​THE TRANSPORTER​

 

  
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  • About The Transporter Movie

  • Making of The Transporter

  • The Transporter Storyline

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  • The Rules

  • The Car

  • Frank Martin's House

  • Darren Bettencourt and The Mansion

  • Knoc-Turn'Al Music Video

  • Bank Robbery Scene

  • Soundtrack and Music

  • Weapons Inventory

  • Weapons Pictures

  • The Plane and Aerial Filming

  • The Watch

  • The Acquirer Movie

  • Frank Martin Action Figures and Video

  • Still Photography

  • Jason and Matt Interviews

  • Shu Qi Page

  • Cast and Crew Autographs

  • Côte d' Azur & Paris Filming Locations

  • Contact and Copyright Notice

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    About The Transporter Movie

    The Transporter Movie

    The Transporter is a 2002 French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen. Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kaman.

     

     

    The action film stars Jason Statham, as Frank Martin, a secretive driver for hire.  A mercenary "transporter" who will deliver anything, anywhere. No questions asked – for the right price.

     

    The Transporter is  based on the BMW film series, The Hire.

     

     

     

    Matt Schulze co-stars in the movie as "Wallstreet/Darren Bettencourt".

    Filmed in Paris and the South of France in 2001

    Production Start Date: October 1, 2001

    Days of location filming: 87

    Premier Date: October 02, 2002  (Mann Village Theatre- Westwood, CA)

    Production Budget: $21,000,000

    Printed Fil Formt: Fuji 35mm Anamorphic F-CP 3519D

    Sound Mix: DTS-ES  / Dolby Digital EX

    Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1​

    Camera: Panavision Camera and Lenses​

    Total Run Time: 92 Minutes​

    Release Date: October 2002

    MPAA Rating (PG-13)

    Distribution: 20th Century Fox

     

    Production Company: EuropaCorp /TF1 Films/Current Entertainment

     

    The Transporter film was translated into several languages and released in over 35 Countries.

     

    See below for the foreign translated film titles -

     

    • Le Transporteur - France

    • Carga Explosiva - Brazil

    • El transportador - Latin America

    • Перевозчик - Russia

    • Tasiyici - Turkey

    • Nguoi Van Chuyen - Vietnam

    • Wan ming kuai di - China

    • Correio de Risco - Portugal

    • A szállító - Hungary

    • Kurýr - Czech Republic

     

    Frank Martin (Jason Statham) in a scene from the movie filmed on a set "Frank's house" near Cassis, France. The set was constructed right on the mediteranian sea on a popular vista view point near Port Miou in Cassis, France.

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    The actual property is owned by a French restaurant,  La Presqu'île. The restaurant owners rented the property to the producers and the set was built in 3 about three weeks. The house was not blown up as shown in the movie. All of flames and expolsions seen in the movie were added in post production by a special effects company (Pierre Blain / Eclair Numérique Company).

    Jason Statham and Shu Qi at the premier of The Transporter in Westwood Village, CA

    Great Review of The Transporter movie -

     

    "It's junk with a capital J. The sooner you realize that, the more quickly you can settle down to enjoying it."

     

    Eric Harrison, of the Houston Chronicle

     

     

    Follow Eric Harrison on Twitter

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    The Transporter

    Wallstreet (Matt Schulze). These scenes (Wallstreet's House) were filmed at the Chateau des Fayeres mansion located in Cannes, France. The director (Louis Leterrier) allowed Matt to set up most of these mansion scenes. Matt improvised and developed a lot of what we see in this part of the movie (the pool area, the car approach, running up the stairs and the various interactions with Jason Statham. He also came up with the line, "...I like him". Most of these scenes were shot on Matt's first day on the job. When interviewed, Matt stated that his goal on this movie was to develop the character and make it interesting...."not just read some lines....and initially Jason had some problems with my style, but Louis the director gave me some range to develop the character....and what you see on screen is the character come alive. Wallstreet was this raven kinda guy in a bad suit with a bad haircut and a real  sick aura that you could see and feel. They cut a lot of my scenes out of the movie, some real great scenes...for that reason I've never really watched the movie from start to finish......outside of the premier. I was disappointed that so many of these scenes would be lost forever. I think I brought some Orson Wells to that character".

    The Hire Series (by BMW Films, Ltd.)

    ​The BMW film series, The Hire was a series of eight short films (averaging about 6-10 minutes each) produced for the internet (download) in 2001 and 2002. A form of branded content. All eight films featured popular filmmakers from across the globe, starred Clive Owen and highlighted the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles.

     

     

     

     

     

    The Transporter Movie

    The plots of each of the films differ, but one constant remains....Clive Owen plays "The Driver", a man who goes from place to place (in presumably rented BMW automobiles), getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.

    At the time, BMW had huge success with this film series and delivered the films via the BMW Films website. Over 2 million people registired at the site to view the first release. BMW also produced a limited number of DVD's to be sold through BMW dealers and the website.

    In 2000 and 2001 a screenplay was written (The Transporter) by Luc Besson and  Robert Mark Kamen that appears to be very much adapted from the BMW film series "The Hire". The actual details of this connection to the BMW produced "The Hire" film series is not widely  known.  However; some sources connected to the production of The Transporter movie have confirmed that the connection exists and that BMW viewed The Transporter as an extension of "The Hire" film series and a potential huge product placement platform. Luc Besson was influenced by The Hire series and The Transporter screenplay was comissioned.

    The Transporter

    Clive Owen - "The Driver"

    The Hire Film Series -  

     

    On October 21, 2005, BMW stopped distribution of The Hire on DVD and removed all eight films from the BMW Films website just four years after the first film debuted. The series was abandoned, reportedly because the project had become too expensive to produce. BMW's Vice President of Marketing James McDowell, originator of the BMW Films project, left BMW to become the VP of sales and marketing for BMW's "Mini USA" division. The film series had been downloaded over 100 million times in 4 years!

    Note: In 2007 Matt Schulze developed a film called "The Acquirer". He filmed, directed and starred in the production that was filmed in Paris, France. It was shot as a short film (40 minutes) and was to be an ongoing series as The Hire was. The Acquirer was also delivered via the web at www.cinsay.com to those who registirred at the site. See "The Acquirer" tab on this site for more information.

     

     

    The Hire film(s) can be seen on YouTube and the compilation DVD is available frequently on eBay. The Acquirer movie is not available from any source at this time, but we expect to see it available at some point in the future (iTunes, Amazon, or even the Cinsay site).

     

    Clive Owen (the Hire) would eventually go on to work with both Jason Statham and Steven Chasman (Producer - The Transporter) in the 2011 film, Killer Elite. See below.

    Follow Clive Owen on Twitter

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    The Hire

    The Making of The Hire

    See "The Making of The Hire"Film -

     

        

    Click The Hire logo at left to see more about The Hire series  -

     

    The Transporter Movie

    Click the video below to see the actors arrive at The Transporter premier -

    The Transporter Movie

    Click above to see The Original Transporter movie trailer -

     

     

    Original Premier Press Release

    Original Premier Press Release

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    Google maps location of the Mann Village Theater -

    The Transporter Movie

    Royal Harbor at The Transporter premier -

    The Transporter Movie

    Steven Chasman, Jason Statham, Shu Qi and Luc Besson at The Transporter premier -

    Click the Fox logo above to see the original premier press release -

    The Transporter Movie
    The Transporter Movie

    Killer Elite is a 2011 action thriller film starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro. Produced by Steven Chasman -

     

      

    Click the Killer Elite poster above to see more about the film  -

     

    The Transporter Movie

    Luc Besson at The Transporter premier -

     

    The Transporter Movie
    The Transporter Movie

    Luc Besson film production company's links above-