How did they manage in the film “Vanilla Sky” to film Tom Cruise absolutely alone in Times Square, in the middle of Manhattan?
This spectacular scene was filmed very early on a Sunday morning. It was produced without special effects, without computer-generated images.
Times Square, one of the most touristy places in the world, was simply closed to the public for three hours.
It had never happened before and it hasn't been replicated since.
The feat was possible thanks to special permission from Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York at the time.
Tom Cruise and the producers of the film went to see him before filming to validate the project.
Giuliani agreed to grant them this exceptional favor on one condition: that director Cameron Crowe changes the way he works.
In fact, the mayor's team had inquired before the meeting and discovered that the director was known for taking numerous takes of each scene.
Fearing that filming could degenerate and block the neighborhood for longer than expected, the municipality wanted to ensure that no overflow would occur.
Cameron Crowe promised it wouldn't happen, preparing the sequence from top to bottom for several weeks before filming.
And the preparation paid off because on the big day, the planned sequence was completed in 1h45 out of the 3 hours planned. Still having Times Square to themselves for 1 hour 15 minutes, Tom Cruise then suggested shooting additional shots of him running around the deserted square.
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