Tarsem Singh had been saving money for a wedding. When his girlfriend left him he used the money to make a movie instead. David Fincher told him: "Everybody who makes a lot of money in advertising always talks about the personal film they'll one day make, and you're the only idiot who did it."

THE FALL (2006) was shot over four years in twenty-eight countries, self-financed primarily through commercial work, and is based on a 1981 Bulgarian film called Yo Ho Ho. It used practical effects, real landscapes, and authentic architecture rather than computer-generated imagery (CGI) or green screens.

Tarsem hired a child actor, Catinca Untaru, from a Romanian school, then waited over a year for her to learn enough English to perform.

Lee Pace spent most of the production in bed, convincing cast and crew that he was unable to walk; on the last day of filming he stood up and announced the truth. Some people laughed. Some cried. Some were angry.

The costume designer was Eiko Ishioka (who was also responsible for the amazing costumes in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula).

Harvey Weinstein was denied first-look rights and spent two years publicly poisoning The Fall against distributors. It finally reached American cinemas in 2008, two years after its Toronto premiere, and failed commercially.

Roger Ebert called The Fall a visual orgy. The A.V. Club's Tasha Robinson called it pretentious to the point of laughability - then later named it one of her films of the year.

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Director Tarsem Singh independently financed and produced The Fall (2006) for approximately $30 million, using his own earnings from commercials. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, it struggled to secure distribution until Spike Jonze and David Fincher lent their names to help get it a limited arthouse release through Roadside Attractions in 2008.