OTSONY looks back to 2001, when actor Tom Cruise was in New York City filming the romantic mystery, Vanilla Sky, which was based on the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos and took the characters including co-stars Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz beyond the expected.

The film-makers shot for about six weeks in New York with the production using Times Square, Central Park, the Upper West Side, SoHo and Brooklyn locations. One of the film's most ambitious scenes took place in Times Square. The shot required the Steady-cam operator to build an apparatus, which allowed him to stay low enough to meet Cruise as he pulled up in his sports car. As Cruise ran down the street, the cameraman jumped onto a crane and followed the actor from high above as he sprinted down Times Square. What made the shot even more astounding was that the normally bustling Times Square was completely deserted except for Cruise.

Tom Cruise and Director Cameron Crowe

Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise in Times Square

Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise in Times Square

Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise in Times Square

In the climax to this scene, Cruise spins around and as the camera follows him, all the neon advertising and billboards that characterise Times Square are highlighted. At the time, the red Mobius strip of a news ticker was informing every one of the voting snafu during the Bush-Gore Presidential election, which would have completely dated the film, so Crowe arranged to add anything he wanted to the NASDAQ sign in post-production.

Film: Vanilla Sky