Almost Doesn't Matter
One of the few things I really enjoyed about Get Smart was the apparent visit to Moscow. Apparent, I say, because Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway seem to actually be in Red Square, I mean, and not...you know, some seamless CG backdrop recreation stitch job. Which I half suspected it was.
I didn't fully enjoy the Moscow footage, in short, because a part of me suspected it was fake despite what my eyes were telling me. I'll say it again: Carell, Hathaway and the crew did in fact visit Red Square, unless the video is a put-on. Despite the IMDB's location page saying otherwise.
Except it doesn't matter because nobody believes it when a movie crew goes somewhere for real and uses real-life backdrops. Even if we've been repeatedly told on the entertainment tabloid shows they've literally gone to Moscow or Beijing or Paris, we still don't believe it because showing realistic fake backdrops is a snap these days if you have the CG budget. And we know going in that Get Smart is a fairly heavily budgeted, big-studio package so who cares? They should have shot the actor footage in Burbank and made the Moscow part happen in post.
The only way I'll believe that a film has actually shot footage in some exotic city is if the film is a lower-budget indie. I know those guys don't have the money for CG budgets so I'll believe that they sprung for air fare if I see, let's say, Rome's Piazza Navona in a scene. Otherwise, forget it.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 16, 2008 at 2:11 PM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
That's the first shot of Hathaway I've seen where she almost kinda looks like Barbara Feldon. Still doesn't have the cheekbones, though.
Posted by Rich S.
at June 16, 2008 2:58 PM
comment #2
K. Bowen
says ...
I"m not looking at the cheekbones.
Posted by K. Bowen
at June 16, 2008 3:07 PM
comment #3
David Ehrlich
says ...
fail.
it's obvious - to name a few recent big budget films off the top of my head - that MI: III actually visited the vatican and shanghai, that THE INCREDIBLE HULK was actually shot in brazil, that CASINO ROYALE (true to franchise form) was actually shot on location throughout, etc...
big films are still making the trek and their efforts are paying sizable dividends. that being said, i'll meet jeff half way and concur that my typical inclination these days whenever a glossy american film supposedly goes international is that they're pulling a EUROTRIP. but the difference to anyone with an eye for detail is gob-smackingly obvious. there is simply no mistaking the real thing for a fake, and vice-versa.
Posted by David Ehrlich
at June 16, 2008 3:48 PM
comment #4
Richardson
says ...
So, CGI has gotten so good we should no longer trust our eyes? That's not really true. They still can't make it look right when they basically do CGI matte paintings like you'er talking about.
Posted by Richardson
at June 16, 2008 3:49 PM
comment #5
Rothchild
says ...
This is one of the dumber things I've read on the internet. It's very clear Indy IV was shot on a soundstage. The first thing on Jack Nicholson's bucket list was to shoot a globetrotting movie in LA. If you can't tell the difference between shitty green/blue screen and something like the Bourne movies, Casino Royale, or The Incredible Hulk (the Brazil stuff) then you are a really shitty or oblivious viewer.
Posted by Rothchild
at June 16, 2008 4:32 PM
comment #6
Aris P
says ...
A lot of it was shot in Montreal.
Posted by Aris P
at June 16, 2008 5:30 PM
comment #7
K. Bowen
says ...
For all the talk about whether or not Hathaway looks like Barbara Feldon, after watching the film last night, she kinda SOUNDS like Barbara Feldon. That is, if distant childhood memory is anything to go by.
Carell definitely at times bears a resemblance to Don Adams.
Posted by K. Bowen
at June 17, 2008 6:43 AM
comment #8
T. Holly
says ...
You mean like these? cough lindsey cough lohan
http://youtube.com/watch?v=I6UQW64hxMI&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JZyALBqF7XA&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NDhhdG-nslg&feature=related
Posted by T. Holly
at June 17, 2008 7:52 AM
comment #9
thasos
says ...
Hathaway has a great rack
Posted by thasos
at June 17, 2008 8:16 AM
comment #10
Jay T.
says ...
Umm..... whatever. It's not like they're on the moon - not that hard to believe.
Posted by Jay T.
at June 17, 2008 11:02 AM
comment #11
D.Z.
says ...
They're both attractive, but Hathaway has class.
Posted by D.Z.
at June 17, 2008 12:46 PM
comment #12
frankbooth
says ...
If you read comments #10 and #11 as responses to #9, they're pretty funny.
As for the CG backdrop stuff: I used to think I could tell, but I no longer trust my eyes after Zodiac.
Posted by frankbooth
at June 18, 2008 1:10 AM
comment #13
Piglet
says ...
I worked in a Russian crew on that Moscow shoot and I can confirm - it's a real Red Square :))) no CG
Posted by Piglet
at June 20, 2008 1:44 PM
comment #14
jany
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability clustering
Posted by jany
at April 22, 2011 7:30 AM