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DONNIE DARKO - OFFICIAL PRESS KIT
The Cast
Because Donnie Darko is so many different things - hero, nutcase, threat, rebel, lover, prodigy - to so many different people,
finding an actor who could handle the different facets of the role, while still being a very believable teenager, was
absolutely key to the project's genesis. Although the filmmakers began with extensive auditions, the process came to a
grinding halt when they saw Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal was a shock not least of all because he had previously won acclaim for an entirely different sort of performance in
the uplifting October Sky. But there was no doubt that Gyllenhaal understood Donnie Darko in an instinctual way and caught
all the nuances of both his humor and his darker conflicts.
Donnie Darko is a mind-bending tale
(Click for larger image)
"The fact that we found Jake and that Jake is Donnie Darko, I mean really is this character, was incredible," says Drew Barrymore.
"Jake is subtle and amusing and spiritual and has so much going on inside him that he takes you right into Donnie's world. The
fact that he became part of this movie just makes me really believe in and appreciate the workings of fate."
Continues Nancy Juvonen: "Jake really is able to ride that line between being a teenager questioning authority and bending the
rules and being an adult, which is exactly where Donnie Darko is at. He's got that wise-beyond-his-years quality. Without him,
we couldn't have made as entertaining and as complex of a movie."
Gyllenhaal was profoundly moved by Richard Kelly's probing script. "To me what made it so exciting is that it isn't all
happening on the surface," he says. "You're caught up in it and entertained but you could just as easily read it two or
three more times and get a deeper and deeper understanding of everything that's going on. It's really unique because it's
a movie that you can't wait to get to the end of so you can discover what it means for yourself. I think it will be an
individual experience for everyone who sees it."
He continues: "Even Donnie Darko's name makes you question who he is. It sounds like he could be a super hero or a porn
star or somebody's idea of a joke, but then there is a reality to it, too. He has a little bit of all of that in him."
The 80s setting also intrigued Gyllenhaal, even though he was just a little kid during that era. "I think the story
reflects both the recent past and the present and shows us a little bit of how we got to where we are today," he says.
Gyllenhaal was drawn not only to the character of Donnie Darko but to the tapestry of people whose lives his character
touches. "I really like that every single character in the film is ultimately redeemable," he says.
Chief among the people Donnie Darko touches is Gretchen Ross, the new girl in town who is carrying a darkly disturbing
past of her own. Gretchen is played by 16 year-old Jena Malone, who is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after
actresses of her generation, appearing with Kevin Kline in another look beneath the surface of American suburbia:
Life as a House and in the upcoming The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Malone says that she "completely fell in
love with the script" and describes the film as a "part sci-fi adventure, part hot teen romance and part original
look at life and destiny." Her own character held a particular fascination for her because of her unconventional
connection with Donnie Darko.
"I really like Gretchen because although she and Donnie become boyfriend and girlfriend it's not this whole cute thing
and it's not what you would expect. It's really intense and they both have really big problems," she says.
Donnie Darko takes you on a weird journey
(Click for larger image)
Malone surmises that Gretchen falls so quickly for Donnie because he's "the type of person you can tell everything
to and who can relate to your worst problems on a really deep level. He's sensitive, he's funny and of course he's
pretty good looking." "But," she adds, "Gretchen also sees him not sleeping and going wild at school and going through
these events that seem very weird and random, and she starts to wonder just what's going on with him." As for audience
members who are also a bit concerned about just where Donnie Darko is heading, Malone has a word of advice: "Sit back
and go with it. You're about to go on a journey into a really wild mind."
Then there are Donnie Darko's loving but disconcertingly ineffective parents. Donnie's Dukakis-despising dad Eddie
Darko is played by veteran character actor Holmes Osborne and his bewildered mother Rose Darko is played by two-time
Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell. McDonnell joined the cast of Donnie Darko because she says the script "took my breath
away. It was such an uncanny combination of tragedy and extraordinary uplift. It's the kind of movie you can't stop
talking about, that challenges you to really think about things." She says of Richard Kelly: "Reading the script, I
felt like there was a 150 year-old spirit inside this 20-something kid. He knows what's going on inside young people
but he has a really sophisticated way of getting to it. He has an incredible amount to offer."
McDonnell particularly liked the multi-dimensionality of Rose Darko, who isn't just a cardboard cut-out suburban mom
but a smart, passionate parent who sees her son going through something larger than she can grasp. "What's going on
inside Donnie is really beyond anything Rose and Eddie can hope to control or understand," she explains. "However
well intentioned we are as parents, the train has run away without us. So the question for them is: how do you handle
it when you love someone more than life yet you can't protect them?" Says producer Casey La Scala: "Mary brought a
whole new element to the character of Rose Darko and really brought the character to life in a way that makes her
moving and real."
To play one of Donnie Darko's favorite teachers, the controversial, open-minded English teacher Ms. Pomeroy, the filmmakers
looked among their own. Drew Barrymore took on the role in an unusual but exciting departure for her. "I love Ms. Pomeroy,"
she admits, "but it's very different for me to be so contained and mature. She's a woman who has a profound love of
literature and really wants to share that with kids and I just love that about her. I love that she's this sort of
80s hippy who is smart and calm and idealistic. And like Donnie, she wants to be truthful and get to the heart of
what life's all about." She continues: "The thing that's important about Ms Pomeroy is that she really gets Donnie.
Isn't that what we all wanted from our teachers -- to find one who really understands you and believes in you? Ms.
Pomeroy is one of the few people who is really happy that Donnie is out there questioning the rules and laws of the universe."
Less happy about Donnie's inquisitive an curious nature is Jim Cunningham, the fundamentalist guru who has divided
the world into two principals - love and fear - while getting filthy rich. In a true role reversal, the darkly comic
Cunningham is played by heartthrob Patrick Swayze.
Patrick Swayze as self-empowerment guru Jim Cunningham
(Click for larger image)
"Patrick really got the joke of Jim Cunningham but he added something really special to the role," notes Nancy Juvonen.
"He came in an incredible shark skin suit and a bouffant pompadour so hair sprayed that it couldn't even move in a hurricane
and it was clear that he was absolutely devoted to capturing this creepy but charismatic fellow. We felt so lucky to have
him at a point when he's pushing the envelope in his career." Swayze allowed the production to shoot Cunningham's ironic
infomercials on his own ranch to give them an authentic look. Says Richard Kelly: "Patrick was incredibly generous and had
a great sense of humor throughout his work. I think people are going to gain a new appreciation of his talents through this role."
Another influential character in Donnie Darko's life is his shrink, Dr. Lilian Thurman, a hypnotherapist with a penchant
for writing prescriptions. The role marks the most recent screen incarnation of Katharine Ross, best known for her
unforgettable roles in two Oscar-winning classics: The Graduate and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Ross takes on
few screen roles but she was drawn to Richard Kelly's script, which stunned her with its complexity. "I thought it was
funny, intelligent, touching and surprising from start to finish," she says. "And I liked my role because I get to hear
everything that happens to Donnie, including his deepest secrets."
Ross had a blast playing a psychiatrist but the real draw for her was the chance to work with such a young and enthusiastic
cast and crew. "I think it's incredibly exciting to work with people just starting out because they're so energetic and so
innovative. I mean the people making this movie are the future of filmmaking," she observes. For Jake Gyllenhaal, it was an
equal thrill to work with Ross. "To work with this great actress who was part of The Graduate and Butch Cassidy, which are
just two staple movies for me, and who has such a tremendous aura, was amazing," he says.
Rounding out Donnie Darko's family are his two sisters Samantha, who is played by child actress Daveigh Chase, and Elizabeth,
who is played by Jake Gyllenhaal's real-life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal. "I thought it would be pretty interesting to play
brother and sister," admits Maggie, whose career is as accomplished as her brother's. "But this was also a really interesting
script that was hard to pass up. I loved the idea of playing high school kids in the 80s, and I loved the idea that it's about
all the connections between growing up and philosophy and time travel. It's got a love story, comedy and many surprises and I
think the reactions to it will be equally complex."
On the set, Maggie was impressed by her brother's complete transformation into the mysterious Donnie Darko.
"He really gave a risky, passionate, intense performance," she says. "It was the perfect part for him. Growing up,
Jake and I always talked about wanting to make interesting, daring movies, and it's really fun to be a part of this
one together." Finally, the cast is completed by James Duvall, who plays the mysterious apparition Frank. "Frank is
really Donnie Darko's guide," explains Duvall, "the one who helps him find his fate and his destiny. He might be an
alter ego, or another person, or a hallucination, but that's really up to people to decide for themselves."
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