Fiction has become a part of our life. Be it novels, movies, or any other medium, they all have garnered a place in our life. Some characters leave an intense impact on your mind and stay with us. These characters have specific characteristics that make them attractive and a point of discussion; it could be anything like how a character is written, its journey through which it grows, or anything that makes it appealing. One such character is john w creasy, and this fictional character is now considered a cult character. The protagonist from the novel Man on Fire, John W. Creasy, is the ultimate beta male. He was written by the English novelist Philip Nicholson in the year 1980. Read more about who is John W Creasy True Story.
The inspiration behind the character
Some real-life events inspired the novel. The first one is the kidnapping of the eldest son of a rich Singaporean man, and the man didn’t pay the ransom, which resulted in the death of his son. The second event was the kidnapping of the grandson of Paul Getty in Rome. Philip Nicholson drew the basic framework of his novel from these real-life cases; it helped him build his novel’s setting and create a gripping narrative. The story follows the story of John Creasy, an ex-CIA agent now turned into a full-time mercenary who a wealthy Italian man hires to work as a bodyguard for his daughter, Pita. The novel received some decent acclaim and has been adapted into two films, one in 1987 and another in 2004. Both movies took some cinematic liberties with the plot. The first movie adaptation received some bad reviews and wasn’t a success. The latter is regarded as a much better movie as the overall theme was closer to the novel than the older movie. So was john w creasy inspired by a true story? Yes, John w Creasy was very much inspired by a real-life person. Reportedly, he was a former CIA operative and later an assassin.
Background information of john w creasy
Written by English author Philip Nicholson, John w Creasy originates from the state of Tennessee. He is fearless, ruthless, and keeps his loyalty to the right people. He served in the French Foreign Legion for a long time before becoming Pinta’s bodyguard. Quinnell based Creasy on several people he knew and gathered information from their experiences in the Vietnam War.
Some facts about the 1987 movie adaption
- Producer Arnon Milchan wanted Robert De Niro as the leading man in the movie.
- Director Tony Scott was the original choice to direct this movie, but later, he was replaced by French director Élie Chouraqui, however, directed the 2004 adaption of the novel.
- The screenplay of this first adaption underwent several changes, which resulted in a bad movie.
- The movie gained terrible reviews upon its release and was regarded as a below-average product.
Some facts about the 2004 movie adaption
- The 2004 movie renames Pinta’s character to “Lupita” because the term Lupita means prostitute in the Mexican language.
- This movie has actor Denzel Washington playing the character of John W. Creasy and actress Dakota Fanning playing Lupita (Pita).
- Actress Dakota Fanning was missing her teeth during filming. After an intense discussion, the filmmakers decided to keep it as it is and scrapped the idea of using fake teeth.
- Dakota took piano lessons for her character.
- The character of Rayburn was originally going to be played by actor Marlon Brandon.
- Fox wanted the film to be set in Italy, but the setting was changed to Mexico because the city had a high kidnapping rate.
- The producer first looked at director Michael Bay and Antoine Fuqua before finally settling on Tony.
- There is also an Indian remake of this movie titled Ek Ajnabee, starring Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan in the role of John Creasy.
- The 2005 version, like its older version, received good reviews and was a modest success at the box office.
- This adaption used many of the book’s lines, which the novel writer, Philip Nicholson, appreciated.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Andy Garcia, Mel Gibson, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Viggo Mortensen, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, and more actors were considered for the role of John Creasy.
- The movie went through several screenplay revisions.
- The movie was shot like a jigsaw, with a complicated narrative.
- Several Mercedes S-class cars were bought and destroyed during the filming.
- The adaption of the novel was more dark and intense compared to other older ones.
- Mexico City Police Chief provided help in making the movie, hoping it would give the necessary attention to the issue of rising kidnapping in Mexico City.
Conclusion
The character is quite famous among the masses and is still remembered for its heroic characteristics. It draws parallels to the other heroic characters of the 80s like Rambo, Tony Montana, etc. all these characters are known for their no none attitude and bravery.
