Mikael Håfstrӧm Screenplay by Miles Chapman and Arnell Jesko

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited quite a few prisons during his stint as governor of California, describes his stay in The Tomb like this: “You are under observation 24 hours a day. You’re watched when you eat, when you go to the bathroom, when you brush your teeth, when you lie in bed. There’s absolutely no privacy, because the prison cell is entirely made of glass. You’re always on display, which means nothing can be hidden. That’s what makes it almost impossible to break out.”

A stunning visualization of a hellish new kind of incarceration, the interior of The Tomb had its genesis in the mind of Mikael Håfström. “If The Tomb existed, I felt it would be unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” the director says. “So the sky was really the limit when we were thinking how to design this environment. It’s not a science-fiction film, but the set takes us right to the verge of a new era.”

Determined to refine his vision for the prison as soon as possible, Håfström began working with a team of storyboard artists before pre-production even started. “He has been an incredible creative partner,” says Emmett. “He could see The Tomb in his head and he wanted everyone else to see it as well. When we got the pictures, they were spectacular. This prison is on the cusp of the future. It’s the most advanced high-tech prison in the world. And the set he conceived was massive, bigger than anything I had ever worked on before.”

Finding the space needed to realize the elaborate interior Håfström envisioned for The Tomb took some ingenuity as well. Location manager Elston Howard, whose credits include Jonah Hex, Green Lantern and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, found a unique solution to the filmmakers’ conundrum in an unexpected place: the Vertical Assembly Base (or VAB) at the Michoud NASA Facility in New Orleans.

“We built the interior of The Tomb in the VAB,” Howard said. “It’s where the external fuel tanks for the Space Shuttle were built. Since the Space Program is in a temporary holding pattern while they design a new rocket, we were able to move production in there. The VAB is 263 feet high and encompasses about 170,000 square feet. The scale of it begs to be used for film production.”

None of the filmmakers had ever visited a NASA facility before—or seen a soundstage of such unprecedented size. “You could put five space shuttles in the place we were shooting,” Emmett says. “I thought we were going to be in a traditional stage, with traditional sets. When I showed up, all I could think to say was, ‘who’s paying for this?’”

Being able to shoot at the NASA facility in New Orleans elevated the look of the film beyond even Håfström’s wildest expectations. “It is an amazing place,” the director says. “We did our best to take full advantage of the scale with 80-foot crane shots that really show off the vastness of the space.”

The director contrasted the seemingly limitless glass cellblocks and mess halls with a smaller, claustrophobic and especially punishing version of solitary confinement known as the hot box. Confined to a tiny airless room, prisoners are subjected to blinding light and extreme temperatures until they are reduced to sobbing wrecks.” The hot box takes solitary to a new level,” says King-Templeton. “There’s no specific amount of time you’re in there. You could die there. There’s no government agency saying OK, he’s had enough. If they want to keep you there, they’ll keep you there. It’s terrifying.”

Stallone’s vision to reinvigorate the genre that made him a legend spawned a scene that is sure to be a fan favorite. The explosive showdown between Breslin and Rottmayer wasn’t even in the original script, but when casting finalized, it became all but inevitable. Stallone and Schwarzenegger face off in the first hand-to-hand fight sequence between the two masters of the action genre. “The fight scene is pretty monumental,” says Emmett. “To see these two icons go at it is like nothing you have seen before.”

Stallone says that having Rottmayer and Breslin go head to head was a no-brainer. “For Arnold and me to be in a movie like this together and not get a chance to go at it would be a tremendous disappointment for the audience. I’ve already gone up against everyone from Mr. T. to Dolph Lundgren to Apollo Creed to Hulk Hogan. I thought the fight with Jean-Claude Van Damme in The Expendables was going to be the last one, but then there was Arnold. The fans will be expecting fireworks and they will get them.”

Adds Schwarzenegger: “We all agreed that that it would be cheating the audience to have us both in a movie and not have some kind of a confrontation. It’s a major fight scene in the movie, and it gets wild with the fists and the bodies and the throwing each other around and all of that. The fans will be very pleased.”

A third-generation stunt coordinator, Orsatti thought he had seen everything, “But when you see these two icons, one with a stranglehold on the other, it’s something else,” he says. “It’s a great fight and the audience is going to be fully satisfied by it. Arnold and Sly brought everything they have in them to the table. I don’t get excited about walking on the set with too many people. But this was special.”

Reducing his charges to ciphers is part of the way Warden Hobbes maintains order in his domain and costume designer Lizz Wolf created the prisoners’ uniforms with that in mind. “This is a prison that we’ve never seen before and hopefully never will see,” she says. “I did some research on so-called ‘black sites,’ the kinds of places you hear whispered about. The inhabitants are referred to as ‘ghost detainees.’ I wanted to take all the color and the texture away to dehumanize these people and reduce them to nothing.”

In stark contrast, the ominous black uniforms worn by The Tomb’s guards add to the fear these brutal jailers incite in their charges. Glossy black masks render them featureless, reflecting the prisoners’ own faces back at them. “I really wanted to give them an expressionless face that was completely terrifying,” says Wolf. “They say that the soul is in the eyes, but with these masks, you can’t see anything underneath. When Ray Breslin tries to look in to the eyes of a guard, all he can see is himself. And ultimately, he has to find what he needs inside himself, because there is no one else.”

Those kinds of creative insights are part of what makes Escape Plan such an exhilarating adventure for Stallone. “This film is totally original,” he says. “That’s why I wanted to be involved. It’s extremely hard to come across something that covers new ground, but this does. Perhaps there will be a preconceived notion out there that it’s going to be wall-to-wall muscles and machine guns, but what the audience is actually going to experience will be a complete surprise.”

ABOUT THE CAST
SYLVESTER STALLONE (Ray Breslin) has established worldwide recognition as an actor, writer and director since he played the title role in his own screenplay of Rocky, which won the Academy Award^® in 1976 for Best Picture.

Since that seminal motion picture, Rocky grew to a franchise of five sequels and in 2006 Stallone concluded the series with Rocky Balboa, a critical and audience success which resolutely confirmed both Stallone and Rocky as iconic cultural symbols. In addition, to commemorate a character which has become as real as any living person to film-going audiences around the world, a statue of Rocky Balboa was placed at the foot of the now-famous steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum at a dedication ceremony presided over by the Mayor.

In more recent times, Stallone wrote, directed and starred in Rambo, which continued the saga of Vietnam vet John Rambo twenty five years after the debut of Rambo: First Blood. For the latest installment, Stallone took the company on location to the inner jungles of Burma basing the compelling story in a country where crimes against humanity, civil war and genocide have existed for over 60 years – and no one is doing anything about it.

Stallone then released his a most ambitious project , the action thriller

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, in 1947 and by the age of 20 was dominating the sport of competitive bodybuilding. Becoming the youngest person ever to win the Mr. Universe title, he generated a new international audience for bodybuilding and became a sports icon.

With his sights set on Hollywood, Schwarzenegger emmigrated to the U.S. in 1968 and went on to win five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles before retiring to dedicate himself to acting. Later, he would earn a degree from the University of Wisconsin and proudly became a U.S. citizen.

Schwarzenegger, who worked under the pseudonym Arnold Strong in his first feature, Hercules in New York, quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood. In 1977 the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognized him with a Golden Globe^® Award for New Male Star of the Year for his role in Stay Hungry, opposite Sally Field. His big break came in 1982 when John Milius’ sword-and-sorcery epic, Conan the Barbarian, struck gold at the box office.

In 1984 Schwarzenegger catapulted himself into cinema history as the title character in James Cameron’s sci-fi thriller The Terminator. He is the only actor to appear in both categories of the American Film Institute’s “Hundred Years of Heroes and Villains” for roles he played in the Terminator series.

Other film credits include Commando, Predator, Twins, Total Recall, True Lies, Eraser, Collateral Damage, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Sylvester Stallone’s homage to action films, The Expendables (as well as The Expendables 2). To date his films have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide.

In 2003 Schwarzenegger became the 38^th governor of California in a historic recall election. Among his many achievements, Schwarzenegger signed into law the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and established the Million Solar Roofs Plan, making California a leader in protecting the environment and rebuilding infrastructure. As governor Schwarzenegger also implemented the hugely successful California Film & TV Television Tax Credit Program, designed to stimulate production in the state.

In recognition of these efforts, Schwarzenegger has been honored for his leadership and vision many times including the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Leadership Award and the American Council on Renewable Energy’s “Renewable Energy Leader of the Decade.”

What gives Schwarzenegger the most satisfaction is giving something back to his state and to his country through public service. Donating his time, energy and personal finances to serving others, Schwarzenegger acts as chairman of the After School All-Stars, a nationwide after-school program, and serves as coach and international torchbearer for the Special Olympics. Previously, he served as chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under George H. W. Bush and chaired the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson.
JIM CAVIEZEL (Hobbes) is a versatile and intense actor. It could be said that Caviezel’s role as Jesus in the box-office phenomenon The Passion of the Christ was the ultimate challenge, making simultaneous physical and emotional demands upon a performer. Giving a critically acclaimed performance, Caviezel committed wholeheartedly to this difficult role.

Currently, the actor plays Jon Reese, an ex-CIA special operations agent, on the popular CBS series “Person of Interest,” alongside Taraji P. Henson and Michael Emerson. In the forthcoming sports drama When the Game Stands Tall, Caviezel plays the lead role opposite Michael Chiklis and Laura Dern.

Caviezel was recently seen in the true-life historical drama Savannah, co-starring Hal Holbrook, Sam Shepard and Chiwetel Ejiofor. He also appeared with James Frain and Elisabeth Röhm in the road-trip thriller Transit.

Caviezel earned his breakthrough acting role as brooding pacifist Private Witt in Terrence Malick’s war film The Thin Red Line, alongside Sean Penn, Nick Nolte and Adrien Brody. Over the next few years, he appeared in such films as Ang Lee’s Civil War Western Ride with the Devil and Gregory Hoblit’s ingenious time-travel thriller Frequency, in which he played a troubled son connecting across two decades of time with his long-dead father (played by Dennis Quaid).

Caviezel’s next turn was opposite Jennifer Lopez in Angel Eyes, playing a mysterious amnesiac with a secret connection to Lopez’s character. He continued to demonstrate his range by playing the wrongly convicted Edmond Dantes in the film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic The Count of Monte Cristo and a war hero wrestling with a murder charge in Carl Franklin’s courtroom drama High Crimes, opposite Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd.

In 2004 Caviezel appeared with Robin Williams and Mira Sorvino in Omar Naim’s Final Cut and starred alongside Claire Forlani and Jeremy Northam in Rowdy Harrington’s Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius. He then starred in the heartwarming biopic Madison, about hydroplane boat racer Jim McCormick, and worked with Denzel Washington in the time-travel thriller Déjà Vu (2006). Directed by Tony Scott, Déjà Vu was the first film to be shot in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.

Caviezel also starred in the sci-fi adventure Outlander, the thriller Long Weekend and the intense The Stoning of Soraya M.

On the small screen, Caviezel starred in AMC’s “The Prisoner” opposite Ian McKellan, playing the title role in this reimagined version of the sci-fi series classic.

The actor was named one of People Magazine’s 50 Sexiest Men Alive in 2004. An avid, lifelong sports fan, Caviezel considered pursuing a career in the NBA before he suffered a foot injury.

Caviezel currently lives in Southern California with his wife and their two children.

Forthcoming film projects include Matt Johnson’s The Pursuit, The Dance (which Jackson is also slated to produce), Live Bet and an as-yet-untitled project co-starring Sharon Stone and Val Kilmer. Jackson will also serve as executive producer of “Power” the new drama series on the Starz network.

Recognized as one of the most talented and prolific musical artists of his time, Jackson has managed to leverage his star power into record-breaking brand extensions encompassing a broad spectrum of businesses. These enterprises include music ownership, artist management, film production, boxing promotions, headphones, video games, publishing and energy shots. With annual sales quickly approaching $300 million from a variety of business interests and numerous new endeavors on the horizon, Jackson has cemented his position in the entertainment industry as both a business and entertainment powerhouse.

In 2005 Jackson made his feature film debut with Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a loosely biographical picture that chronicled his life growing up in poverty and surrounded by negative influences on the streets of Queens, New York, as he rose to stardom as a rap star.

Jackson exploded on the music scene in 2003 and has been rewriting hip hop history ever since. “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” his debut album, made history when it sold 872,000 copies to break the record for first-week sales of any major-label debut in the entire SoundScan era. It was a No. 1 Billboard album for six weeks and was certified platinum nine times by the Recording Industry Association of America.

To date, Jackson has sold more than 22 million albums worldwide and received numerous awards as well as 13 GRAMMY® nominations. His third album, “Curtis,” was released in September 2007 and dominated the album charts by selling over one million copies worldwide. Jackson garnered GRAMMY® nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance. Currently, Jackson is working on his highly anticipated sixth studio album, “Street King Immortal.”

Success has allowed Jackson to follow through with his dream of giving back to the community that has supported him over the years. He established the G-Unity Foundation to support the academic enrichment of students in low-income or underserved communities. Since its inception, the foundation has created the G-Unity Scholarship Fund at Queensborough Community College in New York and issued thousands of dollars in grant money to various nonprofit organizations. Jackson continues to expand his foundation through various philanthropic initiatives that will benefit his hometown of Queens and beyond.

In 2011, Jackson launched SK Energy, a new energy shot to combat world hunger – each bottle sold provides a meal for those in need via a partnership with the UN World Food Programme.

He is perhaps best known for his roles in the award winning films The Piano, as detached husband Alisdair Stewart, and Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, as palaeontologist Alan Grant.   Written and directed by visionary filmmaker, Jane Campion, Sam stars in The Piano alongside Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel and Anna Paquin.  The film won awards internationally, including 3 Oscars®, 3 BAFTAS and 11 Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards.  For his performance Sam was nominated for the 1993 Best Supporting Actor AFI Award.   Other film credits include The Hunter opposite Willem Dafoe for which he was nominated for Best Actor at the AACTA Awards, Daybreakers, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of G’ahoole, Little Fish opposite Cate Blanchett, Skin, Dean Spanley, Wimbledon opposite Kirsten Dunst, Yes for Orlando director Sally Potter, Perfect Strangers opposite Susan Sarandon, Dirty Deeds alongside Bryan Brown and Toni Collette, Czech production The Zookeeper, Bicentennial Man opposite Robin Williams, and The Horse Whisperer alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson.

For his work in television Sam has earned three Golden Globe® nominations.  In 1998 he received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the title role in the NBC miniseries Merlin.  He also received a Golden Globe nomination in 1992 for his performance opposite Judy Davis in One Against the Wind, and for his performance as British spy Sidney Reilly in Reilly: The Ace of Spies.  The British Academy of Film and Television honored Sam’s work in the miniseries by naming him the Best Actor on British Television. For his performance in the Australian drama Jessica, Sam received an AFI Award for Best Actor. Other television appearances include acclaimed television series “RAKE,” Granada’s epic miniseries Doctor Zhivago, To The Ends of Earth, Showtime’s “The Tudors” with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, “CRUSOE,” and “Alcatraz.” Most recently he completed filming Old School for Matchbox Pictures opposite Bryan Brown.

Sam has also worked behind the camera, his directing credits include the Channel Seven Australian telefeature The Brush Off, starring David Wenham. 

He will next appear alongside Cillian Murphy in UK Series “Peaky Blinders” which will hit screens this year.
VINNIE JONES (Drake) started his career as a professional soccer player playing for some of the UK’s most prominent teams including Wimbledon, Leeds, Chelsea, Sheffield, QPR and eventually was the Captain of the Welsh team. He became iconic across the UK and Europe, not only from his exquisite skills in soccer, but also as a performer on the pitch: Jones always had the crowd on their feet supporting him the whole way through his games, as he reacted very well with the audience, and this made the games highly exciting for the spectator both at the venue, but also on TV.

It was in 1998 that Vinnie was approached by up and coming director Guy Ritchie for role in his cockney caper movie, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. Vinnie accepted the challenge and from this point, the former footballer had a new calling: movie star.  Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels skyrocketed to the top in Europe and the USA, and Vinnie’s new career ascended in the same direction. He went on to star in hits such as Snatch, Gone In Sixty Seconds and Swordfish.

From this point onward, Vinnie started to gain recognition from the industry, earning a barrage of accolades and awards, with Hollywood realizing it had a true talent in a 6’ 1”. broken-nosed package. To this date Vinnie has appeared in over 40 movies, working with some of the film industry’s top producers and directors including Mathew Vaughan, Jerry Bruckheimer, Brett Ratner, and Gary Lucchesi. He was seen in the massive summer blockbuster, X-Men 3: The Last Stand as Cain Marko, better known as the Juggernaut, forever placing him in an iconic league of actors alongside Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart. Prior to that, he played the scowling soccer coach illustrating both his likeability and comedic side in DreamWorks’ She’s The Man. Other films include The Midnight Meat Train, and then the Quentin Tarantino-produced feature film Hellride. Vinnie revisited his comedic side on the feature film Year One, where he starred alongside Jack Black for Sony Pictures and Judd Apatow. His big job in 2012 was Mikael Håfström’s directed thriller Escape Plan opposite Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Amy Ryan, Jim Caviezel, and Vincent D’Onofrio, which will be released in the fall of 2013. He most recently did two guest stars on the CBS show, Elementary. He will also star in his own documentary series for National Geographic Channel called “Vinnie Jones: Russia’s Toughest.” This show will air in September 2013 in over 170 countries during prime time.

Vinnie still plays soccer heading up a team called Hollywood All-Stars based in Los Angeles where he and his family now live. This team boasts an all-star team comprised of athletes, movie stars and other celebrities; it is a force to be reckoned with and has a huge following. Their contribution to charity is huge and this goes hand in hand with Vinnie’s personality as a devoted, hardworking, multi-talented and caring man. He is the worldwide ambassador for Warrior Sports.