Secret Window
Short description
Secret Window is a mystery thriller about Mort Rainey, a successful writer whose life has come apart. Recovering from a painful divorce and struggling to write, he has retreated to a remote lake house, where a stranger named John Shooter confronts him and accuses him of stealing his story. Shooter demands that Mort prove the work was his own, and the dispute turns threatening as Mort finds himself unable to produce the evidence that would clear him.
The film is based on a Stephen King novella and was written and directed by David Koepp. It is the third feature Koepp directed, following The Trigger Effect and Stir of Echoes, and it came before Ghost Town, Premium Rush, Mortdecai and You Should Have Left. Johnny Depp plays Mort, with John Turturro as Shooter, Maria Bello as Mort's ex-wife Amy, Timothy Hutton as Ted Milner, Charles S. Dutton as Ken Karsch and Len Cariou as Sheriff Dave Newsome. Gavin Polone produced.
Made for a budget of 40 million dollars, the film took in about 93 million dollars worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.5 from roughly 221,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6 from about 4,000 votes, showing generally similar audience responses. The critics' rating stands at 5.8 from 159 reviews, slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming began on July 14, 2003, and wrapped in October of the same year.
- During the end credits, a short song about a shortcake, labeled as “Shortnin' bread” Traditional, can be heard performed by Depp.
- The main character wears a TAG Heuer 6000 watch.
- In one scene, it can be noticed that Mort is reading a book by Hunter S. Thompson (the open book is lying on the coffee table). Johnny Depp was acquainted with Thompson and starred in two film adaptations of his works.
- In the very first scene of the film, when Johnny Depp's character bursts into a motel room and throws a tantrum, the faces of actors Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton look extremely frightened. The film's director, David Koepp, decided to achieve this naturalism by using the element of surprise – he made the actors lie in bed for 15 minutes. Therefore, when Johnny Depp burst into the room, the actors were genuinely scared.
- The episode in which Mort Rainey, in a black wide-brimmed hat, looks in the mirror and sees his reflection behind him is a reference to the works of Belgian surrealist artist Magritte, who often depicted a mysterious man in exactly the same hat in his paintings.
- In the original story, Mort Rainey dies, while his wife and her lover survive. Also, in the original story, Mort Rainey had a cat, not a dog.
- The film is based on Stephen King's novella “Secret Window, Secret Garden” (1990), which is included in the collection “Four Past Midnight”.
- The film features the line: “Your sheriff loves cats more,” which is a reference to the original story, as Mort had a cat, while the film features a dog.
- John Turturro decided to take part in the project after a conversation with his son, a passionate fan of Stephen King's work.
- The protagonist's name is Mort, which is the Latin word for death.
- The film's premiere was pushed back by about a month to maximize box office earnings by riding the wave of success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003), in which the role of Jack Sparrow earned Johnny Depp his first Oscar nomination.
- Wing Rames was considered for one of the roles, but the reason for the refusal was the standard one—scheduling conflicts.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
