Collateral (2004) - 19 questions

Question: What was the knife that Cruise used in the cab to cut Max loose and later in the club fight?

Answer: It is a Sebenza made by Chris Reeve.

Question: When Lenny calls the first time, Vincent looks at Annie's business card in the mirror and gives Max a look. Does this imply that Vincent knows that this is his last target? His conversation with Max about whether or not he should call Annie suggests otherwise, but I was curious.

Answer: Vincent already knows that Annie is one of the targets on his "hit list." He was probably just surprised that Max had her business card.

Question: What is the name of the song that is played in the cab when Max is driving Annie? She tells him to turn it up.

Answer: Hands of Time by Groove Armada.

Question: After Vincent shoots Max's muggers and returns to the taxi, he asks Max where the button is. What button is he referring to?

Answer: The button to turn off the emergency flashers.

Question: I was wondering what the name of the song is that plays as Max and Vincent drive off after the first killing. It plays through for a while, until the cop calls for backup.

Answer: You mean the one where Fanning is looking for Ramon in his apartment? It's called "Rollin' Crumblin'" by Tom Rothrock.

Question: In the scene where Vincent chases Max onto the subway, it appears they don't get on the same train. Am I missing something?

Answer: They board the same train. The whole deal with the two trains is just to keep the suspense going and keep the viewer guessing whether Vincent chooses the right train or not.

Question: About how long would Annie's cab ride in the beginning of the movie have taken in real time?

Answer: From LAX to Downtown, about 40 minutes to an hour. Depending on the traffic getting out of the airport and heading to downtown.

Question: I forget his name, but he's the cop that rescues Max at Fever, and Vincent shoots him. I'm just wondering does he die? It shows him putting on bullet proof vest and it shows he gets shot in the chest so I'm not sure.

Answer: Vincent's standard shooting pattern is established as two in the chest, followed by a head shot. We see Fanning get hit twice in the chest, then, as the camera cuts to shot Vincent, he fires a third shot, presumably into Fanning's head, killing him.

Question: Why was Vincent so mesmerized by the coyote?

Answer: The coyote may be a metaphor for Vincent's life. A lone predator lost in a world that doesn't understand him.

Question: What is the name of the song in the night club?

Answer: "Ready Steady Go", by Paul Oakenfold.

Question: Max rambles a bit sometimes. But why does he say "I'm collateral anyway" in the scene after Vincent shot the Jazz player?

Answer: By this point, he's pretty much figured out that Vincent's going to kill him at the end of the night - given the lengths that Vincent goes to to prevent people from seeing his face, he's hardly going to leave somebody who could easily identify him alive. The term 'collateral damage' is used to describe individuals who are killed as the result of targeting somebody else - like a civilian standing near a military target who's killed by a bomb aiming at that target. Max isn't the target of Vincent's hits, but he knows that he'll end up dead anyway.

Question: Did Vincent die from wounds sustained during the shootout in Annie's office, or was he mortally wounded only during the final exchange of fire on the train? At first it seemed he was hit in the office (he *was* knocked down from an impact), but he managed to chase them around the subway for quite a bit with no noticeable effects. In the train, it looked like all of Max's shots hit the door, but I may be wrong.

Answer: Max's shot in Annie's workplace only skimmed the side of Vincent's head - not really that bad an injury, but enough to snap his head around, sending him to the floor. Vincent does indeed die from the wound sustained during the final exchange of fire. While at least one of Max's shots hit the door, from the damage seen, he's not trained with guns, so the bullets would be quite widely spread - obviously one got past the doorframe to hit Vincent.

Question: In the Scene where Max shoots Vincent in the building, where does Vince get hit? Blood came out which I would assume would be the throat, but that would have killed him, or is this just a mistake?

Answer: I believe the shot hit him in the right cheek as that is where most of the blood is. I think it more grazed the cheek, as Vincent can't really talk when he is first shot but on the train can talk a bit more easily.

Question: Is there any specific reason for Jason Statham's cameo at the start of the film as the man who gives Tom Cruise the briefcase?

Answer: There doesn't seem to be any reason as for Statham's cameo, however one theory comes to mind. A number of years before Statham started starring in Hollywood films, he made his break in the hit low budget "Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels". Apparently Tom Cruise was one of the major hollywood people who loved the film and was keen to do an American remake of the film. Possibly he wanted to try and work with him and the cameo was a perfect opportunity.

Question: What does Tom Cruise's character say to the owner of the jazz place after he shoots him in the head ?

Answer: It's been a while since I saw the movie, but he said something along the lines of: "[Miles Davis] dropped out of Julliard after six months and found a bar on 57th street, where he met Charlie Parker, who mentored him for three years."

Question: What is written on the glass panel separating the driver from the passenger in Max's cab?

Answer: The driver only carries $5 at any time, or something like that.

Question: What's the name of the island that Jamie Foxx thinks about when work gets rough?

Answer: The Maldives.

Question: What is the song playing after Jamie Foxx stops for the coyote to cross the street?

Answer: "Shadow on the Sun" by Audioslave.

Question: I noticed from the previews that this movie looks very different. What is it? Is it a digital camera that has been used? Or no lighting effects used? The movie really has a "behind the scene" feel.

Answer: It was shot with a digital camera. IMDB is a great place to answer questions like this. Go to *Technical Specifications* in the *Other Info* section of the menu on the left hand side of the screen.