Production History (Daylight) Daylight
Daylight (1996) was produced by Davis Entertainment for Universal Pictures on an $80 million budget. Principal photography ran from September 25, 1995 to February 28, 1996, split between Cinecitta Studios in Rome and location work in New York City. The production's central challenge was building a full-scale tunnel set large enough for cars, stunts, and controlled flooding — a set that no American studio could accommodate. (wikipedia, variety)
Cohen built a third-of-a-mile tunnel at Cinecitta because no American studio had the space
The 1,522-foot tunnel set at Cinecitta Studios cost approximately $500,000 to construct. It was built full-scale because cars had to travel through it and large-scale stunts would be staged inside. Executive producer Raffaella De Laurentiis led the search for a facility:
"It was almost impossible for us to find a studio anywhere else in the world with a backlot big enough to build a tunnel of this size." — Raffaella De Laurentiis, Variety (1995)
The site included 16 water tanks for repeatedly flooding the tunnel sets, plus a large pool serving as the water reservoir. For the ventilation shaft sequence where Kit Latura enters the tunnel, the crew built four fans 18 feet in diameter, the entire structure standing over 160 feet high. (wikipedia)
Stallone returned to Cinecitta because his Cliffhanger experience convinced him
Stallone had filmed Cliffhanger (1993) at Cinecitta and considered the studio competitive with any facility worldwide:
"Experience is the best teacher, and my experience before with 'Cliffhanger' was so good that when it was proposed to me to come back to Cinecitta, I could only say yes." — Sylvester Stallone, Variety (1995)
"Cinecitta is very competitive. It's as good as anywhere I've worked in other countries, and as long as they continue to care about what they do, it'll only get better and better." — Sylvester Stallone, Variety (1995)
The production was among several high-profile films using Cinecitta that season, including The English Patient and Portrait of a Lady, signaling recovery for the previously struggling studio complex. (variety)
Cohen originally wanted Nicolas Cage but Universal insisted on Stallone
Director Rob Cohen's first choice for Kit Latura was Nicolas Cage, but Universal executives considered Cage a "character actor" and preferred Stallone's commercial viability. Stallone signed a $17.5 million deal for the role, part of a three-picture arrangement worth $60 million ($20 million per film) with the studio. (wikipedia, joblo)
The underwater and smoke sequences posed the production's greatest logistical challenges
Filming required actors to perform in submerged conditions and smoke-laden sets simulating toxic fumes. The practical effects work — flooding, explosions, collapsing infrastructure — was coordinated on the full-scale tunnel set rather than through miniatures or CGI. The opening explosion sequence was singled out by multiple reviewers as the film's most impressive technical achievement. (wikipedia)
"A nail-biting moment where Kit has to get into the tunnel via a ventilation system where the fans are still moving." — JoBlo
The Panerai "Daylight" watch line was created at Stallone's request
Stallone requested that Italian watchmaker Panerai create a custom wristwatch for his character. The resulting timepiece, prominently featured in the film, launched the Panerai "Daylight" line — a product placement arrangement that became one of the most commercially successful tie-ins of the decade. (wikipedia)