Crossbow Hits Mark as a Prop in “Middle Men”

There's a great scene in "Middle Men" where porn merchant Giovanni Ribisi randomly toys around with a crossbow in a room as Luke Wilson finds a $2 million check under a candy bar.

PopcornBiz just had to ask Ribisi -- why is he toying with a crossbow? "You gotta have a crossbow," Ribisi replied with a smile, not willing to elaborate further.

The decision for the crossbow was random one according to producer Christopher Mallick. And sudden.

"Giovanni came out of his trailer and said to me, 'I think I'm going to need a crossbow in this scene,' " Mallick recalls. He admits he was confused. "I'm like, 'You're in an office talking about a check you found under a candy bar.' "

"And it was like, 'Yeah, I think I need a crossbow for it.' "

Say no more. Mallick sprung into action. "I sent a runner at 7 a.m. to find a crossbow." Ribisi was impressed, mimicking Mallick talking urgently into his headphone with the most unusual set demand of the day: "We need a crossbow on set in a half-hour."

Sure enough, in a half-hour Ribisi was putting the crossbow together in his trailer. Ready for action.

The scene worked perfectly and is even featured in the movie's trailer -- the crossbow a subtle but key detail about the insane lifestyle the characters are taking on.

"For me, it's one of the funniest scenes in the movie," says Mallick.

 

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