Mildly informing and entertaining, this bonus material for "The Negotiator" movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey does not include cast members,
just director F. Gary Gray and some key producing members who talk about the importance of choosing Chicago as a main location for the movie. It's interesting to see
the magic of movies and Hollywood when some of the tricks are revealed and audiences can visualize what was filmed on the actual location and what was recreated
on a movie set in Los Angeles. For viewers who hadn't seen featurettes and bonus materials it's like one of those amazing experiences where things are funnier than
they are because you'll be seeing how different the filmmaking process is compared to the final product.
I don't recall much of the real importance Gray and his team had chosen Chicago as the background for the great thriller but I loved it for its grandiose aspects
with plenty of options to be worked on, almost like New York but less restrained and cheaper to film in the city (NY usually gets recreated in Canada in countless
films while Chicago is hardly ever recreated (most of the studio sequences in L.A. are gigantic billboards from exterior buildings that aren't from there; and one
set used for Jackson's famous challenge to the cops who want to take him down during the whole film). There's enthusiasm from the folks involved but it wasn't
all that great because I've seen similars, and better ones that could include actors and other key crew members. It's quite watchable along with the movie -
a favorite of mine through the decades. Check it out. 7/10