vanilla sky

[nemi]

how did they film the dream scene where tom cruise is standing in the middle of a completely empty Time Sq ? Was this a set or is it computer trickery ?

[CatMcGibney]

They completely closed off Times Sq and filmed it early in the morning as far as I know. Is on TV on saturday FYI!

[slimfandango]

+++CONTAINS SPOILERS, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN+++

Dead right, they could have done it with CG but closed off the square. There is loads of CG trickery in the scene though. The digital billboards behind David originally contained images of George Bush and election propaganda, that was all removed and replaced. There are lots of other manipulations throughout this sequence, if you watch the billboards closely you can see specially chosen images that relate to the story. This is 'one of those films' where you miss TONS of stuff that was slipped in by the makers, that gives huge clues about what's going on. Eg:

-What's on the tv during the prison interviews.

-'Who's elly?'

-The message scribbled upside down (DREAM) on the blackboard in the prison scene

-430 (?) pop culture references.

This is probably my favourite film of all time, I know lots of people don't like it, but for me it was just genius, and it was its own film, not just a remake of 'Abre Los Ojos'. Having said that 'Abre Los Ojos' was a terrific film too, and the ending sequence is done a bit better and makes more sense than Vanilla Sky.

Could watch this film forever. Just loooooooooove the elevator scene.

[slimfandango]

++SPOILERS++

The guy in the mask is not Tom Cruise, by the way.

[nemi]

thanks for all the info guys. I too love this film and couldn't believe all the negativity towards it. Its beautifully shot and there are plenty of themes and twists to leave you wondering.

[secretsquiz]

the only thing i was left wondering at the end of this film was why did i just waste two hours of my life watching it?!

[slimfandango]

Abre Los Ojos (Open your eyes), the precursor of Vanilla Sky, is on Channel 4 tonight at 0025. Great film!