50 Fun Facts About Donnie Darko

Who wrote and directed Donnie Darko, his debut feature?

Richard Kelly wrote the script at 22, fresh out of USC film school, and later made Southland Tales and The Box.

In which month and year is Donnie Darko set?

The film is set in October 1988, with the Bush-Dukakis election in the background; the story runs from October 2 to the early hours of October 30.

Donnie survives the accident at the start of the film because he was doing what?

Sleepwalking takes Donnie out to the golf course on the night of October 2, so he is not in his bedroom when wreckage crashes into it.

What falls onto the Darko house?

A jet engine, apparently from a plane that does not yet exist, smashes into Donnie's bedroom; that image was the seed of the whole script.

Frank appears to Donnie wearing what costume?

A rabbit suit with a grotesque metallic mask, worn by James Duval, makes Frank far more sinister than a storybook bunny.

Exactly how long does Frank say remains until the world ends?

Frank's countdown of 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds runs from the night of October 2 to the early hours of October 30, when the Tangent Universe collapses.

Who plays Elizabeth, the eldest Darko sibling?

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Elizabeth, the Darkos' college-bound eldest child, opposite her real-life brother Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie.

Donnie's girlfriend Gretchen Ross has moved to town under a new identity to escape whom?

A violent stepfather, who stabbed her mother, is why Gretchen and her mother live in town under new names; Jena Malone plays her.

The book The Philosophy of Time Travel was written by which character?

Roberta Sparrow, the old woman the local teens call Grandma Death, wrote the book; she is forever checking her empty mailbox.

Who gives Donnie the copy of The Philosophy of Time Travel?

Kenneth Monnitoff, who teaches science, hands Donnie the book after Donnie asks him about time travel; Noah Wyle plays him.

Patrick Swayze's Jim Cunningham is what?

A motivational speaker, Jim Cunningham sells a 'Fear versus Love' philosophy that gym teacher Kitty Farmer turns into classroom attitude lessons.

What do firefighters find in the burned remains of Cunningham's house?

A hoard of child pornography turns up in the ruins after Donnie, on Frank's instruction, burns the house down; Cunningham is arrested.

Kitty's decision to defend Cunningham means Rose Darko has to chaperone what?

The dance troupe's flight to Los Angeles falls to Rose once Kitty pulls out; Sparkle Motion is going to compete on Star Search.

Sparkle Motion, the little sister's dance troupe, performs to which song?

'Notorious' by Duran Duran backs Sparkle Motion's sequined routine at the school talent show, intercut with Donnie burning down Cunningham's house.

Donnie's psychotherapist believes his visions of Frank are 'daylight hallucinations' symptomatic of what?

Paranoid schizophrenia is Dr. Thurman's diagnosis for the 'daylight hallucinations'; Katharine Ross plays the therapist, who also hypnotises Donnie.

The Halloween party at the Darko house celebrates Elizabeth's acceptance to which university?

Harvard has just accepted Elizabeth; with their parents away, the siblings throw the party, and Gretchen and Donnie sleep together for the first time that night.

What is the real Frank's surname, revealed when he is unmasked as the driver?

Frank Anderson is Elizabeth's boyfriend; he is driving the car that kills Gretchen, dressed in the same costume as the Frank of Donnie's visions.

Where does Donnie shoot Frank?

In the right eye: the wound explains the hollow, bleeding eye of the Frank in Donnie's visions. Donnie uses his father's gun and carries Gretchen's body home.

Where does Frank first take off his mask in front of Donnie?

At a movie theatre, during a screening of The Evil Dead, Gretchen falls asleep beside Donnie and Frank appears in the next seat and removes his mask.

Which actress plays Kitty Farmer, the gym teacher in Donnie Darko?

Beth Grant plays Kitty Farmer, who champions Jim Cunningham, coaches Sparkle Motion and delivers the line 'Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.'

Which star's company, Flower Films, agreed to produce Donnie Darko?

Drew Barrymore's Flower Films came aboard as producer, and Barrymore herself took the part of English teacher Karen Pomeroy.

What was Donnie Darko's production budget?

The budget was $4.5 million, raised after Flower Films signed on in 2000 and Kelly held out for the right to direct the script himself.

Which actor was approached to play Donnie but insisted the character should have a lisp?

Mark Wahlberg's lisp idea went nowhere; the role went to Jake Gyllenhaal, then best known for October Sky.

Who plays Eddie Darko, Donnie's father?

Holmes Osborne plays Eddie Darko, the family's wry father; Mary McDonnell plays his wife Rose.

Where did Donnie Darko premiere in January 2001?

Donnie Darko premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001, where it drew praise but left distributors wary of its dark, hard-to-market story.

Why was Donnie Darko barely advertised for its October 2001 release?

Its ads showed a crashing plane weeks after 9/11, so the distributor pulled back its marketing; the film took just $517,375 in its first US run.

Which New York cinema ran midnight screenings of Donnie Darko for more than two years?

The Pioneer Theatre in the East Village began the midnight screenings after the March 2002 video release and kept them going for more than two years, turning the flop into a cult hit.

What does Donnie leave buried in the head of the school's bronze mascot?

An axe is left in the skull of the school's bronze mascot on the night Donnie floods the building, beside the spray-painted words 'They made me do it'.

After reissues, roughly how much did Donnie Darko gross worldwide in cinemas?

Including the 2004 Director's Cut reissue, the film grossed roughly $7.5 million worldwide in cinemas, a small sum against the cult following it built on video.

In which year was the Gary Jules and Michael Andrews cover of 'Mad World' the UK Christmas number one?

The cover reached number one in December 2003 and stayed there for three weeks; Michael Andrews also composed the film's score.

'Mad World' was originally a 1982 hit for which band?

Tears for Fears released 'Mad World' in 1982; Roland Orzabal wrote it, Curt Smith sang lead, and it reached number three in the UK.

Which song scores the long slow-motion tracking shot introducing the school?

'Head Over Heels' plays over the slow-motion tracking shot that introduces the school's students and staff.

In the 2004 Director's Cut, which INXS song replaces the original opening music?

'Never Tear Us Apart' opens the 2004 Director's Cut, which also put pages of The Philosophy of Time Travel on screen and ran about 20 minutes longer.

Which author's story was Karen Pomeroy barred from teaching after Kitty Farmer's complaint?

Graham Greene's story 'The Destructors', about boys wrecking a house, was on Pomeroy's syllabus; Kitty Farmer blames it for the school flooding and it is pulled.

Which actor made his film debut in Donnie Darko as one of the school bullies?

Seth Rogen, fresh from TV's Freaks and Geeks, made his film debut as the bully Ricky Danforth.

Classroom and hallway scenes were shot at which Los Angeles institution?

Loyola High School, a Jesuit boys' school near downtown Los Angeles, provided the classrooms and hallways of the fictional Middlesex Ridge School.

Kelly based Grandma Death on a real woman from his hometown of Midlothian, in which state?

Kelly grew up in Midlothian, Virginia, a Richmond suburb, where a local old woman who constantly checked her mailbox became the model for Grandma Death.

Where did Donnie Darko rank on Empire magazine's list of the 50 Greatest Independent Films of All Time?

Empire put it at No. 2, behind only Reservoir Dogs; the magazine later placed it 53rd in its 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

The 2009 straight-to-video sequel S. Darko followed which character?

Samantha, the little sister, is the focus of S. Darko, with Daveigh Chase reprising her role; the original writer-director had no involvement.

Which distributor bought Donnie Darko after its festival premiere and released it in October 2001?

Newmarket, the small company that had released Memento earlier in 2001, bought the film and put it out in October 2001; it later distributed The Passion of the Christ.

What does Grandma Death whisper to Donnie outside her house?

'Every living creature on this earth dies alone' is what Grandma Death whispers in Donnie's ear by her mailbox; he later repeats it to Dr. Thurman in therapy.

Which physicist does Donnie cite when he describes wormholes as a shortcut through spacetime?

Stephen Hawking is the name Donnie invokes, saying Hawking holds that a wormhole could provide a shortcut for jumping between two distant regions of spacetime.

How many days did the shoot of Donnie Darko take?

The shoot took 28 days in the summer of 2000; the finished film premiered the following January.

Which actor agreed to play Donnie in early 2000, then dropped out over scheduling conflicts?

Jason Schwartzman, the star of Rushmore, was the first Donnie; after he left, Jake Gyllenhaal took over the role.

Most of the film was shot in which California city, chosen for its suburban feel?

Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, stood in for the film's East Coast suburb, with its country club doubling as the golf course seen in the film.

What does the bullied student Cherita Chen shout at her tormentors?

Cherita Chen, played by Jolene Purdy, shouts 'Chut up!' at her tormentors; Donnie later tells her that someday everything is going to be better for her.

Which Echo & the Bunnymen song plays over the opening sequence of the theatrical cut?

The Killing Moon, Echo & the Bunnymen's 1984 single, plays as Donnie cycles home at dawn in the theatrical cut's opening sequence.

The liquid 'spears' that lead characters around were inspired by the on-screen chalkboard of whom?

John Madden's telestrator scribbles over football replays inspired the liquid spears that Kelly uses to show each character's predestined path.

When first shot, Sparkle Motion danced to which Pet Shop Boys song before rights fell through?

West End Girls was the track the girls actually danced to on set; when the rights proved too costly, a different 1980s hit replaced it in the edit.

Cinematographer Steven Poster had shot which Ridley Scott film before Donnie Darko?

Someone to Watch Over Me, Ridley Scott's 1987 thriller with Tom Berenger and Mimi Rogers, was shot by Steven Poster, whose moody look Kelly wanted.