Ladder 49 DVD Sneak Peek

Sept. 27, 2004

By Kyra Kirkwood

One thing everyone on the cast of Touchstone Pictures' Ladder 49 agrees upon is that the making of this fireman-honoring epic bonded them like family, complete with a truckload of memories made during the intensive filming.

This could prove beneficial to DVD aficionados when the film, debuting theatrically Oct. 1, hits DVD shelves. What could be better than a slew of extras showcasing on-set pranks akin to those in the film, a "making-of" documentary deconstructing the fiery action scenes, or cast interviews about how close they got to their real-life counterparts and each other through the oft-grueling training?

At a recent press day in Los Angeles, cast and crew enthusiastically reminisced about their experiences working on the film, which tells tale of a Baltimore firefighter (Joaquin Phoenix) trapped in a raging warehouse inferno, reflecting over the past decade. The camaraderie mixed with high-octane action sets the stage for numerous special features and behind-the-scenes extras on the future disc, but so far, no one is commenting in detail.

Yet director Jay Russell (My Dog Skip) says that this inside look at the lives of firemen won't have any alternate endings on the DVD, since he's so proud of the film's original conclusion and its connection to the movie's meaning.

"If we ever got that call while we were filming that said, 'Why don't you shoot two or three different endings?' I was getting on the next plane home," said Russell. "I wanted to accurately portray the technical side of firefighting, and, even more importantly, I wanted to get into the emotion of what families go through. There is the ending, and that's all there ever was going to be. And that's all there is."

He says that one extra that might show up on the disc centers on an exploratory "Sept. 11" sequence that was written and shot, but never included in the final cut of the movie.

"It was a very tasteful and quite beautiful scene," says Russell. "I'm debating on whether I will include it on the DVD or not, and will probably still think about it up until the day we hit the record button."

Co-star Robert Patrick ("The X-Files") plays firefighter Lenny Richter, a no-nonsense bully who believes in jobs well done. Unbeknownst to the audience, Lenny was an avid Harley Davidson rider, much like Patrick and many real firefighters.

"The whole Harley identity and biker kind of thingãI hope that shows up," Patrick said. "Firefighters love guys on Harleys."

Behind-the-scenes views of a firefighter's day could provide another goldmine for extra features.

"We shot a lot more stuff about life at the firehouse that, because of time considerations, didn't make it into the movie," Russell said.

Yet one scene that would have scored huge points will definitely not be on any featurette or outtakes reel. Because there were no cameras around.

After a lengthy, grueling stint at the firefighting academy in Baltimore, stars Phoenix and Balthazar Getty hung around the stationhouse while their legit counterparts rushed off on a call. Suddenly, an undercover cop pulled up and, mistaking the two uniform-clad actors as real firefighters, requested help with a forcible entry down the street. Looking around and seeing no one else, the two nodded confidently, pulled their helmets low on their faces and went along for the ride.

"Luckily, we had a little understanding of what we needed to bring," said Getty.

The duo bounded up to the front door of a police-littered high-rise and received instructions to gain entry. Getty and Phoenix looked at each other, nodded and threw themselves at the door. Literally. For nearly four minutes.

"We looked like a bunch of girls banging on the door," said Getty. "Finally, we got the door open and one cop looked at us and said, "Good thing there wasn't a fire in thereãthey'd all be dead."