Tag can be a dangerous sport — just ask Jeremy Renner. While filming the new movie Tag, a comedy based on a real group of men who reunite every year to play an intense game of tag, the action-movie star broke both of his arms. Yes, the Avengers star truly broke both his arms by falling off a stack of chairs.
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Renner explained exactly how the injury happened. "I didn’t know I broke both my arms," he said, laughing, noting that the stack was about 30 feet in height. "I just fell on the ground. I’m like, ‘That kind of hurt.'" It wasn't until later when he was in the hospital that Renner realized how unfortunate this injury would play out to be. Specifically, he would have to have his arms CGIed to finish filming Tag. And if we learned one thing from Henry Cavill's mustache experience, that doesn't always go as planned.
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Renner bravely pointed out exactly what scene in the movie was altered to make it look like his character, Jerry (who has never been tagged) has two functioning, mobile arms. The scene is towards the end of the movie, where Jerry's s friends, including Jon Hamm as his old buddy Bob Callahan, all team up to tag him.
I have created two GIFs from the CGIed scene for us to unpack.
Let's look closely, shall we?
In this sequence, pay close attention to Renner's left arm. Look at how quickly it moves after he throws his jacket to the floor. That is some super human speed — or rather, some computer generated speed. Next, observe the coloring of the arms. They're a bit paler and smoother than the rest of his body. If you were watching this in a theater, everything would likely appear normal. But re-watching this GIF over and over again, it looks funky as hell.
Next up, let's compare two real arms to two computer arms. It's clear to me in this shot frame that the very last shot of Renner tossing the fire extinguisher at Hamm is actually performed by a stunt double, and not Renner himself. The body looks different, and the arms looks real. (Quick pause for a moment of appreciation for Hamm's tracksuit.)
Watch the full scene in the clip below, and please never ever let the image of Renner wearing two casts and pretending to throw donuts at Hamm ever leave your mind.