The 15:17 to Paris Information

The 15:17 to Paris is a 2018 American biographical drama film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Dorothy Blyskal, based on the autobiography The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Soldiers by Jeffrey E. Stern, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos. The film stars Stone, Sadler and Skarlatos as themselves and follows the trio as they stop the 2015 Thalys train attack; Judy Greer and Jenna Fischer also star.

The 15:17 to Paris was released in the United States on February 9, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Plot

Three American friends are among those confronting a terrorist aboard a train bound for Paris. The title refers to the time the train departed Amsterdam Centraal station.

Cast

• Spencer Stone as himself
• Anthony Sadler as himself
• Alek Skarlatos as himself
• Mark Moogalian as himself
• Isabelle Risacher Moogalian as herself
• Judy Greer as Joyce Eskel, Stone"?s mother
• Jenna Fischer as Heidi Skarlatos, Alek"?s mother
• Ray Corasani as Ayoub El-Khazzani
• Chris Norman as himself.
• Tony Hale as Coach Murray, a gym teacher
• Thomas Lennon as Principal Michael Akers
• P.J. Byrne as Mr. Henry
• Vernon Dobtcheff as Older Man
• Matthew Barnes as Sewing Instructor

Additionally, Paul-Mikel Williams, Max Ivutin, Bryce Gheisar, Cole Eichenberger, and William Jennings will portray younger versions of Stone, Sadler, and Skarlatos.

Production

On April 20, 2017, it was announced that Clint Eastwood would next direct The 15:17 to Paris from a screenplay by newcomer scribe Dorothy Blyskal based on the book The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes. It was announced that Eastwood would begin casting immediately for a principal production start date of later that year. On June 21, 2017, it was announced that Eastwood had chosen Kyle Gallner, Jeremie Harris and Alexander Ludwig to star as Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler and Spencer Stone although offers had not yet been made.

On July 11, 2017, it was announced that Eastwood had cast Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone as themselves in the film which will "begin during their childhood and show their friendship leading up to the moment that changed their lives". It was also announced that the film had commenced principal production. On July 13, 2017, Tony Hale and Thomas Lennon joined the cast as staff members of a school the lead three men attended as children. On August 1, 2017, Sinqua Walls was cast in the film for an unspecified role.

Release

The film was released in the United States on February 9, 2018. The film was originally rated R by the MPAA for violence and language, but received a PG-13 rating upon appeal.

Box office

, The 15:17 to Paris has grossed $12.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $5.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $18.9 million, against a production budget of $30 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Peter Rabbit and Fifty Shades Freed, and was projected to gross $10-15 million from 3,042 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up making $12.6 million, finishing third at the box office behind its two fellow releases.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20% based on 83 reviews, and an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The 15:17 to Paris pays clumsily well-intentioned tribute to an act of heroism, but by casting the real-life individuals involved, director Clint Eastwood fatally undermines his own efforts." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.

Writing for Showbiz411, Roger Friedman acknowledged the film's attempts to be different by casting the real-life men and said, "If there"?s a problem with 15:17 it"?s that it"?s almost filmed like cinema verite, certainly as the story unfolds. There"?s a lot of exposition and it seems slow. Again, a little patience wouldn"?t hurt anyone. Because when the kids"? backstories switch to the main guys, Eastwood finds a groove. Forgive him if the entry seems clunky." Similarly, A. O. Scott of The New York Times gave the film a positive review and wrote, "But [Eastwood's] workmanlike absorption in the task at hand is precisely what makes this movie fascinating as well as moving. Its radical plainness is tinged with mystery."