenes from the engine room toward the end of the film. In the film the ship's width was in fact doubled, two rows of cargo holds were built, and while the superstructure was widened, the bridge was left off-center and at its original size. The ship was scrapped in Alang, India, after filming.
- #010
The message Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) appears in, apart from "tapping," is "Riot C block ramp during transfer riot C block." The tap code he uses is the A-F-L-Q-V code, which was developed and used by American prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.
- #011
Hobbes's work on butterflies is a reference to the film Papillon (1973), in which a prisoner repeatedly tries to escape from Devil's Island. Papillon means butterfly in French.
- #012
During the escape from Bendwater, the monitors give a clue as to how Breslin got out; the guard tells Ray that the time is 3:55 and Ray counts five minutes. When the guards run back into the room, the other prisoners' timestamps read 4:01, while Ray's reads 3:58.
- #013
Miles Chapman's original script required the electronic keypad to be inside the solitary confinement cell at Bendwater prison in Colorado. While preparing the storyboard for the film's opening sequence, the producers realized this was a mistake and the keypad was moved outside the cell.
- #014
Screenwriter Jason Keller is credited under the pseudonym Arnell Jesko, an anagram of his own name.
- #015
The character Ray Breslin (Stallone) is presented as something of a mystery when it comes to his profession. In the film he is described as a former prosecutor who became a prison security expert. However, he displays knowledge and skills equivalent to those of a senior structural engineer. He is also a businessman: he is a part owner of the Breslin-Clark Security firm.
- #016
The message sent by Dr. Kyrie (Sam Neill) was: "I need you in 24 hours 30 degrees 22(n), 23 degrees 6(w) 17:00 tomorrow barbecue and pool party. Don't forget to tell the kids to bring all the toys! - Rottmayer."
- #017
The prison in this film closely resembles the Erewhon Prison in Face/Off (1997), in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were considered to play the arch-enemies Sean Archer and Castor Troy before John Travolta and Nicolas Cage took the roles.
- #018
Bruce Willis was once set to star in this film, directed by Antoine Fuqua.
- #019
Escape Plan was not released in cinemas in Australia; instead, Australian distributor Hopscotch Films decided to release the film directly on DVD and Blu-Ray.
- #020
Much of the Bible page seen burning at the start of the film next to Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) reads: "6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting." This is Jeremiah 15:6 in the King James Bible.
- #021
After Abigail (Amy Ryan) and Hush (50 Cent) decode the message Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) sends from Bendwater Federal Penitentiary near the beginning of the film, it reads "SEPTEMBER NINE FIRE FRONT LOT 4 PM."
- #022
The photograph hanging behind Lester Clark in his office shows the towers of Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
- #023
Sylvester Stallone and 50 Cent share the same birthday (July 6), but were born twenty-nine years apart. Stallone was born in 1946 and Jackson in 1975.
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