Monday, October 15, 2007

Sheer Brilliance

Remember that scene from the 2005 Tom Cruise movie War of the Worlds? If you have seen that movie, you may also remember that in one of the scenes... a Boeing 747 crashes in a neighborhood. What a scene... what conceptualization... and what picturization... it sure makes one wonder!

On the first instincts, one may think that director Steven Spielberg must have shot the scene through CGI effects and with the aide of miniature props.

Think again, it wasn't just CGI effects. And it wasn't miniature props either. Our director extraordinaire had the sheer brilliance and thought of bringing in a real Boeing 747 and breaking it down to look like a crash to shoot the scene!

Wow! I had gasped when saw the set still intact and preserved in the back lot of the Universal Studios, Los Angeles. I could have never thought that it was a real plane... ripped apart with every detail to make the scene look real and believable. No wonder why a Spielberg movie is a must see!

The plane in the crash scene is an All Nippon Airways (Japan) plane. Its' tail fin was repainted in a flat grey tone because it originally bore the colors and logo of a real airline. Pilots flying over the Universal back lot apparently saw the staged wreckage, recognized the colors and symbol on the tail and began calling in plane crash reports to the FAA. The plane parts were then repainted and disguised in order to discourage further false alarms.
Interesting...isn't it?

32 comments:

Reeta Skeeter said...

Whew! Really interesting that! You are making real nice use of your time :D
mmm okay if I were SS then I would mmmmmmmmm make a movie on cooking with the heat/vapour by/of geyser springs :D howzzat? fir mere upar post likhna. ok?

Unknown said...

Wow...nice post! that was a good deal of information for the movie buffs.

imac said...

Thankyou for visiting my blog and your comment, you most welcome any time.
I found your photos very interesting and loved the sealife ones. I have some of those to post later on, Igot mine from Scarboro N Yorkshire and Skegness Lincolnshire.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

i havent seen the movie but a trip to Universal is always welcome ..the last time i went to the one in Orlando was during Halloween ..had some good fun :)

thanx for dropping by Juhi.....it's been good fun getting to know you :)

ASHE said...

I have not seen the movie either, but Spielberg is a big name in the movie business, and I can imagine him going to extraordinary lengths to get the images he wants. And I can imagine people jumping at his command, too! How interesting that other pilots could see it from the sky and were alarmed - good to know they are alert up there.

JLee said...

That movie did have some cool special effects...

Occasional Brilliance said...

lovely post... n i love d movie as well...

Unknown said...

Wow... almost original! Enjoyed all your fotos in this and ur other blog!

Memories Catcher said...

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Nice post and information.

Blog Boy said...

Nice Info.....
good one..

Anonymous said...

A very interesting series. The comment adds to and completes the fine shots.

KP said...

It amaed me too when i went there and saw this....i never thought it was real until what i saw @ universal Stuios..spilberg is great director and his movies and concepts are too good...

Inside our hands, outside our hearts said...

Isn't it interesting how art can look so much like life?

Now think of what a brilliant mind like that could realy do if given enough power.

I have also seen your other blog. The photographs are lovely. I like the boxes... makes the mnd wonder what if?

Pat Paulk said...

Wow!! I did see the film. Most interesting info, thanks!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Juhi,
Thanks for dropping by my blog and for your comments. I'll be linking you with my blog. I hope you'll do the same with mine. Anyway, I agree with you that the master stroke of director Steven Spielberg to use a real airplane that crashed as a backrop for the film he was shooting was a stroke of cinematic brilliance.
That's why he is considered one of the best, if not the best, director at present. Thanks for that wonderful post. Smile. God bless and have a nice and very pleasant day.

Pijush said...

Wow.. You have an wonderful blog and I will surely go through it. But now I am travelling and will come next week. Take care and happy Dusheera

burf said...

yea, nice

Unknown said...

Hmm, I didn't know that. Neither have I seen the movie.

Guess it only takes a Spielberg to come up with something like that..

starry said...

Thankou you for stopping by my blog and i do hope you stop by again.I live not far from universal studios but have not been ther ein a long time.Have to go see the plane wreckage.i enjoyed the movie war of the worlds.

Anonymous said...

Wow! really impressive!

John Roberts said...

You have an interesting blog here! You comment on a wide variety of topics. Thanks for your visit to my blog and your kind words on my photos.

Ming the Merciless said...

Wow! Must be scary and shocking for the pilots to see this from above.

Admin said...

Love it...

Great shots... huh!

Lakshmi said...

thats interesting ...great directors have a sense of detailing that others dont have..i guess thats where the wow feel comes from

Cuckoo said...

You have a lovely blog here. Will definitely go thru it.

And that was a good info on movie making.

Keep blogging.

Unknown said...

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MedaM said...

I haven’t seen the movie yet but now I will.
As for the last post of yours I’ve never heard for that Turkish tradition. I don’t know what to think about kissing hands but I agree that it is nice and it is wanted to praise a person and to say some nice words for his/her effort they put in their cooking. I am always very happy when my guests or even the members of my family compliment my cooking. If there is no any comment on that I always think something is wrong…that the meal isn’t enough delicious.
I tried to catch up with some of your earlier posts and I like them very much; the photos, the articles. There are so many interesting things to bee seen and read.
Thank you for dropped by on my blog and for the comment you left. I appreciate it a lot.

The Furobiker said...

waow...interesting news

Anonymous said...

intersting.....hw do u knw?

Mary Helen said...

I never knew!!! The cost of doing that must of been high, but it did look so real!

You have a nice site,
mary

Anonymous said...

Very interesting series of photos. I hope to look more at your site as time permits in the next day or so. Thank you for visiting my fair city!

The 'Mad' Orchid said...

Hey Juhi...
Wow gal quite a post huh....great yaar n didn't knw tht a plane crash cud b of such interst,grt post n the pics r just unbelieveble so is Spielberg :)