Vanilla Sky: Tom Cruise starred in the most expensive movie scene ever

Oh, yeah, Tom Cruise always likes it big in his films. The Mission: Impossible series is built on them pushing themselves to new heights on-screen, with stunts few actors would be brave enough to try, let alone perform. In Tropic Thunder, he was a go-getter-shaped unvarnished rabidity as the unforgettable Les Grossman, or with Jerry Maguire, with his immortal “Show me the money!”

True, but when you look at it another way, Cruise's biggest movie is not some high-octane action flick. Instead, it is the opening sequence of the 2001 psychological thriller Vanilla Sky.

Tom Cruise ran through a deserted Times Square — for real

Directed by Cameron Crowe, the film begins with David Aames (played by Cruise) waking up in New York City. However, it feels wrong — Times Square is usually littered with people, but is eerily empty. The camera pans slowly at Cruise as he begins to learn that it's just him walking, alone by himself, out of confusion down the empty streets.

That whole scene was not created using CGI or digital crowd removal. It was the real Times Square, cleared out entirely for a brief time window. Crowe and his team managed to shut down one of the busiest places on Earth — a feat no other movie has accomplished before or since. Crowe said that the operation cost around $1 million.

How Tom Cruise helped make the impossible happen

Even with the time constraints, Crowe admitted having a couple of extra takes edited in after Cruise prompted the end of the run-throughs. (Image source- Paramount Pictures)

Getting permission to shut down Times Square wasn’t easy. Crowe told Vulture that Tom Cruise played a key role in making it happen. The actor, along with producers Don Lee and Paula Wagner, met with then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his team to plead their case. Crowe said:

“We started preparing the movie, and very early on, our producers Don Lee and Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise went to see Rudy Giuliani and his people to see if we could do this,” Crowe said. “They came back and they were tentatively really happy. I said, ‘Well, what’s going on?’ And they said, ‘I think we’re kind of good to go? But it’s conditional.’ And I said, ‘Great news! What’s the condition?’ And they said, ‘You! Somebody there has done some research on you, and heard that you do a lot of takes.’”

Crowe was only allowed to shoot in Times Square with certain limitations: a detailed map and a three-hour cap on the shoot. Even with the time constraints, Crowe admitted having a couple of extra takes edited after Cruise prompted the end of the run-throughs.

No film before or after has matched this cinematic feat

Vanilla Sky (2001) is a remake of the Spanish movie Abre los ojos. (Image source- Paramount Pictures)

Vanilla Sky (2001) is a remake of the Spanish movie Abre los ojos (Open your eyes). Crowe intentionally mirrored the opening shot from the original — only this time in one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks. The result is a haunting, dreamlike sequence set to Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place,” setting the tone for the film’s mind-bending narrative.

According to Crowe, other truckloads of filmmakers, including Danny DeVito, have tried & failed to obtain the same permissions. He said:

“The thing they told us from the beginning to the end is that this will never happen again. And I wish that it hadn’t."

Vanilla Sky is a hidden gem in Tom Cruise’s career

The film, with a great supporting cast included Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, among others and deals with identity, death and distorted reality. (Image source- Paramount Pictures)

Although arguably less successful commercially than his action blockbusters, Tom Cruise's most intriguing performance remains Vanilla Sky. The film has a great supporting cast, including Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, among others. It deals with identity, death, and distorted reality.

It also has the highest expenditure for a scene that Cruise has ever done. Thanks to its iconic opening. No explosions. No motorcycle stunts. Just a restless sprint down Times Square and a piece of movie history that’s unlikely to ever be repeated.