Not only did they grow the corn themselves, but they also built the house, the barn, the backyard, and probably Abigail Breslin. (Seriously, this was her first movie. You prove she existed before 2002.) Supposedly, all of this was necessary because they couldn't find an existing Midwest farmhouse that the set designers were allowed to paint red, white, and blue. That was symbolically important to the story, for reasons, surely.
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures'Murica reasons.
Then there are the crop circles. We all thought those were CGI, didn't we? Hell, in the film, Gibson himself says, "It can't be by hand, it's too perfect." But it was, because Shyamalan demanded it. Production designer Larry Fulton wanted to CG most of it, "but Night doesn't like CGI, he wants everything practical." That meant his team had to spend weeks making real crop circles by hand -- and not just the one on the farm set. In the movie, the family watches a news report showing other crop circles popping up around the world.
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone PicturesFor the last one, the crew just did a middle finger with the initials "MNS" next to it.
Sure, they could have used stock footage, but that wouldn't be insane, would it? Instead, the production team created two more crop circles -- which, by the way, was "as tough as chopping down trees."
All for a few shots, spanning a few seconds.
In a movie.
Which turned out to be Signs.
Matt Cowan makes geeky T-shirts you didn't notice (which took a lot of work) when he's not writing for Cracked or watching Disney movies with his daughter.
If you're looking for an unforgettable holiday gift that requires very little work, check out the Miracle-Gro Aerogarden.
If you loved this article and want more content like this, support our site with a visit to our Contribution Page. Or sign up for our Subscription Service for exclusive content, an ad-free experience, and more.
For more, check out 6 Scenes In Famous Movies That Were Insanely Hard To Film and 5 Simple Movie Scenes That Were An Insane Pain To Shoot.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out 7 Movies that Put Insane Amounts of Work Into Small Details, and watch other videos you won't see on the site!
Also follow us on Facebook. It's easy.
98 Comments