ON LOCATION
Lethal Weapon 4 was filmed on location in and around Los Angeles at Long Beach, Malibu, and Orange, Calif., and in Las Vegas, Nev., and San Diego, Calif. (for freeway scenes).

"Audiences have lived with these guys for a long time. They're characters that audiences have fallen for -- people have a relationship with them," says producer/ director Richard Donner. "Out of a relationship come moments, and out of those moments comes the action in the movie."

"The relationship that occurred between Mel and Danny early on in the making of the first movie resulted in Riggs and Murtaugh becoming indelible characters," says producer Joel Silver. "Donner and I know we got incredibly lucky 12 years ago that these guys agreed to do the movie."

Danny Glover recalls the first reading of the script back in 1986: "I was doing a play in Chicago but they asked me to come on an off day to LA and attend a read-through at Dick Donner's house to see what Mel and I were like together. And it worked within a couple of minutes; I'll always remember how Mel and I clicked."

"I've never been able to explain our relationship except for the fact that I get him and he gets me. He's considerate, generous and a brilliant actor," says Gibson. For Mel Gibson, making another Lethal Weapon movie was a challenge in creating something as entertaining as the previous three. "It's hard to do something good twice. It's harder to do it three times, and it's almost impossible to do it four times. Our advantage in this case is that we really do enjoy each other's company; we do understand and like these characters, and we do have a tremendous relationship with the filmmakers. We can put that up on the screen with complete integrity."

Gibson and Glover believe the key to the success of the series lies with Richard Donner, whose ability to blend action, suspense, pathos, romance and broad humor gives the Lethal Weapon movies their appealing characters and unbeatable entertainment quotient. "Fortunately, Dick [Donner] understands what makes these movies work and his enthusiasm, flair and technique are something I ripped off from him when I started directing," admits Gibson. "I've stolen plenty from him." "Dick is the cohesive element, and his dynamic passion for these movies makes them work," agrees Glover.

As with all three prior films in the series, Lethal Weapon 4 opens with a spectacular stunt. This time it involves Riggs and Murtaugh, an armored psychopath with a flame-thrower and a gas station and fuel tanker located perilously close by. Gibson and Glover were actually part of the hair-raising shot captured by 16 cameras. Later, for a white-knuckle freeway sequence which has Riggs going from one speeding vehicle to another, the production traveled to Las Vegas, since there was no freeway in Southern California that could accommodate them. And yes, that is Mel Gibson you see being dragged down the freeway on top of a coffee table.

The movie's East-meets-West finale -- a grueling hand-to-hand fight involving Gibson, Glover and Jet Li -- features what producer Joel Silver calls "the ultimate martial-arts skills pitted against the shrewdest, most seasoned street fighting." To maximize the realism and excitement, the filmmakers conceived the scenes with second-unit director Conrad Palmisano; stunt coordinator Mic Rodgers; Jet Li, who has starred in more than 25 Asian action films and directed one of them; and Corey Yuen, Li's long-time professional associate and fight coordinator.

The production filmed at a warehouse in Vernon, Calif., and two soundstages at Warner Brothers. On the first stage, a fishing pier was built in a shallow water tank. The last part of the fight was filmed on another stage, this one with a deep-water tank into which Gibson and Li fall as their battle concludes. Reflects Gibson, "Riggs and Murtaugh may complain they're too old for this... but I have to admit that it was fun doing it all one more time."