F/X

If special effects can create a convincing murder on the big screen, it stands to reason they'd work in real life, too. That's the theory pitched to blood-and-gore professional Rollie Tyler, when an FBI agent asks him to help fake the death of a mob kingpin who's ready to name names - if the feds can guarantee his safety. But when things go wrong, it's Rollie who's on the run from the cops and the mafia alike.

Tweet Share on Tumblr

1. Think big: the screenwriters, both novices at the time, intended the script as a made-for-TV movie. But producer Jack Wiener was convinced the project deserved the big screen treatment.
2. Director Robert Mandel signed on to helm the movie as a way to shake up his image, as he was tired of being perceived as a "soft, arty director." A couple of afterschool specials on your resume will do that to you.
3. Studying the classics: Mandel needed a little help in getting up to speed for the film's action sequences, so he beefed up on the chase scenes from Bullitt and The French Connection.
4. One of the film's producers was Dodi Fayed - better known as the tragic future flame of Princess Diana.
5. Bringing in the big guns: producers hired special effects whiz John Stears, a veteran of the Bond franchise and a future Oscar winner for his work on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
6. Government imitates art: Stears has claimed that government agencies have offered to pay him in return for simulating various effects depicted in the movie.
7. Let's hear it for braaaaains! The film's lead character has a poster for the 1979 movie Zombie hanging in his apartment.
8. The movie did well enough at the box office, considering its title was lost on many moviegoers. The subtitle "Murder By Illusion" was added later to help clear things up.
9. A spinoff version, F/X: The Series, made it to the small screen for two seasons in the mid-'90s. Strangely enough, it aired on CBS - not FX.
10. From spinoff to remake: Robert Mandel has reportedly signed on to direct a new version of F/X, announced by MGM in January 2010. Bonus points if Brian Dennehy makes a cameo.