LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- Denzel Washington 's new movie , `` The Taking of Pelham 123 , '' is not a remake , even though Walter Matthau starred in a film by the same name in 1974 , the actor told CNN . Denzel Washington plays a transit official , once demoted , in `` The Taking of Pelham 123 . '' Moreover , Washington 's character is not like the hostage negotiator he played three years ago in `` Inside Man , '' although the movie is about his negotiation with a deranged ex-con hostage-holder , played by John Travolta , Washington said . And he 's right . The updated `` The Taking of Pelham 123 '' is a riveting movie about a subway dispatcher confronted by a former Wall Street trader seeking revenge -- not just a ransom , as in the 1974 film -- from the city of New York for sending him to prison . The movie opens nationwide Friday . It 's essentially a two-character play , with much of the dialogue delivered over a two-way radio between Washington , in the train control center , and Travolta , on a hijacked train , director Tony Scott said . The drama is paced and punctuated by a dramatic above-ground sequence , including plenty of crashes , as police rush to deliver a $ 10 million cash ransom before a deadline . Travolta 's character is `` a contradiction of what you normally expect in a bad guy , '' Scott said . `` He 's funny , he 's smart , and he 's got a big heart . '' While Travolta , who is mourning the loss of his teenage son earlier this year , did not participate in interviews , he issued a written statement that called his character `` the ultimate evil mastermind . '' `` This role as an actor gave me the chance to dispense with all moral and ethical limitations , and explore just how bad this character could really be , '' Travolta said . Washington said his character , a transit official demoted to dispatcher because he was suspected of taking a bribe , is a new twist on the familiar hostage negotiator role . `` I was concerned a little bit about 'Inside Man ' where I was a cop and a hostage negotiator , '' he said . `` I just liked the idea when they hand him a gun that he 'd never held one before , that he was an ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation and with this cloud over his head . He did n't come to work knowing he was going to get an opportunity to redeem himself . '' Washington , who looks younger and more fit than his character , said to prepare for the role he `` ate a lot and kept getting smaller and smaller sweaters to wear . '' James Gandolfini 's role as New York 's mayor is a combination of current and former mayors -- Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani . While he has Bloomberg 's Wall Street savvy , he carries himself like Guiliani on September 11 , 2001 . New York City is also a major character , Scott said . Many scenes were shot below ground in subway tunnels and a closed down transit station in lower Manhattan , mostly at night , Scott said . It took four weeks of tedious shooting , he said . `` It 's just a whole other world down there , '' said Washington . An old train car was rebuilt to accommodate cameras and placed on a sound stage in Queens for scenes that could n't be shot underground , Scott said . The same person who designed the Metropolitan Transit Authority 's ( MTA ) high-tech control center was hired to build a replica on a sound stage in Queens , he said . Brian Helgeland , who wrote the screenplay , revealed the secret about why he would use an older movie title for a film they do not want seen as a remake . Since Sony Pictures already owned the rights to `` The Taking of Pelham 123 , '' it made it an easier sell to the studio , he said . The original film , whose title had the number spelled out -- `` One Two Three '' -- was based on a best-selling 1973 novel by John Godey , and starred Robert Shaw as the villain opposite Matthau . `` The start was using that as a title , something the studio would feel comfortable making rather than just a nameless , orphan idea that you might have on your own , to try to put that together and use 'Pelham ' as a springboard to make your own crime movie , '' Helgeland said . iReport.com : Share your review of `` Pelham '' He tried to stay away from the original `` Pelham '' particulars `` but we had the same situation as the core , which was a hostage situation with one guy in the train with the hostages and another guy outside dealing with him over the radio . '' Putting the movie together , he said , was `` a little bit like trying to pull off a heist , putting the pieces together , with a getaway car driver and a safecracker and all that stuff . ''
` `` Inside Man '' is re-imagining of 1973 film . Denzel Washington stars as Washington transit official negotiating with villain Denzel Washington 's . Washington : I wanted to make the character distinct from negotiator in ` The Taking of Pelham 123 ''