"a smart, witty thriller that keeps up the action and fun for most of the film." Stefan Halley HERO REALM "Hallelujah, it's fun." Walter Chaw FILM FREAK CENTRAL "Mr & Mrs Smith succeeds largely due to the sheer star power of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. What Pitt and Jolie lack in chemistry, they certainly make up for in charisma. That is the engine behind this film and it would have failed without it." Kerry Bashford NINEMSN MOVIES "A full-on action flick, subversive rom-com and weapons-grade star vehicle that’s drenched in Tinseltown glitz, from a director who knows how to put the money on the screen while his tongue’s firmly in his cheek." Simon Braund EMPIRE MAGAZINE UK

"Kinsberg’s highly tuned comedic dialogue pulls the film out of the fire by keeping the blistering husband and wife conflict chugging." Joshua Tyler CINEMABLEND.COM "... for the most part it's a film with enough snap, crackle and pop to keep the gob of any sceptic shut for a couple of hours - even if, at times, it's merely Jolie in a scant leotard that's causing the diversion." Clint Morris MOVIEHOLE "Echoing the black wit of the Jack Nicholson/Kathleen Turner classic Prizzi's Honor (1985) but with a screwball pace and doses of hi-tech action, it's not to be missed." Stella Papamichael BBC "...Liman continues to reinvigorate the action-thriller genre with verité-esque handheld camerawork and innovative fight choreography." Annlee Ellingson BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

The Inside Story There's no doubt about it. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie make one hell of a couple both on and off the screen. It doesn't take a lot of brains to see why. Their latest film, the action packed, romantic thriller "Mr & Mrs Smith" is just dripping with chemistry. I mean, after seeing two of Hollywoods hottest properties together on the screen could anyone blame them for hooking up? I doubt it. They sure make one very sexy couple. While their offscreen romance is blossoming onscreen it's the opposite. Jane and John Smiths marriage is in big trouble. It's become a marriage based on routine. The honeymoon is well and truly over for Mr & Mrs Smith who are in the hands of a marriage councellor. The idea for Mr & Mrs Smith first surfaced when screenwriter Simon Kinberg presented a draft screenplay for his Master’s thesis at Columbia University Film School. "The idea came from my passion for Hong Kong action films," says Kinberg. "The Hong Kong action films were cool, sleek, sexy and kinetic, and all that became the impetus and framework for my original draft." There are plenty of dynamics in "Mr & Mrs Smith" which mimic those action packed Hong Kong films, but a film which features a married couple who are secretly assassins seeking marriage guidance? Now that requires a lot of imagination! How did it come about? Over dinner with friends. "I was still trying to figure out the story, when my friends told me about their experiences in marriage counseling. It sounded like a kind of mercenary experience, which I felt could be grafted on the skin of an action movie," Kinberg recalls. He then took his script to Academy Award ® winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman who was so impressed with the "mix of action, adventure, romance, comedy and thrills", he couldn't help but champion it. It took a bit of shopping around but eventually Summit Entertainment and Regency Enterprises picked it up. That brought Pitt ("Johnny Suede ") onboard for the role of John Smith. Pitt and the production team then handpicked Doug Liman ("GO") to direct the film. "My previous film, "The Bourne Identity", celebrated Jason Bourne’s exceptional physical abilities," says Liman. "So I was excited "Mr & Mrs Smith" gave me the chance to make a film that said, 'Big deal, so you’re a highly-trained assassin. Try being married for six years; now that’s really impressive!' The film asks a question that is really fun to consider: How do assassins married to each other deal with their marital problems? Of course, the answer is, they try and kill each other." Now all they needed was an actress to co-star with Pitt as Mrs Smith. The actress the production team wanted was Angelina Jolie ("Playing by Heart") and they were in luck. A project had fallen through and Jolie had a slot in her very busy calendar. Goldsman, Liman and Producer Lucas Foster then set about convincing Jolie that "theirs was not a conventional action film. We spent time romancing Angie, says Foster, "talking to her about our vision for the film, because it’s the sort of movie that walks a fine line in terms of tone and what it’s trying to accomplish. At the end of the day, it’s a relationship movie. It has that great push-pull of people who want to be together, but life and circumstance interferes, and yet somehow they have to work their way through it if they want to stay together." Jolie was impressed. "There are dramatic scenes about relationship issues," she notes, "and huge action sequences and fight scenes that push the envelope, and also there is real comedy. It’s a great balance and it’s perfect because it’s just like real life and marriage." Of course leading a double life as assassins means John and Jane don't have too many friends. About the closet thing to a friend John has is Eddie, played by Vince Vaughn ("Rudy"). "Eddie is a different kind of assassin; he is frenetic and constantly arcing with energy," says Goldsman. "Throwing that into the John-Jane dynamic was a lot of fun." The nearest thing Jane has to a friend is co-worker Jasmine, played by Kerry Washington ("Our Song"). "Jane doesn’t have real friends," according to Jolie. "She doesn’t allow herself to get close to anyone because that would make her vulnerable. For Jane, getting close to someone is the most dangerous thing in the world, and that’s saying a lot for a killer." Learning how to handle themselves as 'killers' meant Brad and Angela had to attend 'spy' school. Here under the guidance of former S.E.A.L Team Two as well as S.E.A.L Team Six member Mark Stefanich the two stars trained for their roles. "We started them off with the basics, including weapons familiarization, proper stance, how to hold the weapon, safety and use," Stefanich explained. "We progressed to moving through and shooting at multiple targets." It was a new experience for the two stars. "Brad and I have separately appeared in action films, but that’s a specific method of training," says Jolie. "I’ve never had a partner on film before and it’s very different working with one. We had to learn to move in tandem with fully loaded pump shotguns, crossing each other, running into houses, breaking and covering an area, shooting at moving targets. It was crazy, but we learned to trust each other." And don't go thinking the two stars of "Mr & Mrs Smith" took their training lightly. According to Stefanich both were very serious about coming across as highly credible in their roles. "They learned on the firing range how difficult it really is to become proficient with a firearm; how you can’t shoot from the hip and hit targets unless you happen to be a world champion shooter." Stunt Coordinator Simon Crane agrees with Stefanich. "The actors needed to learn a variety of the skills, such as weapons, firing rockets, driving cord bikes, and rock climbing. And to make it all look real, Brad and Angie constantly had to absorb new skills, and look like they’d been doing the tasks for years. There were lots of rehearsals. An audience wants to see the actors do their own stunts," he said. "They don’t want to see CG. People want to go to movies to be entertained by their favorite actors. I’d rather spend time rehearsing, testing, making it safe for the actors and then putting them in situations that look precarious." But there was something both Director Liman and Scriptwriter Kinberg found very scary. What was it? A scene in the film when Jane and John dance! "The first time John and Jane dance, they are both leading. Sometimes he leads, sometimes she leads; they’re competing. It’s a bit anonymous. The characters are a little drunk; they don’t know who the other person is and the excitement and energy of the space informs the dance," says Kinsberg. "Directing the scenes of John and Jane Smith dancing scared me more than any other," Liman reveals, "and that’s saying a lot because this was a logistically complicated shoot. The dance scenes are some of the most romantic, and exciting work I’ve ever put on film." The 'hot' dance scene is just a small part though of what all adds up to an action packed film that many will find highly entertaining and full on escapism. "In the end," says Liman, "Mr & Mrs Smith is a spectacle that riffs on something we all struggle with, which is living with another human being." Lets hope both Brad and Angelina can find in real life what they do onscreen as Jane and John in "Mr & Mrs Smith". Casting About "MR & MRS SMITH" stars .......
Golden Globe winner Brad Pitt ["Meet Joe Black", "The Mexican", "Fight Club", "Oceans Eleven", "Oceans Twelve" and "Troy"]; Academy Award ® and Three times Golden Globe Award winner Angelina Jolie ["Girl, Interrupted", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", "Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life", "The Bone Collector" and "Pushing Tin"]; Adam Brody ["Grind", "The Ring" and TV's "O.C"]; Kerry Washington ["She Hate Me", "Strip Search", "Against the Ropes", "The Human Stain" and "Ray"]; Keith David ["Agent Cody Banks", "Barber Shop", "Head of State", "The Chronicles Of Riddick" and "Crash"]; Stephanie March ["Head Of State" and "Focus Room"]; Matt Gallini ["Born to Lose", "End Of Days", "Mulholland Drive" and "2Fast 2Furious"]; Michelle Monaghan ["Perfume", "Unfaithful", "The Bourne Supremacy" and "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang"] and Vince Vaughn ["Swingers", "Made", "Starsky & Hutch" and "Thumbsucker"] as Eddie. Crew Bytes "MR & MRS SMITH" was .......
directed by Doug Liman ["Swingers", "The Bourne Identity" and produced "See Jane Run" and "Kissing Jessica Stein"]; screenplay by Simon Kinberg ["Ghost Town", "XXX The Next Level" and "The Fantastic Four"]; costume design by Michael Kaplan ["Fight Club", "Pearl Harbor", "Panic Room", "Trapped" and "Matchstick Men"]; production design by Jeff Mann ["Gone in 60 Seconds", "Terminator 3", "Swordfish" and "Showtime"]; edited by Michael Tronick ["Beverly Hills Cop II", "S.W.A.T", "The Scorpion King", "Meet Joe Black" and "The Last Boy Scout"]; cinematography Bojan Bazelli ["The Ring", "Dangerous Beauty", "The Body Snatchers" and "The Rapture"]; original music by John Powell ["Alfie", "The Italian Job", "The Bourne Identity" and "Be Cool"]; the producers include Lucas Foster ["Dangerous Minds", "Crimson Tide", "Bad Boys", "Van Wilder: Party Liason", "Walking Tall" and "Man On Fire"], 2001 Academy Award, Golden Globe and Writers Guild Award winner for "A Beautiful MInd" Akiva Goldsman ["Lost in Space", "Deep Blue Sea", "Starsky & Hutch" and "Constantine"] and Arnon Milchan ["The King of Comedy", "Once Upon at Time in America", "Pretty Woman" and "The War Of The Roses"]. What It's All About Mr & Mrs Smith have a problem. After six years of marriage things aren't going to well. They're in the hands of a marriage councellor. After a whirlwind romance and a quick wedding, things have become a little dull. A little too normal. Perhaps it's the stress of their jobs? But things are about to pickup for John and Jane Smith. Both have been hiding a secret life. They are extremely well paid assassins. Each morning it's been a routine of off to another assignment. When their paths cross while on the job they unwittingly blow their cover. Now Mr & Mrs Smith are on a new mission. To kill each other. At last things are really looking up. Being married has never been so fulfilling. So exciting. At last there's a reason to be together. Well, until death do they part so to speak. The insults and bullets are flying as John and Jane try to kill each other off. The Verdict "There is so much chemistry here you'd be forgiven for thinking Brad & Angelina had a real thing going. It turns out they did! It's outrageous. It's over the top. Its totally whacky. Its magnificently implausible. But guess what. Its really quite entertaining. Go along for one hell of a ride with Mr & Mrs Smith. Total fantasy. Lots of charm. Plenty of over the top action. It may not be the solution for every dull marriage but it works well for "Mr & Mrs Smith". Easy to Recommend." The Cast

Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Vince Vaughn Adam Brody Kerry Washington Elijah Alexander Theresa Barrera Ron Bottitta Miguel Caballero Dita de Leon Sabi Dorr Greg Ellis Matt Gallini Francis Hadinoto Mark Harwell Amy Hathaway Rachael Huntley Benton Jennings Mark Kubr Peter Lavin Sean Mahon Kevin Makely Stephanie March Michelle Monaghan Jennifer Morrison Mark Newsom Jimmy Ortega Jordan Osher Edward Padilla Perrey Reeves

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John Smith Jane Smith Eddie Benjamin Jasmine Marco Racin Janet Charlie Bell Boy Dancer Bodyguard Curtis Algerian Assassin Taxi Driver Fathers Bodyguard Beauty Suzy Coleman Maitre'd Lead Assasin Mickey Lucky Doorman Julie Gwen Jade CIA Escort Guard Leader Druglord Assassin Colombian Police Captain Jessie

The Crew Directed by Doug Liman Written by Simon Kinberg Produced by Lucas Foster/Akiva Goldsman/Eric McLeod Arnon Milchan/Patrick Wachsberger Original Music by John Powell Cinematography by Bojan Bazelli Film Editing by Michael Tronick Casting by Joseph Middleton & Michelle Morris Production Design by Jeff Mann Art Direction by Keith Neely Set Decoration by Victor J Zolfo Costume Design by Michael Kaplan Production Manager Kelly Kiernan Production Supervisor Diane L Sabatini Run Time 120 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - 20th Century Fox - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved