One of the biggest cult songs of the 21st century is Donnie Darko. Richard Kelly’s directorial debut also helped launch Jake Gyllenhaal’s career as a leading actor. While the film failed to captivate audiences when it was released in theaters, it quickly became an obsession with family audiences due to its psychedelic story and unsettling tone.
Unbelievably, Donnie Darko Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021, its reputation as an innovative and exciting film remains as strong as ever. There’s a lot to enjoy about such a bizarre story, a visionary young director, and a failed production. Donnie Darko Fans may not know this.
Richard Kelly wrote the film in a month
When Richard Kelly started writing Donnie DarkoDuring this time, he worked as a production assistant, taking food orders for many celebrities. He told Consequence Film that he decided to further his career by writing feature film scripts. Kelly synthesized various ideas and completed the script in 28 days. Interestingly, when Frank tells Downey at the beginning of the movie that the world is ending, he is told that it will happen in 28 days.
Kelly insists on directing
Although Kelly successfully wrote his first feature film, he faced an uphill climb when it came to convincing people to let him direct the film. According to “The Ringer”, the script is very popular in Hollywood and has aroused a lot of interest.But while the studio wanted a director like Joel Schumacher to make Donnie DarkoKelly insisted that he was the direct director of the film, fearing that entrusting strange material to a younger director would cause the film to bog down.
Drew Barrymore played a major role in the making of the film
Drew Barrymore was one of many Hollywood figures who responded to Kelly’s script, requesting a meeting with him.According to The Ringer, Kelly was invited to the set of “Barrymore” charlie’s angels There they discussed the script. Kelly offered the role of English teacher Karen Pomeroy to Barrymore, but Barrymore also requested a budget of $4.5 million to make the film. Kelly doubts the film would have been made without her involvement.
Vince Vaughn and Mark Wahlberg considered for ‘Downey’
Donnie Darko A breakout role for young Jake Gyllenhaal, who would go on to become a Hollywood star. However, based on the commentary track, some unexpected other options were considered.
Kelly discussed the role with Vince Vaughn, but Vaughn felt uncomfortable playing a 16-year-old. Mark Wahlberg also wanted to play the role, but he wanted to play it with a lisp, but Kelly disagreed.
Jake Gyllenhaal is last-minute replacement
After considering the likes of Vaughn and Wahlberg, Jason Schwartzman became attached to the project. But as the filming date approached, the rushed schedule forced Schwartzman to withdraw due to other commitments. Despite the tight deadline, Kelly told The Ringer it was an “exciting” time meeting actors like Patrick Fugit and Lucas Black for the role. But when Jake Gyllenhaal came in to discuss the role, it was an obvious fit.
Gyllenhaal recommended his sister for the film
Donnie Darko This marks an interesting on-screen collaboration between Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal, the real-life siblings who also play brother and sister in the film. In an interview with The Guardian, Jake Gyllenhaal claimed that he suggested his sister take the role because he felt their own competitive natures would work well. He also explained that since it was Maggie who pushed him into acting, starring in a movie starring him would annoy her.
Noah Wyle mistakenly thought he was offered another role
Kelly mentioned in his commentary that after learning that Noah Wyle had read the script and liked it, the director knew immediately that he would be a perfect fit for the role of Professor Kenneth Monitoff. However, when the meeting took place, a misunderstanding led Wyle to believe that he was ready to play the role of Jim Cunningham. Wyle expressed reservations about taking on the role, but was relieved to learn it was a completely different character.
Jet Engine is based on a story Kelly heard
The film’s mystery begins when a jet engine crashes into Downey’s bedroom. He survived because he was sleepwalking at the time.
According to The Ringer, the chilling moment was actually inspired by an underlying urban legend Kelly heard in his youth, about a piece of ice breaking off a plane, traveling through a house and crashing into a Empty Bedroom Story. The story got Kelly thinking about how someone who narrowly escaped death might react to something like this.
frank’s inspiration
Of course, one of the most memorable aspects of the film is Frank’s character. A mysterious figure in a scary bunny costume acts as Downey’s guide, leading him through the more supernatural or science fiction parts of the story.
To add to the character’s mystique, Kelly told Entertainment Weekly that he wasn’t sure of Frank’s true inspiration. He believes the character’s design may have come to him in a dream, or may have been influenced by his love of love. watership falls.
This is Seth Rogen’s first movie
Although he is the star of this drama Freaks and Geeks, Donnie Darko Marks Seth Rogen’s feature film debut. Instead of the hilarious comedy roles he would later become famous for, Rogen played a rather scary bully named Ricky. It’s a small character, and fans are often surprised to see him pop up when they rewatch the film now. Years later, after becoming famous, Rogen admitted on the talk show ROVE that he still didn’t understand the movie.
James Duvall wears bunny costume all the time
It’s not until the end of the movie that it’s revealed that the man in the bunny costume is a local young man named Frank, who also happens to be dating Donnie’s sister. James Duvall plays Frank’s human form, but on the DVD commentary, Kelly confirms that Duvall wore the mask in every early scene Frank appeared in. Duvall told The Ringer that his first scene was when Downey met Frank for the first time, and they found it difficult to hear him read his lines under the mask.
Jim Cunningham Convention
Patrick Swayze has a small supporting role in the movie, playing a local self-help guru who turns out to be a pretty mean guy. However, there were some hints about his dishonesty earlier in the movie that fans may not have noticed. When Cunningham visited Downey’s school to speak, a young child asked the audience a question. However, Cunningham was seen earlier in a self-help video with the same child, suggesting he had actors in the audience to make himself look better.
Downey’s childlike voice
Although it was all Richard Kelly’s brainchild as writer and director, the film seemed to be the result of the actors bringing their own ideas and working together with Kelly. In their commentary, Gyllenhaal and Kelly discussed the idea of a child-like voice that Downey would adopt while hypnotized. This also became part of the way Donnie would talk to Frank whenever he appeared in his dreams.
Sam Raimi allows evil people to be used in movies
In one memorable scene, Downey and his girlfriend Gretchen go to the movies to watch Sam Raimi’s classic horror film, evil dead. Kelly pointed out in the DVD commentary that he originally wanted to watch the 1984 horror film. Chad However, Kelly explained that determining who owns the film rights is a difficult process.Thankfully, someone contacted Raimi to use evil dead Instead, and gave his blessing.
Grandma Dies is based on real people from Kelly’s hometown
As weird and trippy as the story within the story Donnie Darko Remarkably, Kelly was also able to use real situations from his own life to shape the world of the film. According to Kelly’s commentary track, one very unique aspect is the character of Granny Death, who is based on someone from her hometown.
Just like in the movie, the woman frequently goes out to check her empty mailbox, raising fears that she will get hit by a car like in the movie.
The Smurfs conversation turned out to be more than expected
One memorable moment in the movie is when Downey and his friends have a rather frank discussion about the Smurfs’ sexual activities. While it was a fun moment, it led to more complications than expected. Kelly explained in the comments that they originally wanted to include a Smurf doll in the conversation, but needed to clear the rights. Kelly and Drew Barrymore discussed the scene with the Smurfs rights holders, who ultimately agreed to use the doll. It’s ironic that after all this trouble, there was no doll to be found to film with.
“Mad World” wasn’t meant to be used in the climax
The film’s ending impressed many fans, especially its specific song choices. After Downey sacrifices himself to save everyone, a montage of various characters in the story is set to a cover of Gary Jules’ Mad World. According to The Ringer, it was originally planned to use another popular song from the 1980s, but it was too expensive. After Jules and composer Michael Andrews came up with the idea, they ended up recording “Mad World” in 15 minutes.
Maggie asked Jack not to appear on the set at a critical moment
At the end of the movie, the jet engine falls from the house, and the final scene shows Downey’s family mourning his death in their own way in front of their home. Even though his character died, Jake Gyllenhaal was still on set that day. However, Maggie Gyllenhaal asked him to stay in the trailer until the scene was shot to help her performance.
Christopher Nolan helped bring it to theaters
As posted purposeChristopher Nolan is a filmmaker who cares deeply about the cinematic experience and is willing to fight for it. This passion was also present early in his career, which led to him playing a role in achieving success. Donnie Darko Enter the theater.Now distributors are hoping to pick up the film after it screened at the Sundance Film Festival, The Guardian reports Donnie Darko Because they’re not sure how to market it. As it looked set to move directly to video, Nolan helped persuade Newmarket to give it a chance.
Possibility of sequel
although Donnie Darko While it wasn’t a box office success by any means, it generated a huge hit on home video, which sparked fan interest in exploring the story further.Although there is a sequel called S. Darko The film is based on Downey’s sister, but Kelly was not involved. But as of 2017, Kelly expressed interest in returning to the story but declined to elaborate on how that might play out.