Déjà Vu (2006)
Déjà Vu is a 2006 American science fiction action film directed by Tony Scott, written by Bill Marsilii and Terry Rossio, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The film stars Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Jim Caviezel, Val Kilmer, Adam Goldberg and Bruce Greenwood. It involves an ATF agent who travels back in time in an attempt to prevent a domestic terrorist attack that takes place in New Orleans and to save a woman with whom he falls in love. Filming took place in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The film premiered in New York City on November 20, 2006, and was released in the United States and Canada on November 22, 2006. It received mixed reviews from critics and earned $180 million worldwide against its $75 million production budget. It was the 23rd most successful film worldwide for 2006. The film was nominated for six awards, winning the International Gold Reel Award.Plot.
On Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the ferry Senator Alvin T. Stumpf is carrying hundreds of U.S. Navy sailors and their families across the Mississippi River from their base to the city. Suddenly, the ferry explodes and sinks, killing 543 passengers and crew members. Special Agent Douglas Carlin from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is sent to investigate and discovers evidence of a bomb planted by a domestic terrorist. Arriving at the scene, he meets with local investigators and FBI Special Agent Paul Pryzwarra, and informs them of his findings. He learns about and is invited to examine a partially burned body pulled from the river, identified as Claire Kuchever, which was reported to the authorities minutes before the explosion.
Pryzwarra, impressed with Doug’s detective expertise, asks him to join a newly formed governmental detective unit and investigate the bombing. Led by Dr. Alexander Denny, they investigate the events before the explosion by using a program called “Snow White,” which enables them to look into the past (4 days, 6 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds, 14.5 nanoseconds) in detail by (according to Pryzwarra) using several satellites to form a triangulated image of events. The system is limited in that they can only see past events once; there is no fast forwarding or rewinding, although they can record what they see in the process.
Convinced that Claire is a vital link, Doug persuades them to focus on her. While the team observes Claire’s past through Snow White, the bomber calls her to talk about the SUV she advertised for sale. He does not buy her car, but the Snow White team is able to trace the call and use video surveillance recordings to determine where he will be in 7 hours.
Doug finds out that Snow White is actually a time window, and can send inanimate objects into the past. Despite Denny’s protests against tampering with the past, Doug has the team send a note back to his past self with the time and place the bomber will be.
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Instead, his partner Larry Minuti gets the note and is shot by the bomber while following up on it. The team attempts to follow the fleeing bomber, who takes Minuti with him, but he moves outside of Snow White’s range. However, Doug is able to follow him in the present using a specially equipped vehicle with a mobile Snow White unit. In the past, the bomber takes Minuti to his bayou shack where he kills him and sets fire to his body. Still needing a vehicle big enough to hold the bomb, the bomber goes to Claire’s address, kidnaps her and takes her car.
Filming.
Principal photography in New Orleans, Louisiana, was delayed following Hurricane Katrina because of the devastation caused by the storm and the collapse of the levees. Many of the exteriors were set to be shot in New Orleans, including a key sequence involving the Canal Street Ferry across the Mississippi River. After the city was reopened, the cast and crew returned to New Orleans to continue filming. Some scenes of the post-Katrina devastation were worked into the plot, including those in the Lower 9th Ward; additionally, evidence of Katrina’s impact on the city was worked into the script. The filming crew spent two weeks filming a scene at the Four Mile Bayou in Morgan City, Louisiana. According to director Tony Scott, Déjà Vu was written to take place on Long Island,
but after a visit to New Orleans Scott felt that it would be a far better venue. Jerry Bruckheimer reportedly said that Denzel Washington was “adamant about returning to New Orleans to film after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region”, but Washington recalled being neutral on the subject, while agreeing that it was “a good thing to spend money there and put people to work there”.
To create a sense of realism, Scott and Washington interviewed numerous men and women whose real-life occupations pertained to positions in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Washington has noted that he and Scott conducted similar research during the productions of Man on Fire and Crimson Tide.
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Visual effects.
Visual effects editor Marc Varisco, who had previously collaborated with director Scott on the 2005 film Domino, worked again with Scott to develop Déjà Vu into a fully-fledged work. In total, approximately 400 visual effects scenes were shot during the production of Déjà Vu. They had acquired a LIDAR device, which incorporated lasers to scatter light with the intent of mapping out a small region, during the production of Domino; Scott and Varisco decided to use the apparatus again during the production of Déjà Vu. Additionally, the two utilized the Panavision Genesis high definition camera to film the shots that would encompass the past that the Snow White team would peer at throughout the film, as well as the various night scenes. The LIDAR apparatus, which was operated by a hired Texan company devoted to the device, performed scans of Claire Kuchever’s apartment, the ferry, the ATF office, and actress Paula Patton, among others.
Home media.
Déjà Vu was released on DVD and home video approximately five months after its release in American theaters, on April 24, 2007. In the two weeks succeeding the day of the DVD’s release, the film was the second most purchased DVD in the United States. It was second only to Night at the Museum during this period in time. Special features on the disc include an audio commentary from director Tony Scott for both the film and its deleted scenes. The DVD cover also includes a “Surveillance Window” feature, which includes featurettes on the film’s production in New Orleans.