Leprechaun
Short description
Leprechaun follows Dan O'Grady, who returns home from Ireland with a fortune in gold that he took from a leprechaun. His wife dismisses his claims about the stolen treasure, but the creature has traveled back with him and soon takes its revenge on the man who robbed it. After the leprechaun is trapped for a decade with the help of a four-leaf clover, new residents move into an old house that is being renovated. When the gold is found again, the leprechaun is freed and begins hunting down everyone standing between him and his missing coins.
Mark Jones wrote and directed the film, his first feature behind the camera; his next directing credit came two decades later with Scorned. Warwick Davis plays the title role, with Jennifer Aniston as Tory, Ken Olandt as Nathan, Mark Holton as Ozzie, Robert Hy Gorman as Alex and Shay Duffin as O'Grady.
Released in January 1993, the film had a budget of about 1 million dollars and took roughly 9 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for its cost. On IMDb it holds 4.8/10 from around 33,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 5.6/10 from 886 votes. A film critics' rating of 4.4/10 from 17 reviews puts it below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film 'Leprechaun' was the first film from the newly formed studio 'Trimark Pictures'.
- Initially, the film was conceived as a standard horror movie, but Warwick Davis, the actor playing the Leprechaun, wanted to add humor to it. Director and screenwriter Mark Jones agreed to these changes, resulting in a horror-comedy. Producers insisted on adding blood (for a more mature audience), and some scenes had to be reshot.
- In the scene where the Leprechaun in a wheelchair chases Jennifer Aniston's character, she had to hold back and not accelerate, because Davis had difficulty controlling the bulky wheelchair while wearing gloves.
- Director and screenwriter Mark Jones was known for directing entertainment shows on American television. He really wanted to make a feature film, and he decided to focus on a low-budget horror film. He took the leprechaun – the mascot of the 'Lucky Charms' breakfast cereal – as a basis, but made the leprechaun a villain. Furthermore, he drew inspiration from Steven Herek's 'Critters' (1986) and Tom Holland's 'Child's Play' (1988). He brought this idea to 'Trimark Pictures'.
- Warwick Davis performed a significant number of the stunts himself – mainly because it was not easy to find a stunt double of corresponding height and build. During filming, he contracted a lung infection, so a replacement still had to be found. Deep Roy ended up playing the part, and was slightly taller than Davis.
- It took 3 hours to apply Warwick Davis's makeup. Another 40 minutes were required at the end of the shooting day to remove it.
- When searching for an actor for the role of the Leprechaun, someone mentioned Warwick Davis and suggested him as a candidate, but director and screenwriter Mark Jones doubted that such a well-known actor would want to spend time on a low-budget horror film (Davis had recently starred in Ron Howard's successful 1988 film, *Willow*). Regardless, Jones sent the script to Davis in the UK. He read the script and was very pleased with the opportunity to play the villain. He was going through a difficult period – both professionally and in his personal life – so Davis wasn't even sure if he would leave the profession altogether. It's not surprising, therefore, that he readily seized the opportunity to express the dark side of his nature and personality.
- Jennifer Aniston might not have gotten the role in this film at all, because the producers insisted on a different type (they wanted a blonde), but Jones insisted on Aniston. Aniston was eventually approved, in exchange for Jones's promise that she would dye her hair blonde (which, however, never happened).
- Clover was planted on the set and a green light was shone on it. The fourth leaf was glued to the plant.
- The management of "Trimark Pictures" was unsure whether Mark Jones should direct the film. They even offered him compensation to step down, but Jones refused, stating that he had written the script specifically to direct it himself. He explained this to his superiors and clearly demonstrated how he intended to film the chase scene in the kitchen. They liked it, and Jones was allowed to remain as director, with the understanding that he would be replaced if the results of two consecutive days of shooting were unsatisfactory.
- To create the impression that the Leprechaun was melting from the inside, Warwick Davis wore a prosthetic jaw, and several tubes were glued to his body through which slime and cigar smoke were released. Davis operated the animatronic puppet himself from a pit. Mark Jones only regretted that the pit wasn't aged further.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
