Escape from New York - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[charlie]

The opening narration, and the computer's voice in the first prison scene, were provided by an uncredited Jamie Lee Curtis.

[cameron]

The name Snake Plissken was actually taken from a real person. When writing the screenplay John Carpenter struggled over assigning a memorable name to his main character. A friend of a friend suggested using the name of someone he knew in high school who he described as a "sort of a tough guy" who bore a large snake tattoo on his abdomen; his last name was Plissken and went by the nickname "Snake". Said Carpenter "Anybody with a snake tattooed on them some place ... that's my kinda hero."

[kenzi]

Joe Unger is listed in the end credits as playing the character of Taylor, although his scenes (the bank robbery/escape prologue) were deleted.

[norma]

Studio executives wanted Tommy Lee Jones for the role of Snake Plissken. They didn't think Kurt Russell was right for the role, based on his prior work.

[jesus]

Every character that says "I heard you were dead" to Snake, dies.

[beth]

The character of Cabbie was written with Ernest Borgnine in mind.

[willard]

Studio executives pressured John Carpenter to cast a seasoned "tough guy" actor for the role of Snake. Among their preferences were Chuck Norris, Nick Nolte, Tommy Lee Jones, and Charles Bronson. However, Carpenter dismissed these choices as either too old (Bronson was sixty years old) or too typecast or simply not right for the part. At the time, twenty-nine old Kurt Russell was best known for light-hearted Disney roles such as "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" and had no experience playing gritty action roles. However, Carpenter and Producer Debra Hill both agreed his youth, looks, athleticism, and freshness to the action genre made him the ideal choice for the part.