Everything You Didn’t Know About Michael Mann’s Miami Vice Movie

The 2006 Michael Mann film Miami Vice was pretty anticipated upon its release, and with good reason. The original TV series is very much a touchstone of 1980s American culture, from Don Johnson’s colorful pink shirts to its use of the smash Phil Collins jam “In the Air Tonight.” Not only was 4x Best Director nominee Michael Mann brought on to write and direct, he was also one of the executive producers of the original TV series and gave audiences every reason to expect a rousing blockbuster. However, Michael Mann chose to distance the film from the show by creating an atmospheric moody flick that was seductive but nonetheless oft-putting to fans looking for something closer to the show. The result is an unexpectedly quiet and subdued film that has slowly but surely found a new audience as a cult favorite. Here are 12 facts about the 2006 Miami Vice film.

1. Who directed the Miami Vice movie?

Miami Vice (2006) was directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Mann, the auteur behind Heat who was awarded the Best Director Oscar in 1992 for The Last of the Mohicans. It is the 9th feature film he has directed, after Collateral (2004) and before Public Enemies (2009). The Unrated Director’s Edition contains extra footage.

Click to purchase Miami Vice (2006)!

 

2. Who is in the Miami Vice movie?

Miami Vice (2006) stars Jamie Foxx as Ricardo Tubbs and Colin Farrell as Sonny Crockett. The movie reestablishes characters played by Philip Michael Thomas and Don Johnson, respectively. The movie also features Gong Li, John Hawkes, Naomie Harris, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Justin Theroux, Barry Shabaka Henley, Luis Tosar, Ciarán Hinds, and Domenick Lombardozzi.

3. Is the Miami Vice movie any good?

According to IMDB, Miami Vice (2006) had a reported budget of $135 million. It made $164 million worldwide, though over $100 million of that was from outside North America. The film seemed to have thrown off viewers who were expecting something a lot closer to the original Miami Vice television show and generally received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 47% Tomatometer score with an audience score of 43%. Metacritic rates it a bit higher with a score of 66. However, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times and Scott Foundas of LA Weekly both included Miami Vice in their list of top ten movies of 2006.

4. The Miami Vice movie was Jamie Foxx’s idea

Michael Mann has directed Jamie Foxx in three films so far: Ali (2001), Collateral (2004), and Miami Vice (2006). While at a party together to celebrate Ali, Foxx pitched the idea of a Miami Vice movie to Mann, who was an executive producer of the popular television series.

5. Jamie Foxx’s Oscar win affect the production of Miami Vice

Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Academy Award for his role as Ray Charles in Taylor Hackford’s Ray (2004) — while also nabbing a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Michael Mann’s Collateral that same year. The statue was secured after signing onto Miami Vice but before production on the film began — and his demands escalated. Colin Farrell’s salary was cut to acquiesce Foxx’s request for a raise. Jamie Foxx also refused to fly commercial and would not film scenes on planes and boats. While on set in the Dominican Republic, gunshots were fired, and Foxx refused to film outside the United States. The original ending was supposed to be filmed in Uruguay, but Mann rewrote it around Foxx’s new stipulations.

6. What other actors were considered for the Miami Vice movie?

Being such a big-name project, lots of top film stars were considered to play Tubbs and Crockett. Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Will Smith were contemplated to play Ricardo Tubbs. Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt were all once considered to take on Don Johnson’s old role. Film fans should have plenty of fun imagining mix-and-match scenarios.

7. Where was the Miami Vice movie filmed?

Miami Vice (2006) was shot on location in South Florida, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Filming was fraught with all kinds of disruptions from weather conditions and gang-related activity to Jamie Foxx’s escalated demands. This included interruptions from Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma.

8. Colin Farrell was traumatized by the cops lol

Both Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx trained with actual undercover law enforcement and Farrell was even invited to participate in a real sting operation. It did not go well. Guns were drawn and Farrell had put his improvisational skills to use and demonstrate he wasn’t wearing a wire. He feared for his life and spent a sleepless night anxious af over the incident. It was only the next morning that Colin Farrell was informed that the entire sting operation was staged and that he was never in any real danger. Hilarious how the cops think it’s funny to manufacture fake trauma in addition to causing real trauma!

9. What music is on the Miami Vice (2006) movie soundtrack?

Phil Collin’s smash hit single “In the Air Tonight” was a big part of the original Miami Vice television series, but it’s merely covered by Nonpoint in the 2006 film, perhaps in a conscious attempt to further distance the film from the television show. Michael Mann’s use of music to create mood and atmosphere in Miami Vice is especially notable here, using tracks from Mogwai and Goldfrapp to underscore high-tension scenes in the Miami Vice original soundtrack.

Click to purchase the soundtrack to Miami Vice (2006)

10. Colin Farrell didn’t really like the Miami Vice movie

In 2010, Colin Farrell told Total Film that he didn’t like Miami Vice very much. “I thought it was style over substance and I accept a good bit of the responsibility… It was never going to be Lethal Weapon, but I think we missed an opportunity to have a friendship that also had some elements of fun.”

11. RZA was attached to create the score for Miami Vice

In 2007, RZA gave an interview with The United States Chess Federation (of all organizations!) where he acknowledged that he was supposed to do the soundtrack for Miami Vice but it was cancelled. The job eventually went to Organized Noize instead.

12. “Life is short, time is luck”

In one scene, Isabella is telling Sonny about a fortune she once got that said “Life is short, time is luck.” Michael Mann has used this line on two other occasions: Manhunter (1986), and Heat (1995). It’s not exactly a deeply poetic line but it must obviously mean something to Mann to have used the same line in three different movies.

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Cover Image Credit: Image by Peter Kraayvanger from Pixabay

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