MANILA, Philippines – John Travolta describes his new film, Columbia Pictures’ action thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 as “very intense, very hyped up and very contemporary.”
Directed by Tony Scott, Pelham 1 2 3 tells the story of New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: The hijacking of a subway train. Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train’s passengers unless a large ransom is paid within an hour.
As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there’s one riddle Garber can’t solve: Even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape?
The role of Ryder required an actor who could make the character larger than life, and Travolta fit the bill. “When you give him a truly imposing role, Travolta knows how to pump a color and energy into it that I think no other actor can,” producer Todd Black says.
Travolta found his character to be loaded with possibilities. “Playing a bad guy is freeing because good guys restrain themselves,” explains Travolta. “With a bad guy you can create your own moral fiber for him in varying degrees, and usually out of a wide envelope of behavior. I can be wild, calm, nutty, charming, or whatever I want.”
Out for revenge, Ryder is terrifyingly intelligent and red-hot manic, one moment showing mercy, then in a split second exploding in deadly fury. In his previous life, he thrived on Wall Street until imprisoned for embezzlement; now his motivations include settling a score with New York City.
Ryder aims his rage at New York City as a living, breathing, Byzantine entity that destroys lives. “He’s built up resentment toward the city, feeling betrayed and mistreated,” Travolta says. “I decided he was calculated to some degree, but at the same time, he is a stimulus/response type of guy, meaning you can push his buttons. Say the wrong word, and he goes off.”
Director Scott and his team researched prison culture, which influenced Ryder’s closely cropped hair, handlebar mustache, and tattooed neck. While imprisoned for a white-collar crime, Ryder underwent a fundamental transformation. “We found several people who’d embezzled money and gone to prison for it and came out very changed by their experience,” screenwriter Brian Helgeland says.
On playing opposite Denzel, Travolta says, “I felt like we had a good match. We really felt like we upped each other’s ante, but comfortably, meaning good. He’s a wonderful man to hang out with. You can exchange ideas with him easily, whether there’re creative ideas or just on life itself.”
Opening in theaters nationwide on June 12, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.