The Assassin (Point of No Return) | 1993

- Locations |
- Los Angeles, California; Louisiana; Washington DC
- DIRECTOR |
- John Badham
Another US remake, virtually shot-for-shot, of a Euro-original, the French arthouse hit Nikita, with Bridget Fonda talking over as Maggie Hayward, the criminal given a reprieve and a makeover if she takes on the job of government hitperson.
The original’s Paris and Venice are exchanged for Venice Beach, Los Angeles, and New Orleans at Mardi Gras.
The initial robbery, Maggie’s training and first assignment were filmed in Washington DC.
On her release, she takes an apartment on Los Angeles’ Venice Beach (in the US version, she takes up with a photographer in the supermarket queue, not the check-out boy – so much for the classless society).
The assassin’s next assignment, delivering a bomb, takes place at the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City, 2151 Avenue of the Stars, previously the JW Marriott, in Century City once part of the old Fox backlot, and seen also in Lethal Weapon 2 and John Schlesinger’s Pacific Heights.
The idyllic Venice trip of the French movie is replaced by a jaunt to the New Orleans Mardi Gras, taking in the crowds along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.