Passengers is a 2016 American science-fiction romance film written and directed by Morten Tyldum. Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star, with Laurence Fishburne and Michael Sheen providing support. It follows two passengers on an enormous interstellar spacecraft carrying thousands of people to a colony 60 light-years from Earth. The two are jolted out of their induced hibernation pods 90 years early. But did you know what the inspiration for the bar scenes in the movie was?
The bar scenes in “Passengers” are inspired by the Overlook Hotel bar in The Shining. The appearance and layout are similar, and both bartenders wore red are not human.
The Bouncing Passenger
It has been said that Hollywood is running out of ideas, but the Black List claims that they have more than enough. The Black List is an annual list of the most popular unproduced motion picture screenplays. Passengers, the 125-page space thriller, reached the top of the list in 2007, so it was only a matter of time before the script was greenlit.
No, not exactly. The screenplay bounced from studio to studio for a while before landing at Sony seven years later. When Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence signed on, the studio wasted no time getting production underway. (Source: We Got This Covered)
Was Keanu Reeves in the Film?
Company Films also produce passengers, a company co-founded by the Chosen One himself, Keanu Reeves. When he first got the script, Reeves had faith in the story and thought he had a hit on his hands, so he cast himself in the lead role.
He was attached to it for a long time but eventually dropped out, and Pratt took his place. It would have been nice to see the actor return to a big-budget sci-fi film, but we have no problem with Pratt filling in for him. (Source: We Got This Covered)
How Much was the Budget for the Film?
Space operas are typically expensive, but Passengers was originally given a $35 million budget. That may appear to be a small amount, but can we blame the studio? At the time, space-themed films did not dominate in theaters, and only big-name franchises seemed to crack the box office code, prompting Sony to be a little frugal when it came to shelling out the cash for production. (Source: We Got This Covered)
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratts’ Kissing Scenes
Jennifer Lawrence made her mark in the young adult film genre by avoiding sex scenes in her previous roles. When she signed on for Passengers, the tension was at an all-time high because it was not only her first sex scene but also her first kissing scene with a married actor. Lawrence reportedly got tipsy on set before filming to help her get through it, as the alcohol put her at ease when things got hot and heavy. (Source: We Got This Covered)
Jennifer Lawrence’s Stand on Equality
Jennifer Lawrence shocked Hollywood when she wrote an essay for Lenny Letter and spoke out about gender pay disparities in Hollywood. She posed the following question:
Why do I make less than my male co-stars?”
Jennifer Lawrence
And Sony responded with a check for 20 million dollars. Meanwhile, Pratt is set to earn $12 million for the film, proving that Jennifer’s words did not go unnoticed. (Source: We Got This Covered)
Image from GQ.com