''Livers Ain't Cheap'' (also known as ''The Real Thing'') is a 1996

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

written and directed by James Merendino and starring James Russo,

Jeremy Piven Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...

, Emily Lloyd, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Ashley Lawrence, Esai Morales,

Gary Busey William Gary Busey (; born June 29, 1944) is an American actor. He portrayed Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award fo ...

and

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...

Plot

Rupert Little is an ex-con, has decided to go straight. His little brother James wants to pursue a life of delinquency. After being released from jail, James tells Rupert that while he was in jail, he overheard Dexter, a criminal who was arrested for a purse snatching incident, tells his friend Collin that he plans to heist a nightclub on New Year's Eve. But when James is suddenly gunned down by Collin, who wanted him out of the way, he lies in a hospital bed. When Rupert arrives at the hospital, he learns that James needs a liver transplant. Determined to save him, Rupert decides to execute the heist himself to get the money he needs. After Rupert quits his job, he assembles a crew of ex-cons, including Dexter who had to break out of prison, his best friend John and his ex-girlfriend Lisa Turtle. On the night of the heist, Rupert and his gang enter the nightclub for a climax showdown that spins out of control.

Cast

* James Russo as Rupert Little *

as John * Fabrizio Bentivoglio as Alfredo Donati * Robert LaSardo as Eric Fidel * Ashley Laurence as Carla * Emily Lloyd as Lisa Tuttle * Dave Buzzotta as James Little *

as Victor *Pat Gallagher as Dexter * Esai Morales as Collin *

as Foreman * Max Perlich as Tom * Barbara Nickell as Bartender *James Wardlaw as Magnus

Production

Principal photography began on July 1, 1995 and lasted for 30 days. Filming took place in and around

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The prison breakout scene was filmed at the Old Montana Prison in

Deer Lodge, Montana Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,938 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Description The city is perhaps best known as the home of th ...

. Filming at the prison began on the evening of July 20. Part of the area was cordoned off for filming. The crew used a one camera movement for filming the character Dexter climbing from the prison wall, dressed as a guard, walking out from the gate, across the bridge and into a car. Filming at the prison was finished in the early morning hours on July 21. After that, the cast and crew went back to Los Angeles and filming wrapped in late July.

Released

Livers Ain't Cheap was released at the Palm Springs Film Festival on January 12, 1996.

Home Video

The film was released on VHS on January 13, 1998. Instead of using the original title, it was released under the new title ''The Real Thing''.

References

External links

* * 1990s crime action films American crime action films Films directed by James Merendino 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language crime action films {{1990s-US-film-stub