Bandits (2001)

Producers Michael Birnbaum and Michele Berk developed the idea for Bandits, then Birnbaum worked with screenwriter Harley Peyton to develop the script. All immediately knew they had something special on their hands.

Academy Award®-winning director Barry Levinson found the script for Bandits appealing "because it was an interesting romantic comedy with a real energy. There was motion and momentum, and at the same time there were some stakes involved."

Levinson adds, "I particularly liked the idea of two guys with this one woman. I think the one thing that stood out in my mind was Kate saying she couldn't choose between one man or the other, because ultimately they made the perfect man. I thought it was an interesting concept."

Attracted by Bandits script, Bruce Willis was the first major talent to sign on to the project. He was attached for over a year before filming began. Eventually, three of today's most talented and popular stars were assembled: Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett - a truly stellar cast. Each a powerful force in their own right, the combined strength of the actors immediately became apparent.

When the subject of his cast comes up, Levinson says, "I think there are a number of surprises in this film. I don't think I've seen Billy Bob this way before, and I've certainly never seen Cate playing this kind of character, which is miles away from Elizabeth. As for Bruce, it's not that he hasn't done comedic or romantic pieces, but I think this is comedic and romantic, yet Joe is also a tough character - it's a good combination."

Working with Levinson was a privilege felt by everyone on the set. Says screenwriter Peyton, "Many directors, when they film comedies, put quotes around the jokes and quotes around the big emotional moments. They hammer them. Barry approaches it in a way that's real. One of the first things Bruce Willis said to me when I first came to the set was that the movie felt great to him because there was such reality to it."

"Also," Peyton adds, "when you have actors at the top of their game and Barry leading them through it, it becomes incredible. They're all so funny and so smart about their characters. The script is not only supported - it's made better."

Levinson enjoys working with actors, and is open to improvisation and looking for a spark of inspiration from his players and the parameters of a scene. "I experiment all the time," explains Levinson. "I'm constantly seeing what else I can bring out in the course of any given scene. A lot of times there are mistakes, and from those you begin to evolve a scene, and it changes from what it originally was. Filmmaking is a process of discovery, and there's always room for the unexpected to take place within the framework of a script."

Bruce Willis' Joe is the handsome hero-type for whom things always seem to turn out okay, even if he himself doesn't do much to make it that way. Peyton says, "Joe doesn't have much self-awareness and he's not given to a great deal of reflection. He's certainly not someone who thinks a great deal."

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