M. Night Shyamalan is no stranger to high-concept thrillers. His latest movie, trapneed a silence of the lambs-an inspired treatment in an unlikely location: a packed concert by pop star Lady Raven (played by the director’s daughter, Saraika). Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is a seemingly ordinary suburban dad who takes his daughter to see her favorite artist. While talking to the venue vendor, he discovers that the show is actually a trap: The FBI plans to capture a serial killer named “The Butcher” after learning that he will be attending. But, as revealed in the trailer, Cooper yes The Butcher must find a way to escape.
Although the plot sounds strange, it is partially based on a true story. Shyamalan shared this trap Draw inspiration from real-life flagship operations. “I heard about it as a kid and I thought it was completely ridiculous that it actually happened,” the filmmaker told BBC News. “When it happened it was always on my mind emerges.”
“[The authorities] To deal with them in ridiculous ways because they let their guard down, I think is very smart,” he added. “So it stuck with me, and I think when Saraika and I were at the concert thinking about the movie, I was wondering, why can’t this person get out, how can I keep them there?”
In December 1985, a sting operation organized by the U.S. Marshals and the Washington, D.C., Police Department lured more than 100 wanted fugitives to the Washington Convention Center under the guise of winning free tickets to the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Redskins). Cincinnati Bengals game and a chance to win tickets to the 1986 Super Bowl. It’s said to be part of a special event celebrating the opening of a new sports network in Washington, Flagship International Sports Television (the same acronym as the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Investigation Strike Team). To collect their tickets, the “winners” were told to attend a brunch a few hours before the game.
Upon arrival, the fugitives were divided into groups and taken into a “party room,” which contained snacks and a poster that read “Let’s Party!” Marshals and police officers posed as event staff, and policewomen dressed as cheerleaders hugged guests to check for weapons. The men also received balloons and sorted them by color. Violent offenders receive red balloons.
Louie McKinney, chief of law enforcement operations for the U.S. Marshals Service, pretended to be the host and addressed attendees before they received their prizes. When McKinney said he had a “big surprise,” the bailiff entered the room and arrested the criminals, repeating the same process for each group. This became one of the most successful mass arrests of fugitives in U.S. history.
“It’s so funny. The police are actually cheerleaders and mascots,” Shyamalan said. empire July magazine. “and [the criminals] All were caught. It’s so twisted and funny.
Rather than using a popular football game (Redskins tickets were a particularly hot commodity at the time of the flagship operation), Shyamalan chose to set the trap at a concert within the confines of a Taylor Swift-era tour. “I directed the whole concert,” the filmmaker told empire. “It’s not just what’s going on in the background. It’s just as important. There’s no pretending there’s a concert going on. I like the idea of the cinema as a window within a window. One of the reasons to come to the cinema to see this movie is because there’s actually a real music show there. Yeah, you can’t see it anywhere except in that movie.
Retired federal agent Tobias Roche, who was part of Operation Flagship, fact-checked British GQ How well conceived Shyamalan’s film is. exist trapa SWAT team was waiting outside the venue, and police officers were visible inside, questioning concertgoers. Roach believes these officials should be more secretive. He explained that Operation Flagship was planned to avoid any suspicion and distract criminals, which is why it was successful. “We are worried about some [the fugitives] “We may know each other from being incarcerated together or participating in criminal activity together,” Roach said.
In the movie, a chatty hawker leaks the story. Roche told Q In this kind of operation, everyone has to stay silent about the plan for it to work. He recalled that a lawyer representing a local company that held exclusive broadcast rights to Redskins games showed up at the convention center and said — unbeknownst to him, falsely — that the inaugural event on the broadcaster’s flagship International Sports Network was illegal . The man was pulled aside and told what actually happened. He kept this secret. “He’s really good at it,” Roach said. “He ended up watching the entire assassination in the control room with us.” But if the lawyer revealed his identity, the operation would be shut down.
