AN HONORABLE MAN, A HIJACKED GOVERNMENT,
A HIGH-STAKES THRILLER: THE ORIGINS OF SHOOTER
The core American value of honor has become a scarce commodity in today's politically complicated and increasingly corrupt world - but it lies at the very heart of Bob Lee Swagger, the sniper hero of "Shooter," who finds himself in the middle of his worst possible nightmare after he is framed as a Presidential assassin.  Trusted by no one, hunted by an angry, frightened nation and haunted by his own past, Swagger must use every military, ballistic and psychological skill he has, and then some, to not only survive but try to restore the honor that means so much to him.  Yet far more than his personal honor is at stake.  His battle is also for the honor of the country he loves, as he finds himself caught in a dark web of deceit that reaches into the very heart of the U.S. government - which has been hijacked by a secret association bound only by its hunger for power and willingness to violate the public trust. 
"Bob Lee Swagger is a phenomenal American character who brings to mind cinema heroes like John Wayne and other classic Western characters," observes the film's producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, whose many hit films range from the classic sci-fi thriller "The Matrix" to the hit action-comedy "Ocean's Eleven" and Antoine Fuqua's Oscar-winning "Training Day."  "Bob has that same uncompromising quality.  His sense of right and wrong, and how he feels about what is justice and what isn't justice, are things you can really emotionally connect with inside this exciting conspiracy thriller." 
The character of Bob Lee Swagger first came to the fore in the best-selling novel Point of Impact by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stephen Hunter, who also happens to be a film critic for The Washington Post.  A blistering page-turner, the novel won widespread acclaim for its smartly plotted, authentically scary, edge-of-your-seat suspense, with Bob Lee Swagger declared "a thinking man's Rambo" by Publishers Weekly.  The book's popularity launched a trilogy about Swagger that continued with the novels Black Light and Time to Hunt. 
Hunter (who has a small role in "Shooter") always suspected Bob Lee Swagger could be a great movie character - but only if the story was approached correctly.  "Bob Lee Swagger is one of those extremely talented, dedicated, unbelievably courageous men that the movies have somehow never gotten right, even though they use him all the time," comments Hunter.  "But I wanted him to be portrayed as he really would be - to show what's great and inspirational about him, but at the same time, to capture his humanity and his complexity, his doubts and fears, as well.  To me, the story asks: what is loyalty, what is honor, what is courage?"
Those are the same questions that compelled screenwriter Jonathan Lemkin ("Lethal Weapon 4," "The Devil's Advocate") to take a crack at bringing Hunter's tale of a good man caught in a dark web of lies and corruption to the screen.  Many other accomplished writers had tried before, unsuccessfully, but Lemkin found his own creative way to adapt the 550-page novel filled with the minute details of a sniper's life and thought process into a tight, lean 120-page script. 
In doing so, Lemkin's inspiration came not only from Hunter's carefully drawn characters and insider's understanding of men of action, but from another compelling source: the beloved, blockbuster, man-on-the-run conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s, which reflected the profound institutional distrust of those times, yet seemed palpably relevant right now. 
"We took a lot of time looking at early conspiracy movies and thinking about how to move that kind of style into the present day," explains Lemkin.  "I don't know how many times we saw 'Three Days of the Condor' or 'The Parallax View' - but one of the things we were really trying to do with this story was to revisit that kind of classic conspiracy thriller in a very contemporary and current way."
Diving deeper into the writing process and the mind of Bob Lee Swagger, Lemkin even signed himself up for a course in sniper training.  "I went out and laid in the dirt with the Marines at a private sniper base which actually trains the contractors who are now in Iraq," he explains.  "I learned to shoot, learned to crawl through the bushes, learned to clean a weapon and learned to, hopefully, think a little bit like a sniper.  I also spent time with the FBI and did a lot of research into field medicine, which is how I learned, for example, that sugar has been used to fight infections since the Napoleonic Wars." 
With his wide-ranging research, most of all what Lemkin keyed into is what drives a man like Swagger.  "Bob Lee Swagger never does something because someone tells him to do it or because he thinks he should do it for someone else.  He truly believes in honor and living by his own code," he summarizes.
Ultimately, the authenticity and breakneck pace of Lemkin's screenplay would attract the interest of one of today's most daring and increasingly versatile screen stars:  Mark Wahlberg, who recently won widespread acclaim and awards for his performance as a hard-nosed undercover detective in Martin Scorsese's "The Departed."  The script also drew a director who is becoming known for his affinity and skill with intense, character-driven action:  Antoine Fuqua, who drew international acclaim with the searing police drama "Training Day," which garnered Denzel Washington the Academy Award^® for Best Actor. 
Having previously worked with Fuqua on "Training Day," Lorenzo di Bonaventura was convinced that the rising director would make a great match with this white-knuckle twist on the politically savvy conspiracy thriller. "Antoine brings that level of intensity which this movie requires," says di Bonaventura.  "As a director, he has a very uncompromising view. With Antoine, when the story is emotional, it's going to be really emotional, when it's violent, it's going to be really violent, if it's mysterious, it's very, very mysterious.  The whole experience of the movie is heightened."
For Fuqua, the story had a combination of qualities that he felt would add up to one of his biggest challenges yet.  "This project had all the elements for me: conspiracy, government corruption, action and, most of all, Mark Wahlberg," he says.  "I thought Jonathan Lemkin had really nailed the screenplay.  It's got a great plot, great characters and also great scope.  It's big and it's fun and I also believe it'll make audiences think.  You really have to pay attention because there are so many plot twists and turns." 
The bottom line for Fuqua was his fascination with the characters, especially with Bob Lee Swagger and his trial by fire in the course of just a few short, life-altering days - as everything he thought he knew about his country and himself comes into question.  "Bob's a man who has always put his life on the line for patriotism, for honor, but now he's been betrayed and left completely isolated and alone.  Every single move he makes has to be strategic, but you also see him grow quite a bit as a man in the course of the film," Fuqua observes.  "I think audiences want to see cool action, but they also want to be drawn in by great characters like Swagger." 

A SHOOTER WHO BECOMES A TARGET: MARK WAHLBERG PLAYS BOB LEE SWAGGER 
Driving the action of "Shooter" is Bob Lee Swagger, one of the most devastatingly accurate snipers in the entire world and a man who has spent his entire existence taking on perilous missions and risking his life for what he believes.  But now, this stoic hero with deadly abilities will have to turn all his smarts, skills and knowledge towards saving himself - and uncovering the conspiracy that has left him as the patsy in an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. 
Bringing Swagger to life is an actor who was able to bring both authentic athletic prowess and simmering psychological intensity to the role:  Mark Wahlberg, who has risen to become one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors with his standout performances in such films as "Boogie Nights," "Three Kings," "The Perfect Storm," "Invincible" and most recently has garnered numerous awards including Golden Globe and Oscar® nominations for "The Departed." 
Wahlberg was drawn to the role precisely because he knew it would be a new and exciting challenge.  "'Shooter' was both a physical challenge and a huge mental challenge," he says.  "It's a really smart movie that also has a lot of action. This is a character who has to go through so much just to prove his innocence and open people's eyes.  His story is an amazing ride." 
For Wahlberg, the heart of the character was his shattered belief system - and the journey he goes through to restore his sense of being able to make a difference in a corrupted world. "This guy has dedicated his whole life to fighting for his country and fighting for freedom, but he's also been betrayed," the actor explains.  "Still, once they sell him the idea that innocent people and our President could be in danger, he sits up in his chair and says 'which way do you want me to go?'  Then, when he's betrayed again, he's rightfully overcome with anger.  He's cut off from everything and everyone, he's in this impossible situation, but if he's going to attain his goal he has to start to see himself as not all alone in the world anymore." 
The subtle yet relentlessly suspenseful portrait Wahlberg provides is of a man whose quiet, reserved, stolid exterior is about to boil over into a rage for the truth.  All of the filmmakers were impressed with Wahlberg's unsinkable devotion to bringing Bob Lee Swagger to life in such a multilayered way.  Says Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who has previously worked with Wahlberg on four other films:  "Mark has incredible concentration.  When he's committed to something, he'll jump in and just do it and get it right - and he won't stop until he does that.  He brought a lot of veracity to Bob Lee Swagger because he put in all of the work leading up to it."
Di Bonaventura continues:  "What I also love about Mark is he's not afraid to be a man.  He's almost a throw-back to the leading men of another era in that way." 
While Wahlberg threw himself with typical gusto into the rigorous physical training necessary to carry out the film's complex and realistic action sequences, he was equally focused on finding his way past Bob Lee Swagger's incredible strength to touch upon the vulnerability within.  This is revealed in the scenes in which Swagger connects with the only person left in the world to whom he discovers he can confide - his former partner's feisty widow, Sarah, played in the film by rising newcomer Kate Mara. 
"Sarah is basically the only person on earth who can help Bob," notes Wahlberg.  "I feel like the chemistry we have together helps to make the movie that much more accessible, even to women, inside this hard core story about survival.  It's not really a lust thing between them.  They have this deeper understanding and they need each other in any number of different ways.  Their relationship is extremely innocent and caring, in contrast to everything else that's happening to him.  This is just a character with an incredible arc."

WAHLBERG GOES TO SNIPER SCHOOL: ABOUT TRAINING AS A SHOOTER
Key to the suspense of "Shooter" is the most true-to-life, painstakingly accurate portrayal of a military sniper yet seen on film.  To achieve this, Mark Wahlberg had to commit himself to an intensive "boot camp," learning and carefully cultivating some of the extraordinary skills that set the very best shooters, like Bob Lee Swagger, apart, including a Zen-like ability to control one's emotions, fears and nerves while dialing in a laser-like focus that allows for near-impossible shots to hit their marks dead-on. 
Wahlberg came to the production with the advantage of already being a highly trained athlete with exceptional physical strength, endurance and coordination.  But to hone him into a seasoned shootist - the kind who could hit a target 1,000 meters away with dead aim - the production recruited one of the nation's true elite in the field:  U.S. Marine scout sniper Patrick Garrity, who has served both in vital deployments overseas and as a specialized trainer for snipers. 
Jumping into the task with a typical gung ho spirit, Garrity constructed a not-so-basic training in field skills for Wahlberg that put even the famously tough actor through his paces.  The idea was to not only teach Walhberg to shoot well but to give him a sense of the kind of mental and physical commitment, not to mention heart, the extremely dangerous missions of a sniper scout require.  His boot camp began at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute near Las Vegas, Nevada, where Wahlberg followed a nerve-testing training protocol that included jumping off the largest zip line tower in America.  For Wahlberg, the training was revelatory. 
"Front Sight is basically the most elaborate weapons training facility that I've ever seen," says Wahlberg.  "At one point, I had on 130 pounds of equipment, was carrying this huge sniper rifle and had to walk out on this little thin beam a couple of hundred feet in the air.  A few years ago, these are things that I would have loved to have done, but now I'm a parent and have a lot more to live for!"
He adds: "The training definitely opened my eyes to the importance of being safe and smart as opposed to being reckless like I once was." 
As a battle-tested Marine, Patrick Garrity isn't easily impressed but Wahlberg quickly won his respect with his hard work and tenacity.  "I think Mark is a very good fit for this role," says the experienced scout sniper.  "He's even got the young military look with the chiseled face and the right attitude.  When he first showed up, he was a little loose, maybe not knowing what to expect.  But I set up a two-day training course for him and he came ready with a great work ethic.  He picks up everything extremely fast and it made my job a lot easier."
Watching the training, director Antoine Fuqua was equally awed by Wahlberg's natural talent and unusual level of commitment.  "It was amazing to watch Mark go through the training and, especially, to do such accurate shooting," recalls Fuqua.  "He has so much natural ability.  At first, there was some concern because Mark is a left-hander and, since most weapons aren't made for a left-handed shooter, he had to learn how to shoot right-handed for the movie - which is tough - and also switch between right-handed shooting and left-handing shooting.  But Mark was amazing.  He hit a few bull's-eyes right away the first day."
Knowing that Wahlberg could handle it, Garrity designed training as intensive as anything undertaken before by an actor preparing for such a role.  He started by giving Wahlberg a basic history lesson about Marine scout snipers - who have made a difference in many American battles by providing precision fire on selected targets.  Garrity then quickly moved into the nitty-gritty, teaching Wahlberg the use of different shooting positions, how to manipulate the prismatic scope for extreme long-range shooting, how to judge the effects of the wind on a shot and all the many vital factors that go into producing keen marksmanship.
One area on which Garrity focused with Wahlberg is what's known as "rapid bolt manipulation."  He explains:  "That's one thing that Marine scout snipers have to do - they take their shot, rapidly manipulate the bolt and get right back on target.  It was important for Mark to be able to portray Swagger's proficiency with weapons systems by getting that right."
The two men also worked on another shooting essential: breathing skills. "I basically took him through my routine of getting down behind the rifle, getting a good position, going through your breathing cycle, relaxing your eye and starting the trigger press," comments Garrity.  "Once that trigger press is released - racking the bolt, chambering another round and getting right back on target - it's almost like a dance step or art.  You can really tell when somebody knows what they're doing with how they get set up for their shot.  One of the key factors that happens before a sniper takes a shot is getting into the breathing cycle. The more you breathe, the more oxygen you're putting into your blood cells, which allows you to relax and slows your heart rate down." 
Garrity further worked on extreme distance shooting with Wahlberg, which is one of Bob Lee Swagger's specialized skills.  "I took him to an unknown distance range in the middle of the desert - we call it Sniper's Point - and started him at close targets.  Finally, we walked out to 900 yards.  I think he missed the first one and after the first miss, made contact on the next one.  Same thing at 1,100 yards, which is about ten football fields.  I was pretty excited that I could get somebody, in two days, to be able to hit an 1,100-yard man-sized target.  Mark got on the phone and started calling all of his friends," laughs Garrity, "to tell them, 'You won't believe what I just did.  I shot something a thousand yards away!'"   
Leaving no stone unturned, Garrity also educated Wahlberg about the so-called ghillie suits used by pro snipers to mimic the natural vegetation for camouflage.  "When you become a scout sniper," explains Garrity, "the first thing you do is learn to make a ghillie suit."  Ultimately, Garrity would use his intimate personal knowledge of ghillie suits to help accurately construct some of the suits used in the film.
While training at Front Sight, Wahlberg realized that Garrity's continued input would be invaluable during production of "Shooter," and convinced the producers to hire the Marine in a bigger capacity as the film's military technical advisor.  By closely modeling Bob Lee Swagger on Garrity's knowledge and comportment, Wahlberg would lend an even deeper authenticity to the role. 
Garrity was quick to accept the challenge.  "It was my chance to show on film what scout snipers really do.  There's been a lot of myth and lore that go along with what people think about scout snipers, so I hope that what people see in 'Shooter' is a lot more accurate." 

HUNTING THE SHOOTER: ABOUT THE SUPPORTING CAST
Joining Mark Wahlberg in "Shooter" is a supporting cast of beloved veteran actors and promising newcomers - in roles ranging from those who are hunting Bob Lee Swagger to those few who come to help him on his journey to find the truth about why he was set up as an assassin.
The only person to believe Swagger's story inside the law enforcement community is, ironically, a rookie FBI agent who first runs into Swagger during his escape from the assassination scene - and winds up the worse for wear.  Despite having been embarrassed by Swagger, Agent Nick Memphis can't help but feel that something doesn't quite add up about the FBI's insistence that Swagger was the lone gunman.  Playing Memphis as he goes from skeptical agent to Swagger's protégé is Michael Peña, who has quickly risen as a versatile young star with roles in such films as the Oscar®-winning "Crash," "World Trade Center" and "Babel." 
Peña jumped at the chance to work with director Antoine Fuqua, in part because he considers "Training Day" one of his all-time favorite movies.  "I thought Antoine did an amazing job with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in 'Training Day,'" marvels the actor.  "I must have seen the movie five times.  I just love passionate directors, which is Antoine.  On the set, you had any questions whatsoever, he was more than happy to give you a lot more insight.  He really connected with this story." 
Like Wahlberg, Peña dove into the role, hoping to bring as much authenticity to it as possible.  He immersed himself in FBI offices in both Los Angeles and Philadelphia and also underwent his own intensive sniper training for the climactic scenes in which he and Swagger take on a swarm of mercenaries by using their skills and their wits. 
Meanwhile, in a departure from his more sympathetic characters in such films as the "Lethal Weapon" series and the recent, acclaimed "Dreamgirls," Danny Glover stars as Swagger's chief nemesis - the shadowy Colonel Isaac Johnson, who recruits Swagger with patriotic words, then betrays him in the worst way possible.  For the filmmakers, seeing Glover in the surprising role of one of the masterminds of a government conspiracy was part of the excitement of the film.  "Danny has brought so much to so many different kinds of movies, but this is a different kind of role for Danny," observes producer di Bonaventura.  "It allows Danny to be a little bit more edgy.  We were allowed to use Danny's strengths in a way that turns your expectation of who he is on its head a little bit, which is always fun." 
Bringing a feminine element to "Shooter" is Kate Mara, a young actress whose career has rocketed from television to the big screen, as the confused young widow who gives safe harbor, and ultimately tenderness, to Bob Lee Swagger.  Mara was immediately drawn to the screenplay.  "I couldn't put it down," she recalls, "it was just too suspenseful."
She was also strongly drawn to the character of Sarah Fenn, a lonely, widowed schoolteacher who takes a risk on trusting a stranger who has put her in a very dangerous position.  "I like that she's a really strong Southern woman and she's very different from anyone I've played before," says the actress.  "It's hard for her when Swagger just shows up in her life, because he brings back all these demons and reminds her of the husband she lost.  She's sort of thrown into a tough dilemma - but she can't help but care about Swagger and feel for him."
Mara was also compelled by the opportunity to work with Antoine Fuqua. "He thinks of wonderful things you never would," she says of the director.  "He always knows what he wants you to do with the character, but he has this wonderful way of making you feel like you've come up with it yourself." 
The filmmakers were especially excited about the chemistry that seemed to flow electrically between Mara and Wahlberg.  Says di Bonaventura: "Swagger and Sarah have suffered tragedy around the same man so their common bond, their common wound, is a man who stands figuratively between the two of them.  What's fascinating about watching this relationship blossom is how they deal with the fact that there's this man in the middle of them that they both cared deeply about, and it's a hesitation for both characters to cross that barrier. There's a lot of emotional texture to their relationship and it's really a tribute to Mark and Kate because they took it to its fullest extent on an emotional level." 
Rounding out the cast are character actor Elias Koteas ("Zodiac") in the role of menacing ISA offical Jack Payne, British actress Rhona Mitra ("The Number 23")  as FBI assistant Alourdes Galindo, international star Rade Sherbedgia ("Say It in Russian," "24") as Michael Sandor and veteran star Ned Beatty as the aging U.S. Senator who plays a major role in the film's climactic moments.
For di Bonaventura, casting Beatty was another of the film's coups.  "I can remember some of the first movies I saw him in," remarks the producer.  "He hasn't been seen for a while on the screen, so there was an extra pleasure in having him in the film - and he's an unbelievably fine actor." 

SHOOTING THE SHOOTER: ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

THE DIRECTOR AND SCREENWRITER

RETURN TO HOME PAGE