FILM · 2005 · GERMANY
Hostage
25 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (25)
- #001
In the film, Bruce Willis's daughter Amanda is played by his real-life daughter Rumer Willis. Rumer wanted the role, but Bruce auditioned like everyone else and also won the part.
- #002
The hair Bruce Willis wears at the beginning of the film is an elaborate, realistic wig. The beard, however, is entirely Willis's own.
- #003
The scene of Mars being sacrificed was cut because of the ratings. It was to include a close-up of Mars's face melting away from the bone. The director said the scene was too much.
- #004
When Mars (Ben Foster) shoots the female police officer at the front door, he turns and looks at the camera. In his commentary, the director said this scene is a homage to the gunfight in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). In that film, Henry Fonda turns the same way after being shot by Charles Bronson.
- #005
In the script, Mars and Dennis first rob a grocery store and kill the owner before fleeing, then choose Smith's house at random to hide from the police. In the film, they follow them home in order to steal their car and then deliberately take over Smith's house.
- #006
When the camera shows the wall of DVDs in Walter Smith's office, a copy of The Negotiator (1998) stands out prominently — probably the best-known film about hostage negotiators until this film was released.
- #007
The on-screen body count is 15; 16 including the dog.
- #008
When Tommy sneaks into his sister's room to take her cell phone, a poster of the Tower card from a Tarot deck hangs behind her door. The reference foreshadows great violence and the destruction of the house by fire, as well as the revelation and liberation of the Fool. The Fool is Talley (Bruce Willis), and his revelation is how much he loves and needs his own family.
- #009
Ben Foster (Mars) and Michelle Horn (Jennifer) dated during filming.
- #010
When Tommy gets hold of the DVD of an earlier version of Heaven Can Wait, it is misfiled in the "F" section along with one other film: The Nest. That is the English title of director Florent-Emilio Siri's 2002 film The Nest (2002).
- #011
The word "fuck" is used 89 times.
- #012
In the Robert Crais novel on which the film is based, Mars was far more psychotic and ruthless. In the book, the scene where Jennifer escapes from Mars takes place while he is distracted, dragging the tip of a nail down through her cleavage and into the skin over her heart. In the film, however, he approaches her menacingly as she takes off her jacket.
- #013
As Talley (Bruce Willis) and Ridley (Michael D. Roberts) carry Smith (Kevin Pollak) to the ambulance, Ridley says, "He's MOI." This refers to "Mechanism of Injury," a blow to the body from an external source.
- #014
Kim Coates had previously appeared with Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout (1991) and with Robert Knepper in Prison Break (2005).
- #015
The following year, Bruce Willis and Ben Foster appeared in Alpha Dog (2006), but they did not share any scenes together.
- #016
Kevin Pollak and Bruce Willis also appeared together in The Whole Nine Yards (2000), The Whole Ten Yards (2004) and Cop Out (2010).
- #017
The following year, Jimmy Bennett would appear in another "family taken hostage" film, Firewall (2006).
- #018
Although Talley suspects that the FBI agents working with the syndicate are "counterfeit feds," the film never actually confirms whether the FBI agents seen are real, corrupt federal agents or criminals from the syndicate merely impersonating federal agents. The novel and the original script repeatedly confirm that the agents are fake, but the film leaves some clues on the matter as well. Mr. Jones (Johnny Messner) carries a Glock 34 competition pistol. This was not a weapon produced by the FBI, which actually issues the standard-size Glock 22 service pistol. The agents also do not present their credentials when interfacing with other law enforcement, which is definitive proof that they are not real agents.
- #019
Robert Knepper and Marshall Allman appeared together in Prison Break (2005).
- #020
In Robert Crais's original novel, Mars, Dennis and Kevin are older than their film counterparts; Mars himself is in his forties. In his DVD audio commentary, Florent Siri said he drew inspiration from the Columbine shooting to portray them as troubled young criminals rather than aimless adult ones.
- #021
Bruce Willis had previously appeared alongside Johnny Messner and Chad Smith in Tears of the Sun (2003).
- #022
Michelle Horn and Jimmy Bennett had previously appeared together in Strong Medicine (2000).
- #023
Jeff Talley's main weapon in the film is a Kimber Custom TLE II 1911 chambered in .45 ACP. "LAPD SWAT CUSTOM" is clearly visible engraved on the slide. This is highly accurate for an LAPD SWAT veteran like Talley: the Kimber Custom TLE II was the standard sidearm of LAPD SWAT at the time the film was made. The LAPD used 9 mm pistols, but LAPD SWAT always carried .45 1911s; LAPD SWAT switched from Colts to Kimbers in 2002, and the film is from 2005.
- #024
In his DVD audio commentary, director Florent Siri said he conceived of the film as a modern-day neo-western. For this reason, he staged the final showdown at the "Canyon Inn," evoking western themes of a confrontation between sheriff and outlaw in a canyon.
- #025
The film features two male actors named Jimmy who were born only a week apart: Jimmy Bennett (born 9 February 1996) and Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak (born 16 February 1996).
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