Donnie Darko
28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds... that is when the world will end.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Production
Budget
$4 500 000
Revenue
$3 100 251
Director
Scenario
Composer
Michael Andrews
Producer
Adam Fields
Actors
Jake Gyllenhaal
Donnie Darko
Jena Malone
Gretchen Ross
James Duval
Frank
Drew Barrymore
Karen Pomeroy
Beth Grant
Kitty Farmer
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Elizabeth Darko
Mary McDonnell
Rose Darko
Holmes Osborne
Eddie Darko
Short description
Donnie Darko is a troubled teenager living with his family in an American suburb. After he narrowly avoids death in a strange accident, a large rabbit named Frank begins appearing to him and speaking to him. Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds, and pushes him toward a series of destructive acts. As Donnie tries to make sense of what is happening, his behavior alarms his parents, his teachers and the people around him. The film blends drama, fantasy and mystery as it follows his attempts to understand Frank's warnings and his own place in events he cannot control.
The film was released in 2001 and marked the directorial debut of Richard Kelly, who also wrote the screenplay. It was followed by Kelly's Southland Tales in 2007 and The Box in 2009. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Donnie, with Jena Malone as Gretchen Ross, James Duval as Frank, Drew Barrymore as Karen Pomeroy, Beth Grant as Kitty Farmer and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Elizabeth Darko. Made for about 5 million dollars, it earned roughly 3 million dollars worldwide and later found a much larger audience. On IMDb it holds 8 out of 10 from around 908,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.8 out of 10 from over 13,000 votes, while critics gave it 8.1 out of 10 across 125 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake Gyllenhaal's sister) plays Donnie's sister in the film. She landed the role on set after Richard Kelly was very impressed with her scene in "Cecil B. Demented" (2000).
- According to Richard Kelly, the book Eddie Darko is reading is Stephen King's "The Mist." However, the viewer does not see the book cover because "some ugly guy stole it during filming." The film also shows Rose Darko reading Stephen King's "It."
- A theme from Michael Andrews' composition Manipulated Living, used in the film as a soundtrack for one of the episodes, was later used by Madonna during her Sticky & Sweet world tour as a soundtrack for the intro video sequence.
- Donnie and Gretchen were supposed to be watching "C.H.U.D." (1984) in the cinema. However, difficulties arose in determining the rights holders for the film. Therefore, Sam Raimi offered to use his own "The Evil Dead" (1981) for free.
- The initial runtime of the film was 165 minutes. The director's cut is closest to the original version that was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2001.
- Richard Kelly wanted Tim Robbins to play Donnie's father.
- According to Film4, the film ranked 9th on the list of "50 Films to See Before You Die."
- According to Richard Kelly, the man in the red tracksuit is a Federal Aviation Administration agent.
- Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze) says that cigarettes, alcohol, and premarital sex are tools of fear. In the film, Donnie smokes cigarettes, drinks alcohol, and engages in sex.
- At the party, someone can be seen jumping on a trampoline wearing a Ronald Reagan mask. This is a reference to a photograph of journalist Hunter S. Thompson dressed in a Reagan mask and jumping on a trampoline.
- The opening scene of the film is a reference to Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). The title of this film can later be seen on a movie theater poster where Donnie and his girlfriend are.
- When Donnie's mother calls to say they are flying in on a red-eye, we hear an announcement – "Boarding for flight 2806 is now underway at gate 42, flight departs at 12:00 AM." Presumably, Donnie’s mother is referring to this flight. This is also a reference to the countdown (28:06:42:12) that Frank told Donnie about.
- At a parent-teacher conference, Kitty Farmer believes writer Graham Greene appeared on the television show Bonanza. She is confusing him with actor Lorne Greene.
- In one of the deleted scenes, schoolchildren discuss Richard Adams’ novel “Watership Down” (1978), which features a rabbit foretelling the inevitable destruction of the rabbit warren. This scene was included in the director’s cut of the film.
- Jason Schwartzman was originally going to play Donnie.
- Newmarket Films, the film's distributor in the United States, offered Richard Kelly the opportunity to create a director's cut. He agreed and, along with editor Sam Bauer, created a new version of the film in nine days.
- The black and white poster in Donnie's room is a reproduction of a Maurits Escher engraving.
- The events of the film take place in 1988. Frank tells Donnie that the end of the world will occur in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. If you add those numbers together, you get 88. When Samantha asks when she will have children, Donnie replies: “Not before 8th grade.” Donnie tells his psychiatrist that his dog died when he was 8 years old. According to a news reporter, the fire at Jim Cunningham’s house was extinguished around 8:00 AM. The film’s finale takes place one week before the 1988 presidential election. George H.W. Bush was elected president on November 8, 1988. In a conversation with one of his teachers, Donnie talks about the DeLorean from 'Back to the Future' (1985), which needed to reach 88 miles per hour to travel through time.
- After filming was completed, director Richard Kelly faced a problem: it was incredibly difficult to find a company willing to distribute the film. Producers accustomed to clear plot structures were very confused by the film's genre ambiguity. According to Richard Kelly, the film's US distributor couldn't find the right release date because the film combined many genres, and the distribution company didn't know how to run an advertising campaign. Kelly also said that "Donnie Darko" could have gone straight to video.
- During the party, a wolf howl can be heard in the background. This sound was taken from “An American Werewolf in London” (1981).
- During the filming of the movie, the girls danced to West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys. However, during post-production, due to budget constraints, the song was replaced with Notorious by Duran Duran.
- The film was shot in 28 days. The events of the film also unfold over 28 days.
- The film’s DVD contains a very important source of information, helping to fully appreciate the intent of 'Donnie Darko' – the book 'The Philosophy of Time Travel,' written by Roberta Sparrow – who is also 'Grandma Death' in the film. The director’s cut includes quotes from this book, invented and written by the director himself.
- The film ranked fifth on the list of "10 Favorite Australian Films".
- The cinema where Donnie and Gretchen watch “The Evil Dead” (1981) is a real place.
- The director's cut, released 1001 days after the theatrical version, contains 28 deleted scenes.
- During a conversation with a psychiatrist about sex, Donnie references "Married... with Children" (1987), and specifically Christina Applegate. Initially, Donnie was supposed to talk about Alyssa Milano.
- Richard Kelly attempted to recreate the overall atmosphere of Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita” (1962) in this film. At the party, Elizabeth Darko (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is dressed identically to Vivienne Darkbloom (Marianne Stone) in “Lolita”.
- Richard Kelly had planned for the song MLK by U2 to play during the final scene. However, after difficulties arose in obtaining the rights to use the composition, the creators decided to choose a cover version of Mad World.
- The bicycle ride to Grandma Death's house is a tribute to Steven Spielberg’s "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), which also starred Drew Barrymore.
- The skeleton costume that Donnie wears at the party was also worn by characters in “The Karate Kid” (1984).
- The original film poster featured lettering in a style reminiscent of Arabic script. When the film was released on video, after the events of September 11, 2001, the font was replaced with the more 'friendly' Times New Roman.
- The computer game Donnie and his girlfriend are playing is Out Run (1986).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
