25 Things You Didn’t Know About Se7en
5. The Power Lines Did Their Job A Little Too Well
The original idea behind setting the film’s climax beneath those huge pylons was that John Doe had controlled the location, knowing that the power lines would mess with the walkie talkie communication between the officers in the air and the officers on the ground.
The rationale behind it was clear. Doe would want Mills all to himself when Somerset opened the box, and if Somerset could just radio to have Mills removed from Doe’s presence upon realising what was going on, the entire elaborate scheme would collapse around his horrible, horrible ears.
However, when they got to the location, the film crew found that the sinister, brilliant thinking that Walker had written into the script was actually a genuine real life issue.
None of the crew could communicate via walkie either - the power lines really did interfere with the signal, and the actors could only be cued up via cell phone.
Eventually the climax was moved out into the open, and references to any poor reception due to the pylons were removed.