Antoine Fuqua was thrilled to shoot at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, where he felt like he was walking in the footsteps of cinema history. He said it was like a dream to work in the same place where Federico Fellini and other great filmmakers had made their films.
Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua had long wanted to take the Equalizer franchise abroad. The show follows the story of Robert McCall, a former intelligence officer who becomes an unwilling killer when he sees injustice being done. But after two films and $382.7 million in box office receipts, it seemed like the right time to expand the story to a new setting.
There was only one place that was ever seriously considered for the third Equalizer film: Italy. Denzel Washington has been going to Italy every summer since his kids were babies and he loves the culture, the people and the food. He even speaks some Italian.
For Antoine Fuqua, it was a dream come true to shoot at Cinecittà Studios in Rome. He felt like he was walking in the footsteps of cinema history, as many great filmmakers had worked there before him. In Naples, they found a location that perfectly captured the 1970s New York grittiness that they were looking for.
On the Amalfi Coast, they found the small village of Atrani, which was perfect for a central scene. The only downside to shooting in Atrani was the steps. One of the most beautiful places is a medieval church sitting on a mountainside high outside the beach. The filmmakers feel that it would be the perfect place for an important scene between Robert McCall and Dakota Fanning's CIA.
However, the only way to reach the church is to climb over 700 steps. But it was a reminder of their purpose for Fuqua and his cinematographer, three-time Oscar winner Robert Richardson. They wanted to show the real Atrani, not just a vacation destination. They live in small houses. And they walk up those steps every day."
Producers Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal both have worked together on many films. Director Antoine Fuqua has worked with Denzel Washington in many films like Training Day, which has won the first Academy Award for Best Actor and The Magnificent Seven.