'Den of Thieves' is an improbable heist film starring the inimitable 50 Cent opposite Gerard Butler. But is the film based on real events?

If you did not watch Den of Thieves when it came out in 2018, there's no better time than nowadays to catch up on the 50 Cent and Gerard Butler film — especially as it's now streaming on Netflix.

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Den of Thieves is set in Los Angeles and tells the story of two teams of tough guys: bank robbers who're intent on pulling off major heists, and the elite workforce of LA County Sheriffs looking to convey them down.

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Is 'Den of Thieves' based on a real story?

Den of Thieves was once inspired via a real-life attempt to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles. According to the film's director and writer Christian Gudegast, "L.A. is the bank robbery capital of the world, hands down, it always has been."

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"We had several technical advisors like Bill Rehder who wrote a book called Where the Money Is, about bank robbery in L.A.," Christian continued. But making an allowance for the movie was once in building for 14 years, the group had time to make the film feel as practical as imaginable. 

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As producer Tucker Tooley recalled to The Wrap, "My dad was involved in developing the building that the federal reserve was in. He was a member of the federal reserve board in San Francisco so I arranged a tour for us. We couldn't take any pictures so we had to take it all to memory."

"There are an average of 2,400 banks in L.A. robbed per year," he explained. "The next closest is Sao Paolo, which is about 800. There are several reasons for that. The other major reason is because we have so many freeways, interchanges and exit routes."

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The crew made positive the attention to detail was once "extreme" — in addition to the technical advisors, the film hired an undercover police officer, a Los Angeles sheriff, and even individuals who had experience with this type of crime, hailing from South Central Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, and the South Bay.

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"Heroes and villains of the film are two sides of the same coin, with little separating them," Christian stated to Collider. "They went to the same high schools, they live in the same neighborhoods. The best crime films come from the places where the creators of the movies came from." To that end, Christian added that he worked onerous to provide Den of Thieves what he calls "Los Angeles energy."

'Den of Thieves 2' is additionally based on a real story!

Viewers beloved this film such a lot that a sequel was ordered, a lot to the relaxation of the movie's forged. "It's an experience that I don't want to end," Gerard Butler stated in a while after the primary movie's release.

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Luckily, it did not have to. Den of Thieves 2 strikes clear of L.A., but does not move clear of retelling real stories. The sequel is "based on the Antwerp diamond exchange heist of 2003," Gerard mentioned to Screen Rant. 

"It's about, on the character side, it's about the blurring of lines between the sides. And sort of an examination of all the people involved in this world and how they are much closer in terms of their character and who they are."

Den of Thieves is now streaming on Netflix.

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