"The Crew," a comedy about four aging mobsters who pull off one last caper to save their home, was shot entirely on location in and around Miami and Miami Beach. It is also the place where screenwriter Barry Fanaro grew up and later explored in "The Golden Girls," the television series he wrote and executive-produced for several years. He and producer Barry Sonnenfeld went to film school together. After seeing the Sonnenfeld directed "Get Shorty," in which author Elmore Leonard's main character is a real mobster from Miami, he was inspired to write "The Crew" for Sonnenfeld to direct.
"When he finished the script," explains producer Barry Josephson, "he called Barry [Sonnenfeld] right away, and his agent submitted it to our company for us to produce and potentially for Barry to direct. All the time, Barry was committed to directing another movie, but we loved the script and decided to wait until we found another director that we thought would do the material justice and, in some small way, maybe approach the movie the way Barry would have."
Emmy Award-winning director Michael Dinner directed the pilot for the Sonnenfeld Josephson-produced "Fantasy Island" and became the director of ''The Crew.
"Michael was so perfectly suited for this movie," says Josephson. "We loved his work and had a great relationship with him. He asked if there was any material we had that he could look at, and we actually were actively looking for something for him. The timing couldn't have been better. When he came on board as director of 'The Crew,' he understood the script so well, and he has a terrific sense of humor."
Two factors attracted executive producer George Litto to sign on as a full- fledged member of "The Crew"—the script and the opportunity to work with Barry Sonnenfeld and Barry Josephson. "I thought the story line of 'The Crew' was interesting and funny, but when they delivered Barry Fanaro's script, I knew, right then, that we had the opportunity to make an outstanding picture, says Litto.
A third factor came into play when Richard Dreyfuss and Burt Reynolds agreed to star in "The Crew." "All picture making is an ensemble affair, and 'The Crew' has an ensemble of extraordinary talents, from the production, to the script, to the cast," says executive producer Litto.
Producer Josephson adds, "We had always had Richard Dreyfuss in mind and hoped that he would be available. His is an important character to start with because he's also the narrator. The emotional through-line is his rekindling his relationship with his daughter."
"I'd had a meeting with Richard Dreyfuss about another project around the same time I read the script," says director Dinner. "When I sat down with the two Barrys (Sonnenfeld and Josephson), they said, 'Who do you see for the role of Bobby Bartellemeo?' I said, 'I've got to tell you, I have Richard Dreyfuss' voice in my head."'
"I think it's one of the funniest scripts that I've ever read," says Academy Award -winner Dreyfuss. "This script made me laugh. That's why I wanted to do it."
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