The 2013 thriller Now You See Me is about a group of magicians known as the Four Horsemen who pull off bank heists during their performances and funnel the money to their audience members. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, the film grossed $351.7 million worldwide against a $75 million production budget, making it one of the highest grossing films from Summit/Lionsgate.
Now You See Me won Favorite Thriller Movie at the 2014 People’s Choice Awards and was nominated for Best Thriller Film and Best Music at the Saturn Awards as well as Best Thriller at the Empire Awards (source). The film’s success spawned a sequel Now You See Me 2 (released in 2016) and a third film is currently in the works.
Watch the trailer for Now You See Me below:
“Now You See Me Movie Trailer at MGM Grand Las Vegas” by MGM Grand Las Vegas
Nevada Filming Locations
Now You See Me was filmed on location in New Orleans, New York, Las Vegas, and Paris. Filming took place over the course of 2-3 days in Las Vegas, with scenes shot at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, Fremont Street Experience, Lloyd D. George Federal U.S. Courthouse, and Aria Resort & Casino (in the Sky Villas suites, the casino floor, and the valet areas). Half a day was also spent filming at the Neon Boneyard, however, the production ran out of time (source). The footage that was captured ended up as a special feature on the Now You See Me DVD.
Visual FX
Rodeo FX served as the film’s main VFX vendor, providing approximately 23 minutes of visual effects-driven screen time. One of the most extensive pieces of the project included crowd replication to fill a 9,000 seat stadium inside the Las Vegas MGM Grand. The process included using consumer applications such as the Kinect for 3D scanning and textured projection. Multiple PS3 cameras were used for motion capture to create realistic animations for clapping, cheering, and other crowd reactions. Learn more about Rodeo FX’s work on creating the MGM Grand scene below:
For more details on other VFX work Rodeo FX delivered for Now You See Me, visit CGW.com.