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One of the biggest cult classics recognized in today’s day and age,Donnie Darkocreated history with its flawed yet captivating storyline. But the beloved sci-fi thriller would have never made it to the big screens and would have just sat there gathering dust had it not been for renowned filmmaker Christopher Nolan.
As it turns out, when the film was unable to find any distributors because of the risk involved, theInterstellardirector realized the true and remarkably brilliant potential of Jake Gyllenhaal’s breakout filmDonnie Darkothat other distributors failed to see and ended up saving it from being cast aside and never making it to the worldwide audiences.
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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Breakout FilmDonnie DarkoAlmost Didn’t Get A Distributor
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Over two decades ago, with immense hope and confidence in the film, directorRichard KellyhadDonnie Darkopremiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19th, 2001. However, being in the same field with films likeMementoandIn the Bedroom, the movie failed to catch the spotlight it deserved, and Kelly’s hope and confidence went down the drain.
Furthermore, because of the complexity of the sci-fi thriller, no one wanted to take the risk of distributing the film. Recalling the situation in an interview withThe Ringer, filmmaker Richard Kelly said:
“Four, [or] five months after Sundance, there’s still no distribution deal. The songs had not been paid for. We were going to have to lose all the music. They were saying cut 30 minutes out of the movie. It was looking really grim.”
That’s when Aaron Ryder, executive producer, received a call asking them to try and release the film. Hoping once again for the movie to finally take off, he ended up calling his bosses at Newmarket [Films] along with filmmakerChristopher Nolanand his wife, Emma, at the screening as well.
“When the lights came up, Chris and his wife both turned to the Newmarket executives, Chris Ball and Will Tyrer, and they both looked over at them and they nodded. They were like, ‘You guys should distribute this.’ And they gave me some suggestions. Chris and his wife, it was their idea to put the parenthetical beneath the title cards.”
Thus, relieved and happy, the filmmakers hadDonnie Darkofurther improvise as per the corrections and suggestions. However, it still didn’t receive the green flag for getting released in the theatres… until Nolan decided to take a stance for it.
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How Christopher Nolan Ended Up SavingDonnie Darko
While the film was finally approved, Newmarket Films still wasn’t willing to giveDonnie Darkoa theatrical release and instead insisted on putting it to home video. Remembering the grim situation, Richard Kelly continued in the interview withThe Ringer:
“Then we had to bring Drew Barrymore in to basically beg Newmarket to give it a theatrical release because they were still like, ‘Yeah, we’re just going to put it to home video.’”
That’s when Christopher Nolan stepped in to save the film. Since he had already earned the respect of the Newmarket executives with his previous filmMemento, the filmmaker was able to rescue the cult classic from ending up in ruins.
“Chris [Nolan] convinced Newmarket to buy it and once they had bought it, we were not going to let them get away with not giving it a theatrical release. Once they had committed to a Halloween release, it was sort of set.”
Thanks to the film’s unbelievable captivation,Donnie Darkofinally received the green flag and made it to the big screens to act asJake Gyllenhaal‘s breakthrough role. Though it went under the rubble initially because of 9/11, it later found its much-deserved appreciation over the years to become one of the best cult classics to exist to date.
Source:The Ringer
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
