Speed: Keanu Reeves’ idea that saved the movie

Aside from The Matrix and the John Wick sagas, one of Keanu Reeves’ most famous and beloved films is undoubtedly Speed, an undeniably cult film that, however, benefited from a little help from the actor to become so successful.

When it came out in 1994, speed It was an immediate success, receiving three Oscar nominations (and winning two awards: Best Sound and Best Sound Editing) and grossing over $350 million (against a budget of just $30 million). And you may not know it Keanu Reeves He personally played an important role in the writing of his character.

In an interview on the “50 MPH” podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter and AdoroCinema) about the making of the film, Joss Whedon talked about his uncredited contribution to the script. Hired as a screenwriter at the last minute, he is rumored to have written about 90% of the film’s final dialogue, but lost out to the WGA for credit. Thus, behind the project, the screenwriter Graham Yost, who worked on it for years and was responsible for the concept, characters and the main rhythm of the story, was the only one credited.

Joss Whedon Thus said that a simple sentence Keanu Reeves It helped him tremendously in figuring out how to write the actor’s heroic persona – a SWAT officer struggling to save a bus full of passengers targeted by a crazed bomber.

Talked to the SWAT guys and how polite they were. They call everyone “sir” or “ma’am” just to ease the situation. It just clicked – that was it. Now I understand this character. My point was this: He wasn’t a sniper, he was a lateral thinker. He was going to do what he thought was right and take a weird approach, but generally it would work.

He adds: “This Mr. or Mrs. brought me so much because bragging was the order of the day and there it was the other way around. He also said: “I don’t want to take out my gun.” And I said to him, “I don’t want you to do this either, but you have to do it… I’m not going to let you not take the gun out.”“

In speedPsychopath Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) places a bomb under the bus that will explode if the vehicle’s speed is less than 50 miles per hour. Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves), a SWAT officer from Los Angeles, does his best to merge the vehicle into traffic. After a misunderstanding, an accidental shooting occurs: the driver is injured and passenger Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) has to take the wheel, while Jack does his best to defuse the bomb.

Speed ​​should reappear streaming on Disney+.