Throughout his illustrious career, Tom Cruise has delivered several iconic moments, thanks to his unreal determination to the craft, as he doesn’t back away from performing death-defying stunts on his own. However, not every memorable scene of the “last major movie star of Hollywood” involves Cruise risking his life to pull off dangerous stunts, but it does have to deal with his love for practical effects.
2001’s Vanilla Sky might not be one of the best sci-fi flicks comprising Cruise at the forefront, but the movie does have its charms, as it is responsible for giving fans one of the best Tom Cruise scenes.
Filming One of the Most Stunning Tom Cruise Scenes in a Deserted Times Square Cost $1M
Joining forces with the likes of Cameron Diaz and Kurt Russell, Tom Cruise played David Aames in Vanilla Sky, directed by Cameron Crowe, who also co-produced the movie. Although the film didn’t score high among critics, it still did decent at the box office, making $203M from its $68M budget. But the film did deliver one stunning scene, which involves Cruise running in a deserted Times Square, however, filming that sequence was pretty difficult for the crew.
Considering both Tom Cruise and the producers weren’t keen on using CGI to remove everyone from the location, they settled on shutting down the tourist attraction for three hours to film the 1 min scene. But this method wasn’t cheap, as they had to spend an additional $1 million to get the place cleared, as the City generates a lot of money from the commercial intersection. As a result, after receiving the payday, the NYPD set up blockades for three hours in the morning, giving Cruise and the crew enough time to bring their vision to fruition.
Another iconic Tom Cruise moment that doesn’t involve death-defying stunts
This isn’t the only iconic Tom Cruise scene that doesn’t involves him jumping off cliffs and catching airplanes, as another memorable sequence that still lives rent-free in fans’ minds took place in Tropic Thunder. Although every scene involving his character, Les Grossman, is one of the best parts of the extremely well-made comedy, his dance sequence at the end arguably takes the win. And surprisingly, not only the dance sequence at the end was Cruise’s own idea, but he also reportedly choreographed all of his moves. Producer Stuart Cornfeld recalled,
“We’re doing the makeup test and it’s the first time Tom’s in the Les Grossman outfit. He stops and says, ‘Maybe I should dance in this. You know, I haven’t danced in a movie in a long time,’”
These are a few examples that showcase the actor’s range, which sets him apart from other action stars of this era. Although fans are excited for the sequel to Dead Reckoning Part 1, fans will hope after the 8th installment in the MI franchise, Cruise goes back to his roots and take up more diverse roles like Les Grossman.
Vanilla Sky is available to stream on Apple TV.
Source: Looper
