Detective Reviews Hostage Negotiation Scenes, from 'Captain Phillips' to 'Inside Man' | Vanity Fair

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- As a hostage negotiator,
I've worked a lot of situations where people
were held against their will by some very dangerous people.
- [Narrator] Today Rod is going to break down
hostage scenes in movies to determine
what Hollywood gets right and wrong.
[intense mystery music]
[police sirens wail over the TV]
- What Hollywood uses for entertainment
is a real-life tragedy for other people.
So, to keep in mind that these are probably
the most serious and most dangerous situations ever,
and it's a very intense job.
[TV static]
- [Rod] First up, "Dog Day Afternoon."
In this scene, a hostage-taker negotiates
with police.
- Okay well I'll come over there without a gun,
you can frisk me so you can see you can trust me
so we can talk and find a way out of this mess.
- Right.
- A hostage negotiator will always
talk from a safe distance,
and would never go inside a scene.
But if he did, it would never be without a firearm.
He would become a hostage at that point.
[radio chatter]
- Hey! Don't fire!
Don't fire!
- What are you doing? That's a hostage!
[multiple people yelling]
- [Radio] Don't fire, don't fire! Hold fire!
- [Moretti] Don't touch him! That's our plan!
- We voted to send him out!
He's one of the hostages!
- Get away from him! What's the matter with you?
- In situations that are tense like this,
there's always a possibility for miscommunication.
That's clearly what happened here.
The hostage-taker said he only had women.
- How about giving us a woman?
- No, I got women, that's all I got here.
- But he sent out a man and the police
weren't sure whether or not that man
was a hostage taker or a criminal.
So they immediately rushed him.
That's common.
It's common when signals get crossed or mixed up
and it's hard to distinguish who's the good guy
or who's the bad guy.
- Now wait a minute, Sonny,
Sonny, that wasn't your fault, Sonny,
you know that we had a communication set up here.
We haven't got it set up properly,
we got 250 cops here.
They don't know what the fuck is going on in there.
- You almost killed him are you crazy?
- Clearly he's using the woman as a human shield.
Human shields are not used very often.
But in this case he was trying to limit
his exposure to police.
And if they were to try to snipe him,
or take him out,
he'd have another person as cover.
- Come on out and frisk me.
You can tell.
Huh?
Come on.
- [Hostage Taker] So what do you want me to come out for?
- Come on, why don't you come out and look at something.
Come on.
I want you to see what you're up against.
- I can see you.
What do I gotta come out for?
- [Negotiator] I want you to come out
and see it all, all right?
- In a real life scenario,
there would be a command center
and there would be one person calling the shots
and everybody else kind of provide the support role.
This is just chaos.
And I think it's great for cinema
but in real life it would never happen.
[television static]
Next up, Captain Phillips.
In this scene, the Navy has been sent in
to check on the well being of a hostage
that has been taken by some Somalian terrorists.
[shouting in foreign language]
[terrorists shout in foreign language]
- Guns down!
Americans guns down!
[shouting in foreign language]
- Put your guns down now.
- So this is based off a true story
so it's pretty accurate.
What they're doing is they're gathering intel.
So you'll see in this scene,
where there's a camera,
and there's a lot of surveillance type equipment there.
That's for the Navy to find out
what the layout is
and how they can actually approach
and attack this vessel.
- Does my family know where I am?
- Yes, [audio unclear]
- [Hostage] It's important they
know where I am.
I'm in seat 15.
You understand?
- What was really interesting
was when the captain told the Navy
where he was sitting.
And the reason he said that is because
anyone anywhere else in that boat
could be taken out
he just wanted them to know where he was.
[speaking in foreign language]
- Where is the money?
I don't want your food,
I want your money.
- Maintain camera footage.
- Hold on a second.
- Ten million dollars.
Ten million dollars.
[speaking in foreign language]
[shouting in foreign language]
- So the reason you're not seeing
a lot of time taken a lot of negotiation going on
is because it's really more of a strategic plan
to find out where they are
and how to strike and attack.
The thing to keep in mind
is that America does not negotiate
with terrorists or hostage takers.
And that's just a matter of national policy.
[television static]
Next up, Airheads.
[knocks on door]
- Who are you?
- Chris Moore, Capital Records, ANR.
Come on, let me in.
- [Rod] In this scene, law enforcement
tries to negotiate with criminals
who have overtaken a radio station.
- The cops told me you guys are looking
for a record contract.
There's something going on here
we gotta take immediate advantage of, guys.
Come on, let's talk, huh?
- It's pretty common for law enforcement
to come up with a different ruse
to try to make something happen.
But one thing law enforcement would never do
is send in a civilian or someone
into a hostage taker's domain.
It's just not gonna happen.
Hostage takers are unpredictable.
And one thing we don't want to do
is expose anybody to any danger.
- All right, let me ask you a question.
What side you take in the big
David Lee Roth Van Halen split?
- What do you mean?
- What kind of question is that?
- What side did you take?
Halen or Roth?
- Van Halen.
- He's a cop.
- Clearly this guy is a cop
and not a music professional
because everyone knows that
David Lee Roth was Van Halen.
The problem with using a ruse
or some sort of undercover officer
is being found out.
Once you're found out,
then you probably made an irreversible mistake.
The hostage takers will no longer
have any trust or respect
and that makes the situation a lot more hazardous.
- You put the power back on.
- No, I'm not gonna do that, Chaz,
I'm drawing the line there.
- In hostage situations,
sometimes utilities are turned off
to make the person inside uncomfortable.
Turning them back on is probably never gonna happen.
Regardless of the situation.
It's just not gonna happen.
We make them cold, dark, off guard,
want them to be a little hungry.
Put them in desperate situations.
- Is everyone having a good time tonight?
[crowd cheers]
Now, you wanna let the cops shut this party down?
[crowd boos]
We got the guns,
we got the numbers!
[crowd cheers]
- Hostage takers would never come outside
and expose themselves to law enforcement like that.
The minute they give a clear shot,
they're gonna be shot.
There's no way that would ever happen.
[television static]
Next up, Inside Man.
In this scene, a bank robber challenges
law enforcement to solve a riddle.
- [Voice On Phone] What do you want me to say?
- That my plane is ready.
- Okay, listen.
I promise you, as God as my witness,
I'm working on it as hard as I can.
It's just gonna take a few more hours.
- So what you see here is a person
asking for a mode of transportation.
In this case an airplane.
Which seems kind of outrageous.
And the hostage taker may be a little delusional
and think that these things are actually
going to happen.
So what law enforcement is gonna do
here is delay and stall and try to keep him calm
and not go into a tail spin and injuring someone.
So as long as he believes that there is going to be
an airplane coming,
it may buy law enforcement some time
to try to work out the situation.
But the reality is,
is that you don't see a lot of people requesting airplanes.
Probably because most of them can't fly airplanes.
- Why should I give you any more time?
- Well it's simple,
you give me more time, you get what you want.
You don't give me the time,
you don't get what you want.
You got nothing to lose.
[paper rustles]
Meanwhile, we'll send in some more food.
- Typically, in situations like this
you always notice the hostage taker
beginning to become uncomfortable.
And in a lot of instances,
we want to keep them uncomfortable.
Something like food, though,
we want to dangle it out there
and not necessarily give it to them,
it's just a matter of keeping them calm
and giving them something to aspire to
rather than going through a tail spin
in a crisis situation
and actually start hurting people.
- I got a question for you.
You get it right, I give you more time.
- [Voice On Phone] And?
- You know what happens if you don't.
Which weighs more,
all the trains that pass
through Grand Central Station in a year,
or the trees cut down to print
all US currency in circulation?
Here's a hint: it's a trick question.
[phone clicks]
- The hell was that?
- Playing games now?
- The riddle is a control thing,
and sometimes hostage takers
or people that are holding people against their will,
they want to seem like they're in control.
I think the reality is that they know they're not.
So it's a kind of a game where they know
they have your attention and they want to keep
you interested in what they want to be interested in.
Next up, The Taking of Pelham 123.
In the scene, law enforcement decides to lie
to a hijacker to defuse a hostage situation.
- Ten, nine, eight.
- Tell him the truth or a lie?
- Tell him the truth.
- No, tell him it's there.
- Five, four, three.
- Tell him it's here.
- It's here.
- One.
- The money is there.
It's at 42nd and Vanderbuilt.
[sirens and engines rev]
- Liar. Mother [beep] Liar.
- So, the thing to keep in mind
is not to try and manipulate a hostage taker,
because they are the kings of manipulation.
Their job is to try to manipulate you.
And they become really insulted
when they find out that the tables
are being reversed on them
and things can go really bad.
I've seen this happen a lot.
[door slams]
- One, two,
- Rider.
- Three, four, five, six, seven.
- All right, listen.
- Lucky lady.
- So what you're seeing here
is the hostage taker going into a crisis situation
where they are completely out of their mind
and they've become completely irate
with law enforcement.
In situations like this,
it's all about preservation of life.
There are people that are in grave danger,
and being extremely careful
in situations like this is paramount.
- Rider, we made a mistake,
it was an accident, Rider!
- So, what would happen if a hostage taker
began to shoot people or become physically violent
rather than just threatening violence
is they're going to try to figure out a way
to get in there and take him out.
Whether it be with a tactical team,
or snipers or something,
but the goal now is to save the remaining people
knowing that this person is completely out of control.
[television static]
Next up, Metro.
In this scene,
a hostage negotiator enters a bank
trying to retrieve hostages.
- SWAT will take you out if you kill somebody.
That's what they gear up for.
- No, please, no!
- They're ready to do you right now.
I want you to see something.
Come here.
Just look out the window here.
- In this scene, you'll see the negotiator
actually inside the bank with the hostage taker
I mean, just a few feet away.
That would never happen.
The appropriate measure is to be away
from the hostage taker at a remote location
so you're talking by phone or by throw phone
or drop phone but never inside face to face.
- There's a sniper in the window.
He's looking at you right now
in the scope on his rifle.
The window next to it,
sniper in there, too.
All around the building.
We got SWAT on the roof.
[woman sobs]
They been given the word,
you kill anybody, anybody,
they take you out.
- I think the strategy of telling the hostage taker
where the snipers were, were to let him know
that he was overwhelmed with force
and that they could take him
when they decided to
and he was the only thing between
the hostage taker and the snipers,
but in reality he wouldn't tell him that.
Secondly, you don't want to put
the hostage taker in a situation
where they feel like their life
is immediately threatened.
- I gotta take Harold out of here.
He's bleeding pretty bad.
I took an oath as a negotiator,
if I ever go into a hostile situation
and there's an injured party,
I'm duty bound by that oath
to take the person to safety.
- When rescuing hostages,
it's never a situation where you try
to rescue them one by one.
Of course, if you can get a hostage
that would be an ideal situation.
But the reality of it is not to try that scenario,
but to put yourself in a position
where you can actually take out the hostage negotiator.
- Come on!
- [Off Screen Voice] Hold your fire!
- Let's go!
[intense music]
- That's one out.
Seventeen to go.
- So what we're seeing is
the visual of the SWAT team
and all the other officers and people outside
is not realistic.
If there's going to be anyone outside the bank,
it's gonna be uniformed officers
sort of putting up a perimeter
so no one else can come in
and block off any chances of this person escaping.
The SWAT team or the tactical response team
would be strategically placed in windows
and figuring out a way to actually enter the bank.
[television static]
Next up, Money Monster.
In this scene, a news anchor is taken hostage
while hosting a live television show.
- What does any of this have to do with me?
- Everything!
This has everything to do with the both of you,
that's why I'm here,
don't you understand?
Two boxes, two assholes.
- So in this scene,
it's a hostage situation brewing.
Law enforcement clearly hasn't arrived yet,
this is how the situations actually begin.
The hostage taker comes in, in this crazy state,
and they begin to take hostages.
And this is probably the way it plays out
before law enforcement is called.
- This is about Ibis?
- You're god damn right this is about Ibis.
- Okay, I get it.
- Turn that camera off.
- I don't particularly think
that this scene is very accurate
because if someone is taking hostages,
especially on live TV,
or anyone shows up in a building somewhere with a gun,
the police are going to be called immediately.
There seems to be a lot of time
between police coming and this situation beginning.
So, what would happen in a real situation
is the police would immediately arrive at that station,
set up a perimeter,
look for points of contact
and how they can go in and take this person out.
- You lost a lot of money.
- You went on TV, you said it was safe.
Four weeks ago you stood right there.
This is what you did.
Let's get into this.
Oh, Ibis, safer than a savings account.
- I didn't say that.
- Unfortunately, with a 24 hour news cycle,
and the Internet, people are acting for audiences
and this is one of those situations
where a person has reached that point
where they want to hold the person responsible
for something that they've lost.
Literally shooting the messenger.
I've seen the situation
where people become so irate
and acted out horrendous crimes
on Facebook live or something along those lines.
So this is pretty accurate.
People want an audience for what they do
especially when they get angry and deranged.
[television static]
Last up, John Q.
In this scene, a father has taken hostages
at a hospital in order to get treatment
for his sick son.
- I gave you your hostages
but you didn't call me back!
Why?
Because you want me dead, don't you?
- Nobody wants to kill you, John,
nobody wants to kill you.
- So what you see is a bunch of people
out in public while the hostage negotiator
tries to talk to the hostage taker.
That would never happen.
The communication wouldn't be effective
because there are too many distractions.
You want to kind of isolate the hostage taker.
- Nobody wants to kill you.
- Nobody wants to kill me?
- No.
- Nobody?
- No.
- None of these guys?
Not him?
- No.
- Oh, okay, what is this?
[crowd screams]
- So what you see here is a member of law enforcement
who had been sent in to take out the hostage taker.
And the hostage taker took him.
Which would probably never happen
because they are never sent in alone.
There's never a sole person or lone person
that goes in without a backup.
- This is gonna end up bad for you, John.
There's only two ways out of here.
Jail, or dead.
- A hostage negotiator would never tell
a hostage taker that he was going to be killed
or go to jail.
We're gonna stay far away from those types
of life ending scenarios.
- My son is very sick.
And he needs some help.
- I understand.
It's hard to be a man these days,
hard to know what the right thing is.
But put the gun down, John.
- You're not hearing me, Frank.
My son is sick.
That's it.
There's nothing else.
End of story.
- I've seen situations where people
have taken hostages to demand something
that is really legitimate,
but we have to keep in mind
that they are hostage takers
and they will be dealt with as hostage takers.
Regardless of their motivations.