How the film "Taxi 2" was filmed: footage from the filming and 15 interesting facts about the film (17 photos)

The French action comedy hit the big screen in 1998. The second part of the franchise hit theaters in 2000.





1. The director of the second part of the film was Gerard Krawczyk, who replaced the director of the first part, Girard Pires, while he was recovering from his unfortunate fall from a horse. Thus, he secured a position in the director's chair until the fourth part. Well, I don’t even want to talk about the disgusting fifth part. Fortunately, neither Luc Besson, nor Gerard Krawczyk, nor the main actors have anything to do with this nonsense.



2. Initially, it was planned to bring in a second screenwriter to help Luc Besson to help him write. But it was decided to abandon this idea, since they thought that the second screenwriter would only get in the way of the genius.

It's worth noting that Luke put his heart and soul into this script. If he wrote the script for the first part of the film in 1 month, essentially out of idleness, while he was waiting for the filming of the film “The Fifth Element” to begin, then he approached the second part thoroughly, making adjustments to the script every now and then. As a result, it took him 3 months to complete this task.

3. It was very difficult for the filmmakers to negotiate with the authorities about filming on the streets. But we still managed to get permission, albeit with a time limit. For example, in order to film a chase scene against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, the film crew was given only 30 minutes.





4. It’s no coincidence that Daniel wears Zidane’s T-shirt. This is a tribute to the victory of the French team in the last World Cup. And besides, Zinedine Zidane is a native of Marseille.



By the way, Zidane was even invited to the premiere of the film, but, unfortunately, he could not attend, since at that time he was a member of the Juventus club and had an important game coming up.

5. The tanks and other military equipment that we see in the frame are very real. They were brought specially for the filming of the film. By the way, the episode with the car colliding with the tank was filmed in the first take.



6. Marion Cotillard, who played Daniel's girlfriend, should have received much more screen time and even helped Daniel in his search for the Japanese minister. But due to the fact that the actress was wildly in demand at that time and starred in several projects simultaneously, her screen time was reduced to a minimum. And even then. She appeared in the film only because Besson personally persuaded Marion and her agent to make at least such a small appearance.



Marion Cotillard as Lily

7. During the filming of the film "Taxi 2", scenes were filmed mainly in live locations, be it streets or locations inside buildings. Even the scene with the fight between Petra and Emilien was filmed in a real Judo hall. As for studio filming, there were very few of them.



And the scene in the hospital with Zhebert in a cast was filmed in a real hospital room. As it turned out, the head physician of the hospital is a fan of the movie “Taxi,” so he allowed the episode to be filmed in the hospital absolutely free of charge.



8. Bernard Farsi, who played Commissioner Jebert, became almost the most beloved character in the entire franchise. He played his role excellently and improvised quite often, which not everyone was allowed to do.

Yes, according to the actor, he was allowed to improvise much more than other actors. And many of his lines, which have already become memes, were pure improvisation by the actor. Perhaps that is why his character turned out to be so interesting, funny and loved by everyone. True, his appearance did not save the fifth part of the film (why did I mention it again?).



Bernard Farsi (Commissioner Gebert)

8. Actor Frederic Diefenthal, who played Emilien, admitted that “Taxi” has always been his favorite project. And when Luc Besson called him with an offer to star in the sequel, the actor answered without hesitation, “Yes!” Well, why should we be surprised? II would do that too.



9. The filmmakers initially wanted to introduce an additional comic character who would add even more humor to the film, but at the same time play his own important role for the film. As a result, a comical general was introduced into the film, who was also Lily’s father.



10. The same policeman who extended his hand with the radar gun is not actually an actor. This is indeed a real policeman from Marseille, whose name is Jean-Luc Mehler.



11. During the filming of the final chase in Paris, tragedy occurred. 41-year-old cameraman Alain Dutarte died. Two other crew members were seriously injured due to a collision while performing the stunt. The car, driven by a stuntman, traveled more than expected. The cameraman and two other crew members were unable to find their bearings in time.



12. Swedish actress Emma Wiklund, who played Petra, had to learn a few lines in Japanese, as well as study some martial arts such as judo and kung fu.



13. More than 50 police cars were used in the film "Taxi 2". True, it is still unknown how many of them were broken. Besson himself says that there were definitely more than 25 of them.



All these cars were rented from the gendarmerie. After filming was completed, the cars were taken for repairs, where they were not only repaired, but also brought into divine shape. Well, according to the contract, the studio had to pay for the repair of all damaged cars.

14. With a budget of approximately $11 million, the film grossed $60.7 million worldwide, making it a commercial success. But the most interesting thing is that this film was shown around the world for 5 years. The film's world premiere took place in 2000; the film was shown in Mexico at the end of 2001. Greek audiences were able to watch the film in cinemas in 2003, while the film was shown to Indonesian audiences only in 2005.



15. As you remember, Petra was kidnapped right from the toilet, and her panties were left lying on the floor. A little later, when Petra was fighting with the bandits, lifting her leg up, the audience noticed that Petra was not wearing underwear. And this, in turn, caused a very strong reaction among the male audience.



True, a little later the spectators were lowered from heaven. As it turned out, the actress was wearing flesh-colored underwear during the filming of this scene. This is how children's and teenage fantasies were destroyed.