Arte is broadcasting the stabilizing thriller Vanilla Sky tonight. This is the opportunity to find out more about the film that brought Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise together on screen.
Millionaire, talented, charming… David Aames had it easy until the day he fell in love with Sofia, his best friend’s new companion. Then follows a series of events that will lead David to the gates of death. He will come out disguised and plunged into a waking nightmare. Cameron Crowe’s film is still up for debate: hallucinations? Conspiracy? Coma? The viewer struggles to find the limits of reality. AT?? On the occasion of the broadcast of Vanilla Sky on Arte, Vogue looks back on 4 anecdotes to know about the film.
While Vanilla Sky was a huge hit when it came out in theaters, this isn’t an original story. The work is directly inspired by a Spanish film called Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos). The feature film released in 1998 is directed by Alejandro Amenabar and notably includes Penélope Cruz in the cast, who resumes her role in the American version. Tom Cruise, in attendance for the premiere of the film, was won over by the concept and quickly acquired the rights. In a relationship with the actress, the chemistry between Sofia and David is obvious. Tom Cruise enlists Cameron Crowe, with whom he previously worked on Jerry Maguire, to pull off the American-style remake. Good pick since Vanilla Sky will realize more than 200 million dollars of profit in the world for an initial budget of 68 million.
The acclaimed director of Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List has a habit of bonding with many of his colleagues, resulting in sometimes off-the-cuff collaborations. Come on the set of Vanilla Sky to discuss with Tom Cruise their Minority Report project, he attends the making of a scene where David Aames – the character of Tom Cruise – organizes a big party in his apartment. Keep your eyes peeled, you might spot the flesh-and-blood Steven Spielberg landing at the New York playboy. The director was happy to improvise this video camera to reflect the character’s mundane character. In response, Spielberg invited Cameron Crowe to appear in a Minority Report scene.
In addition to the explosively alchemy duo of Penélope Cruz and Tom Cruise, Cameron Crowe hired the sublime Cameron Diaz to play Julianna Gianni, the jealous ex of David Aames. In the famous scene where Julia rushes her car over the bridge, with a terrified David aboard, the soundtrack was not chosen at random. As our eyes are riveted on the action, a pop rock song can be heard playing in the background in the cabin. This is a title performed by Cameron Diaz herself, titled I Fall Apart – echoing the character’s fit of hysteria – and set to music by Nancy Wilson. The latter is the companion of director Cameron Crowe and responsible for the soundtrack of many of her husband’s films.
In addition to being an exciting and mysterious thriller, Vanilla Sky offers some spectacular images of New York City. One thinks in particular of the opening scene where, caught in a nightmare, David Aames drives in his Ferrari and crosses the completely deserted city. When he arrives on Time Square, the mythical square is empty and silent. No CGI to make this large-scale clip but a shoot set up very early on a Sunday morning. For the occasion, New York City Hall agreed to close some streets giving access to Time Square. A rare authorization because the gigantic place with the hundred screens swarms with tourists from morning to evening. Another iconic scene: although the film was released on December 14, 2001 in the United States and in 2002 in France, we can see the two towers of the World Trade Center in the background of the final scene. Shot over six weeks from November 2000 to March 2001, the New York landscape that can be seen in the film was still intact. The director wanted to keep these images of the two towers before the September 11 attack.
Source: https://www.vogue.fr/culture/article/vanilla-sky-tom-cruise-penelope-cruz
Vanilla Sky, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Open Your Eyes, Cameron Diaz, Alejandro Amenábar, Cameron Crowe
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