Ambulance Trivia | 50 facts about the movie

«Ambulance» is a 2022 American heist action thriller film directed and produced by Michael Bay.

Let’s find out more about the movie!

1. Ambulance is a 2022 American heist action thriller film.
2. The film was directed and produced by Michael Bay.
3. A co-production between New Republic Pictures, Project X Entertainment, and Bay Films, it is based on the 2005 Danish film of the same name by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen.
4. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González.
5. The movie follows two adoptive siblings (Gyllenhaal and Abdul-Mateen) turned bank robbers who hijack an ambulance and take two first responders hostage.
6. Ambulance, first announced in 2015, went through several crew changes years before it entered production.
7. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted Bay’s plans to shoot a different film so he agreed to come on board to direct.
8. Filming took place in the midst of the pandemic in downtown Los Angeles with cinematographer Roberto De Angelis.
9. During post-production, editing was completed by Pietro Scalia and the musical score was composed by Lorne Balfe.
10. The film premiered in Paris, France, on March 20, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on April 8.
11. The movie underperformed at the box office, grossing approximately $52 million worldwide against a $40 million production budget.
12. While the story drew some criticism, the film received praise for Bay’s direction and the action sequences.
13. The film was shot on a $40 million budget in downtown Los Angeles. Filming wrapped after thirty-eight days.
14. During pre-production, stunt coordinator Mike Gunther put the three leads of the film through stunt driving courses to test their driving abilities. Supervising location manager Rob Gibson obtained driving permits for a large number of city streets and freeway corridors in the city using his close relationship with FilmLA.
15. The cast and crew had to follow safety protocols such as wearing masks on set due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
16. The production borrowed a total of six ambulances from Falck.
17. The scenes inside of the ambulance were captured using three ambulances: one was driven with the crew on board; a second could be dismantled; and a third was rocked on a stage.
18. According to Abdul-Mateen, the limited space inside of the ambulance required Gyllenhaal to hold the camera for a couple of takes.
19. Several Komodo digital cameras by Red were utilized for the shoot.
20. A considerable amount of the film was shot using First Person View drones by LightCraft. Bay said this way of filming was implemented because he was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s direction on War of the Worlds (2005) to come up with new ways to put his stories on screen while simultaneously limiting himself as a director.
21. Executive producer Michael Kase discovered LightCraft after seeing their footage of the top of the Wilshire Grand Center.
22. The drones in the film were flown by Drone Racing League pilots Jordan Temkin and Alex Vanover using head-mounted displays. Footage captured by the drones included scenes in the Los Angeles Convention Center and the city’s Fashion District.
23. To make the film feel authentic, the cast was allowed to improvise some of their lines.
24. The production also hired real trauma surgeons, firefighters, SWAT teams, snipers, undercover SIS members, and 52 LAPD officers for the shoot.
25. On the first day of filming, while shooting footage of the ambulance driving on a freeway, Bay noticed several patrol officers and three motorcycle cops. He asked them if they wanted to star, to which they agreed, and used the opportunity to sweet talk the officers into creating a rolling roadblock, allowing them to close the freeway for free instead of paying the average $350–400,000 cost.
26. On Garret Dillahunt’s first day on set, the crew was able to secure access to an area that featured the Los Angeles City Hall, the Times Mirror Square building, and the LAPD headquarters for a mere 19 minutes worth of natural light to film. To describe the gravity of the situation, Bay was told that would be “the only time [and] the last time you are ever going to get this corner, this area.”
27. The helicopter chase sequence in the Los Angeles River was not in the script. Bay came up with the idea over the weekend after two helicopters became available for use.
28. The scene was shot in two and a half hours with the help of helicopter pilot Fred North. Instead of hiring stuntmen for the sequence, Gyllenhaal was actually hanging off the side of the ambulance’s door and shooting at the helicopters himself while Abdul-Mateen was driving.
29. Surprised by the sudden and speedy filming of the scene, Abdul-Mateen live-streamed the event to his friend as he was driving and later told Bay it was the “craziest shit I’ve ever done”.
30. Captain Monroe’s dog, Nitro, belongs to Michael Bay in real life.
31. The helicopter chase sequence in the Los Angeles River was not in the script; Michael Bay came up with the idea over the weekend after two helicopters became available for use. The scene was shot in 2 and a half hours with the help of helicopter pilot Fred North. Instead of hiring stuntmen for the sequence, Jake Gyllenhaal was actually hanging off the side of the ambulance’s door and shooting at the helicopters himself while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was driving. Surprised by the sudden and speedy filming of the scene, Abdul-Mateen live-streamed the event to his friend as he was driving and later told Bay it was the “craziest shit I’ve ever done.”
32. On the first day of filming, while shooting footage of the ambulance driving on a freeway, Michael Bay noticed several patrol officers and three motorcycle cops. He asked them if they wanted to star, to which they agreed, and used the opportunity to sweet-talk the officers into creating a rolling roadblock, allowing them to close the freeway for free instead of having to pay a fee of $350-400,000.
33. The limited space inside of the ambulance required Jake Gyllenhaal to hold the camera for a couple of takes.
34. Eiza González rented out an ambulance and used it to practice for her role while her friend drove the vehicle.
35. Removing the bullet at all cost is a Hollywood myth and does not help a gunshot wound injury apart from potentially worsening the bleed if not done in the proper setting.
36. To make the film feel authentic, the cast was allowed to improvise some of their lines. The production also hired real trauma surgeons, firefighters, SWAT teams, snipers, undercover SIS members, and 52 LAPD officers for the shoot.
37. Jamie McBride, who plays Jay the undercover SIS detective, is a real life active LAPD detective.
38. During part of the chase in the L.A. River, a version of the Terminator theme can be heard. This is a reference to the chase scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) which took place in the L.A. River.
39. The original Danish version Ambulance (2005) runs 80 minutes–just under a full hour shorter than this remake.
40. The closing credits last about two minutes, making them one of the shortest end credits in recent cinematic history.
41. The film was shot on a $40 million budget in downtown Los Angeles. Filming wrapped after 38 days.
42. Michael Bay originally had another project in mind, but the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles canceled his plans. He recalled telling his agent: “Goddamnit, I just want to get out and shoot something fast! I’m tired of being locked up at home!”
43. When the two brothers reminiscence about the past, the photo Will Sharp talks about is actually a photo of Michael Bay’s mother holding him as a baby.
44. Michael Bay shot much of the film using drones. Bay was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s direction on War of the Worlds (2005) to come up with new ways of filmmaking and storytelling.
45. The film contains references to past Michael Bay films: Will Sharp is named after Colonel Willie Sharp in Armageddon (1998). Officer Mark advises Officer Zach to ask a bank teller for a date through a movie quote from The Rock (1996). Will and Danny discuss Bad Boys (1995). Before starting a gun fight, Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) discuss the idea of simultaneously turning left to shoot. This is similar to a moment in Pearl Harbor (2001) when Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Harnett) discuss turning their planes to the left to confuse Japanese pilots in a game of chicken. The ambulance gets colored lime green, which was the color scheme worn by the medical vehicle/Autobot Ratchet in the Transformers films. The orchestral music over the titles at the end of the film comes from 13 Hours (2016).
46. Dylan O’Brien was originally cast as Will but had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.
47. The chase sequence where Danny and Will enter the road in the wrong direction in South Central Los Angeles, challenging the whole traffic and the police force is a clear homage to the famous sequence in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), which was filmed on the exact same locations such as the 6th Street at Mateo Street and 600 Mesquit Street.
48. Bay used Falck ambulances for this US remake of the Danish original. Falck was founded in Denmark as a rescue company in 1906 and used to be one of the most respected Danish company brands.
49. The ambulance interior scenes were captured using three ambulances: one was driven with the crew on board; a second could be dismantled; and a third was rocked on a stage.
50. A similar version of the music playing during the end scenes was used in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Also directed by Michael Bay and Composed by Lorne Balfe.