Trivia / Signs

• Acting in the Dark: Mel Gibson didn't realise that M. Night Shyamalan was playing Ray until the day they shot their scenes together.
• California Doubling: The Brazilian video was filmed in Miami.
• Deleted Role: For the Brazilian video, there were two actors playing the parents. But they were Portuguese rather than Brazilian, and Shyamalan decided not to use them due to their different accents to the children (who were Brazilian).
• Deleted Scenes: In the DVD bonus features, there are scenes cut from the film including two flashbacks of Mrs. Hess before her death.
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • The crop circles were real, and not done with CGI, and Mel Gibson said it helped get into the mood of seeing one for real.
  • The film was shot mostly in chronological order, except for Graham trying to revive Morgan (which had to be done earlier because winter was approaching).
• Playing Against Type: An unconventional role at the time for Mel Gibson, who rarely played characters "so introspective".
• Real-Life Relative: M. Night Shyamalan's daughter provided the artwork for the book about extraterrestrials.
• Reality Subtext: M. Night Shyamalan's cameo, in which he talks to Graham about the death of Colleen, was shot a day after a member of his family died.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The role of Graham Hess was originally written for an older man. Clint Eastwood, who had committed to Blood Work, and Paul Newman, who just wasn't interested, were both offered the role.
  • Mark Ruffalo was signed on for the role of Merrill, but was forced to pull out due to a brain tumor. Johnny Depp was offered the role and Peter Sarsgaard tried out for it.
  • The original plan for the aliens was to have them invisible (not unlike Predator). But Shyamalan couldn't get the effect he wanted.
• Working Title: The Alien Bulletin and Visitors.

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