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20 Things That Really Happened Behind The Scenes Of The Transporter Movies

20 Things That Really Happened Behind The Scenes Of The Transporter Movies

Sit back, get the popcorn and indulge in this action-packed production both behind the screen and on screen. To transport is to take or carry (people or goods) from one place to another by means of a vehicle, aircraft, or ship. That is not just the definition of transport, it is the exact description of Franks (Jason Statham’s) day job in the Transporter movies, hence the name. He does whatever it takes to move “the goods” from one place to another, human or otherwise. His renegade antics and insane skills mix with his rebel attitude to create the mercenary that enthralled many for three films. However, it wasn’t just what happened on the screen that makes the movie savage. It was behind the scenes that made the film come alive.
To see the car stunts, fight scenes and bad to the bone roles of the women in these films is one thing, but to see the preparation took behind the scenes makes them even more dope. From Jason Statham putting his life into the hands of the crew, one woman learning a new language to a woman learning to shoot so well no man will ever want to make her mad. It is clear why the entire movie series made over 310 million in the box office and has a television show modeled after the film production. If someone hasn’t seen these films, they will when they finish reading this. If they have seen the film, they’ll want to watch them again after this. So, sit back, get the popcorn and indulge in this action-packed production both behind the screen and on screen.

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20. Jason Statham Learned How To Hot-Wire A Car For Just One Scene

That’s right, he now knows how to hot-wire a car. He only had to do this for one scene but literally learned how to do it anyways. This may have been a strong devotion to his acting career or a vicarious act through the life of Frank, his character. That we will never know but we do know he “would’ve liked to know that when I was about 15″ according to IMDB. When he was younger he was a bit reckless with his friends and managed to rack up some tickets. No longer does he have to worry about blue lights in his rearview as long as he lets the steam out on set. So, your BMW is safe, from Jason anyways.

19. The BMW 750i Is The Only One Ever Produced With A Manual Six-Speed

Talk about some dope secrets for those of you who are car enthusiasts. This one is doubly special. The car he drives in the film really is the only one of its kind ever produced with a manual six-speed gearbox. This car has had many conversions done to it using the manual gearbox from a BMW 850CSi E31 according to IMDB. However, this car was not converted, it is produced in the factory making it a 1 out of 1. So, that car is genuinely rare. This just makes the movie feel even cooler. There is much discussion about this car online. Just a quick google search and you’ll learn more about this beauty and the effect it had on BMW lovers across the globe.

18. Jason Statham Does His Own Stunts No Matter How Nervous It Makes The Producers

Jason Statham is quoted as saying, “I don’t think there should be any shortcuts. Be a man! Take the blow! Don’t be a wimp!” according to AMC. I imagine this being in a conversation debating whether he would do his own stunts. We know the ending of that conversation though, he did his own stunts. This made the producers nervous that he would get injured for obvious reasons, but he went to extreme lengths of being trained by a Navy Seal and watching extensive training videos. The most notable training video was, Enter the Dragon (1973), starring Bruce Lee, Jason’s favorite action movie of all time.

17. Shu Qi Had To Learn English For Her Role In The Transporter

Talk about dedication to a role. Shu Qi needed to get the script early, so she could begin preparing with an English teacher in Hong Kong because she spoke almost no English when she was cast into this role. She struggled to communicate off-screen with Jason so much that they said, “it was like a rooster and duck all day long” according to readable quotes by AMC. Her commitment remained as she got to France to film she had another English teacher there who constantly nagged her to keep learning English. Jason said it was really strange, she made a trip to Hong Kong and came back speaking English almost fluently.

16. Jason Statham’s Hair Caught On Fire During The House Explosion

I know, there isn’t much hair to begin with, so how bad could it really have been? Like really, it must have been a small ember to catch that little bit of hair on fire. The size of the ember is not public information however, this is the size of the explosion. With an explosion this large it can be concluded that the ember was made of larger proportions. But to a man like Jason Statham, does it really hurt? Now he’s no Chuck Norris, but he still does his own stunts so he’s up there. This photo is taken from a scene of Franks (Jason’s Character), house exploding. Just moments after he makes a chivalry and daring escape with Shu Qi. Learn more about this intense ember on IMDB.

15. Jason Statham had to receive Scuba lessons from Jean-Marc Barr

Like I said, he’s no Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris needs no scuba lessons. He has gills. On the other hand, Jean-Marc Barr is the man to get scuba lessons from. It had to be quite the privilege to do so. Jean-Marc is originally from Germany and is known most famously for Big Blue, a film produced in 1998 according to AMC. The film is about a rivalry between two childhood friends who are world renown free divers. One of which is Jean-Marc, so you can imagine the wealth of diving knowledge at Statham’s fingertips. The Big Blue is known for its beautiful underwater scenes that are no easy task to accomplish.

14. They Wired Jason Statham To The Bottom Of A Moving Truck Trailer

That’s no typo, he was wired to a tractor-trailer as it barreled down the highway. Well, it wasn’t technically barreling because it was being towed by a rather large tow truck with cameras mounted to it. However, it was still moving down the road and would not have felt great if Jason fell. He must have had great confidence in the people who wired him up there, so he could hang without falling. “I had a wire up my leg and they assured me I was quite safe. There was a lot of hanging to do” according to IMDB. Of all the stunts he chose to do himself I think it would have been understandable to opt out of this one, but not for Mr. Statham.

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13. Jason Insisted That He Do His Own Fight Scenes

He insisted he does 99.9% of his fight scenes according to an interview on the YouTube channel Novidades Cinema. His martial arts background must have helped him in this role. The sheer determination to really become your character in as many ways as morally possible is a work ethic that should be talked about more. It really brings the beauty out of the many performances the world enjoys over and over. Although, if it was Chuck Norris he would need no preparation. He was born with natural martial arts skills. While this is not the case for Statham I think it is pretty clear he can still hold his own in a fight.

12. They Jumped From The Jet Ski To A School Bus With No Harness, Just Skill

As if the actual making of these scenes doesn’t make the cast already seem brave, go watch this scene after reading this. They straight launch the jet ski up onto the road, then dragged behind a school bus. As they are behind the bus, Statham propels himself onto the back of the school bus. Did I mention, he did this with no harness? “The most dangerous one was the jump from the Jet Ski to the school bus. We had no harness or anything. We had one take and that was it.” According to Hollywood Archive YouTube channel. No wonder they only had one take, I wouldn’t want to do that more than once either.

11. Katie “Lola” Nauta Says Her Role Taught Her How To Shoot

When Katie was asked for one thing she didn’t know how to do before the movie, that she knows how to do now she responded, “I have a really good aim” she says in her interview with Hollywood archive on YouTube. She just looks like you don’t want to mess with her in this film. Then you find out her aim is good in real life. No man is messing with a lady who can dual wield handguns with extended clips and is crazy enough to use them. Ok, this may only be true of her character in the film and not in real life, however, she has learned to do it. Never underestimate a woman’s capabilities.

10. There Wasn’t Enough Time To Practice On The Bicycle But He Used To Watch The X-Games…

Seriously though, he just got on and rode the bike. He didn’t have enough time to prepare for the scene. It just comes back to you, it’s like riding a bike, right? He did mention in an interview on the Artisan News Service YouTube Channel that he is a big fan of the X-Games so clearly that had a large influence on his performance on the bike in this movie. That and his childhood where he frequented skateboards and bikes. it turns out that it was informal training for a formal position as the main character in a feature film. You never know how what you are doing now will affect your life in the future.

9. Jason Actually Got Kicked In The Chest By A 250-Pound Man

They would bring in stunt teams of a half dozen or so at a time from China to dream up these fight scenes. I am sure Statham was ecstatic to hear that the scene this team dreamed up involves him getting kicked in the bare chest by a grown man who is larger than normal and filled with muscle. Some dream team if you ask me. Due to Statham being shirtless in this scene there was no way for him to wear any pads, so it had to be direct contact. He said on the Artisan News Service that he only did the scene once and was thankful for that. The bruises, they went away quickly he says.

8. They Hired An Artist To Direct Transporter 3

This is Olivier Megaton who is a French artist, novelist, and filmmaker. Prior to being a director, he was a painter according to Hollywood Reporter. You can find his artwork here. They hired him as the director because they wanted to give it a different feel from the other two films. They were looking for it to be much more aesthetic. It wasn’t that they didn’t like the first two films it was just that they weren’t going to make a third unless it was done differently. Moral of the story is to always have a Picasso in your life to spice things up.

7. The Action Scenes Were Planned By Grown Adults Playing With Little Toy Models

If he tore the tape off her mouth so many times she got a rash, I can’t imagine how many times this shot took to take without laughing. However, you may ask, how did they come up with these awesome action-packed scenes? By playing with toys. The director, Megaton, said, “we were around a table with small models, playing with them and trying to figure out how to do the things (called for in the script)” according to Hollywood Reporter. So, while these awesome action-packed scenes bring out all of our inner Chuck Norris’, they were actually planned with some G-I-Joe figurines. Ok, they were probably a bit more professional “small models” than that. But when you hear small models and fight scenes what else do you think of?

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6. They Only Had One Editor For Almost The Whole Film

The work this man had set before him must have been insane. They had multiple cameras rolling at any one given time, especially with scenes like the one where they launched a car into the water. They didn’t have the budget like an American film that size would, so they couldn’t afford to redo those shots. Apparently, cars cost a lot of money. So, with that many cameras rolling to make sure the right shots got taken in just one shot it left an ocean of film to wade through. The Hollywood Reporter says that for the last four weeks of the film they got another editor but for the most part, the director was having to help out by editing every day if he could.

5. Yes, They Were Actually Going That Fast

Just when you thought it was cool enough to know that Statham performs his own scenes, plus all the work that is put into making this film, another nugget is released into the atmosphere. All the car scenes were shot at real speed according to The Hollywood Reporter. There was no editing of the speed later in the editing room. The cameras had to be well protected. The people did too, of course. In all seriousness, they had to be extra careful during these scenes, but we are glad they did it. It makes for such a more real experience and does the art of film-making justice.

4. There’s a Photo hidden in the film…

It’s so cool when you find out how many details go into a film, but to find out even an obscure photo was thought about in this way is amazing. It wasn’t just any photo, it was a childhood photo of Jason Statham! He doesn’t star alone in the picture either, he is holding a monkey! The photo appears when Shu Qi is flipping through pictures at Frank’s house according to IMDB. If there is some deeper story behind the picture and why it was placed in this film, we are not sure. However, you can see the actual photo here. That’s for free. You’re welcome. I know you want to go watch the film now to look for this, but finish reading this article first. Please.

3. The White Peugeot 406 Taxi Was Also A Taxi In The Movie Taxi From 1998

After Frank’s house is blown up Lai (Shu Qi), is leaving the police station. She enters a taxi which is none other than the same Peugeot 406 that was used in the movie Taxi from 1998, according to IMDB. Once a taxi always a taxi I assume. I do not live on that side of the pond, but I have never seen a taxi look quite as sick as this one. Honestly, for a taxi, it’s pretty cool. It must be for them to have brought it out of retirement for this movie. I don’t if there is actually retirement for cars, but it sounded good.

2. The Director Had To Step In And Drive In The Movie

The getaway car for the bank robbers was a 1989 Renault, Model 19, Series 1 according to The Transporter Movie website. The character intended to drive the vehicle was unable to drive a stick shift so someone had to step in and drive it. So, the driver seen in the movie backing up and driving away was none other than Olivier Megaton. That’s right, the director. He wears many hats. He is a French artist, novelist, filmmaker, editor, and a stuntman/car driver/actor. That may be a stretch but seriously. This man did whatever it took to get this movie done and not just done but done well. Props to him and to hard work.

1. Jason Statham Pulled The Tape Off Shu Qi’s Mouth So Many Times She Got A Rash

Was it that funny of a scene that they kept needing to retake it or was there a secret rivalry between Jason and Shu Qi? Perhaps we will never know the answer, but I would imagine you have to rip a piece of tape off someone’s mouth quite a few times to cause a rash. This reminds me of a somewhat popular lollipop commercial, that begged the question, “how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?” So, we beg the question, how many rips of the lips with a piece of tape until it causes a rash? The world may never know. This fun fact was brought to you by AMC.

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Narek Hakobyan

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Narek Hakobyan
Tags: 20 Things That Really Happened Behind The Scenes Of The Transporter MoviesAction MoviesBMW 750ijason stathamKatie “Lola” Nautaspeed#the transporter 1The Transporter 2The Transporter 3
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