After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area’s new razor-toothed residents.
A reboot of the series wasn’t exactly a surprise, let’s be honest it never is now.
What was a big surprise for me was the route the film-makers took, I was all for them making a R rated gore filled film instead of all the pg-13 films we were being given at the time. What I couldn’t understand was the gratuitous nudity.
Now don’t start thinking I’m a prude, I understand why it’s done and as a huge fan of 80’s horror I’m used to the usual ‘boob shot’ and things like that. This film just shoved it all in your face to the point that it became quite uncomfortable viewing.
I was initially excited for this release when Alexandre Aja was announced as director as I had really enjoyed his previous work, with this being his third Horror remake he’d already shown his potential but this one took a detour and went for nudity over quality.
Another shocker for me was the casting, with the likes of Richard Dreyfuss, Elisabeth Shue and Christopher Lloyd making appearances. It truly was surprising seeing such established actors tuning up in a film of this nature.
“Piranha 3D” went for a certain fanbase and certainly succeeded, I just wasn’t one of them.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
A TV spot was banned because it had too much gore, and it also revealed the ending to the movie.
“Girls Gone Wild” mogul Joe Francis wrote a letter to producers saying he was angry at the film because of Jerry O’Connell’s character who owns a site called “Wild Wild Girls” which is a spoof of the adult video line and that he might take legal action if “any defamatory or disparaging statements, or depictions, in the media or in the film itself, or other statements that portray Mr. Francis in a false light, will be met with swift litigation.”. After seeing the movie Francis went on saying “I appreciate a good parody as much as the next guy, but to associate me with drugs and the filming of underage girls crosses a definite line,” Francis said. “Jerry O’Connell has repeatedly and emphatically stated on the public record that he is ‘playing Joe Francis,’ not a fictional character based on me. Mr. O’Connell has done this despite having been warned by his own lawyers not to admit this.” In response O’Connell said “I get to play Joe Francis! Oh, wait. For legal reasons I’m supposed to say, ‘I play someone loosely based on Joe Francis.'”
Alexandre Aja planned to have Joe Dante (director of the original Piranha (1978)) and James Cameron (director of Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981)) play boat captains who give safety lessons to the teens. Dante wanted to do it, but Cameron was too busy.
Kelly Brook and Riley Steele spent two weeks training for their nude synchronized underwater swimming set piece.
1,112 boats were used for the spring break massacre set piece.
This is the first time Elisabeth Shue and Christopher Lloyd have shared screen time since Back to the Future Part III (1990).
The film has a poster in the style of Jaws (1975) and its sequels, with the monster at the bottom of the sea and the potential victim on the surface high above.
No cuts were demanded by the MPAA.
The film was not screened for critics, although, unusually in such circumstances, the critics actually liked it.
The film was actually shot on Lake Havasu, Arizona, a popular place for real spring breakers, not on Lake Victoria. Producers debated using the real name, but opted for a fictional one for various reasons.
Gianna Michaels was a last minute replacement for Natasha Nice, who got arrested while working on a hardcore movie prior to the shooting of her scene and hence was unable to do the small part Michaels plays in the picture.
A spoof ad campaign suggested that the film should be considered for Academy Awards.
The film was shot in 2D and converted to 3D using the Reali-D conversion process developed by the company, Inner-D. Unlike other 3D converted films, Piranha 3D was always planned to be 3D.
The production crew estimated 75,000 gallons of fake blood were used each day.
The song Richard Dreyfuss is singing at the beginning of the film, “Show me the way to go home” is the same song he sang with Robert Shaw and Roy Schieder in JAWS, aboard the Orca, in 1975.
This film marks the third time that director Alexandre Aja has directed a horror film remake. He previously directed The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and Mirrors (2008), also remakes of earlier horror films.
Richard Dreyfuss worked for two days, while Christopher Lloyd only worked for a single day.
Kelly Brook auditioned with an American accent. This deeply disappointed director Alexandre Aja, who called her back and asked her to speak in her natural English accent. He felt the character would be much more appealing if Brook played her in her normal voice.
Some of the shots of spring break participants are genuine.
Shot in 42 days.
The spring break massacre set piece took nine days altogether to film.
Included in the end credits is a shout-out for the Society of Amputee Surfers.
Despite prominent billing, Christopher Lloyd and Richard Dreyfuss each get just a few minutes of screentime.
Three boats were built for the Barracuda yacht.
During the scene of the two nude women swimming underwater, the music used is the “Flower Duet” from Delibes’ opera “Lakmé”. The English translation of the French lyrics includes the lines “Come, let us drift down together / Let us gently glide along; With its enchanting flow / Let us follow the fleeing current… Ah! Let us drift down together!”
The director filmed scenes specifically for the trailers and TV spots.
The scenes at the Pet Emporium were all shot in a single day.
The brand of tequila they have on the Wild Wild Girls boat is Havasu Tequila. This is most visible during the body shots scene. Lake Havasu is where this was filmed.
Production was originally slated to begin in late 2008, but was delayed until March 2009.
Alexandre Aja first met Kelly Brook at a restaurant he was eating lunch at.
Alexandre Aja cast all the spring break extras.
Chuck Russell was originally going to direct. He did however help rewrite the script with Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, as well as incorporating the original John Sayles script that Joe Dante directed the first time around.
Ehren Kruger made an uncredited contribution to the screenplay.
Rob Huebel was considered for the role of Derrick Jones.
In Matt Boyd’s (Richard Dreyfuss) fishing scene not only is he dressed like his ‘Jaws’ character Hooper singing ‘Show Me the Way to Go home’ as he did aboard the ‘Orca’ further references to the 1975 film include the brand of the beer he is drinking – ‘Amity’ and in a nod to Chief Brody’s famous line regarding needing a ‘bigger boat’ he is set up in an incredibly small 1950’s vintage one man fishing boat the size of a bath tub.
Steven R McQueen is the son of Chad McQueen from The Karate Kid. Elizabeth Shue was also in Karate Kid.
Cameos:
Ashlynn Brooke, Gianna Michaels: The adult film actresses both play victims. Michaels plays the parasailing girl. Brooke plays the member of the cheerleading who is cut in half by the loose steel cable.
Richard Dreyfuss: The Jaws star appears as fisherman Matt Boyd at the start of the film. Dreyfuss was paid a reported $50,000 for his cameo in the film. He donated his entire salary to charity. Boyd is dressed like Hooper, the character Dreyfuss played in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece.
Eli Roth: The wet T-shirt contest host.
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