Tom Cruise Inspired This Severance Season 2 Scene That Took 5 Months To Film: “I Should Have Trained”

Severance
star Adam Scott and director Ben Stiller break down one key scene from the season 2 premiere, explaining how Tom Cruise influenced it and why it took five months to film. Created by Dan Erickson, the hit Apple TV+ mystery series stars Scott as Mark, an employee at Lumon Industries who has had his work memories surgically separated from his personal memories. Severance season 2 reviews have been glowing from critics, and season 2 starts with a bang, following Mark as he sprints through the Lumon hallways in search of Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), his outie’s wife.

During an episode of The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott (via GamesRadar+), the two creatives break down this energetic start to season 2. Scott explains that this minutes-long running sequence was shot in fits and starts over the course of five months due to set considerations and the technology required. Check out his comment below:

“We shot those 10 different pieces over a period of five months. Each one had a different need in terms of what had to be done with the set.”

Stiller, who directed the episode, then went into detail regarding the logistics and technology of filming the sequence, which was surprisingly complex:

“So there was one where we had to do it completely with green screen and have you on a treadmill and have a motion control camera. There was one where we had to pull one of the walls out, and we were using this machine called a Bolt arm, that’s a motion-controlled robot arm with the cameras on.”

From there, the conversation turns to Scott’s running technique, and he admits that more preparation would have been useful. “Of course, I should have trained. You know what? The training was doing it. I got into good shape from doing all of this running,” Scott says. Scott’s comment prompts Stiller to joke that he should have gotten his running technique from Cruise, who is well-known for his elite sprinting form. “Which is actually what I did,” Scott replies. “Anyone that wants to train for running of any kind, just watch Tom Cruise.”

What Severance Season 2’s Running Sequence Means For The Show

The Apple TV+ Series Has Faced Some Budget Issues

The fact that Stiller and the production put so much effort into Mark’s running sequence speaks to the general approach to the show and why it has been so successful. In addition to the strong writing and the performances from the Severance cast, reviews praise the impressive filmmaking on display. The Apple TV+ show boasts stunning visuals and set design, and this is undoubtedly part of why the show is so expensive to make.

Severance season 2’s budget hasn’t been officially confirmed, but some reports claim that each episode cost $20 million to make. Regardless of the actual numbers, one recent report from Puck suggests the costs ballooned so much that Apple now won’t be making any profit on the show at all for season 2. The sophomore outing suffered from a variety of behind-the-scenes problems and setbacks, including drastic creative overhauls, COVID-19, and the WGA strike, which pushed the already-large budget up.

Severance season 2 has a 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81% audience score.

Our Take On Severance Season 2’s Premiere

The Apple TV+ Series Has Returned With A Spark

The Cruise influence is apparent in Scott’s running in the Severance season 2 premiere, and it made the sequence all the more thrilling to watch. In lesser hands, the running sequence would have been fairly straightforward and relatively short, but Stiller uses it to kick season 2 off with a great deal of energy, disorienting audiences and communicating Mark’s panic while showing off a level of filmmaking that’s not often seen in the world of TV.

Technical skill and a strong creative vision came together to make Severance season 1 a real treat, and season 2 is already off to an incredibly strong start. It remains to be seen how Mark’s story will continue to unfold in the remaining episodes, but season 2 is certainly looking like it was worth the wait.

Source: The Severance Podcast With Ben Stiller & Adam Scott (via GamesRadar+)