Donnie Darko’s 20th Anniversary: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About The Film

One of the biggest cult hits of the 21st century has been Donnie Darko. Richard Kelly’s feature directorial debut was also the movie that helped launch Jake Gyllenhaal’s career as a leading man. And while the movie failed to find an audience when released in theaters, it quickly became an obsession with home audiences thanks to its trippy story and unsettling tone.

Unbelievably, Donnie Darko reached its 20th anniversary of release in 2021 and its reputation as an innovative and exciting movie remains as strong as ever. With such a strange and wonderful story, a visionary young director, and an underdog production, there are a lot of interesting things about Donnie Darko fans might not know.

Richard Kelly Wrote The Movie In One Month

At the time Richard Kelly began writing Donnie Darko, he was working as a production assistant and getting food orders for various celebrities. He told Consequence Film that he decided to move his career forward by writing a feature screenplay. Pulling together various ideas that he had, Kelly finished the script in 28 days. Interestingly, when Donnie is told by Frank early in the movie that the world will end, he is told it will happen in 28 days.

Kelly Insisted On Directing Himself

While Kelly succeeded in writing his first feature, he faced an uphill climb when it came to convincing people to let him direct it as well. According to The Ringer, the script was well received in Hollywood with a lot of interest around it. But while studios wanted directors like Joel Schumacher to make Donnie Darko, Kelly’s insistence that he direct cause the movie to stall out of fear of trusting a young director with the strange material.

Drew Barrymore Was Instrumental In Getting The Movie Made

Among the various Hollywood people who responded to Kelly’s script was Drew Barrymore and she asked to meet with Kelly. According to The Ringer, Kelly was invited to the set of Barrymore’s Charlie’s Angels where they discussed the script. Kelly offered Barrymore the role of English teacher Karen Pomeroy but Barrymore also asked to produce the movie with a $4.5 million budget. Kelly doubts that the movie would have been made without her involvement.

Vince Vaughn And Mark Wahlberg Were Considered For Donnie

Donnie Darko served as a breakout role for young Jake Gyllenhaal who would go on to become a Hollywood star. However, according to the commentary track, some unexpected other choices were considered.

Kelly talked to Vince Vaughn about the role but Vaughn was uncomfortable playing a 16-year-old. Mark Wahlberg was also up for the part but he wanted to play the role with a lisp which Kelly disagreed with.

Jake Gyllenhaal Was A Last Minute Replacement

After the likes of Vaughn and Wahlberg were considered, Jason Schwartzman became attached to the project. But as the start date of filming approached, the rushed schedule forced Schwartzman to back out due to other commitments. Despite the tight deadlines, Kelly told The Ringer that it was an “exciting” period of 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 Suggested His Sister For The Movie

Donnie Darko marks a fun onscreen collaboration between Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, real-life siblings who also play brother and sister in the movie. When speaking to The Guardian, Jake Gyllenhaal claimed it was him who suggested his sister for the role as he felt their own competitive nature would work well. He also explained that since it was Maggie who pushed him into a career in acting, it would annoy her to appear in a movie in which he was the star.

Noah Wyle Mistakenly Thought He Was Being Offered Another Role

Kelly mentioned on the commentary track that after getting word that Noah Wyle had read the script and loved it, the director immediately knew he would be perfect for the role of Professor Kenneth Monnitoff. However, when the meeting was set up, a misunderstanding led Wyle to believe he was up for the role of Jim Cunningham. Wyle expressed reservations about playing the role but was relieved to learn it was a different part entirely.

The Jet Engine Was Based On A Story Kelly Heard

The mystery of the movie kicks off when a jet engine falls through Donnie’s bedroom. He is spared as he was sleepwalking at the time.

According to The Ringer, the eerie moment was actually inspired by a potentially urban legend Kelly heard when he was younger about a piece of ice breaking off from an airplane and crashing through a house and into an empty bedroom. The story got Kelly thinking about how the person who escaped death might react to such a thing.

The Inspiration For Frank

Certainly, one of the most memorable aspects of the movie is the character of Frank. The mysterious figure in a terrifying bunny costume serves as Donnie’s guide through the more supernatural or science fiction aspects of the story.

To add to the mystery of the character, Kelly told Entertainment Weekly he is unsure of the true inspiration for Frank. He suggests that the design of the character may have come to him in a dream or it might have been influenced by his love of Watership Down.

It Marks Seth Rogen’s First Movie

Though he was starring in the show Freaks and Geeks, Donnie Darko marks the feature film debut of Seth Rogen. Unlike the hilarious comedy roles he would later be known for, Rogen played a rather frightening bully named Ricky. It is a small role and fans are often surprised to see him pop up when revisiting the movie now. Years later, after finding fame, Rogen was on the talk show ROVE and admitted he still doesn’t understand the movie.

James Duvall Wore The Rabbit Costume The Whole Time

It is not until the end of the movie that it is revealed the person in the bunny costume is a local young man named Frank who also happens to be dating Donnie’s sister. James Duvall plays the human form of Frank, but in the DVD commentary, Kelly confirmed that Duvall was under the mask in every earlier scene in which Frank appears. Duvall told The Ringer that his first scene was the first time Donnie meets Frank and they found it was very hard to hear him reading his lines under the mask.

The Jim Cunningham Assembly

Patrick Swayze has a small supporting role in the movie as a local self-help guru who is later revealed to be quite a despicable person. However, there were hints to his crookedness earlier in the movie that fans might not have picked up on. When Cunningham visits Donnie’s school to give a lecture, a young child asks him a question from the audience. However, the same child was earlier seen in one of Cunningham’s self-help videos, suggesting he placed actors in the audience to make himself look better.

Donnie’s Childlike Voice

Though it was all the brainchild of Richard Kelly as writer and director, the movie seemed to be a collaborative effort with the actors bringing their own ideas and working on them with Kelly. Gyllenhaal and Kelly discussed on the commentary the idea of Donnie’s childlike voice that he would adopt when being hypnotized. It also became part of the way Donnie would talk to Frank whenever he would appear in his dreams.

Sam Raimi Allowed The Evil Dead To Be Used In The Movie

In one memorable sequence, Donnie and his girlfriend, Gretchen, go to the movies and watch Sam Raimi’s classic horror movie, The Evil Dead. Kelly pointed out in the DVD commentary that it was originally intended that they would be watching the 1984 horror movie, C.H.U.D. However, Kelly explained that it was an arduous process determining where the rights to the movie resided. Thankfully, Raimi was approached about using The Evil Dead instead and gave his blessing.

Grandma Death Was Based On A Real Person From Kelly’s Hometown

As strange and trippy as the story in Donnie Darko is, Kelly was also able to draw on real aspects of his own life to shape the world of the movie. One of those very distinct aspects was the character of Grandma Death who was based on someone from his hometown, according to Kelly’s commentary track.

Like in the movie, this woman would constantly go out to check her empty mailbox, causing concern that she would be hit by a car as she nearly is in the movie.

The Smurfs Conversation Was More Of A Process Than Expected

One memorable moment in the movie involved Donnie and his friends having a rather Frank discussion about the sexual activities of the Smurfs. While it is an amusing moment, it led to more complications than expected. Kelly explains on the commentary track that they originally wanted to include a Smurf doll during the conversation but needed to clear the rights. Kelly and Drew Barrymore discussed the scene with the Smurfs’ rights holder who ultimately agreed the doll could be used. Ironically, after all that trouble, a doll couldn’t be found to use for filming.

“Mad World” Was Not Meant To Be Used In The Climax

The ending of the movie is one that stands out to many fans, especially with its specific song choice. After Donnie sacrifices himself to save everyone, there is a montage of the various characters in the story set to Gary Jules’ cover of “Mad World.” According to The Ringer, another 80s pop song was meant to be used 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 Jake Not To Be On-Set During The Pivotal Moment

In the aftermath of the jet engine falling through the house at the end of the movie, the final scene shows Donnie’s family in front of their house grieving his death in their own separate ways. Despite the fact that his character was dead, Jake Gyllenhaal was on set that day. However, Maggie Gyllenhaal asked him to stay in his trailer until after the scene was filmed in order to help her performance.

Christopher Nolan Helped Get It To Theaters

As seen with the release of Tenet, Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker who cares deeply about the cinema experience and is willing to fight for it. That passion was there earlier in his career as well which led to him playing a role in getting Donnie Darko into theaters. According to The Guardian, following its screening at Sundance, now distributors wanted to pick up Donnie Darko as they were unsure how to market it. As it looked to be heading straight-to-video, Nolan helped convince Newmarket to give it a chance.

The Possibility Of A Sequel

Though Donnie Darko was not a box office success by any means, it became a huge cult hit on home video which has led to interest from fans in the story being explored further. Though there was a sequel called S. Darko which followed Donnie’s younger sister but was made without Kelly’s involvement. But as of 2017, Kelly expressed interest in returning to the story but refused to elaborate on how that might shape out.