Listen on SoundCloud

DESCRIPTION: Amazingly, Paul Hirsch, Oscar-winning editor, agreed to come back on the show! The author of the new memoir "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away" shares the truth about the rat in the Langley sequence of "M:I," discusses how they fixed the opening of "Ghost Protocol," and lets us know which shots weren't Tom Cruise in the aquarium sequence in the first film - and much more! Released December 20th, 2019.

SHOW NOTES: Buy the hardcover of Paul’s book here, or you can get the Kindle version here.

In this episode we discuss the face replacement that was done for one shot in the aquarium restaurant scene. After this episode came out, ILM VFX guru Todd Vaziri did a full investigation and came up with the following...

Todd: “The first two shots are one take, and shot 3 is a different take (the glass/water continuity matches in shot 1 & 2, but not 3).

“My hypothesis is that it's the middle shot. Shot 1 you can't see Ethan's face. Shot 2 is the stuntman with Cruise face replacement. Shot 3 is Cruise.

Below you’ll see “The shot, gamma'd up. The head and the body feel a little disjointed...”

Below you’ll see the shot in “detail, gamma'd up, rock & rolled.

“There's some weirdness with his hairline, between the top of his head and the back of his head (probably a split). All in all, if this is the shot, it still totally works.”

Here’s the full thread on Twitter:

Follow Todd Vaziri on Twitter for more awesome filmmaking stuff like this!