thursday 13: behind Donnie Darko

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Why not keep going with the movie theme? This week… the sci-fi, psychological thriller Donnie Darko, a creepy AF movie that I LOVE!

currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Pluto TV, Plex, Peacock, Hulu

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1. Jake Gyllenhaal almost wasn’t…

Donnie Darko at all. Before he got what turned out to be his breakout role, the part was almost given to Mark Wahlberg or Vince Vaughn. I can’t even imagine the character as anyone other than Jake!! But Vince Vaughn was almost 30, and he didn’t feel comfortable playing the part of a 16-year-old kid. Mark Wahlberg was taken out of the running when he was adamant about playing the role in a way the screenwriter/director Richard Kelly felt was disingenuous.

2. And then he still almost wasn’t…

Donnie Darko because they went with actor Jason Schwartzman. But the film schedule forced Schwartzman to back out due to previous commitments, so the powers that be went back to the drawing board. When Jake Gyllenhaal came in, it was clear he was the one for the role.

photo: Screen Rant

3. nepotism done right

Jake Gyllenhaal suggested his own older sister Maggie for the role of Donnie’s older sister, Elizabeth. He thought their competitiveness with each other would play well on camera. He also joked that she had pushed him into acting, so it would annoy her to play a supporting role to his starring one. True sibling energy!

photo: Donnie Darko Fandom

4. the feature film debut of…

Donnie Darko was the film debut for Seth Rogen, a departure from the comedic roles he’s known for today. In this movie, he played a bully named Ricky Danforth. Throughout the movie, Rogen’s character is horribly sadistic and cruel to others.

photo: Villains Fandom

5. the despicable…

Patrick Swayze?! Yes, Swayze played a terrible person in the movie, self-help guru whose public image belies his true self. Swayze said in interviews later that the role was a rough one for him, and because of that, perhaps one of his most successful. Also interesting, his entire wardrobe was his own, his clothing from the 1980s. And many of his scenes were shot at his own home in Calabasas, California.

photo: Donnie Darko Fandom

6. Frank the bunny

For most of the movie, Frank the bunny appears to Donnie in the famous suit, driving the plot as Donnie’s guide through the sci-fi/supernatural parts of the movie. There is a reveal later in the movie, but for most of it, it’s just this costume with no sight of the person within. The actor was offered a stunt double, but he declined, saying that he needed to be the bunny to have his later scenes feel authentic.

photo: Dazed

7. thank goodness for Drew…

If not for Drew Barrymore, the movie may well have never been made, at least not as a feature film. It wasn’t that no one else was interested, but the writer, Richard Kelly, wanted to directed it as well. It was his first written feature, and nobody wanted to take a chance on him. But Drew Barrymore was the exception. Kelly offered her the role of the English teacher, but she offered to produce it with a $4.5 million budget with her company, Flower Films. He accepted, and the movie was made.

8. media blitz

There really wasn’t one. While the movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2001, the limited theatrical release didn’t happen until late October. But the premade ads featured footage of a crashing plane, crucial to the movie. However, with 9-11 just happening weeks earlier, the movie wasn’t really advertised, which affected its opening box-office pull. So it grossed only $517,375 for its initial run. But then it gained a cult following, and grossed over $7.5 million worldwide in reissues, as well as over $10 million in home-video sales in the US alone.

9. if not Swayze…

Then Noah Wyle, of ER fame. Wyle loved the script and believed he was being considered for the role of Jim Cunningham, the role that became Swayze’s. He had deep reservations about playing that role and was overjoyed to discover that they wanted him for an entirely different role.

10. 28…

Near the beginning of the movie, Frank the bunny tells Donnie that the world will end in just 28 days. Later, Kelly realizes he wrote the script, from start to finish, in 28 days. And the filming of the movie? You guessed it, 28 days. And when the movie released on home video in March of 2002, NYCs Pioneer Theatre showed the movie at midnight for… 28 consecutive months.

11. more coincidences…

The director originally wanted the sci-fi/horror movie C.H.U.D. to play on the screen during the date scene with Donnie and Gretchen. But they couldn’t get the rights to use it. But director Sam Raimi, who directed the Evil Dead movies, gave Kelly the right to use the footage of The Evil Dead (1981) free of charge. The coincidence came as that scene of Donnie Darko was being filmed at the movie theater. Raimi happened to be driving by the theater and saw that The Evil Dead was on the marquee, being shown as part of a film festival when the theater was in normal use.

12. the sequel…

We don’t talk about the sequel. Because it sucked. It was made without the involvement of Kelly, who (at the time) said he’d never make a sequel because it would damage the integrity of Donnie Darko. The only original cast member who was in the “sequel” was Daveigh Chase, the actress who played Donnie’s younger sister. The movie, S. Darko, was centered on her.

13. the sequel…

But in 2017, Kelly did a 180 on the “no sequel” thing. He was inspired to create a new sequel after a conversation with James Cameron, who had much to say about the original movie and suggested Kelly continue with the world established in it. In 2021, he announced that a great deal of work had been done on this potential new sequel.