Bandit Director Allan Ungar opens up about adapting the real life story of Gilbert Galvan Jr., AKA Flying Bandit, in this exclusive interview with Mama’s Geeky.
Bandit Director Allan Ungar Opens Up About Adapting True Story
Bandit is a film based on the real life story of Gilbert Galvan Jr., AKA the Flying Bandit. He robbed bank after bank, but did so while somehow still being quite lovely to those he robbed. He never hurt anyone — in fact, his gun was never loaded. In this exclusive interview with Director Allan Ungar, we discussed the challenges of adapting a true story. This one was based on a book, that was based on a true story, so did that make it even more difficult?
“So this is a real story that was then adapted into a true crime novel. The real Gil had gone on this crime spree between 86 and 87. Well, technically, he started a little bit earlier, but he had two years that he was doing these bank robberies. In the first year, I think he did 21, which is insane.”
Allan Ungar goes on to explain that the book came out in the 1990s. Bandit’s screenwriter, Kraig Wenman, is from Vancouver and he grew up in Ottawa in the 1980s. He had heard urban legends about this bank robber and then eventually when he became a successful Hollywood writer, he tracked down the publisher, who led him to the author. Fun fact, the author and Gilbert were still in touch, and so he then got Gilbert to give the book rights to the film. So that’s how it all came together.
So which one is more accurate to the real story? The book or the film? Director Allan Ungar says it’s an amalgamation. “Ninety percent of what was in the book, and what was in the police reports, we put in the film. It’s all pretty similar.”
“To be quite honest, the book is structured more as informative than it is fun storytelling. So the book didn’t take the kind of liberties that you would expect. In fact, I think the film takes those liberties. One of the biggest differences being the timeline. So in the film, because of the pregnancy and the ticking clock with the pregnancy, we condensed his spree into the course of one year rather than two.”
Ungar adds that because they needed some time in the epilogue, they have the Flying Bandit getting caught in June of ’88, instead of June ’87, which is when he was actually caught. “So those would be the biggest differences. But the book itself was crazy.”
Allan Ungar says that unfortunately there were a few things they didn’t even get to film because of the time constraint, like Gilbert’s upbringing. “The opening included his upbringing in Los Angeles, which was fascinating because he grew up in East LA and as someone who was of mixed blood, he often was alienated. It just gave him a more sense of longing for family. And so I think that kind of shaped them into who he was. And we just couldn’t build any of that stuff.”
The book has a lot of other fun shenanigans that he gets up to before he went to jail in Michigan. He stole a safe from a convenience store and tried to get it over a bridge, but it landed between two train cars. So the safe got stuck and just took off down the railway.
Besides Gilbert’s upbringing, there is something else that Director Allan Ungar wishes they could have included in the film, and that is a story about him having to cross the border. “We had this great sequence where he actually gets over the border. His friend picks him up and has a fake ID, but the fake ID doesn’t work so he has to charm the border crossing agent.”
As for things that they filmed, but ultimately had to cut from the movie, there were quite a few. The first cut of the movie was three hours long.
“There was a bigger intro for Nestor’s character, which was a lot of fun, which I’ll definitely release on my YouTube channel after the movie comes out. And then there was this really great, poignant dramatic scene with Josh, when he gets to Vancouver, where he sits down with his real mother in person and they have a conversation. He’s like, I’m getting married. I’m having a kid. And she’s like, What do you want from me? It presents that vulnerability that is alluded to throughout the film because he has a fractured relationship with his mother. Claire Bronson, who played his mother, she’s on that HBO show The Outsider Jason Bateman. She’s a phenomenal actress. We just couldn’t get everything. That was a bummer.”
Casting a true life story can be even more difficult than one that is fiction. When asked about the incredible cast of Bandit, Allan Unger couldn’t sing their praises enough. He says that he is so grateful to have worked with them all.
“I can’t imagine anyone else in those roles. What’s awesome about it is that Elisha [Cuthbert] was always my first choice for Andrea. Mel [Gibson] was pretty much always at the top of the list because he looks identical to their real life Tommy Craig. The only difference is that Tommy Craig was like 350 pounds.”
“Then Josh — I’ve been a fan of Josh [Duhamel]’s for so long. And what was really unique about this opportunity was this ability for him to demonstrate his range and his depth as an actor that I don’t think we’ve seen before. And I think a lot of people who have watched the movie agreed this is Josh in a way we haven’t been familiar with.”
“Nestor Carbonell… I can’t say enough about Nestor. I’ve been a huge Nester fan since Lost. I told him, funny enough, that he and I actually met at a premiere for Dark Knight Rises in Toronto when I was when I was still in school. So I showed him a picture that I snapped of him from a distance talking to Ben Mulroney. And now it’s funny, because we’re buddies, and we’re really proud of the movie.”
Bandit is in theaters and available on demand now, so be sure to check it out to learn more about the infamous Flying Bandit.
NEXT: Bandit Review (2022 Movie)
About Bandit
In 1985, Gilbert Galvan Jr (Josh Duhamel), a charming career criminal, escapes from a US prison in Michigan and crosses the border into Canada where he assumes the identity Robert Whiteman. After falling in love with Andrea (Elisha Cuthbert), a caring social worker he can’t provide for, he turns to robbing banks and discovers that he’s exceptionally good at it.
Under the guise of a security analyst, Robert begins flying around the country robbing multiple cities in a day, eventually catching the attention of national news outlets that dub him The Flying Bandit.
Addicted to the rush and money that provides his double life, Robert eventually turns to loanshark and reputed gangster Tommy Kay (Mel Gibson) for bigger opportunities. But with Robert’s notoriety growing in record time, he is put into the direct sights of a ruthless detective (Nestor Carbonell) who will stop at nothing to bring him down.
Based on the true story of The Flying Bandit.
Bandit arrives in theaters and on demand September 23, 2022.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.