30 things you didn’t know about the movie “Spy”! (List)

You can read them in the following list: 1. Spy is a 2015 American action spy comedy film written and directed by Paul Feig.

2. Starring Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, and Jude Law, the film follows the transformation of desk-bound CIA analyst Susan Cooper (McCarthy) into a field agent who attempts to foil the black market sale of a suitcase nuke.

3. Produced by Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Feig and Jessie Henderson, the film was theatrically released on June 5, 2015.

4. It received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing over $235 million worldwide against a $65 million budget.

5. It was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for McCarthy.

6. The first official full-length trailer of the film was released on January 13, 2015.

7. Paul Feig, the film’s writer-director and a producer, wrote, developed, made and directed the picture, because he knew that no one would ever let him ever direct a real James Bond film himself.

8. At the film’s premiere in March 2015, the picture was not completed, with director Paul Feig stating that the film’s music and color timing were still being tweaked. The movie also launched without any end closing credits as well.

9. Screenwriter Paul Feig, who once was an aspiring stuntman himself, is a fan of Jason Statham’s action movies. Feig tailored Statham’s Rick Ford character in the film especially for the actor to play.

10. Bobby Cannavale got involved in the film because his girlfriend, Rose Byrne, joined the cast as Rayna.

11. The Hungarian capital city of Budapest, doubled for both the capital cities of Paris in France and Rome in Italy.

12. Writer-director-producer Paul Feig first began working on the film, then known as “Susan Cooper”, around 2010, stating “A funny Casino Royale (2006) is my goal”.

13. Star Melissa McCarthy has said that the film is the most physically taxing she has ever done. McCarthy has said of the mis-haps and accidents that befell her during the making of the movie: “Running, jumping, falling. I’ve cracked my head, I have cuts and bruises. At the end of the day I look like I fell down an elevator shaft. But I wear those wounds and thrown discs with a bit of pride”. Stunt Co-ordinator J.J. Perry has also said: “We have a great stunt double (Luci Romberg) for Melissa, but once we saw how good Melissa was we were able to ask even more of her.” Perry has also praised McCarthy’s s impressive ability to learn and retain choreography, saying, “She was in there with some heavy-hitting action stars, which can be intimidating, but she more than held her own. Her work ethic is outstanding”.

14. The character of Nancy was tailored and especially written for Miranda Hart by director-screenwriter Paul Feig.

15. The film’s production designer Jefferson Sage has said of filming in the capital city of Hungary: “Budapest usually only cheats for other places, but when Paul Feig scouted the city he was so impressed he changed most of the story to take place here – much in the way he decided to let Boston play itself instead of doubling for New York in The Heat (2013). Budapest has grandeur and a nice mix of architectural styles, along with an Eastern European exoticism that lends a wonderful mystique to the story”.

16. According to Paul Feig, Rayna was originally a 19-year-old, and the character had to be rewritten once Rose Byrne was cast in the role.

17. The Bond-like song heard during the Bondesque opening title credits sequence is called “Who Can You Trust” and is sung by Ivy Levan.

18. Filipino Martial Arts are used for the movie’s fight scenes. Melissa McCarthy was trained in Kali by Diana Lee Inosanto.

19. Star Melissa McCarthy has said of her Susan Cooper central character: “Susan’s always had ability, and is great technically and tactically, but she lacked confidence. Now her field experiences and loyalty to Jude Law’s character, Bradley Fine, begin to bring out her full potential. She discovers talents she didn’t know she had”. Moreover, the film’s writer-director Paul Feig has said: “I read that women make better spies than men because they’re generally better at reading physical cues, gaining trust and using intuition. This is Susan Cooper. She doesn’t rely on brawn – she has to figure things out as she goes along. I enjoy working with and empowering women, and was intrigued by the idea of creating a female trio of protagonist, sidekick and adversary”.

20. Stunt co-ordinator J.J. Perry has said of the kitchen fight sequence: “The kitchen fight took two days to complete and demonstrated Paul Feig’s commitment to ramping up the action. He’s an enthusiast of 1980s Jackie Chan movies, as am I, so I had a good idea what he wanted: low, wide-angle impact shots coming into the lens. It’s funny, kinetic and violent”.

21. The fight sequence in a Hungarian restaurant kitchen in Budapest, where Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) and an assassin played by Nargis Fakhri engage in a fight to the finish, included fruits, turkey legs, vegetables, and cooking utensils, and resulted in food, pots and pans going flying about everywhere. The pre-production of the sequence took weeks of rehearsing, choreographing and pre-visioning the fight on computer.

22. Melissa McCarthy and Paul Feig are neighbors and she first heard about the project over dinner. She subsequently asked to read the script.

23. Hollywood debut of noted Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri, who acted as Lia in the film.

24. The Bradley Fine character played by Jude Law is considered to be a James Bond persona type whilst the Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) character is likened to be a female James Bond type. The Rick Ford character portrayed by Jason Statham is described in the film’s press kit as a cross between John Rambo and Inspector Clouseau.

25. To date [May, 2015], at around a US $65 million budget, this movie is the biggest ever budgeted picture directed by writer-producer-director Paul Feig.

26. Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) used two wrestling moves in this movie. They were Hurricanrana and German Suplex.

27. Intricate action scenes and helicopter green-screen shots were filmed on back-lots and sound-stages at the Fot and Origo studios in Budapest, Hungary.

28. The total number of toxic substances that secret agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) claimed that he was immune to over the course of the film was 179.

29. Rachel Dratch appears as Rayna Boyanov’s mother, in the photo Rayna shows Susan while the two are traveling in the private jet.

30. According to Hollywood covering website ‘The Wrap’, the picture has been “…developed as a potential franchise in the same tone as The Heat (2013)”.