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Movies & Series 21 April 2022, 13:26

author: Jan Tracz

I Am Legend – the bridge scene. The most expensive scenes in cinema history

Table of Contents

  1. Movie budget: $150 million
  2. Scene budget: $5 million
  3. Where to watch: HBO MAX, Chili, Rakuten

Will Smith is a new Hollywood persona non grata, due to the very (sic) loud controversy at this year's Oscars. But let's not forget that he has starred in many great films so far, one of which is certainly I'm a Legend from 2007. And, interestingly, this production has one of the most expensive scenes in the history of cinema. It's the moment when one of New York's bridges collapses as a result of a huge explosion.

I am a legend, today considered a cult-classic science-fiction film, is mainly associated with post-apocalyptic vibe; the action takes place in dilapidated areas damaged by an extreme virus that turns people into zombie-like creatures. In all that chaos, it's easy to forget about the scene that takes place at the very beginning of that outbreak, in which the main character tries to evacuate his family (the scene itself is reminiscent of a similar moment from War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise).

And although the explosion itself was created using well-crafted CGI, the rest of the scene was shot in reality. During six nights, the evacuation scene was realized with the help of 1,000 extras and fourteen different government agencies. The entire project was supervised by a film crew of 250 people. Well, such numbers are really impressive.

Jan Tracz

Jan Tracz

Graduated Film Studies (BA and MA) at King's College London, UK. Currently, he writes for Collider, WhyNow, The Upcoming, Ayo News, Interia Film, Przegląd, Film.org.pl, and Gamepressure.com. He has had publications in FIPRESCI, Eye For Film, British Thoughts Magazine, KINO, Magazyn PANI, WP Film, NOIZZ, Papaya Rocks, Tygodnik Solidarnosc, and Filmawka. He has also collaborated with Rock Radio and Movies Room. Conducted interviews with Alejandro González Ińárritu, Lasse Hallström, Michel Franco, Matthew Lewis, and David Thomson. His published works include an essay in the anthology "Nikt Nikomu Nie Tlumaczy: Swiat wedlug Kiepskich w kulturze" (Brak Przypisu Publishing, 2023). Laureate of the Leopold Unger Scholarship in 2023. Member of the Young FIPRESCI Jury during WFF 2023.

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