Taxi (film series)

Last updated
Taxi
Original work Taxi (1998)
Years1998–2018
Films and television
Film(s)
Original series

Remake

Television series Taxi Brooklyn (2014)

Taxi is a series of French comedy films, created by screenwriter and producer Luc Besson, consisting of five films primarily set in Marseille. In addition, an American-French remake of the 1998 original was made in 2004 and titled Taxi. In 2014 an American-French TV series called Taxi Brooklyn also aired.

Contents

Films

FilmRelease dateDirector(s)Screenwriter(s)Producer(s)
Original series
Taxi April 8, 1998 Gérard Pirès Luc Besson Luc Besson, Michèle Pétin & Laurent Pétin
Taxi 2 March 29, 2000 Gérard Krawczyk
Taxi 3 January 29, 2003Luc Besson
Taxi 4 February 14, 2007Luc Besson, Laurent Pétin & Michèle Pétin
Taxi 5 April 11, 2018 Franck Gastambide Franck Gastambide, Stéphane Kazandjian & Ahmed HamidiLuc Besson
Remake
Taxi October 6, 2004 Tim Story Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon & Jim Kouf Luc Besson

Original series

Taxi (1998)

Taxi was shot in 1998 by Gérard Pirès based on the script by Luc Besson. It tells the story of the young taxi driver Daniel, who loves risk and high speeds, and clumsy policeman Émilien who team up to catch a German gang of bank robbers. In the end, thanks to Daniel's ingenuity, they succeed. The movie earned $44.4 million at the box office with a budget of $8.1 million. [1]

Taxi 2 (2000)

In 2000, director Gérard Krawczyk filmed the sequel. The scriptwriter and producer of the picture was Luc Besson. At the heart of the story lies the confrontation between Daniel and Émilien about the kidnapping of the Japanese minister of defense who arrived in Marseille to get acquainted with France's achievements in the fight against terrorists. The movie earned $64.4 million at the box office with a budget of €10.7 million. [2]

Taxi 3 (2003)

In 2003 Taxi 3 was released. The director was again Gérard Krawczyk, with Luc Besson still being producer and script writer. Daniel and Émilien reunite once again to fight a gang of bank robbers disguised as Santa Claus. The movie earned $64.5 million at the box office with a budget of €14.5 million. [3]

Taxi 4 (2007)

On February 14, 2007, the premiere of the film Taxi 4 was held in France. As in the two previous movies, the director was Gerard Krawczyk, and Luc Besson was scriptwriter and producer. The most dangerous criminal in the world, Albert van den Bosch, escapes from the Marseille police station because of Émilien's incapability. As a result of this, Émilien is dismissed and is now working with Daniel and his wife Petra trying to track down and arrest the escaped criminal. The movie raised more than $65 million at the box office with a budget of €17.3 million. [4]

Taxi 5 (2018)

Taxi 5 premiered in theaters on April 12, 2018. As before, the scriptwriter and producer was Luc Besson, while Gerard Krawczyk was replaced by the young director Franck Gastambide. The characters were also changed, instead of Daniel and Émilien, the heroes of the movie are Daniel's nephew Eddie Makhlouf and the Parisian police officer Silvain Maro, transferred to Marseille. They have to catch a gang of Italian robbers who use Italian supercars as their getaway vehicles. The movie earned $42 million at the box office with a budget of €20.39 million. [5]

Remake

Taxi (2004)

The success of the series of films Taxi attracted the attention of Hollywood. In 2004, Luc Besson's studio EuropaCorp and the American 20th Century Fox jointly shot a remake of the first Taxi, keeping the same title.

Belle Williams is the fastest taxi driver of New York and dreams of competing in NASCAR. But instead of racing, she has to team up with police officer Andy Washburn, a dimwitted detective and an inept driver. Together, they pursue a gang of bank robbers led by Vanessa – a cold and prudent beauty.

The film turned out to be financially profitable, grossing nearly $69 million worldwide with a budget of $25 million [6] but received negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with a rating of 10%. [7]

Future

In an interview with “50 Minutes Inside,” Franck Gastambide announced that if Taxi 5 pays off well at the box office, then Taxi 6 will be his next job. Unfortunately, the film failed at the box office with a budget of €20.39 million, raising only $35 million. Despite this, the director still plans to make the sixth film. [8]

In an interview with the Premiere newspaper, Samy Naceri said that he was ready to star in Taxi 6 if Luc Besson “assembled the old team”, he refused to only appear as a cameo. [9] [10]

At the Dinar Film Festival of 2018, Sabrina Ouazani confirmed that the sixth film is still in planning stage, further details are currently unknown. [11]

Television

SeriesSeasonEpisodesFirst releasedLast releasedShowrunner(s)Network(s)
Taxi Brooklyn 112April 14, 2014May 12, 2014 Gary Scott Thompson, Stephen Tolkin & Franck Ollivier TF1, NBC

Taxi Brooklyn (2014)

In 2014, the television series Taxi Brooklyn, filmed jointly by EuropaCorp Television, the French TV channel TF1 and the American NBC, aired on television. The main creator of the series was Gary Scott Thompson. The plot was based on the first "Taxi".

Caitlin "Cat" Sullivan is an NYPD detective working in Brooklyn. After her driving privileges are suspended, she relies on Leo Romba, a Brooklyn cab driver from France. Leo becomes Cat's driver and a de facto consultant on her cases. While solving crimes with Leo, Cat is also running her own unauthorized investigation into the death of her father, an NYPD detective thought to have been executed by the Capella crime family. In doing so, she clashes with her boss, Captain Baker, and her ex-husband Gregg, who has picked up the case for the FBI.

On the site Rotten Tomatoes, the series received a rating of 38%. [12] On March 6, 2015, NBC cancelled the show. [13]

Cast and crew

Principal cast

List indicator(s)
  • This table shows the characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise
  • Italics indicate the actor only appears in flashbacks via archive footage from previous films
  • A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film
CharacterOriginal seriesRemake
Taxi Taxi 2 Taxi 3 Taxi 4 Taxi 5 Taxi
199820002003200720182004
Daniel Morales Samy Naceri Samy Naceri
(Mentioned)
Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec Frédéric Diefenthal Frédéric Diefenthal
(Mentioned)
Lilly Bertineau Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard
(Mentioned)
Petra Emma Wiklund
Commissaire Gérard Gibert Bernard Farcy
Alain Trésor Édouard Montoute
General Edmond Bertineau Jean-Christophe Bouvet Jean-Christophe Bouvet
(Mentioned)
Sylvain Marot Franck Gastambide
Eddy Maklouf Malik Bentalha
Samia Sabrina Ouazani
Sandy Sand Van Roy
Isabelle "Belle" Precious Williams Queen Latifah
Detective Andrew WashburnJimmy Fallon

Additional crew

Title Taxi Taxi 2 Taxi 3 Taxi 4 Taxi 5
Director Gérard Pirès Gérard Krawczyk Franck Gastambide
Screenplay Luc Besson Franck Gastambide
Stéphane Kazandjian
Luc Besson
EditingVéronique LangeThierry HosseYann HerveKristin Luca Navarro
Friederic Toraval
Julien Rey
Producer Luc Besson
Michèle Pétin
Laurent Pétin
Music Akhenaton Al Kemya Kore & Skalp Tefa, Masta
Weallstar—Da. Octopusss
Kore
CinematographerJean-Pierre SauveurGerard Sterin Pierre Morel Vincent Richard
Premiere Flag of France.svg 8 April 199829 March 200029 January 200310 February 2007 (Marseille)
15 February 2007 (rest of France)
7 April 2018 (Marseille)
11 April 2018 (rest of France)
Runtime90 minutes88 minutes87 minutes97 minutes102 minutes
Budget€8.1 mln [14] €10.7 mln [15] €14.49 mln [16] €17.3 mln [17] €20.39 mln [18]
GenreComedy Action
CountryFlag of France.svg  France
Company
ARP Sélection
TF1 Films Production
StudioCanal Apipoulaï
Leeloo Productions EuropaCorp
Distributor
Flag of France.svg  France
EuropaCorp Distribution

Reception

Box office performance

FilmAll films of the Taxi (film series)
Taxi Taxi 2 Taxi 3 Taxi 4 Taxi 5
Flag of France.svg  France $37,980,000 [14] $63,704,000 [15] $35,752,480 [16] $33,342,703 [17] $21,899,085 [19] $192,678,268
Flag of the United States.svg  United States $268,254 [14] $729,844 [15] $497,208 [16] $1,495,306
Worldwide$44,218,015 [14] $64,433,844 [15] $64,497,208 [16] $65,114,802 [17] $64,497,208 [19] $302,761,077

Music

Soundtracks

Other media

Video games

Related Research Articles

<i>Léon: The Professional</i> 1994 film by Luc Besson

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<i>The Fifth Element</i> 1997 film by Luc Besson

The Fifth Element is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, and Chris Tucker. Primarily set in the 23rd century, the film's central plot involves the survival of planet Earth, which becomes the responsibility of Korben Dallas (Willis), a taxicab driver and former special forces major, after a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his cab. To accomplish this, Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defence of Earth against the impending attack of a malevolent cosmic entity.

<i>Taxi</i> (1998 film) 1998 French action-comedy film directed by Gérard Pirès

Taxi is a 1998 French action comedy film starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal and Marion Cotillard, written by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès. It is the first installment in the Taxi film series. It has four sequels, Taxi 2, Taxi 3, Taxi 4 and Taxi 5 and one English-language remake, Taxi (2004). It also provided the premise for the 2014 American television show, Taxi Brooklyn.

<i>Taxi</i> (2004 film) 2004 film by Tim Story

Taxi is a 2004 action comedy film directed by Tim Story and starring Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon, Gisele Bündchen, Jennifer Esposito, and Ann-Margret. An incompetent New York City police officer is banned from driving and comes to rely on a talented taxi driver to help him solve a series of bank robberies. The film is a remake of the 1998 French film of the same name and was panned by critics.

<i>Wasabi</i> (film) 2001 film

Wasabi is a 2001 French action comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and written and produced by Luc Besson. The film stars Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryōko Hirosue. In France, it was released as Wasabi, la petite moutarde qui monte au nez.

<i>Taxi 2</i> 2000 French film

Taxi 2 is a 2000 French action comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and released in March 2000. Starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal and Marion Cotillard. It is the second installment in the Taxi film series. It is a sequel to Taxi, written by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès in 1999. It was followed by Taxi 3 in January 2003.

<i>Taxi 3</i> 2003 French film

Taxi 3 is a 2003 French action comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk. Starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal and Marion Cotillard, it is the sequel to Taxi 2, and was followed by Taxi 4. It is the third installment in the Taxi film series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samy Naceri</span> French actor (born 1961)

Saïd Naceri, known as Samy Naceri, is a French actor known for his work in the four Taxi films and The Code.

<i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i> 2006 film by Luc Besson

Arthur and the Invisibles or Arthur and the Minimoys is a 2006 English-language French live-action/animated fantasy film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is based on the first two books of the Arthur children's books series, Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City, by Besson.

<i>Taxi 4</i> 2007 French film

Taxi 4 is a 2007 French action comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and the fourth installment of the Taxi film series. It is a sequel to Taxi 3 and followed by Taxi 5. As with all the other films in the franchise Gallic Taxi, Samy Naceri plays taxi driver "Daniel Morales", this time in a Peugeot 407, unlike the 406 in the previous films. Frédéric Diefenthal is "Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec", whilst Jean-Christophe Bouvet reprises his role as "General Bertineau" yet again.

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A taxi or taxicab is a vehicle for hire with a driver.

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