The film director, Mike Newell, wanted to suggest the obsessive nature of the main character, an outsider and a predator. He had spent three years prior to the first scene of the movie on the streets, in bars, clubs, and lounges following Al Pacino’s character and looking for an opening into this criminal family. Instead of shooting live-action footage of Johnny Depp, the existing unit production stills were animated editorially to create this quality, which is intrinsic to the film.