! ! ! ! Production! Notes For additional publicity materials and artwork, please visit: ! http://www.lionsgatepublicity.com/theatrical/heist/ MPAA: R for violence, pervasive language and some sexual content Run time: 90 minutes !U.S. Release Date: November 13, 2015 (In Theaters and On Demand) For more information, please contact: Liz Berger Lionsgate 2700 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 P: 310-255-3092 E: [email protected] ! SYNOPSIS When their attempt to rob a casino owned by the feared gangster Pope (Robert De Niro) goes awry and a shootout ensues, Vaughn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Cox (Dave Bautista) are forced to flee on foot and hijack city Bus 657 and take the passengers hostage. Now, in a high speed chase, Vaughn will not only have to outwit the police, led by Officer Bajos (Gina Carano) who are in hot pursuit, but he will have to contend with Pope’s maniacal right hand man, Dog (Morris Chestnut), in order to make it through the day alive. But we quickly learn that things are not what they seem, and Vaughn has more than one card up his sleeve. HEIST will be released by Lionsgate Premiere in theaters and On Demand November 13th, 2015. ! Lionsgate Premiere, Grindstone Entertainment Group and Emmett Furla Oasis Films present in association with The Fyzz Facility, in association with RPI, LLC, an Emmett Furla Oasis Films production, in association with Silver Plane Films, Trivision Pictures, Inc. and Mass Hysteria Entertainment Company, Inc., a film by Scott Mann. ! ! PLANNING A CRACKERJACK HEIST When screenwriter Stephen Cyrus Sepher, who also co-stars in the film as Dante, conceived of HEIST, he was envisioning a thriller “where the heist and the crime occur in different places.” Inspired by the clever, stylish Rat Pack movies starring Frank Sinatra and Sepher’s hero Dean Martin as icy cool rogues, which gave rise to the popular Ocean’s Eleven casino heist films with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, Sepher set out to write an homage, but one that incorporated other types of thrillers as well. HEIST kicks things off with an inside job, but then it segues into an out-of-control chase that tips its hat to Speed, all along navigating the kinds of sharp turns and deceptions that made The Usual Suspects and The Sting must-see-twice movies. For Producer Randall Emmett (Everest, Lone Survivor), the co-founder of Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO) with longtime producing partner George Furla, the story of a casino heist-turned-bus hijacking had all the elements of a crowd-pleasing action thriller. With its ticking clock, pulsating action, and rich characters in high dramatic stakes, HEIST had enough to make for a true roller-coaster ride of a movie. “I personally enjoy films like HEIST,” says actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, (upcoming Desierto, The Adventures of Beatle) who portrays card dealer and father Luke Vaughn. “I like films where you just settle in with a box of popcorn for some thrills, a few surprises, a couple of good laughs, and enjoy the ride. That’s what HEIST is – it’s fun.” When director Scott Mann (The Tournament) first read HEIST, he responded immediately to the suspense and action, but quickly noticed another crucial element that grounded the material -- a diverse cast of relatable characters who develop and change over the course of the film. “It’s hard enough to develop characters in a typical action film when you only have lots of action pieces and only few characters and a lot of faceless bad guys,” Mann said. “But showing character development is even more difficult to do with a lot of characters, combined with all the time devoted to the action. In HEIST, the characters really are the spine -- the backbone -- of what drives the story’s action.” The focus on character is what attracted Oscar®-winning actor and filmmaker Robert De Niro, who signed on to star as casino owner and criminal boss Frank “The Pope” Pope, a man driven by principles to do cruel things, but torn by where such a lifestyle has left him. Scott Mann came on board to direct HEIST shortly after De Niro was cast and the two immediately began discussing ways to further define and deepen the characters. “Working with Bob is great because he understands the importance of character to story,” said Mann. “He got really involved from the start – working through the characters and storyline for several weeks with lots of discussion, sorting out the heart and bones of the film.” Mann next brought in screenwriter Max S. Adams (the upcoming Extraction, Precious Cargo) to further flesh out the motivations of the script’s many characters, and to take advantage of the heist- turned-hijacking scenario to add a few more story curves that deepen the duplicity and entanglement. “I loved a lot of the original elements of the story – it had that Ocean’s 11 feel with a little bit of The Usual Suspects,” said Adams. “So, we took those elements and focused on further developing the characters and action pieces, fleshing them out, getting the characters from one place to the next in a way that was organic, suspenseful and unpredictable. ! ! THE PLAYERS AT THE TABLE !Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Luke Vaughn When we meet Luke Vaughn, he’s performing one of the card tricks that have made him one of The Swan’s most popular dealers. Whether he’s got the skillful dexterity and sleight-of-hand to pull off the ultimate heist – against a dangerous man who’s almost a father figure to him is another thing. The filmmakers of Heist needed an actor who could embody Vaughn’s mix of strength and vulnerability, desperation and cunning, a hard-working guy who might just have an ace up his sleeve. According to director Scott Mann, that actor was Jeffrey Dean Morgan. “Morgan’s ability to show a range of emotions at once and so well, with such depth and complexity, really makes the character shine,” says the director. “He captures Vaughn’s loneliness and despair as well as his devotion, cleverness and determination.” Morgan sees in Vaughn a guy driven by the best of impulses, even if what he’s trying to do could threaten everything he has. “I think more than anything, it was Vaughn’s desperation to help his daughter that pushed him into the heist,” said Morgan. “While there exists a little element of revenge in taking the Pope’s ill-gotten gains, it’s really just this need, and when an opportunity arises to get it, Vaughn takes it.” “Jeffrey is one of these actors with this weight, a gravitas about him,” says screenwriter Max Adams. “You easily believe him as a man acting from strength, and also a man who has this angry vulnerability about him. He’s the kind of actor that can say a lot with just a look, a turn, without uttering a single word.” Morgan came to HEIST straight from the Mexico set of the action-drama Desierto, following a whirlwind work schedule of back-to-back films (The Adventures of Beatle, Solace, The Salvation, Texas Rising). A busy and popular leading man, Morgan also co-stars in two acclaimed CBS series, “Extant” and “The Good Wife”. Director Mann had nothing but high praise for Morgan’s performance and tireless work ethic. “Jeff is in almost every scene of the film, and that is a lot to carry, especially in an action film shot completely out of sequence in bits and pieces,” said the director. “We shot at night six-days a week with two units going over a couple of weeks, and Jeffrey was so thorough, hard-working and such a professional. He’s a fantastic actor.” His co-stars agreed. Not only does bus driver Bernie take note of Vaughn’s unusual sympathy for a hijacker, but actor D.B. Sweeney understood why Morgan was playing him. “There’s something else going on with Vaughn,” said Sweeney, “how he stops Cox from shooting the police officer and passengers, how he tries to keep everyone calm and safe. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a very good, subtle actor, so I enjoyed playing those scenes with him.” ! !Robert De Niro as Frank Pope Vaughn’s antagonist is Frank “The Pope” Pope. Pope is more than just a businessman – he’s a demanding boss, a regretful father, a cruel and merciless kingpin, which means he’s a guy you certainly don’t want to be on the wrong side of. When $3 million is stolen from his illegal empire on the eve of his retirement, he sets in motion a hard-hitting plan for payback, pitting one surrogate son – his enforcer, Dog – against another, Vaughn, the man who robbed him. Who else to bring so complicated and powerful a figure to life than the actor who rewrote the playbook on silver screen tough guys: Robert De Niro. During his five-decade career and with more than 100 films to his credit, actor and filmmaker Robert De Niro has become one of the most celebrated, recognizable and respected actors in film. In 2009, De Niro received the coveted Kennedy Centers Honor for his distinguished acting and in 2011 he received the Cecil B. De Mille Award at the Golden Globes®. His more than 65 award nominations and 50 wins include seven Oscar® nominations and two Academy Awards® for films such as The Godfather-Part II, Raging Bull, Silver Linings Playbook, Goodfellas, Casino, The Untouchables, Awakenings and Taxi Driver. Getting a chance to work with the legendary “actor’s actor” De Niro is a professional milestone for most performers and filmmakers, who are thrilled to have the chance to work with “Bob.” Bosworth was especially excited to work with De Niro on the emotional and pivotal scene between father and daughter.