VIRTUAL DRIVING: A Terrible Trend in Today’s Movies

Last year, a new Pierce Brosnan movie titled FAST CHARLIE was touted as one of his best in a long while. I watched it, underwhelmed by all aspects of the movie, but what bothered me most were the driving scenes. They were all virtual, all filmed on a stage with the actors pretending to drive and a green or blue screen for the passing scenery. This is nothing new. In fact, it’s an old technique that used to be called “rear projection” for nearly all driving scenes for films in the early days of Hollywood. And then (thankfully) we steered away from that trend towards more realistic car sequences using process trailers, special camera rigs, and handheld cinematography. Now (unfortunately) we’re back to where we started.

More and more, I notice virtual car scenes in movies. Just the other night I started the new, acclaimed show MONSIEUR SPADE with my girlfriend and I could immediately tell the scenery going by Clive Owen’s face wasn’t real. It pulled me out of the show completely. I wonder if it’s just my filmmaker’s eye or if regular moviegoers are noticing too? Either way, it’s a terrible trend in today’s cinema. I understand the convenience of filming a driving scene this way. Having done a few myself, it’s a pain in the butt. You often have to lock up traffic and control the road if the actors are actually driving. If they’re not, getting a process trailer can be a hassle and not a simple set up, especially during a rushed production. I was recently on the set of a film I wrote and they told me that nearly all the car scenes (and there are several in my script) would be done back in L.A. on a green screen. Oof. I told them about FAST CHARLIE and how embarrassing the shots looked. Their reaction was indifferent. They either didn’t care about the quality of the shots and how real they looked or they’re so used to seeing the fake stuff that they can’t tell the difference anymore. I find the latter option more worrisome because it means that virtual shooting, for driving and more, will become more and more commonplace just like CGI has nearly replaced all practical effects in movies, from creatures to even blood sprays. If it can be done with less elbow grease, that’s the way of cinema today. But in this filmmaker’s opinion, the results look awful. They actually appear worse than the rear projection used in most films of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I think filmmakers like Phillip Noyce who directed FAST CHARLIE should be ashamed of themselves for giving in to this crap but that’s probably what we should expect going forward from nearly every director except the few, stubborn purists. Just imagine the upcoming remakes of THE FRENCH CONNECTION and BULLITT, both starring Timothy Chalamet and shot entirely on a damn stage.

This will eventually be published on my website, runningwildfilms.com, and my Travis Mills Facebook page. For the next week, it is exclusively available here