Déjà Vu
Short description
Déjà Vu is a 2006 science fiction thriller directed by Tony Scott. After a bomb destroys a ferry in New Orleans and kills hundreds of passengers, ATF agent Doug Carlin is assigned to the investigation. His skill at reading a crime scene draws the attention of a secret FBI unit led by Paul Pryzwarra, which has access to a surveillance technology that can look into the recent past. Doug comes to suspect that a woman whose body is found near the river, Claire Kuchever, is tied to the bombing, and he becomes determined to find the attacker before more lives are lost. The film stars Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel, Adam Goldberg and Elden Henson, and was written by Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilii and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
The fourteenth of sixteen films Tony Scott directed, it followed Domino in 2005 and preceded The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 in 2009. Made for 75 million dollars, it took about 181 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from roughly 344,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.9 out of 10 from over 5,000 votes, while a critics' rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 159 reviews puts it slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Caviezel had to fire MP-5 submachine guns, which requires special physical training. Before filming, he trained with Agency personnel who allowed him to fully experience the power of the weapon by providing him with live ammunition.
- Most of the chase scenes were filmed on the bridge across the Mississippi River, which connects the west and east banks of New Orleans. The bridge is about 100 meters high, so no mistakes could be made, especially during car collisions. Stunt coordinator Chuck Picerni from Stunts Unlimited comments: “Everything had to be done precisely. We had to make the chase on the bridge exciting, but at the same time not forget about safety and the fact that we were blocking such an important city artery. I think the number of people working on the stunt setup, including local drivers and professional stunt performers, sometimes reached 50.”
- In addition, a number of military technologies – such as Infrared, Thermal Imaging, and Heat Impulse – were used during filming, making the action even more realistic.
- Filming was originally scheduled to begin in October 2005; after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the project was on the verge of cancellation. After the project was revived, 'Déjà Vu' became the first film to be shot in the ruined city.
- Bill Marsili began writing the screenplay for the film as early as 1997.
- Meanwhile, newcomer Paula Patton had to not only be bound and gagged, beaten, and stuffed into a black zippered bag, but also film in the treacherous waters of the Mississippi River with a 5-pound car steering wheel tied to her hands.
- During the interrogation scene with Doug Carlin questioning Carroll Orsted, a pack of red cigarettes on the table constantly changes its position with each frame change: sometimes it stands on its side, sometimes it lies flat.
- To emphasize the realism of the action, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott invited several consultants from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – the agency that in real life investigates all major terrorist attacks involving explosives. It, in particular, investigated such tragic events as the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Among the consultants was retired agency employee Jerry Raden, who had spent 20 years investigating similar large-scale incidents.
- The Time Track camera, manufactured by Digital Air, was used during filming, often employed in cinema to create the effect of "frozen motion." When filming interiors in Claire’s house, every movement by Paula Patton leaves a trail behind, creating an amazing ghostly effect, as if the scene were filmed with 160 cameras lined up in a row. A Lydar camera, developed for military purposes, was used to scan rooms – such as Claire’s house – and create diagrams displayed on screens in the laboratory. Lydar technology cannot scan people, so Tony Scott asked Asylum, the company that did the film's special effects, to create a computer projection of a person. Asylum created 100 additional shots with visual effects for the film.
- The idea for the film was partially borrowed from Orson Scott Card’s novel "The Columbus Affair," which describes two different histories of mankind, both of which feature organizations dedicated to observing historical events. Some members of these organizations decide to personally change the past and make a jump.
- James Caviezel, who played Urstadt, the main suspect in the bombing, had a particularly difficult time. In one gripping scene, Urstadt is hit by a car; during filming, this situation was recreated with stunning realism: before that, Caviezel was placed in a steel cage for his own safety. The actor recalls: “They put me in a cage, then two cars raced towards me. I had to muster all my willpower not to back down. I was thinking of only one thing: if the cage doesn’t hold – goodbye, legs.”
- In the scene where the protagonist walks towards the terrorist’s “riverside cottage,” the helmet and gun repeatedly jump from one hand to the other.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
