The Bourne Identity poster
The Bourne Identity

Half-Assed Internet Research

Research covers Damon's stunts and combat training, the red bag, the death count, Liman's family history, Prague locations, Swiss-bank tropes, and Tony Gilroy's later scripts.

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:36Read transcript
  • Damon performed many stunts after three months of weapons, boxing, and martial-arts training.
  • He performed the hand-to-hand combat and climbed the safe-house walls.
  • The red bag later appears as a hanging planter in Marie's scooter-rental shop.
  • The panel counts eight deaths in the film.
  • Liman's father served as chief counsel during the Iran-Contra hearings.
  • Chris Cooper's character was allegedly modeled on Oliver North because Liman's father interrogated him.
  • Much of the film was shot in Prague while representing Switzerland and Paris.
  • The panel questions whether Swiss banks are as anonymous and permissive as movie convention suggests.
  • Tony Gilroy made a one-draft, no-notes, no-rewrites deal for the third film and was paid an amount Damon called exorbitant.
  • Damon publicly called that draft unreadable and embarrassing while blaming the studio for accepting the deal.
  • Gilroy later directed the non-Damon franchise entry.
  • The panel speculates that making the non-Damon entry helped prompt Damon and Greengrass to return for Jason Bourne.
  • One participant ranks Identity above Supremacy, Legacy, and Ultimatum despite calling Supremacy technically better made.