Script Ben Stiller developed the premise for
Tropic Thunder while shooting
Empire of the Sun,
Etan Cohen created the role of Kirk Lazarus as a way of lampooning the great lengths that some method actors go to depict a role. Robert Downey Jr. was approached by Stiller about the part while on vacation in
Hawaii. Downey said on
CBS's
The Early Show that his first reaction was, "This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" and that Stiller responded, "Yeah, I know – isn't it great?" In another interview, Downey said that he accepted the part but, having no idea where or even how to start building the character of Lazarus, eventually settled on a
jive-esque speech pattern and a ragged bass voice; he then auditioned Lazarus's voice over the phone to Stiller, who approved the characterization immediately. Downey revealed that he modeled the character on actors
Russell Crowe,
Colin Farrell, and
Daniel Day-Lewis. The initial script was written for Downey's character to be Irish, but was altered after Downey stated he could improvise better as an Australian, having previously played a similar outlandish Australian character in the film
Natural Born Killers. Downey's practice of remaining in character between takes and even off the film set was also written into the script for his character to perform. Downey required between one-and-a-half and two hours of makeup application. According to Downey, "One makeup artist would start on one side of my face and a second makeup artist would start on the other side, and then they'd meet in the middle." Downey acknowledged the potential controversy over his role: "At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just
C. Thomas Howell [in
Soul Man], I would've stayed home." Co-star
Brandon T. Jackson stated: "When I first read the script, I was like: What?
Blackface? But when I saw him [act] he, like, became a black man ... It was just good acting. It was weird on the set because he would keep going with the character. He's a method actor." Stiller commented on Downey's portrayal of a white actor playing a black man: "When people see the movie – in the context of the film, he's playing a method actor who's gone to great lengths to play a black guy. The movie is skewering actors and how they take themselves so seriously." Stiller previewed the film before the
NAACP, and several black journalists reacted positively to the character. Tom Cruise was initially set to cameo as Stiller's character's agent, Rick Peck. Instead, Cruise suggested adding a studio head character, and the idea was incorporated into the script. Stiller and Cruise worked together to create the new character, Les Grossman, as a middle-aged businessman. The role required that Cruise don a
fatsuit, large prosthetic hands, and a bald cap. It was Cruise's idea to give the character large hands and dance to "
Low". Stiller intended to keep Cruise's role a secret until the film's release. In addition,
Paramount Pictures refused to release promotional pictures of Cruise's character to the media. In November 2007, images of Cruise wearing a bald headpiece and a fatsuit appeared on
Inside Edition, as well as on the Internet. Cruise's attorneys threatened a lawsuit if photos showing Cruise in costume were published. They approached various sites that were hosting the image and quickly had it removed. A representative for Cruise stated: "Mr. Cruise's appearance was supposed to be a surprise for his fans worldwide.
Paparazzi have ruined what should have been a fun discovery for moviegoers." The photography agency INF, who debuted the image, responded with a statement: "While these pictures were taken without breaking any
criminal or
civil laws, we've decided to pull them from circulation effective immediately." Serving as a last-minute replacement, Tobey Maguire was available to be on set for only two hours to film his scenes in ''Satan's Alley
. Downey said he was amazed Maguire would agree to do the film and felt like they were creating a "karmic pay-off" for their scenes together in the 2000 film Wonder Boys'', where Downey's character has a one-night stand with Maguire's character. After Cruise vacated the role of Rick Peck,
Owen Wilson was cast to play the part. Following his
suicide attempt in August 2007, Wilson dropped out of the film and was replaced by
Matthew McConaughey.
Filming Southern California and Mexico were considered for the main unit filming, but Stiller selected the Hawaiian island of
Kauai, where he has a home, for the majority of the shooting. Kauai was chosen over Mexico because a tax credit was negotiated with the Kauai Film Commission for in-state spending. Cinematographer
John Toll stated that the island was also selected for its similarity to Vietnam, based on its dense foliage, variety of terrains, and weather. Kauai was first scouted in 2004 as a possible location to film
Tropic Thunder. Stiller spent more than 25 hours over six weeks exploring the island, using all-terrain vehicles, boats, and helicopters. DreamWorks gave the green light for filming in 2006, but preproduction lasted for six months, most of this time spent on scouting additional locations for filming. Filming occurred on sets at
Universal Studios in Hollywood for the Los Angeles and interior scenes.
Tropic Thunder was the first major studio production on Kauai in five years. It is the largest production filmed on the island to date, and contributed more than $60 million to the local economy. Tim Ryan, the executive editor of
Hawaii Film & Video Magazine, commented on the filming on the island: "I think
Tropic Thunder will give Kauai much needed and long idled publicity in the production arena.... It should put Kauai back on the production consideration radar." Preliminary production crews were on the island starting in December 2006, and principal photography began in July 2007, with filming lasting 13 weeks over seven separate locations on the island. Much of the filming took place on private land as well as conservation status designated areas. Casting calls on the island sought 500 residents to portray the villagers in the film. Two units shot simultaneously on the island from the ground, and an aerial unit shot from helicopters. Many of the sets and the bridge used for one of the final scenes were built in three months. The island's erratic weather hampered filming with rain and lighting. The crew also faced complications in moving the equipment and cast due to the difficult terrain. The film advising company
Warriors Inc. was enlisted to ensure that the war scenes looked authentic, including the attire worn by the actors. Former members of the U.S. military taught the actors how to handle, fire, and reload their weapons, as well as to perform various tactical movements. The opening war scene was filmed over three weeks and required 50 stuntmen.
Animatics were used to map out the necessary camera angles for filming.
Effects Six companies working on different scenes and elements created 500 shots of
visual effects in the film. These were at times altered weekly due to the reactions of test audiences in screenings. CIS Visual Effects Group assisted with the
Scorcher VI faux trailer and twenty additional shots for the home media release. To expand on the comedy in the film, some of the explosions and crashes were embellished to look more destructive. The visual effects supervisor Michael Fink reflected on the exaggerated explosions: "We worked really hard to make the
CG crashing helicopter in the hot landing sequence look real. Ben was adamant about that, but at the same time he wanted the explosion to be huge. When you see it hit the ground, it was like it was filled with gasoline! It was the same thing with Ben's sergeant character, who almost intercepts a hand grenade ... Now, I was in the Army for three years and no hand grenade would make an explosion like that ... But it was a big dramatic moment and it looks really cool ... and feels kind of real." Filming the large
napalm explosion in the opening scene of the film required a row of explosive pots containing of gasoline and diesel fuel. All the palm trees used in the explosion were moved to the specific location after the crew determined the impact of the lighting and necessary camera angles. Due to the size and cost of the 1.25-second explosion, it was performed only once and was captured from twelve cameras. For the safety of the crew and cast, the detonators were added one hour before the explosion and nobody was allowed to be within during detonation. The explosion was made up of twelve individual explosions and resulted in a
mushroom cloud that reached in the air. For the scene in the film, Danny McBride's character, Cody Underwood, was the only actor shown in the shot of the explosion. All the other characters were added digitally. The explosion of the bridge in one of the final scenes used nine cameras to capture the shot, and the crew was required to be away for their safety. ==Promotion==