“Escape From Tomorrow” Movie Filmed In The Disney Parks Without Disney’s Permission
There was a recent story about a man who was banned from the Disney Parks for life for taking a camera into employee-only areas of the parks and taping what he found. The man thought it was a bit harsh that he was banned from the parks for life, but now it make sense why Disney did it – they probably want to prove a point so that they avoid another movie being made in the parks without their knowledge. Yes, a full-blown movie was made at Walt Disney World and Disneyland without the Walt Disney Company having any idea about it. Here are the details…
Randy Moore, a screenwriter who grew up traveling to Walt Disney World as a kid moved out to California and began taking his own family to Disneyland. He decided he wanted to try to make a movie at the parks, but without the permission of Disney. The movie, which premiered at Sundance, is titled “Escape From Tomorrow.”
Randy used a Canon camera and the cast and crew of the film could only read their scripts off of their iPhones so they wouldn’t look like they were acting. Acting cues were given over the phone and many times the crew was spread out around the park so it wouldn’t look like a movie was being made.
Extras in the film were actual park visitors who thought nothing more of Randy’s camera than that he was filming his family and friends on their vacation.
The movie cost under $1 million to make, and the LA Times writer described it as follows:
To attempt to describe the plot of ‘Escape’ is to go down a rabbit hole as disorienting as any amusement park ride. Basically, the film is about a down-on-his luck fortysomething father (Roy Abramsohn) on the last day of a Disney World vacation with his henpecking wife and their two angelic children. As he takes his children to various attractions, the father is haunted by disturbing imagery; he is also, in the meantime (and with his children in tow), tailing two young flirtatious French girls around the park. Airy musical compositions you might find in classic Hollywood films play over many of these scenes, giving a light shading to the darker moments.
We’re honestly surprised that Disney didn’t know about this movie. Not only did the actors re-appear at the parks over and over dressed in the same clothing, but the LA Times writer revealed:
At one point, Moore even needed to shoot a scene of people passing on opposite monorail cars, having them board again and again for hours because he couldn’t quite decode the exact schedule.
That would seem a bit suspect to us if we saw that!
No word yet if the film will get further than Sundance before Disney files a lawsuit. We’ll keep you posted.
