This is the first remake you've done - why this particular film?

Tony Scott: I've never been tempted by anything before. But Brian Helgeland called me and said he had an idea of doing a remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He's part of the family here really [screenwriter Helgeland also scripted Man On Fire as well as Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, currently in production], and I'll always look at anything he brings me. He told me it's very different; it's not the movie you remember. Actually I couldn't recall too much about the original film and so I watched it again. Frankly I couldn't really get through it. So it's not a straight remake - I just wouldn't be interested in doing that.

Did you look at any other heist movies for inspiration before you started Pelham?

TS: I took a look at Dog Day Afternoon - which I remembered really liking. And of course it's set in New York as well. I had really liked that when I first saw it, but I'm afraid to say that I don't think that it's worn too well. It's paled a little.

John Travolta in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

This is your fourth movie starring Denzel Washington, you two must get on.

TS: He's a handful, but he's brilliant. He's really insecure, which perhaps you don't expect. He's all about making the performance better and better. It's always a constructive process and he always delivers for me. He's always been fantastic.

You're both pretty strong personalities, do you ever row?

TS: Not head-to-head arguments. I always get everyone prepared so there aren't so many arguments on set. I have a policy that the first thing I do in the morning is go over to the trailers and discuss exactly what we're shooting that day. It's time-consuming but it reduces the chances of 'misunderstandings' on set. [Laughs] And I always get role models, people from real life who've lived the lives of the characters, and talk it through together, me, them and the actor, a lot. That helps. We certainly have our disagreements. But in the end we trust each other. We wouldn't have done all these movies together if we didn't.