The independent black and white American film, Escape from Tomorrow, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. A dark, comedy horror combination, the entire movie was shot surreptitiously, guerilla style, at Disney World Orlando, and Disneyland California.
Director Randy Moore was so fearful of being caught by security, he reportedly lost 47 pounds during the filming of the movie. To avoid suspicion, actor’s scripts were kept on iPhones, and direction was made from a distance, using hand signals. The movie was shot in natural daylight, requiring hours of walking the parks for lighting consistency. In one particular scene, actors had to ride the ‘People Mover’ at Magic Kingdom (my favourite) for over three hours to catch the required sequence.
Escape from Tomorrow is an unflattering surrealistic portrayal of theme parks, focusing on a father who learns he’s lost his job on the family’s final day at Disney. The day unfolds with dad succumbing to delusions while uncovering sinister happenings in the park.
The movie was released despite fears the Disney Corporation would litigate, but in the end Disney was silent on the matter. Likely Disney lawyers felt it wise not to add any additional publicity to the release, and chose not to contest the ‘fair use’ legal argument.
The entire movie was shot using two Canon 5D Mark II cameras.
How cool is that?
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