Vanilla Sky (2001)

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (film "Abre Los Ojos"), Mateo Gil (film "Abre Los Ojos")

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	David Aames
Penélope Cruz	...	Sofia Serrano
Cameron Diaz	...	Julie Gianni
Kurt Russell	...	McCabe
Jason Lee	...	Brian Shelby
Noah Taylor	...	Edmund Ventura
Timothy Spall	...	Thomas Tipp
Tilda Swinton	...	Rebecca Dearborn
Michael Shannon	...	Aaron
Delaina Mitchell	...	David's Assistant
Shalom Harlow	...	Colleen
Oona Hart	...	Lynette
Ivana Milicevic	...	Emma
Johnny Galecki	...	Peter Brown
Jhaemi Willens	...	Jamie Berliner

Storyline

Incarcerated and charged with murder, David Aames Jr. is telling the story of how he got to where he is to McCabe, the police psychologist. That story includes: being the 51% shareholder of a major publishing firm, which he inherited from his long deceased parents; the firm's board, appointed by David Aames Sr., being the 49% shareholders who would probably like to see him gone as they see him as being too irresponsible and immature to run the company; his best bro friendship with author, Brian Shelby; his "friends with benefits" relationship with Julie Gianni, who saw their relationship in a slightly different light; his budding romance with Sofia Serrano, who Brian brought to David's party as his own date and who Brian saw as his own possible life mate; and being in an accident which disfigured his face and killed the person who caused the accident. But as the story proceeds, David isn't sure what is real and what is a dream/nightmare as many facets of the story are incompatible to ...

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Plot Keywords:

dream | death | mask | nightmare | mental institution | 

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Taglines:

Is your subconscious your conscious; is your conscious your subconscious?

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Genres:

Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/director Cameron Crowe also referred to the clues as his version of the 'Paul is Dead' rumor (the notorious Beatles hoax from the late-60s, when fans became convinced through song lyrics, sonic tricks, and album art that Paul McCartney had died and was replaced by a look-alike). "Divorcing it from whether Paul was really dead or not, that was a really great parlor game: searching for clues, the excitement of different layers, some of them chilling, some of them really funny. It was a great model for us."

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Goofs

During the party, when Steven Spielberg makes a cameo appearance and says happy birthday to David, a cameraman is seen filming on the left.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sofía: [in Spanish] Open your eyes.
Sofía: [in English] Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open you...
[David wakes up and pushes the snooze button on his alarm]

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Crazy Credits

The end credits are done to a background of a skyscape changing the various colors of the day.

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Alternate Versions

Three parts from the quick montage at the end of the film suggest scenes cut from the final film: two frames from a scene that was in "Abre Los Ojos" (upon which "Vanilla Sky" was based) where David shoots a police officer in front of the L.E. building, a frame of David and Sofia on a bed where Sofia is wearing a bathrobe (she never wore a bathrobe in the film), and a frame set in David's company where David is a kid, sitting on a couch, and a man (possibly Thomas Tipp) is talking to him).

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Connections

Featured in Tom Cruise: Reel Life (2017)

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Soundtracks

Can We Still Be Friends
(1976)
Written and Performed by Todd Rundgren
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group and Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company / Bearsville Records
by arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Made me think

"Vanilla Sky" was a wonderfully thought out movie. Or rather, "Abre Los Ojos" was well thought out. I watched that movie late one night, excited about what was to come. I wasn't disappointed. By the end of the movie, I was awstruck. I couldn't get it off my mind. The whole idea of it just blew me away. The ending, was more of a surprise than Shyamalan could ever do. The plot line was also something that kept me interesting through and through. The cast, superb. It was an all around wonderful movie. The kind of movie you can watch again and again and always find something new. I've seen it four or five times and I'm always finding something new. It's a movie to keep you interested forever.

Details

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 December 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vanilla Sky

Filming Locations:

West 73rd Street, Manhattan, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,015,518, 16 December 2001

Gross USA:

$100,618,344

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$203,388,341

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Vinyl Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min 141 min (alternate ending)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1