It sounds far-fetched, but believe it or not there was a real-life sting operation that played out like the concert in "Trap," and the details are absolutely wild.
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00:00It sounds far-fetched, but believe it or not, there was a real-life sting operation that
00:05played out like the concert in Trap, and the details are absolutely wild.
00:10M. Night Shyamalan is back with Trap, a thriller about a serial killer trying to escape from
00:15a concert venue that's packed with cops who are looking for him.
00:19Unlike some of his other fare involving ghosts, aliens, or beaches that make you old, Trap
00:24is fairly down-to-earth.
00:26So perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that at least some inspiration for the film
00:30was taken from true events.
00:32Shyamalan told Empire about a 1985 plan called Operation Flagship, in which the authorities
00:38contacted thousands of known fugitives to give them free football tickets and a chance
00:44to go to the Super Bowl.
00:45Around a hundred of them showed up, completely oblivious to what was going on, and that's
00:50when they were apprehended.
00:52As Shyamalan put it,
00:53"...the cops were literally cheerleaders and mascots.
00:56These guys were dancing as they came in, and they were all caught.
01:00It was so twisted and funny."
01:01The whole thing is pretty hilarious when you dig
01:09into it, since U.S. Marshals put more foreshadowing into their plan than, well, an M. Night Shyamalan
01:15movie.
01:16For example, the letters sent to the fugitives were addressed from I. Michael Detner, with
01:21that last name spelling wanted backward.
01:23While Shyamalan directly cites Operation Flagship as an inspiration for Trap, another true story
01:29also shares similarities with the film's plot.
01:32While Operation Flagship brought in fugitives wanted on narcotics and assault violations,
01:37a man named Tom Hanson tried to catch an honest-to-goodness serial killer in 1971 by holding up a big
01:44premiere event for his film, The Zodiac Killer.
01:47As The Zodiac Killer continued to evade police and taunt the media, Hanson came to believe
01:52he could lure The Zodiac into custody by premiering a film based on the murderer's exploits.
01:57He explained to Temple of Schlock,
01:59"...I shot Zodiac for about 13 grand.
02:02Nobody got paid anything.
02:03I shot it with the intention of bringing it up to San Francisco and four-walling a theater,
02:08which I did, with six guys to set a trap and catch that son of a b----."
02:13The premiere featured a contest in which people wrote their names on cards for a chance to
02:17win a free motorcycle, with someone checking the handwriting on the cards to see if any
02:21of them matched the Zodiac's.
02:23While the attempt was unsuccessful, Hanson claims that a man resembling the police sketches
02:28of the Zodiac used on wanted posters approached him in the restroom, saying,
02:33"...You know, real blood doesn't come out like that."
02:35Whether that part's true or not, it makes for a chilling ending to the story.
02:40Some flagship may have planted the seed for Trap, but ultimately it sounds as though M.
02:44Night Shyamalan wanted to work with his daughter, Salika, who plays pop star Lady Raven in the
02:49film.
02:50She's a professional singer in real life, and Shyamalan told NPR that he wanted to do
02:55something with her talent in a movie, saying,
02:57"...She had written a few songs for a TV show, and we said, hey, what'd you think about doing
03:02a movie that's primarily about music, where the characters are listening to a whole album?"
03:06This idea eventually morphed into a serial killer father taking his daughter to a concert
03:11where the FBI is waiting for him, and Trap was born.
03:14"...The audience will come to the movie theater and have the experience of being at a concert
03:18and being in a really kind of tense thriller."
03:21Shyamalan is one of the few filmmakers working today who can get original projects off the
03:25ground, and he told Empire that he wants to keep these kinds of films going, saying,
03:29"...I want the industry to move towards more original storytelling.
03:33I think audiences would really like it.
03:35But it's really important that we come to the movies and see something we've never seen
03:39before.
03:40I'll keep fighting for that."
03:42Trap is certainly a unique film, with that singular Shyamalan flair that's anchored by
03:46a strong performance from Josh Hartnett.
03:49Granted, the ending of Trap could set the stage for a follow-up.
03:52For now, however, drawing inspiration from a real-life sting operation and his daughter's
03:56singing career, that resulted in one thrilling ride.