The best kinds of cameos are ones that are totally unexpected, sandwiched between innocuous scenes or poised in the background as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tidbit. Directors often make brief appearances in their own films, where some, like Alfred Hitchcock, feature in a chunk of their filmography (including showing up as a telephone operator in “The Lodger” and walking on the road with a trumpet case in “Vertigo”). Like Hitchcock, a handful of directors can be glimpsed in their own work — from Martin Scorsese to Peter Jackson — and they generally play smaller roles, except for some characters that gain prominence for storytelling or budgetary purposes.
Others, like Steven Spielberg, make quick cameos in films directed by their peers, such as his appearance as a man in an electric wheelchair in “Gremlins” or an alien gracing a TV monitor in “Men in Black.” This, obviously, also extended to his own directorial efforts. For instance, we hear Spielberg’s voice as an Amity Point Lifestation Worker in “Jaws” and see him as a tourist at an airport in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” Now, if I told you that Spielberg made a super-quick cameo in Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky,” you might treat this piece of information like the fever dream gripping the edges of this particularly surreal film, but it is, in fact, true.
For context, “Vanilla Sky” tells the story of one David Aames (Tom Cruise), who is some variation of a billionaire playboy known for throwing lavish parties in Manhattan before his life is turned upside down by an inciting incident. David recounts a particular birthday party that acts as the catalyst for his eventual fate, and this is where we see his friends and business partners pour in, including a wild Steven Spielberg, who greets him with a jolly “Happy Birthday, you son of a b****!” before hugging him. I don’t remember clocking this cameo the first time I saw Crowe’s film, as it is part of a long montage that leads up to the fated meeting, with most of the focus being snatched by the expository narration.
Spielberg’s cameo in Vanilla Sky was a favor for Cruise
According to Far Out Magazine, Spielberg agreed to cameo as a party guest in “Vanilla Sky” because he was working with Cruise on “Minority Report” around the same time, which was set to embrace the eccentricities of Philip K. Dick’s work along with quintessential Spielbergian sensibilities that typically follow a blockbuster mold. “Minority Report” eventually turned out to be a successful adaptation and an intriguing slice of futuristic sci-fi in its own right, featuring a cameo that was a “thank you” from a fellow director. Yes, Crowe can be glimpsed in Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller, playing the role of a man riding the subway who intensely locks eyes with Cruise’s John Anderton, a pre-crime expert who is now a wanted man.
Spielberg’s “Vanilla Sky” cameo is not much of an Easter egg, as it is in plain sight for all to see, but there are other aspects of the film that hide some layers of symbolism that Crowe meant for the audience to decipher for themselves. It is not controversial to state that “Vanilla Sky” evoked divisive responses when it was released (and still does, in some cases), but the experience that Crowe crafts has the markings of a cult favorite adored by those who find value in a film about appearances, deception, and make-believe. The Easter eggs that Crowe planted are worth exploring, and the director once told Vulture a bit about the unexplored bits:
“There are a few things people haven’t picked up on. But there’s a lot that they have picked up on. It’s a little bit of a shell game, figuring out when the events of David Aames’s life change, and when the purchased reality, or the ‘dream,’ begins. […] I don’t think this has ever come out before: I did a lot of subliminal music cues.”
If you’re interested in unearthing more details that tend to be overlooked on the first watch, it is time to revisit “Vanilla Sky” — and maybe this time, we will truly, genuinely, open our eyes.
