Scene Stealer "Max Payne"

For the feature film version of "Max Payne," director John Moore wanted to explicitly depict the shadowy drug-induced visions of the winged Valkyries that the video game only hinted at. But the visual effects crew, led by supervisor Everett Burrell, had to stay nimble when, three weeks before shooting, the director decided to add live-action Valkyries to the previously planned all-CGI effects. "We had a Czechoslovakian dancer named Mako Hindy on set as a reference" for the actors, Burrell said. "We did cool makeup on him and built some wings. We didn't think we'd use it that much, but John loved it so much, he put it in the movie." Plans changed again when the movement of the creatures, filmed in a herky-jerky style created by Hindy, was changed to become more graceful after Moore fell in love with one shot, a balletic slow-motion image of the Valkyrie pulling a man through a window. "We had to reanimate some of the shots, but changes are always made at the last minute. We've spoiled the studios nowadays because we can crank out things so fast."