Over at Pajiba, Cindy Davis has compiled a list of twenty interesting factoids about Inception.
Here’s a sample.
8. Nolan based roles of the Inception team on those of filmmaking; Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer, Aridane is the production designer, Eames is the actor, Saito is the studio, and Fischer is the audience. The director said, “In trying to write a team-based creative process, I wrote the one I know.”
9. Nolan wrote the part of Saito for Ken Watanabe after working with him on Batman Begins.
10. After Evan Rachel Wood turned down the part of Ariadne (Ellen Page), Carey Mulligan, Rachel McAdams, Emily Blunt, Emma Roberts and Taylor Swift were all rumored to have been considered. James Franco was first offered the role of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Brad Pitt and Will Smith were reportedly offered the Cobb role before DiCaprio and Kate Winslet declined to portray Mal (Marion Cotillard).
11. Nolan always loved the work of artist, M C. Escher; loved his prints and said Escher does a wonderful job of expressing paradox and infinity. Nolan wanted to try the concept of the Penrose Steps—the infinite staircase—wondering how it could be built it in the real world. The director originally asked (Production Designer) Dyas if a Penrose Step could be built; Dyas said “Of course you can—but actually, it’s almost impossible.”
The set was fitted into a location (disused games company facility), a modern building constructed of steel and glass. The staircase was designed using the same wood that was in the facility, so as to fit right into the environment. Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Franklin explained, “You have to construct the staircase in such a way that when you view them from one angle, the topmost level winds up at the bottommost level.” Computer models were made and they worked out the exact dimensions of the steps that had to be built, as well as where the camera had to be in three dimensional space, to be able to film the stairs. Director of Photography, Wally Pfister noted, “It had to be done mathematically perfect; it had to be a particular length and particular height and distance and the camera had to drop in a particular way to hide the trickery.” Editor, Lee Smith explained the visual effects requirement was to remove the rig that supported the staircase (because the structure would have been dangerous had it not had a rig on it). “The staircase is visually quite dramatic and very carefully thought out.”
