"Assault on Precinct 13 is one hell of an action thriller in the tradition of the poetically violent films of Sam Peckinpah." Jaimie Leonarder THE MOVIE SHOW SBS "Laurence Fishburne brings the kind of ballast to his role as crime boss Marion Bishop (what's in a name?) as Gene Hackman might, full of authority and charisma." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE "John Carpenter's original ‘Assault On Precinct 13’, which was made in 1976, was a first-class thriller which owed a lot to westerns in general and Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo’ in particular. It was tough, energetic and memorable, and I went to see this remake with some trepidation. Fortunately, director Jean-Francois Richet, who made a couple of rather obscure action films in his native France, does a pretty good job with the material." David Stratton ABC-AT THE MOVIES "I thought it was really quite effective and enjoyable as an action thriller." Margaret Pomeranz ABC-AT THE MOVIES "Trashy '70s Carpenter flick gets a startlingly good remake that's smart, swift and full of bruising good times for B-movie action fans." James Rocchi NETFLIX

"Fans should appreciate the remake for what it is: a breathless little revisit to that old precinct house, expertly performed." Moira MacDonald SEATTLE TIMES "Gets a ruthless grip on the audience's throat early and never lets go." Colin Covert MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE "Hawke and Fishburne make it work, supported by a mostly strong cast." Jami Bernard NEW YORK DAILY NEWS "...a solid genre picture of gritty mayhem and spirited characterizations" Laura Clifford REELING REVIEWS "It's a good old-fashioned shoot-'em-up with a few nice twists and some very good acting." Paul Clinton CNN "The clash of seething, seeming opposites who really do see eye to eye, as embodied by Hawke and Fishburne, is pretty near irresistible." Cynthia Fuchs POPMATTERS

The Inside Story

"Gleefully filled with corruption, violence, paranoia, thug-speak and mayhem. It's mad, it's bad and it's bloody. Yep, it's a bonafide blast." Tom Long DETROIT NEWS

"I already knew that John Carpenter’s film Assault on Precinct 13 was a cult classic when Pascal Caucheteux and I began discussing a new version," Director Jean-François Richet revealed. "Our challenge in making Assault on Precinct 13, or AP13, was to modernize the material without weakening the way the tension ratchets up. I think James DeMonaco’s screenplay achieves this perfectly; he has created a great new character based action thriller." And folks, you can take that as gospel. I can reveal that there was a fair bit of trepidation that "Aussault on Precinct 13" may have been a fizzer. Well don't you believe it. This is a beast right from the opening scenes. A very fine 'action genre' beast indeed. While the big attention grabber for those comptemplating taking in "Aussault on Precinct 13" will be its two 'star' actors Ethan Hawke ["Dead Poets Society" & author of "The Hottest State" (1996) & "Ash Wednesday" (2002)] and Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World Award winner Laurence Fishburne ["What’s Love Got To Do With It"], what truly makes "Assault On Precinct 13 so enjoyable [make that fascinating] to watch is two other important factors. The first is its excellent support cast which includes; Maria Bello who recently was seen starring opposite William H Macy in the critically acclaimed "The Cooler". The film that saw their co-star Alec Baldwin win the 2004 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award [take my advice, hire the DVD and tell me this isn't one fabulous movie]; multitalented screen icon Brian Dennehy ["Gorky Park"]; EMMY, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winner John Leguizamo ["Casualties of War"]; actor, writer, producer Gabriel Byrne ["The Usual Suspects"]; hip-hop recording artist and composer Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins ["Back in the Day"] and Drea de Matteo ["The Sopranos"]. As every cinemagoer knows it takes more than a fine cast, delivering a fine performance to make an action film [or any film for that fact] really fire on all cyclinders. The second factor that makes "Assault On Precinct 13 work so well is its realism. It's easy to bond to the hapless characters trapped inside the old precinct building and it makes you anxious about how the hell they are going to survive and just who the hell will survive this merciless, all-out assault. A very violent assault indeed. After all there is as much at stake in this deadly drama being played out in the middle of a snow storm. Just as interesting is the story behind the making of Assault on Precinct 13. The idea of revisting John Carpenter's 1976 cult classic "Assault On Precinct 13 came about when Producer Pascal Caucheteux was producing director Jean-François Ríchet’s second feature, "Crack City". Executive Producer Sebastien Kurt Lemercier recalls, "Pascal was looking at Jean-François’ film in the editing room and thought there was a feel, a vibrancy to it that reminded him of one of his favorite movies, Assault on Precinct 13. There was an urban western quality to the violence that Jean-François had captured which sparked his remembrance of the John Carpenter movie. Pascal said to me that we should contact Carpenter and try to find a way to remake his movie!" Catching up with Carpenter would not be an easy task though. "It took quite a while to get in touch with him," Lemercier recalled. "We e-mailed him to explain that we were a smaller French company, producing auteur films for art houses. We also got in touch with his lawyer. Then, suddenly, we got an answer back from Carpenter’s wife that we could meet with him in L.A." The two men "promptly flew to California and met with Carpenter in the garage office of his home." Lemercier remembers the meeting well, and the setting. "John sat behind his desk, surrounded by this beautiful library full of books. Science-fiction books, books about cinema. We spoke about our doing a remake." But Carpenter wanted to see Richet's film before giving his approval. "We gave him a tape of Jean-Francois’ movie "Crack City" and we also gave him this very beautiful vintage French poster of Rio Bravo," Lemercier said. "That was what really broke the ice, because John reveres Howard Hawks and had quoted the Western throughout his movie, which is really an urban Western. John basically invented that genre with Assault on Precinct 13, and we wanted to make an urban Western of our own." And what was Carpenters reaction to Richet's film? "When Carpenter saw the tape of Jean-François’ film, he was impressed by the raw energy and the roughness of the style. He truly appreciated the film, says Caucheteux." In fact, Carpenter was so impressed with Richet's film that when invited to the Turin Film Festival in Italy he asked the producers to meet him there. Here he announced that they could buy the rights to the French and English language versions of his 1976 classic. But there was one stipulation, they could only buy the rights if Jean-François Richet agreed to direct the film. With Richet on board and Carpenter's blessing, Why Not Productions was in business. When it came to a script everyone agreed that "someone who knew the dramatics of American moviemaking should script it," Caucheteux said. James DeMonaco was the ideal choice, after all he had written the script for "The Negotiator" which was also about a standoff. But DeMonaco needed convincing. "I was enthusiastic about the prospect, but I wanted to know if John Carpenter was giving his blessing to the project. I didn’t want to write it if he wasn’t happy that it was going to be made. But when they told me he sold them the rights, was totally on board, and would even give me notes on the script, then I got very excited to take the original idea somewhere new." DeMonaco and Richet would become a real team. "James and I developed a close working relationship", says Richet. "Within a year, we had a terrific script that we knew would attract a great ensemble cast. The reason being, the script is different from most action movies being made today, which are just about action. This movie is about the characters. We wanted the spirit of this movie to be more like films from the 1970s, or [the earlier] Bullitt and The Great Escape." So why did they shift "Assault On Precinct 13" away from sunny Los Angeles to the bleak, snow driven winter of Detroit? "The original film was based upon a gang threat in society that I don’t think exists as much today, DeMonaco explained. "So we veered away from that. The opposing force we have in "Assault On Precinct 13" gives the plot a big twist that the original didn’t have." That twist and the end result of the siege on Precinct 13 makes for very exciting viewing! Casting About "ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13" stars .......
Ethan Hawke ["The Newton Boys", "Tape", "Training Day" and "Before Sunset"]; Laurence Fishburne ["Event Horizon", "Biker Boyz", "The Matrix I, II & III" and "Mystic River"]; Brian Dennehy ["Gladiator", "Summer Catch", "Out of the Cold" and "Stolen Summer"]; Gabriel Byrne ["Enemy Of The State", "Stigmata", "Spider", "Ghost Ship" and "Vanity Fair"]; Aisha Hinds ["Love Aquarium" and "Neo Ned"]; Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins ["The Fast and The Furious", "Half Past Dead", "Scary Movie 3" and "Shall We Dance"]; 2002 ALMA Award for Entertainer of the Year John Leguizamo ["Spawn", "Moulin Rouge!", "Collateral Damage" and "Spun"] and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Maria Bello ["Coyote Ugly", "The Cooler", "Secret Window" and "Silver City"] as Alex Sabian. Crew Bytes "ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13" was .......
directed by Jean-François Richet ["All About Love"]; screenplay by James DeMonaco ["Red", "Jack" and "The Negotiator"]; original 1976 film by John Carpenter ["Starman", "Big Trouble In Little China", "Escape From L.A", "Vampires" and "Ghosts of Mars"]; costume design by Vicki Graef ["Kandyland", "China Moon", "Half Baked" and "Three to Tango"] and Georgina Yarhi ["Dogmatic", "Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story" and "Wrong Turn"]; production design by Paul D Austerberry ["Exit Wounds", "The Tuxedo", "Highwaymen" and "Resident Evil: Apocalypse"]; edited by Bill Pankow ["Body Double", "The Bonfire of the Vanities", "Naked In New York" and "Money Train"]; cinematography Robert Gantz ["Mindhunters" and "Sleeping Dogs Lie"]; original music by Graeme Revell ["Blow", "Lara Croft Tomb Raider I", "High Crimes" and "Open Water"] produced by Pascal Caucheteux ["The Sentinel" and "Kings and Queen"]; Jeffrey Silver ["The Santa Clause", "Training Day", "The Santa Clause 2" and "National Security"]; Stephane Sperry ["They Call It an Accident" and "Plus grandir"] and Stephen Sperry ["Assault on Precinct 13"]. What It's All About

"Director Jean-François Richet expertly directs the action so that the constant tension continues to escalate. All in all a fast-paced, tense, entertaining 109 minutes." Tony Medley TONYMEDLEY.COM

Reassigned after a drug bust resulted in the death of his two partners, Sergeant Jake Roenick is looking forward to spending what he believes will a quiet New Years Eve at Detroit's Precinct 13. The dilapidated Precinct 13 will close down from midnight and Roenick and his staff will move to the modern, hi-tech, Precinct 21. What should have been a quiet celebration takes a turn for the worse when a prison bus is diverted because of a snow storm and Roenick is ordered to house the prisoners, including crime boss Marion Bishop in his cells. All is quiet until two masked gunmen break into the Precinct. In the ensuing gunfight, the two prison officer who were assigned to the prisoners are fatally wounded. Roenick surmises they were after Bishop. It is the prelude to an all out assault on Precinct 13. An assault that will lead Roenick to release and arm the prisoners in an effort to survive till daylight. As the night wears on, those outside Precinct 13, armed with high powered assault rifles, body armour and night vision throw down everything they have at the building and those defending it, in an effort to get inside. The Verdict "If you love the action genre then look no further than Jean-François Richet's "Assault On Precinct 13". Relocated from down town Los Angeles and transported to Detroit, in the middle of a blizzard, the film offers a solid cast, tough action scenes and plenty of thrills as those inside try to survive till daylight. Once the action starts the film runs at a frenetic pace that will keep audience s on their toes, while trying to secondguess as to who will survive. A good, twisitng, blood and guts seige never goes astray, now does it? Recommended? It sure is!" The Cast

Ethan Hawke Laurence Fishburne Brian Dennehy Gabriel Byrne Aisha Hinds Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins John Leguizamo Maria Bello Peter Bryant Fulvio Cecere Kim Coates Matt Craven Drea de Matteo Hugh Dillon Tig Fong Jasmin Geljo Currie Graham Jessica Greco Dorian Harewood Robert Hayley Philip Marshall Arnold Pinnock Ed Queffelec Sasha Roiz Dave Tommasini Melissa Thomson Alan Vrkljan Titus Welliver

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Jake Roenick Marion Bishop Jasper O'Shea Marcus Duvall Anna Smiley Beck Alex Sabian Lieut Holloway Ray Ray Rosen Capra Iris Ferry Tony Danny Barbero Marko Kahane Coral Gil Sniper James Hagen Carlyle Bronco Gunman Jason Elias Pilot Lawyer Sniper Sebastien Milos

The Crew Directed by Jean-François Richet Screenplay by James DeMonaco Produced by Pascal Caucheteux/Jeffrey Silver/Stephane Sperry/Stephen Sperry Original Music by Graeme Revell Cinematography by Robert Gantz Film Editing by Bill Pankow Casting by Kerry Barden & Robin D Cook Production Design by Paul D Austerberry Art Direction by Nigel Churcher Set Decoration by Steven Essam Costume Design by Vicki Graef & Georgina Yarhi Run Time 109 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Rogue Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved