10 More Bizarre Ways Directors Tricked Audiences
7. Tom Cruise Walked Through A Rear-Projected New York City On A Treadmill - Eyes Wide Shut
Rear projection is a classic Hollywood trick that's kinda-sorta come back in fashion as of late - albeit in a highly advanced form - with so many major productions now using LED walls in favour of conventional green screen.
Rear projection has typically been used to place actors in environments that weren't logistically feasible, too dangerous for the talent, or don't actually exist.
But in the case of Stanley Kubrick's masterful final film Eyes Wide Shut, the notoriously exacting filmmaker used the technology to put Tom Cruise... on the streets of New York City.
Due to Kubrick's fear of flying, the entire movie was shot in England with London doubling for the Big Apple.
But for scenes where London simply wouldn't pass muster - such as when Cruise's protagonist Dr. Bill Harford walks down a street in New York - rear projection was used instead.
Incredibly, behind-the-scenes images show Cruise standing on what's effectively a treadmill as footage of the street is projected behind him.
Because Kubrick lit Cruise incredibly well, the end result is startlingly impressive, enough that most would surely never realise that Cruise didn't in fact shoot the scene in New York City itself.
It ultimately seems like a lot of hassle for such a simple camera setup, but such was the extent of Kubrick's crippling fear of getting on a plane.