ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS: 1. PRODUCTION INFORMATION Everyone has experienced the unsettling mystery of déjà vu – that flash of memory when you meet someone new you feel you’ve known all your life or recognize a place even though you’ve never been there before. But what if these strange, spooky feelings were actually warnings sent from the past or clues to an unfolding future?... 2. DÉJÀ VU : THE STORY BEGINS 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.... 3. THE CAST OF DEJA VU From the beginning, Jerry Bruckheimer knew exactly who he wanted to cast in DÉJÀ VU’s lead role of ATF agent Doug Carlin – the tough-minded investigator who is forced to look in wildly unexpected directions for the answers to a heartbreaking crime.... 4. AN EXPLOSIVE CAREER: DENZEL WASHINGTON TRAINS AS AN ATF AGENT To keep the emphasis on realistic action at the core of DEJA VU, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott brought in a number of consultants from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the agency that in real-life is charged with the investigation of all federal bombings – including such infamous events as the tragic explosion of the Alfred E. Murrah building in Oklahoma City and the 1993 car bombing of the World Trade Center.... 5. THE MYSTERY OF DÉJÀ VU: WHAT DO WE KNOW? While the action elements of DÉJÀ VU are all about realism, the unconventional underpinning of the thriller is an inquiry into just what the feeling of déjà vu really is – and what it might reveal about the workings of the universe... 6. THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE NEW ORLEANS: THE PRODUCTION OF DEJA VU Production of DÉJÀ VU was set to begin in Fall of 2005 amidst the watery beauty and inimitably soulful atmosphere of New Orleans. But in August of 2005, the unprecedented power of Hurricane Katrina struck, devastating the city and rocking the nation. While recovery efforts began, the film was put on indefinite hold.... 7. CHASES THROUGH TIME: CREATING DÉJÀ VU’S INVENTIVE ACTION SEQUENCES Beginning with the ferry explosion, the tension in DÉJÀ VU builds on both a psychological level and a physical level. As the story crescendos, so too does the action, with innovative chase scenes that not only travel the roads – but also travel through time.... 8. SECRETS OF SURVEILLANCE : CREATING THE TIME WINDOW LAB Doug Carlin’s search to understand what happened at the moment the ferry bomb exploded and what it has to do with his past and future ultimately takes him to one of DÉJÀ VU’s most intriguing locations: the secret time window lab in which Doug can view surveillance footage of past events.... 9. HIGH SPEED AND HIGH DEFINITION: THE VISUAL DESIGN OF DEJA VU The look of DÉJÀ VU is as innovative as its storyline. Says Jerry Bruckheimer, “Tony Scott’s films have a signature look with fast cuts and unusual camera angles. In DÉJÀ VU, he uses many unique visual techniques to enhance the storytelling.”....

AN EXPLOSIVE CAREER: DENZEL WASHINGTON TRAINS AS AN ATF AGENT

To keep the emphasis on realistic action at the core of DEJA VU, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott brought in a number of consultants from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the agency that in real-life is charged with the investigation of all federal bombings – including such infamous events as the tragic explosion of the Alfred E. Murrah building in Oklahoma City and the 1993 car bombing of the World Trade Center. The film’s advisors included retired agent Jerry Rudden, who has spent twenty years involved in these and other high-profile, post-blast investigations.

Rudden worked closely with Denzel Washington to train him in ATF protocol and also to help the actor forge the emotional nuances of a typically driven and devoted federal agent. ”Denzel and I talked a lot about the investigations I had been involved with, and especially the perceptions and feelings that are involved,” recalls Rudden. “He asked how I felt at the crime scene of the Oklahoma City Bombings, and I told him the hardest thing to do is not to become personally involved in the investigation. You try and handle everything objectively, but by the same token, you are still human.”

For Washington, working with real ATF agents was invaluable. “It helped to do research with real guys like Rudden who worked on the Pentagon bombing investigation, the first World Trade Center bombing and Oklahoma City. You name it, he was there and he knows what it’s really like,” he notes. “It helped me to really understand how, as a bomb specialist, Doug is not really as good at dealing with people as he is at dealing with evidence.”

In addition to briefing and training the cast, Bruckheimer also had Rudden make notes on the screenplay, adding in touches of authenticity and assuring the film represented the way actual disaster sites are handled. Says Bruckheimer, “One of the things Jerry Rudden mentioned that really rang true with us was that when you have a bombing and hundreds of people die, each person is treated like an individual homicide victim. This approach is one of our key plot points in DÉJÀ VU, so we knew we were on the right track. We wanted the audience to know right away that this explosion was a criminal act, and not an accident.”

Rudden also collaborated with Bruckheimer, Scott and Jim Caviezel in creating a true-to-life portrait of a dangerous bomber in the character of Oerstadt. He further consulted with production designer Chris Seagers and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick on details of sets, props and costumes that would make DEJA VU all the more authentic.

Says Mirojnick, “We had books and books to research when we shot the large disaster scenes. Tony was very specific that he didn’t want our extras to look like actors and Jerry Rudden was a huge help to us in discerning the different looks we were going for. It was all so real that at times during DÉJÀ VU it felt like we were making a documentary.”