The Pink Panther (2006 film)

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The Pink Panther
Directed by Shawn Levy
Produced by Ira Shuman
Robert Simonds
Tracey Trench
Written by Len Blum
Steve Martin
Michael Saltzman
Rawson Marshall Thurber (uncredited)
Starring Steve Martin
Kevin Kline
Beyoncé Knowles
Jean Reno
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
through:
USA Theatrical and Worldwide DVD/Video
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Non-USA Theatrical
20th Century Fox (UK, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Singapore, Japan, and various affiliates and joint-ventures worldwide)
Release date(s) February 10, 2006
Running time 93 minutes
Country USA
Language English
Budget $80 million
IMDb profile

The Pink Panther is a 2006 comedy film. It is a reboot of the Pink Panther series. In this film, the detective (Steve Martin) has to solve the murder of a famous football coach and find out who stole the famous Pink Panther diamond.

This film also stars Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, and Jean Reno.

Contents

[edit] Plot synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Clouseau (Steve Martin) and Dreyfus (Kevin Kline)
Clouseau (Steve Martin) and Dreyfus (Kevin Kline)

When the French national soccer team beats the Chinese national soccer team in a semi-final soccer match, the post-game celebration turns tragic when the coach of the French team, Yves Gluant (Jason Statham), is murdered by a poisoned dart to the neck, and his Pink Panther diamond ring disappears. Selfish Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Kevin Kline), eager to win the Légion d'honneur after being nominated seven times (but never winning), decides to appoint probably the "most incompetent policeman" in France, Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin), to the case, so that after he has managed to accomplish nothing and diverted media attention from the real investigation, Dreyfus (who has assembled a crack team of investigators to tackle the mystery in secret) can take over the case, look like the hero, and win the Légion d'honneur. Additionally, Dreyfus appoints Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno) to report on Clouseau's whereabouts at all times in order to keep tabs on him.

Clouseau immediately gets on the case, and despite his lack of experience, is actually able to make some progress between countless mayhems. Meanwhile, Bizu, a star player who hates the coach, gets shot by someone in the head, after saying "Oh, it's you". Then, Clouseau tells Ponton to get all the people in Paris with the name "You". He gets an old Cantonese woman who repetively says something on the lines of "Why did you drag me here? What are you, stupid? I know nothing!" Clouseau appears to be ignorant of her meaning, which is spoken in Cantonese, but in fact he understood every word. While at a club, with the intent of asking some questions of the owner Raymond Larocque (a restaurant partner of the murder victim), he encounters the Bondian British Agent 006 Nigel Boswell (Clive Owen), who poses as Clouseau in order to conceal his identity and stop a gas attack by the notorious Gas Masked Bandits. Thus, Clouseau gets the credit for the deed, and much to Dreyfus's annoyance, this helps Clouseau win a nomination for the Légion d'honneur.

Believing that Gluant's girlfriend Xania (Beyoncé Knowles) has more information he can use, Clouseau follows her to New York. He tries to perfect a flawless American accent but has no success (despite hiring the best phonetic coach in the world). Before he can return to France, his bag is switched by a French agent working for Dreyfus while he waits in line. The new bag, which contains several weapons (including a flail, a pocket knife, a grenade, and a revolver), sets off the metal detector, and after he refuses to empty his pockets, which contain hamburgers, he is arrested. Clouseau initially tries to tell the airport staff during the check about the hamburgers, but no one understood him due to his ridiculous accent. Dreyfus then insults Clouseau and strips him of his inspector rank, and prepares to win success. Based on the evidence he has-- that the poison that killed Gluant was Chinese herbs-- Dreyfus oddly assumes that the killer is a Chinese diplomat named Dr. Pang, whom he plans on arresting at the upcoming Presidential Ball. Dreyfus orders the event planners to erase Clouseau's name from the guest list.

Having returned home, Clouseau goes on the Internet, where he finds a photo of his arrest at JFK Airport. Then he spots something which spurs him on his way. Clouseau immediately makes his way to the Presidential Ball with Ponton, and the two sneak into Élysée Palace. The two are able to prevent the murder of Xania by capturing the real killer, pursuing him, and apprehending him, just before the killer is about to take the shot with a PGM sniper rifle, all through careful planning and clever disguising. The killer is "Yuri the trainer who trains", an ex-Soviet soldier, who worked on the French soccer team, and was tired of the coach taking the credit for the victory. Clouseau reveals that the Cantonese woman "reminded" Clouseau that all trainers must be skilled in Chinese medicine, and Bizu was shot in the centre of the brain, in a manner that would be instinctive to Yuri after his time in the Russian military. Yuri had enough trust from the coach to get close to the coach during the victory celebration, stab him with the poison dart, and fade away into the crowd. Xania is revealed to have the diamond, sewn into the lining of her purse. It was given to her by the coach as an engagement ring just before his death, and thus Clouseau allows her to keep the ring, as she is entitled to it under French law. Clouseau revealed that it was the photo of his arrest that revealed everything to him. When he enlarged it he saw in the corner the ring revealed hidden in the purse but showing up in the monitor of the scanning machines at the airport. All this time Dreyfus makes a clumsy attempt to take the credit saying his arrest of the Chinese envoy was a ploy along with Clouseau to draw out the real killer.

For his success, Clouseau wins the Medal of Honor (much to Dreyfus's dismay), and while leaving the ceremonies, manages to drag Dreyfus (whose clothing is stuck in the door) behind the car. At the hospital, he accidentally sends Dreyfus, in a hospital bed, rolling down the hall, until he crashes out a window into the river, screaming Clouseau's name. The film ends with Clouseau saying "Oooh, that breeze feels good."

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Box office performance

In these countries, the film debuted at #1:

Performance in other countries:

As of April 16, 2006, the film grossed a total of $82,226,474 in the United States Box Office and $152,286,513 worldwide.

Since the film did better at the box office than expected, a sequel is in the planning stages.

[edit] Cast

Xania, as portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles.
Xania, as portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles.
  • Charlotte Maier - Accent Speech Coach in the Hamburger Scene

[edit] Previous Treatments

During filming, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased MGM. This acquisition led to a $5 million re-shooting and re-editing process in order to garner a PG rating, therefore appealing to a family-friendly audience rather than the original, more mature target audience. A novelization published in July 2005 was based on the final version of the script prior to the extensive re-shoot. Some of these deleted scenes are available for viewing on the DVD edition of the film, such as the alternate airplane sequence. Not including those scenes, the differences between the version in the novel and the final film are as follows:

  • In general, there is more profanity and sexuality in the earlier version.
  • In the final film, Clouseau's antics as a village gendarme are revealed in an explanation from Dreyfus, accented with flashbacks of several short, unique incidents. Originally, there was to be a single separate scene showing a typical case of Clouseau's, involving the robbery of a hot dog cart.
  • Several press conference scenes are much longer in the pre-edit version. In addition, there are several scenes featuring Dreyfus speaking to his deputy chief Renard, dispensing his thoughts as the case develops.
  • The scene involving Nicole taking Clouseau's measurements also included additional lines of mildly risque dialogue while trying to find his waist measurement.
  • Before Clouseau meets Agent 006, he plays a game of roulette and is flabbergasted upon losing.
  • The scene where Clouseau places a leaky pen in Dreyfus' breast pocket is a running gag in the earlier draft.
  • The already suggestive scene in Xania's hotel room is even more racy in the earlier version. Also, upon losing the Viagra pill down the drain, Clouseau sneaks out of the hotel and into the city, in the hopes that he can refill his perscription. Before doing so, he deposits his "Flaming Mojito" in a potted plant in the lobby. Clouseau visits two pharmacies, both of which are closed. Using Agent 006's glass-cutting device (seen earlier in the Gas Mask Bandits scene), he breaks into the second pharmacy and gets the medication himself. Just before the romance begins, the mojito sets the lobby ablaze. Everyone is evacuated to the streets, including practically-naked Xania and Clouseau.
  • The Medal of Honor ceremony is seen in the earlier version. A humiliated Dreyfus is forced to present the award to Clouseau and Ponton, complete with the customary hug and kiss. Following the ceremony, the police receive word that the Gas Mask Bandits from earlier in the film have escaped, and Clouseau and Ponton jump on the case. In the chaos, Dreyfus in knocked off a bridge into the Seine, causing Clouseau to sigh and deliver the ironic film-closing line, "A great detective, the chief inspector... but clumsy."

[edit] Trivia

  • At the beginning of the movie, Yves Gluant, played by Jason Statham, is the owner of the Pink Panther diamond. The movie Snatch ends with Statham's character, Turkish, becoming the owner of the similarly large and much sought after diamond in that film.
  • Jean Reno's character mentioned that he used to be a police officer, possibly a reference to his role as a French police officer in the films Wasabi and The Crimson Rivers.
  • Steve Martin had such respect for Peter Sellers that when he was asked to take over the role of Clouseau, he put off the decision to accept it until after he had already worked out the character's accent and run several ideas for scenes past director Shawn Levy.
  • This film was originally planned for August 12, 2005, but the date was changed to February 10, 2006, mainly because of the extensive reshoots taking place, and the fact that distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was being bought out by Sony.[citation needed]
  • The red and white microcar that Clouseau and Ponton use in many scenes is a Smart Fortwo.
  • In the film a Spyker car features as a background vehicle.
  • The acrobatic soccer goal that ends the sudden death was not just a lucky stunt. According to the DVD commentary by the director, over one hundred players were auditioned, but none could kick the ball while doing a back flip. Finally, someone suggested trying other athletes, and a martial artist from the UK was chosen. The crew tossed the ball to him many times, until he hit it just right. At one point David Beckham was considered for the role - uncredited - of that soccer player.
  • The film had a lengthy development phase stretching back to October 1997 when Ivan Reitman was slated to produce and Michael Saltzman to script. The original plotline was set in the Paris fashion industry. Along with Reitman, other potential directors were Frank Oz, Mike Nichols, and Steve Oedekerk. Len Blum succeeded Saltzman as screenwriter. Rawson Marshall Thurber contributed to the reshoots. First choices for Clouseau were Jim Carrey or Robin Williams. Kevin Kline, Rowan Atkinson, Martin Lawrence, Kevin Spacey, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, and Chris Tucker were all considered before Steve Martin came aboard with producer Robert Simonds and director Shawn Levy. Herbert Lom had been intended to reprise his role as Dreyfus while Reitman was in charge. Jackie Chan had been approached to play Cato and Howard Stern was suggested for Professor Balls before the studio decided to drop both characters prior to Martin, Simonds, and Levy coming aboard.
  • The footballer Bizou is a play on legendary French footballer Zinedine Zidane's nickname, Zizou.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:


The Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau
The Pink Panther | A Shot in the Dark | Inspector Clouseau
Return of the Pink Panther | The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Revenge of the Pink Panther
| Trail of the Pink Panther | Curse of the Pink Panther
Son of the Pink Panther | The Pink Panther (2006)
Romance of the Pink Panther (never produced) | The Pink Panther 2 (2008) (tentative)
The Pink Panther cartoon character | The Pink Panther Show | Pink Panther and Sons | The Inspector
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