Taxi (2004 film)

Taxi is a 2004 American remake of the 1998 French film of the same name, starring Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon and Gisele Bündchen, and directed by Tim Story.

Plot

Belle Williams (Queen Latifah) is a talented driver and auto mechanic who dreams of driving in NASCAR. As the film opens, she celebrates her last shift as a bicycle courier after winning her taxi license and beating the shop's record with a new delivery record of 13 minutes and 54 seconds. Although in a happy relationship, she occasionally neglects her boyfriend Jesse (Henry Simmons) and has bestowed much love on her custom-built 1999 Ford Crown Victoria taxicab over the past five years. This evening, having skipped her dinner date, she installs into the cab a supercharger that was given to her as a present for her last day.

The next day, her first customer offers her a $100 tip if she can make it to JFK Airport in fifteen minutes. She makes it in 9 minutes and 28 seconds, while almost getting caught by motorcycle officers on the freeway and roaring through Manhattan. Meanwhile, a group of beautiful women exit the airport, with a man waiting for them.

2004 in film

The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Van Helsing, The Passion of the Christ, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Fahrenheit 9/11, I, Robot, Ocean's Twelve and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Highest-grossing films

Shrek 2 set a new record for total gross by an animated film making it the highest grossing animated film of all time, the record was latter surpassed by Toy Story 3 in 2010, as well as the 3D rereleases of The Lion King and Finding Nemo in late 2011 and late 2012 (which are the second and third highest grossing animated films of all time). On July 7, Spider-Man 2 reached a $200 million domestic gross in a record time of 8 days. On July 18, after 19 days in release, Spider-Man 2 reached $300 million domestically in another record time. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has the highest international revenue of $546 million compared to Shrek 2's $478.6 million.

Jimmy Fallon

James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and as the host of late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and raised in Saugerties, New York. He grew up with an interest in comedy and music, moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue stand-up opportunities.

He was commissioned to join NBC's Saturday Night Live as a cast member in 1998, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Fallon remained on SNL for six years between 1998 and 2004, co-hosting the program's Weekend Update segment and becoming a celebrity in the process. He left the program for the film industry, starring in films such as Taxi (2004) and Fever Pitch (2005). Following his film career, Fallon returned to television as the host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC in 2009, where he became well known for his emphasis on music and games. He transitioned from that program to become the sixth host of the long-running The Tonight Show in 2014.

Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), professionally known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, model, television producer, record producer, comedienne, and talk show host. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989. In November 1989, she had released her debut album All Hail the Queen (1989), featuring the hit single "Ladies First" with Monie Love. Latifah released her second album Nature of a Sista (1991), which was her final album with Tommy Boy Records.

In 1993, Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the FOX sitcom Living Single, from 1993 to 1998. Her third album Black Reign (1993), which went gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and peaked at number 60 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also includes the hit single "U.N.I.T.Y." which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1994 and hit the Billboard Hot 100. Latifah starred in the lead role of Set It Off (1996) as Cleopatra "Cleo" Sims, alongside Jada Pinkett-Smith. Between 1996 and 2000, controversy between Latifah and Foxy Brown received widespread media attention. She released her fourth album in 1998 Order in the Court (1998) with Motown Records. Queen Latifah gained mainstream success after appearing in Chicago (2002) as Matron "Mama" Morton and she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, losing to Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Taxicab

A taxicab, also known as a taxi or a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. This differs from other modes of public transport where the pick-up and drop-off locations are determined by the service provider, not by the passenger, although demand responsive transport and share taxis provide a hybrid bus/taxi mode.

There are four distinct forms of taxicab, which can be identified by slightly differing terms in different countries: