Eyes Wide Shut poster
Eyes Wide Shut

Half-Assed Internet Research

Novella; long production; economical methods; box office; Kilmer auditions; Blanchett voice; lawsuit; Pollack rumors; Keitel departure; two actresses

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:33Read transcript
  • The film is based on a1926 Arthur Schnitzler novella whose rights Kubrick reportedly acquired in the1960s.
  • The production reportedly lasted400days and is claimed as a Guinness continuous-shoot record, with explicit skepticism about that distinction.
  • Kubrick’s small London crew and home-based postproduction are offered as reasons the unusually long shoot could cost no more than a more conventionally scheduled production.
  • The film reportedly grossed$162million, mainly overseas.
  • David Hughes’s Kubrick book is identified as a source for several casting claims; Val Kilmer reportedly sent thirty unsolicited audition tapes.
  • Cate Blanchett reportedly supplied the mysterious masked woman’s voice.
  • Cruise and Kidman reportedly sued Star magazine over a claim that sex therapists coached their scenes.
  • Pollack’s arrival prompted unverified speculation that he represented Warner Bros. oversight or could manage Cruise; these are explicitly rumors.
  • A Gary Oldman anecdote describes Keitel leaving after repeated takes; other alleged reasons are deliberately withheld.
  • An article, tentatively remembered as The Independent, reportedly identifies two actresses portraying the Mandy-related appearances; the research is explicitly described as limited.