Albino Alligator (1996)

Director:

Kevin Spacey

Writer:

Christian Forte

Release Date:

17 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Deliberate sacrifice for deliberate gain.

Plot:

While escaping from a foiled robbery attempt, three thieves find themselves surrounded by police at a New Orleans bar--only they're not the people the police are searching for.

Plot Keywords:

Bar | Police | Hostage | Animal In Title | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Matt Dillon	...	Dova
Faye Dunaway	...	Janet Boudreaux
Gary Sinise	...	Milo
William Fichtner	...	Law
Viggo Mortensen	...	Guy Foucard
John Spencer	...	Jack
Skeet Ulrich	...	Danny Boudreaux
Frankie Faison	...	Agent Marv Rose
Melinda McGraw	...	Jenny Ferguson
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Dino
Joe Mantegna	...	A.T.F. Agent G.D. Browning
Doug Spinuzza	...	Agent #1
Spencer Garrett	...	Agent #2
Enrico Colantoni	...	Agent #3
Tulsy Ball	...	A.T.F. Agent
Travis Appel	...	Another Agent
Brad Koepenick	...	Browning's Assistant
Jock Worthen	...	Medic
Willie C. Carpenter	...	Reporter
Alexander Smith	...	Reporter
Michael Unger	...	Reporter
Toni Montgomery	...	Female Officer
Jeffrey M. Hoffman	...	Jenny's Cameraman (as Jeff Hoffman)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aura Figueiredo	...	Camera News Lady (uncredited)
Matthew James Gulbranson	...	A.T.F. Agent (uncredited)
Anthony Moore	...	ATF Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
Kevin Spacey

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Christian Forte

Produced by
Barbara A. Hall	....	line producer
Bradley Jenkel	....	producer (as Brad Jenkel)
Brad Krevoy	....	producer
Steven Stabler	....	producer (as Steve Stabler)

Original Music by
Michael Brook

Cinematography by
Mark Plummer

Film Editing by
Jay Cassidy

Casting by
David Rubin

Production Design by
Nelson Coates

Art Direction by
Burton Rencher

Costume Design by
Isis Mussenden

Makeup Department
Felicity Bowring	....	co-makeup key artist
Kimberly Greene	....	makeup department head
Cheryl Markowitz	....	hair assistant
Cheryl Markowitz	....	makeup assistant
Mel McKinney	....	key hair stylist
Pamela Roth	....	makeup assistant (uncredited)

Production Management
P. Todd Coe	....	post-production supervisor
Barbara A. Hall	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew M. Flinn	....	second assistant director: additional photography
Susan J. Hellmann	....	second assistant director (as Susan Hellmann)
Jack S. Krevoy	....	second second assistant director (as Jack Krevoy)
Scott Andrew Robertson	....	second second assistant director
Matthew H. Rowland	....	first assistant director: additional photography
John Rusk	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Brian Bird	....	art department coordinator
Carlos Chacon	....	carpenter
Thomas Conger	....	set dresser
Luis Cuevas	....	carpenter
Michael T. Daigle	....	charge scenic
Peter Scott Delano	....	carpenter
Nicholas Dorr	....	stand-by carpenter/scenics
Daniel DuPont	....	leadperson (as Daniel P. Dupont)
Stacy Flora	....	carpenter
Anna Gadsby	....	leadperson
Matt Gilmore	....	art department assistant
Allison Gobbell	....	scenic painter (as Allison Gobbell)
Michael E. Goldman	....	draftsman
James Harper	....	set dresser
Julian Inglis	....	carpenter
Thomas D. Krausz	....	lead man
Thomas D. Krausz	....	set dresser
Leslie Lawson	....	gang boss
Leslie Lawson	....	scenic painter
Garry McEvoy	....	scenic painter
Christy McGeachy	....	set dresser (as Christie Herndon-McGeachy)
Jon P. Mooers	....	stand-by carpenter/scenics (as Jon Moores)
Byron Perez	....	carpenter
Francisco Pérez	....	carpenter (as Francisco Perez)
Jacques Rey	....	storyboard artist
Frank Rosen	....	assistant property master
Robert Silvey	....	art department assistant
Adrian St. Clair	....	scenic painter
Linda Lee Sutton	....	set decorator: additional photography (as Linda Sutton)
Michael Vaccaro	....	construction coordinator (as Michael A. Vaccaro)
Dorian Vernacchio	....	scenery
Richard K. Wright	....	property master

Sound Department
Christopher Assells	....	sound effects editor (as Chris 'The Cat' Assells)
Karen Baker Landers	....	co-supervising sound editor (as Karen M. Baker)
Bob Bowman	....	sound assistant
Spartan Castiglioni	....	stage recordist
Dino Dimuro	....	sound effects editor
Thom 'Coach' Ehle	....	consultant: Dolby
Ann Fisher	....	dialogue editor
Don Givens	....	foley recordist
Eric J. Goldstein	....	boom operator (as Eric Goldstein)
Jessica Goodwin	....	assistant sound editor
Tim Groseclose	....	sound assistant
Per Hallberg	....	supervising sound editor (as Per Halberg)
Dan Hegeman	....	dialogue editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Philip A. Hess	....	foley editor (as Phil Hess)
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Craig S. Jaeger	....	foley supervisor (as Craig Jaeger)
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Diane Linn	....	adr recordist
Jennifer L. Mann	....	additional sound (as Jennifer Mann)
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Moriana	....	foley artist (as Chris Moriana)
Philip D. Morrill	....	assistant sound editor
Philip D. Morrill	....	sound assistant
Matt Patterson	....	stage recordist
Brian Pierson	....	additional sound
Charleen Richards	....	adr mixer
Lauren Stephens	....	dialogue editor (as Lauren Stephans)
Lauren Stephens	....	sound editor
Roger V. Stevenson	....	boom operator
Peter Michael Sullivan	....	sound effects editor
Mark Weingarten	....	sound editor
Mark Weingarten	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Diane Carlucci	....	special effects administrator
John C. Carlucci	....	special effects coordinator
Lou Carlucci	....	special effects supervisor
Jay Neyens	....	special effects technician
Ken Tarallo	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Lloyd Lee Barnett	....	digital artist
Clayton R. Marsh	....	optical lineup (as Clay Marsh)
Mindy Minkow	....	optical camera operator
Marc Scott	....	digital compositor
David Sewell	....	visual effects artist
Dan Valliere	....	optical color timer

Stunts
Daniel W. Barringer	....	assistant stunt coordinator (as Daniel Barringer)
Doug Coleman	....	stunt coordinator
Scott Alan Cook	....	stunts
Matthew James Gulbranson	....	stunt driver (as Matt Gulbranson)
J.P. Romano	....	stunts
Jim Stephan	....	stunts
Jim Wilkey	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Tim Angelo	....	grip
Tim Bourque	....	electrician
Helen Chough	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera, additional photography
Chris Conway	....	gaffer
Rick Davis	....	key grip
Jerry Day	....	key grip: additional photography
Mark DeGeorge	....	best boy grip
Mark DeGeorge	....	dolly grip
David M. Goldstein	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera, additional photography (as David Goldstein)
Richard R. Harrison	....	grip (as Richard Harrison)
Bernd Heinl	....	director of photography: additional photography (as Barnd Heinel)
Dan Kneece	....	Steadicam operator
Martin J. Layton	....	second camera operator (as Marty Layton)
Lisa Lengyel	....	second assistant camera: additional photography
Ron Levin	....	electrician
Michael Levine	....	camera operator: "b" camera, additional photography
Gideon Markham	....	electrician (as Gideon Wapstrom)
John T. Martin	....	dolly grip
John McCormack	....	grip (as John P. McCormack)
Lincoln Morrison	....	first assistant camera: second camera
Ngoli Vukani Nyirenda	....	electrician (as Ngoli V. Nyirenda)
Emmett O'Lunney	....	second assistant camera: second camera
Steve Reissner	....	second assistant camera
Jim Sheldon	....	still photographer
Lynn Smith	....	first assistant camera: additional photography (as Lyn Smith)
Mark Sondag	....	electrician
Kara Stephens	....	camera loader
Lon Thompson	....	gaffer: additional photography
Eric Trageser	....	first assistant camera
Michael Walden	....	video playback operator (as Michael Walden 'Vegas')
Jason Patrick Wotherspoon	....	grip (as Jason P. Wotherspoon)
James C. Young	....	best boy electric

Casting Department
Mike Johnson	....	extras casting
Bill Kaufman	....	casting assistant
Ronna Kress	....	casting associate
Rob McGuire	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Raina Perlmutter	....	wardrobe assistant
Lori Jean Sacks	....	key costumer
Lori Jean Sacks	....	set costumer
Karla Stevens	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Lane Baker	....	assistant editor
Peggy Davis	....	first assistant editor
Mike Healy	....	assistant editor (as Michael Healy)
Dan Muscarella	....	color timer
Mary Nelson-Duerrstein	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Marcus Barone	....	executive in charge of music
Michael Brook	....	music arranger
Michael Brook	....	musician
Bill Jackson	....	music scoring mixer
Amanda Scheer-Demme	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Michael Belpedio	....	driver (as Mike Belpedio)
Collin Butrum	....	transportation
Michael Keys	....	driver
P. Gerald Knight	....	transportation coordinator
Jim Martell	....	driver
Michael Matthews	....	driver
Steve Shoemaker	....	driver
Dotti Thompson	....	transportation captain
David Walden Sr.	....	driver

Other crew
Jodie Adair	....	accountant: MPCA
Wenden K. Baldwin	....	graphic artist: titles
Nicole Barnette	....	production assistant
Ned Benson	....	production intern
Grant Blakesley	....	set medic
Richard Branca	....	director of sound facility
James Carrick	....	set medic
Tom Carroll	....	production assistant
Steve Crystal	....	assistant: Mr. Jenkel
Dianne Dreyer	....	script supervisor
Loren Elkins	....	assistant: Ms. Dunaway
Toby Forlenza	....	script supervisor
Jorge A. Gallego	....	distribution assistant: MPCA
Garrett Grant	....	location manager
Matthew Hayutin	....	assistant: Mr. Krevoy (as Matt Hayutin)
Sharon Hubbs	....	production accountant (as Sharon Denese Hubbs)
Nancy Johnston-Walker	....	assistant: Mr. Krevoy
Joanna L. Rees Jones	....	distribution liaison: MPCA (as Joanna L. Rees-Jones)
David Mastron	....	post-production accountant
Lisa McSweeney	....	assistant to cast
Tim Monich	....	dialect coach
P. Kevin Morris	....	legal services
Jonathan Paine	....	accountant: MPCA
Danielle Parsons	....	assistant: Mr. Stabler
Rodney Payne	....	banking services
Jade Ramsey	....	production assistant
Jonathan A. Rogal	....	production assistant
Jamie Ruddy	....	production intern
Hal Sadoff	....	banking services
Garret Savage	....	production assistant
Barbara Schwartz	....	assistant coordinator
Dean Shapiro	....	distribution liaison: MPCA
Amaryvis Sierra	....	distribution assistant: MPCA
Robert Silvey	....	production assistant
Shari Sontag	....	assistant accountant
Michael Unger	....	assistant: Mr. Sinise
Brad Veach	....	set medic
Guy Viau	....	'guy' tuning
Randy Walker	....	police technical advisor
Danny Watts	....	production assistant
Amy Jo Weinstein	....	assistant: Mr. Dillon
Mike Welch	....	assistant: Mr. Spacey
Tim Werle	....	paramedic coordinator
C. Devin Whatley	....	production coordinator
Holly Williamson	....	assistant: Mr. Jenkel
John H. Wu	....	assistant: Mr. Krevoy
Michael Haddad	....	craft service (uncredited)

Thanks
Bob Adams	....	musical special thanks
Veronica Albano	....	musical special thanks
Richard Branca	....	special thanks
Richard Chadwick	....	musical special thanks
Lason Lewis	....	musical special thanks
Catharina Masters-Plen	....	musical special thanks
Hafez Modirzadel	....	musical special thanks
Lorna Ross	....	musical special thanks
Anton Schwartz	....	musical special thanks

Production Companies

• Albino Alligator Productions
• Miramax Films
• Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Distributors

• Miramax Films (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
• Electric (1997) (UK) (theatrical)
• NTV-PROFIT (1997) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Rosebud (1997) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Ízaro Films (1997) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (Germany) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Echo Bridge Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (1998) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Miramax Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Telefilm Hellas (1998) (Greece) (VHS)

Special Effects

• FTS EFX Inc.

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• City of Los Angeles Film Permit Office  thanks (as City of Los Angeles: Film and Video Permit Office)
• Coutts & CO  banking services
• Digiscope  digital opticals
• Digital Rezolution  digital opticals
• Film Finances  completion bond (as Film Finances Inc.)
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Kino Flo  thanks (as Kino-Flo)
• L.A. Mad Dogs  adr voice casting (as L.A. Maddogs)
• Michaelson's  catering
• Minerva's Munchies  craft service
• NT Audio Visual  stereo optical negative (as N.T. Audio Visual)
• New Orleans Film Commission, The  film commission
• Occidental Studios  thanks (as Steve Cohen, Occidental Studios)
• Paskal Lighting  thanks
• Private Production Security  thanks
• RTV Video  thanks
• Scenic Arts Inc.  scenery
• Sony Pictures Studios  sound recording
• Southern Pacific Railroad  thanks
• Truman Van Dyke Company  production insurance
• VisionArt Design & Animation  digital opticals (as Vision Art)
• William Holden Theater  sound recording

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Albino Alligator Productions

Trivia:

Kevin Spacey consulted with legendary director Sidney Lumet on how best to make the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Because of the city's proximity to sea level, it is difficult, if not impossible to have underground (basement) dwellings in New Orleans.

Quotes:

Dova:Where are you going?
Milo:I don't wanna be part of this. I'm turning myself in.
Dova:[pointing a gun] Don't make me do it!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Held Up (1999)

Okay, the cast is better than the script but it's still a solid hostage drama, and definitely worth watching.

Any hostage drama can't help but get compared to 'Dog Day Afternoon' and will therefore be found lacking, but 'Albino Alligator', while not without a few flaws, does a credible job. Kevin Spacey shows some promise as a director, but the script sometimes let's him down. Even so it's pretty entertaining, and the best thing about it is the outstanding cast. You might think Spacey would call upon his Usual Suspects buddies but instead we have Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise and William Fichtner as criminals on the run, Faye Dunaway, M. Emmett Walsh, Skeet Ulrich, John Spencer and Viggo Mortensen as the occupants of an after hours bar they hold hostage, and Joe Mantegna as the cop on the scene. All the actors performances are good, but I especially enjoyed Fichtner's redneck sociopath and Mortensen's mysterious French Canadian who may not be the average joe he appears to be. Both actors have been favourites of mine for some time. 'Albino Alligator' is no masterpiece, but if you want to see some good actors do their thing I suggest you check it out, you won't be disappointed.