:26:16
"It seemed to me that prior
to the final battle...
:26:19
we had to demonstrate...
immediately and simply...
:26:21
just what they were going up against.
:26:24
The sinkhole effect showed how tough
and violent things could get.
:26:26
The studio didn't want me to do it.
:26:28
I was convinced
it was a great sequence...
:26:31
so I stuck with it."
- Ivan Reitman
:27:02
The apartment building's
35 flights of stairs...
:27:05
were, in reality,
only two flights of stairs.
:27:07
They were filmed
at the Biltmore Hotel.
:27:09
The remaining flights
were added in postproduction...
:27:12
by the Entertainment Effects Group
matte department.
:27:15
Some of the dialogue
was improvised on the spot...
:27:17
and some was added later in looping.
:27:26
The rooftop temple scenes
were shot on a mammoth set.
:27:29
Later, the scenes were enhanced
with a combination of film techniques:
:27:32
A matte painting
of the New York skyline...
:27:34
matte paintings
of the top of the temple...
:27:37
animated lightning effects
and turbulent skies...
:27:39
created by injecting clouds of paint
into a giant water tank.