Déjà Vu: The Story Begins
“Someone–tell me, is that woman alive, right now?” — Doug Carlin in Déjà Vu
The spine-tingling sensation of déjà vu has mystified humankind for centuries. The feeling hits at the strangest moments – when we fall instantly and madly in love with a total stranger, when we arrive at a brand new place we know like the back of our hand, whenever events occur that inexplicably feel like they have must have played out somehow, somewhere before in our lives. From philosophers to filmmakers, we have all wondered: Where does this feeling come from? Is it all in the mind or does it emerge from some deeper reality? Why does it happen? And most of all, what does it mean?
“It is these fascinating gray areas that lie at the heart of our film,” says the star of DÉJÀ VU, Denzel Washington.
A two-time Oscar® winner who is regularly offered the cream of the current screenplay crop, Washington was swept up when he encountered DÉJÀ VU’s uniquely time-shifting, backwards-moving structure and its provocative exploration of one of life’s most inexplicable experiences through the lens of a love story and a crime-solving thriller. “I think we all have had the feeling that we have been somewhere before – I’ve had it, too,” Washington admits. “I used to have this dream about a particular place in Brooklyn, and then one day I went there and I couldn’t help but feel like I had been there before. It’s one of those big mysteries in life that I think everyone wants to get to the bottom of.”
Indeed, everyone who first came into contact with DÉJÀ VU was instantly intrigued. It’s not often that a screenplay arrives in leading producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s office and is purchased within a matter of hours – but DÉJÀ VU, written by Bill Marsilii & Terry Rossio, was an exception to the rule. Bruckheimer, who has become a brand unto himself with a roster of films that span many of the most popular and influential films of the last two decades, felt right away that the script was something special. Screenwriter Rossio (along with another partner Ted Elliott) had already written the wildly entertaining and phenomenally successful “Pirates of the Caribbean” series for Bruckheimer, as well such runaway hits as “Aladdin,” “Shrek” and “Zorro,” among others. But with DÉJÀ VU he and newcomer Bill Marsilii had ventured into fresh territory – taking a sleek modern thriller and poignant romance out onto the edges of modern physics’ understanding of time.
Recalls Bruckheimer, ”The concept of DÉJÀ VU was completely original, a real page-turner, and different from any other love story I had ever read. We were fortunate enough to be the first ones to get a peek at it, so we bought the screenplay within forty-eight hours of receiving it.” Rossio and Elliot first formed their unusual writing partnership in the most modern of ways: in cyberspace. Around ten years ago, Rossio was in an America On Line chat-room talking to different aspiring writers about their careers, when he came across Marsilii, and was immediately impressed by his insights and smarts about movies. The two seemed to have an instant creative rapport.
But Terry lived in Los Angeles and Bill in New York, so they began exchanging ideas and script concepts by e-mail over the course of several years. One of those ideas was for an unconventional, intricately woven thriller/love-story that would take place unmoored from the usual rules of time. Starting with a deadly, heartbreaking tragedy, a federal agent would have to follow his sense of déjà vu and, using top-secret technology, trace his steps all the way back to the moment in time when he might have a shot at altering the catastrophe — and with it, his own chance for a once in a lifetime love affair.
The idea seemed to have enormous potential but was also unusually complex, pushing the thriller into realms where it usually doesn’t go. Soon Rossio and Marsilii were simultaneously developing the nuances of a romance-in-reverse, while also exploring next-generation surveillance technology and conversing with leading experts on the cutting-edge of String Theory and parallel universes.
Over time, Terry and Bill had each written different scenes that were fragments of DÉJÀ VU, but had never attempted to put it all together into one continuous narrative. Then, Rossio heard Jerry Bruckheimer Films was looking for a new large-scale film project and he had a feeling this story of romance, crime and time travel would resonate with the producer. He and Marsilii cleaned up what they had, and sent a first draft of DÉJÀ VU to Bruckheimer. They never looked back. The result was wholly unlike the usual run-of-the-mill Hollywood thriller – and Bruckheimer loved that. Says Bruckheimer, “We felt that DÉJÀ VU had enormous drama to it because of what takes place around the love story. The idea that you can bring somebody back to life again is a wonderful concept. This story is risky, it’s entertaining and it’s romantic. And by bringing in Tony Scott to direct, we knew it would be filled with exciting action.” Bruckheimer knew that Scott would bring his distinctive panache with visceral thrills to the film – but also something more.
“Tony, Denzel, and I had all worked together on ‘Crimson Tide,’” says Bruckheimer, “but Tony and I hadn’t really done a love story together since ‘Top Gun.’ DÉJÀ VU presented those same elements of action and drama, but with the underpinnings of a beautiful romance tinged with incredible mystery. This was just the project to reunite us.”
Scott brought with him to DÉJÀ VU a well-deserved reputation for being not only one of the most accomplished, but also one of the hardest-working, directors in Hollywood. Famously, his vision is so specific and well-crafted that he wakes up every morning at 3 AM in order to draw his own storyboards for the day, mapping out every inch of every action scene before anyone else is even awake. Yet, typically sporting his signature pink baseball cap, khaki shorts and Cuban cigar, Scott is also renowned for making the non-stop pace of an action-thriller feel effortless to the cast and crew. Most of all, Scott is highly regarded for his unique ability to generate visual excitement and dramatic fireworks on the screen.
Sums up Bruckheimer, “Tony brings the amazing scope of his artistry to every visual aspect of a movie. That is why you hire Tony Scott. He is a great storyteller who is extremely dedicated to his craft. We both had the same goal for this film: to take you away for two hours so you can forget
about everything else and just get lost in the magic on the screen….and when those lights go down you are in another world, the world of DÉJÀ VU.”
