Rewatchables Reference

• Cusack's scouting report introducing all the inmates – Bill wishes it was six minutes long.
• Nic Cage killing the guy in the opening rainstorm fight.
• The cons take over the plane – the safety pin through the hand, the handcuff picking.
• "Put the bunny back in the box."
• The crouching fight scene – the first ever where both fighters have to duck down.
• Buscemi and Cage: "What if I told you insane was working 50 hours a week in some office..."
• Stealing the second plane / boneyard sequence with propane everywhere.
• The plane landing on the Vegas Strip.

• Malkovich saying the title in the movie – "Welcome to 'Con Air'." Bill loves when characters say the movie title.
• Nic Cage – people forget the guy won an Oscar and was awesome. He's an actor first, unlike the 80s action guys who had to act a little bit.
• Malkovich's whole run – 'In the Line of Fire', 'Con Air', 'Rounders'. He's 100% evil in this movie and believes everything he's saying.
• Chappelle has aged incredibly well – so much of the humor in this movie comes from him.
• The nickname brainstorming: Cyrus the Virus, Diamond Dog, Billy Bedlam, The Marietta Mangler, Johnny 23.

• The Sally Can't Dance character – rough even in 1997, and definitely hasn't gotten better.
• Getting rid of Chappelle at 43 minutes – he could have helped the last two thirds of the movie.
• Cusack's hair – his first time losing the flowing mane, blowing around like Trump's in a convertible.
• The insulin subplot – "Do we actually need him having diabetic shock the entire movie?"
• The racially-charged language – a couple lines that make you go "whoa."
• Johnny 23 – the serial rapist angle was rough even then and really doesn't play now.

• Gary Oldman was the first choice to play Cyrus the Virus – no thanks.
• Robert Downey Jr., Charlie Sheen, and Matthew Broderick were considered for Cusack's part. Downey could have done it but would be 30% too cool for the role.
• Tim Roth was the first choice for the Marietta Mangler – thank God that didn't work out.
• Denzel Washington was reportedly asked to play Diamond Dog but turned it down.

• Dave Chappelle – improvised most of his lines, only there for three days, and was the funniest person in the movie.
• Swamp Thing (MC Gainey) – fun in a few scenes, charming despite probably being in the Aryan Brotherhood.

• Monica Potter – she's in 'Con Air', Patch Adams, the Prefontaine movie. You know her face but not her name.
• Renoly Santiago (Sally Can't Dance) – only been in two movies, this and 'Dangerous Minds' where he was the kid who won the class prize.

• Kid Rock based 'American Badass' on Cameron Poe.
• Nic Cage did most of his own stunts – explosions five feet behind him, flaming helicopters dropping right behind him.
• 43 people die in the movie. Another 500+ probably died when the plane landed on the Vegas Strip.
• The crash site was filmed at the Sands Hotel before its demolition. They asked the Sands to wait a couple weeks for filming.
• Someone was crushed to death during filming at the airport – the film's credits end with "in memory of Phil Schwarz."
• They chose Trisha Yearwood's version of 'How Do I Live' over LeAnn Rimes's, who was 14 at the time.
• Malkovich was unhappy during production because the script was rewritten daily – he had no idea how his character would turn out.
• Chappelle improvised most of his lines (confirmed on Chappelle's Show DVD commentary).

• Nicolas Cage – yes. Wins the Oscar, then The Rock, 'Con Air', 'Face/Off'. This is when Bill knew Cage was in our lives for the long haul. Bill's favorite Cage performance.
• Danny Trejo – no. His Apex Mountain is probably machete or just being a brand with all his businesses now.
• Steve Buscemi – no. But he's so good they clearly added the craps scene at the end because he tested through the roof.

• Colm Meaney as the DEA agent – the clear winner. Dials everything up to insane levels, overpowers everybody in every scene. Terrible in the "don't fire" helicopter scene. Also terrible in Mystery Alaska.
• Ving Rhames – really tries to be evil and goes a little far.
• The soundtrack itself could be nominated for overacting.

• Cameron Poe's terrible lawyer and ridiculous conviction – an honorably discharged Army Ranger going to prison for self-defense. The worst legal representation of all time.
• Why is there no armed guard on the plane with a gun? Just one person with a rifle.
• A plane landing on the packed Vegas Strip – hundreds of people would have died. Vegas at 4am is busier than anywhere else in the world.
• The fist-bumping at the end when they just killed 500 Americans on the Strip.
• Can you really pull a safety pin out of your hand like that?
• Why didn't they just shoot the plane down?

• Did they name the movie 'Con Air' before or after they wrote the script? Bill believes someone saw a conditioner bottle in the shower and said "that sounds like a thing."
• Would Monica Potter really wait 8+ years for Nicolas Cage through Army service and prison?
• Would Nic Cage really stay on the plane to save Baby-O and the guard when he could just get off and be with his family?
• Billy Bedlam killed everyone in his wife's family including the dog – did the wife live? Yes, he wanted her to live with the pain.

Nicolas Cage – legacy-defining role. This plus 'Face/Off' is when he became the biggest star on planet Earth. Bill's favorite Cage performance: the white tank top, dad jeans, mullet, great letters to Casey, and the bunny.