Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #221 :: October 17•23

Universal Pictures

Awards seasons is creeping up on us with several nominated and award winning films making their debuts this week across the decades. Sadly, the majority of 1924’s movies are now lost. A 1944 film kicks off the awards recognition with a Best Supporting Actress win. 1964 didn’t have any award winners but did produce two horror films from Hammer. 1974 gave us the first film starring a beloved pooch, and put Karen Black in the pilot’s seat. 1984 had a controversial film with Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins, gave us one of the best concert films ever made, and produced a drama that resulted in its star appearing in an iconic comedy. 1994 had a film that unleashed a now-popular director on the world, and saw George Lucas suffer a massive failure. 2004 saw two remakes and two highly praised films that got a lot of awards notice, while 2014 had a film that became a TV series, an animated classic, and a drama that also was noticed by awards organizations. Scroll down to see the list of films that premiered this week, learn a little more about some of them, and let us know if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries!

1924

• October 18 – The City That Never Sleeps (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
• October 18 – The Price (AUS, Australian National Films)
• October 19 – Daring Chances (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 19 – Gerald Cranston’s Lady (USA, Fox Film Corporation)
• October 19 – Hard-Hittin’ Hamilton (USA, Action Pictures)
• October 19 – Madonna of the Streets (USA, Edwin Carewe Productions)
• October 19 – The Border Legion (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)
• October 19 – The Dangerous Flirt (USA, Gothic Pictures)
• October 19 – The House of Youth (USA, Regal Pictures)
• October 19 – Three Women (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• October 20 – The Bandolero (USA, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation)
• October 20 – The Fast Set (USA, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)

The Price has no known US theatrical release date.

Lost films: The City That Never Sleeps, The Price, Gerald Cranston’s Lady, Madonna of the Streets, The Border Legion, The Dangerous Flirt, The Fast Set.

The Price was made largely with an amateur cast who were selected from a competition. Over a thousand people applied. Gerald Cranston’s Lady is based on the novel of the same title by Gilbert Frankau. Madonna of the Streets is based on the 1904 novel The Ragged Messenger by W. B. Maxwell. The Border Legion is based on the 1916 novel of the same name by Zane Grey. The Dangerous Flirt was also known as A Dangerous Flirtation.

Three Women is based on the novel Lillis Ehe by Yolande Maree. Prints of the film are held by the George Eastman House and Filmmuseum München. The film was restored with a new orchestral score and released on Blu-ray. The Bandolero is based on a novel by Paul Gwynne. The Fast Set is based on the 1923 Broadway play, Spring Cleaning, by Frederick Lonsdale.

1934

• October 19 – Jew Süss (Finland, Gaumont British Picture Corporation)
• October 19 – Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (USA, Paramount Pictures)
• October 19 – Peck’s Bad Boy (USA, Sol Lesser Productions)
• October 20 – 6 Day Bike Rider (USA, First National Pictures)
• October 20 – I Sell Anything (USA, First National Pictures)
• October 22 – A Glimpse of Paradise (UK, Warner Brothers-First National Productions)
• October 22 – Great Expectations (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 22 – Passing Shadows (UK, British Lion Film Corporation)
• October 22 – The Double Event (UK, Dallas Bower Productions)
• October 22 – The Lash (UK, Julius Hagen Productions)

Jew Süss was released in the US on November 1, 1934 as Power. A Glimpse of Paradise, Passing Shadows, The Double Event and The Lash have no known US theatrical release dates.

Jew Süss is based on Lion Feuchtwanger’s 1925 novel Jud Süß, about Joseph Süß Oppenheimer. The film was intended to be sympathetic to Jews, while a 1940 Nazi Germany film of the same name is considered to an an antisemitic response.

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is based on the 1904 Broadway play by Anne Crawford Flexner, which was taken from the novel of the same name by Alice Hegan Rice. The 1934 film is the third adaptation of the play, with a fourth released in 1942. The film was a huge success for Paramount, but still fell short of studio expectations.

Peck’s Bad Boy was based on the series of books by George W. Peck.

6 Day Bike Rider was filmed in eleven days. Bicyclist Reggie ‘Iron Man’ McNamara made his film debut as one of the racers. A multi-cyclist collision occurred when one bicycle’s wheel collapsed, causing 16 bicyclists to hit the motorcycle of a cameraman who was filming close to the action. Nine of the bicyclists were hurt, one of whom was critically injured.

A Glimpse of Paradise and Passing Shadows were produced as quota quickies to help support the failing British film industry.

Great Expectations is a 1934 adaptation of the 1861 Charles Dickens novel of the same name, filmed with mostly American actors. It was the first sound version of the story produced in Hollywood. The film is considered inferior to a 1946 British production, but the two films share actor Francis L. Sullivan in the role of Jaggers. The film also makes the character Miss Haversham more eccentric than insane, and she dies of natural causes off screen rather than in a fire.

The Double Event marked the screen debut of Bernard Lee, who would later become very well-known as M in the James Bond movies. The Lash, produced as a quota quickie, was based on a play of the same name by Cyril Campion.

1944

RKO Radio Pictures

• October 17 – None but the Lonely Heart (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• October 20 – Black Arrow (USA, serial, Columbia Pictures)
• October 20 – Heavenly Days (USA, RKO Radio Pictures)
• October 20 – The Climax (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 20 – The Very Thought of You (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)
• October 21 – One Mysterious Night (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• October 23 – When the Lights Go On Again (USA, Producers Releasing Corporation)

None but the Lonely Heart is adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn. The film was written and directed by Clifford Odets, one of only two films he directed. It was one of only three films in which Cary Grant used a Cockney accent. RKO had to pay all the expenses incurred by temporarily closing down the play The Corn is Green in order to secure Ethel Barrymore’s availability to complete her scenes. The East End London road set in this film was the largest and most complete external set constructed inside a sound stage at that time, measuring 800 feet long and extending the length of two sound stages. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Best Supporting Actress for Barrymore.

Heavenly Days was the third and final Fibber McGee and Molly film. Unlike the previous films, none of the radio show’s supporting cast members appeared except the vocal quartet The King’s Men.

Universal claimed The Climax was based on the 1909 play of the same name by Edward Locke, although the plot has little connection to Locke’s play. The film was intended to be a sequel to 1943’s The Phantom of the Opera and uses the sets from that film, but features different characters and a new plot.

One Mysterious Night was the seventh film in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Boston Blackie’ series. It was the directorial debut of Budd Boetticher, although he is credited under his real name, Oscar Boetticher, Jr.

1954

• October 19 – Lease of Life (UK, Ealing Studios)
• October 20 – Mannequins für Rio (West Germany, Corona Filmproduktion)

Lease of Life was released in the US on February 9, 1956. Mannequins für Rio was released in the US on January 7, 1955 as They Were So Young.

Lease of Life was produced as a star vehicle for Robert Donat’s return to the big screen after a three year absence. Donat received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor for his performance. Mannequins für Rio (They Were So Young) was a German-American co-production with screenplay input from Dalton Trumbo and Michael Wilson, both blacklisted at the time and uncredited.

1964

• October 18 – The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (UK, Hammer Films)
• October 18 – The Gorgon (UK, Hammer Films)
• October 20 – The Black Torment (UK, Compton Films)

The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb was released in the US on December 31, 1964. The Gorgon first opened in London on August 21, 1964, followed by a general release in the UK on October 18, and in the US on February 17, 1965. The Black Torment (aka Estate of Insanity) was released in the US on September 29, 1965.

Hammer Films originally offered The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb to Universal Pictures in 1963. The film was released in the US by Columbia Pictures, and was second billed in the UK with The Gorgon, which was based on a story submitted to Hammer by their Canadian fan J. Llewellyn Divine. For the role of the Gorgon, former ballerina Prudence Hyman was recruited because the monster was supposed to float gracefully like a wraith.

1974

• October 17 – Benji (West Germany, Mulberry Square Productions)
• October 18 – Airport 1975 (USA, Universal Pictures)
• October 18 – Mixed Company (USA, Llenroc Productions)
• October 18 – The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (USA, Playboy Enterprises)
• October 18 – The Odessa File (USA, John Woolf Productions)

Benji first opened in the US on May 31, 1974. The film was turned down by every studio in Hollywood, but went on to earn $45 million against a $500,000 budget, and received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, ‘I Feel Love’ by Charlie Rich. The song did win the Golden Globe. Producer, writer and director Joe Camp had to form his own company to distribute the film. It marks the final screen appearances of Francis Bavier (Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show) and Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction) before they retired. Benji was played by Higgins, who also appeared with Buchanan on Petticoat Junction. It was his last film as well. Higgins earned a PATSY Award nomination for his performance but lost to Tonto the cat from Harry and Tonto.

Airport 1975 is the first sequel to 1970’s Airport. Gloria Swanson makes her final film appearance as a fictionalized version of herself. Future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim Plunkett has an uncredited cameo as himself. The plane used in the film was a Boeing 747-123 rented from American Airlines when it was temporarily taken out of passenger service at the start of American’s restructuring away from the fleet of Boeing jumbo jets in mid-1974. The aircraft was leased to Trans Mediterranean Airways from 1976 to 1984, and was sold to UPS to serve as a freighter before being retired in 2005 and scrapped in 2011. Airport interiors were shot at Washington Dulles International, which appears in its original, unextended form. Singer Helen Reddy plays a nun, performing an acoustic version of her own song ‘Best Friend’ to Linda Blair, playing an ailing little girl. Reddy was nominated for the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. Many of the film’s plot devices — a singing nun, a former glamorous star, an alcoholic, a sick child, a chatterbox — became tropes of the disaster movie genre and were spoofed on The Carol Burnett Show sketch ‘Disaster ’75’ and in 1980’s Airplane!

The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder featured the final film appearance of George Marshall, who was better known as a director on such films as Destry Rides Again, Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number! and You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man.

The Odessa File is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. The film’s score was by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The title song ‘Christmas Dream’ was written by Webber and Tim Rice and was sung by Perry Como. It is heard playing on a car radio during the film’s main titles. The film featured siblings Maximilian and Maria Schell, the only film the two made together.

1984

Arnold Stiefel Company

• October 18 – The Slim Dusty Movie (AUS, documentary, The Slim Dusty Movie Pty. Ltd.)
• October 19 – Crimes of Passion (USA, New World Pictures)
• October 19 – Stop Making Sense (USA, Arnold Stiefel Company)
• October 19 – The Little Drummer Girl (USA, Bavaria Film)
• October 19 – The Razor’s Edge (USA, Columbia Pictures)
• October 19 – Thief of Hearts (USA, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films)
• October 23 – Give My Regards to Broad Street (USA, MPL Communications)

The Slim Dusty Movie has no known US theatrical release date.

Due to the mix of sex and suspense, screenwriter Barry Sandler had difficulties selling Crimes of Passion, approaching directors John Frankenheimer, Bob Rafelson and John Carpenter, as well as Cher to star. Sandler’s agent suggested Ken Russell, known for his audacious filmmaking. Russell was reluctant to get involved after his difficulties with writer Paddy Chayefsky on Altered States, fearing the loss of control over the project. Sandler talked with Russell and they formed a great relationship that lasted until Russell’s death. Kathleen Turner wanted to do the movie, against her agent’s advice, to break away from her Romancing the Stone image. Jeff Bridges wanted the role of Grady and dropped his fee from $3 million to $1 million but was still too expensive for the budget. After considering Patrick Swayze and Alec Baldwin, the role was given to relative unknown John Laughlin, whose unease and nervousness worked for the character. Anthony Perkins was given the male lead. Turner said filming was difficult due to Perkins’ drinking and drug issues. Rick Wakeman, who performed the synthesizer-heavy score, also cameos in the film as a wedding photographer. The film received an X-rating, which the studio refused to release and forced Russell to cut the film several times to earn an R. Sandler has stated the ratings board actually suggested they release the film with the X to reclaim it from the porn industry, with major stars like Turner and Perkins involved but the studio still refused to release it as newspapers and radio and TV stations would not accept advertising for an X-rated film as that gave it the automatic stamp of hardcore pornography. The film was cut five times, and after seeing the film so many times and feeling pressure from the press and others over forcing an artist to drastically alter their original work, the MPAA finally gave in and awarded the film with the R-rating. One scene that was cut entirely involved Turner’s character, a police officer and the use of a nightstick that intensely upset preview audiences. The film was a minor success at the box office, but found a larger audience when it was released on home video.

Stop Making Sense was filmed over four nights during a Talking Heads concert at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The band raised the film’s $2 million budget themselves. The film is considered to be one of the greatest concert films of all time. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2021. The film received a 4K restoration in 2023. One night of filming was dedicated to a wide shot of the stage from a distance. Director Jonathan Demme suggested filming a portion of the show on a soundstage recreation of the Pantages stage but the band declined, feeling it would not have the same energy as a live performance with an audience. David Byrne asked the band members to wear neutral colored clothing so the lights would not illuminate anything too distinctive, but Chris Frantz’s laundry had not come back in time for the first show so he wore a turquoise shirt for each performance for continuity. The film is a rare concernt film that does not show the audience (until the very end) because the additional lighting inhibited their energy and made the band feel insecure, contributing to what they described as their worst performance in the band’s career. When A24 became involved with the 40th anniversary re-release and announced plans for a 4K restoration, they found the original film negative had gone missing, with prior distributors just scanning the release prints of the film. The negative was finally located in an MGM vault, even though MGM had not been involved with the film. The audio was also to be remixed in Dolby Atmos, but the tracks had been in the Todd-AO library, and that company had gone out of business and the building demolished. It was discovered the Todd-AO library had been acquired by Sony, and the tracks were found in a warehouse in Kansas.

The Little Drummer Girl was adapted from the 1983 novel of the same name by John le Carré.

The Razor’s Edge is an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s 1944 novel of the same name. The film marks the first dramatic role for Bill Murray. Columbia Pictures agreed to make the movie in exchange for Murray appearing in Ghostbusters, which he began after the last day of principal photography.

Give My Regards to Broad Street was written by Paul McCartney, and features McCartney, Ringo Starr and Linda McCartney as themselves. The film was the first for McCartney in a non-documentary since 1965’s Help, and to date is his last starring role in a feature film. The film features one of the final performances of Sir Ralph Richardson. The song ‘No More Lonely Nights’ received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Original Song.

1994

• October 19 – Clerks (USA, limited, View Askew Productions)
• October 20 – Lucky Break (AUS, Generation Films)
• October 21 – Love Affair (USA, Mulholland Producuctions)
• October 21 – Radioland Murders (USA, Lucasfilm Ltd.)
• October 21 – The Puppet Masters (USA, Hollywood Pictures)

Lucky Break was released in the US on August 15, 1997 as Paperback Romance.

Clerks was the feature directorial debut of Kevin Smith. The film is the first in Smith’s ‘View Askewniverse’ and introduces several recurring characters including Jay and Silent Bob. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2019. Due to budget constraints, many of Smith’s friends and family members have roles in the film. Walt Flanagan plays four roles in the film, which was not intentional but the actors who were to play the other three roles did not show up. Smith wrote the role of Randal for himself, stating that’s why he got most of Smith’s favorite lines, but his multiple duties on the production were too difficult and he gave the role to his friend Jeff Anderson. The film was shot on 16mm black-and-white Kodak film stock. Smith was only allowed to film at the Quick Stop convenience store, where he worked during the day, between 10:30 PM and 5:30 AM when the store was closed, allowing Smith about an hour of sleep a day. He was unable to stay awake while Dante and Randal’s fight scene was filmed. Jason Mewes, who plays Jay, was not featured in any of the Miramax photo shoots as the company believed he had no commercial appeal and would scare away audiences. The film originally received an NC-17 rating purely for the explicit dialogue. Miramax hired Alan Dershowitz to appeal the decision, but a Miramax lawyer ultimately argued the case and the MPAA relented and gave the movie an R-rating without alterations.

The screenplay for Love Affair was based on the 1939 screenplay by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart. The 1939 film was remade in 1957 as An Affair to Remember. The name of lead female character, Terry McKay, is the same in all three films, but the male lead has a different name in each. The film marked Katharine Hepburn’s return to the big screen after a ten year absence, and was her last theatrical film. It is the only time she says ‘fuck’ on screen. Star Warren Beatty personally lobbied for Hepburn, rented her a house in Los Angeles and referred her to a special dermatologist, but she did not give a definitive answer until the day of filming. Luise Rainer was also considered for the role. The film earned a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Remake or Sequel.

Radioland Murders features cameos from Michael McKean, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lloyd, George Burns, Billy Barty, and Rosemary Clooney. It was the final film for Burns. George Lucas began developing the film in 1970, with Steve Martin and Cindy Williams in the lead roles but the project languished in ‘development hell’ for 20 years. Lucas convinced Universal that advancements in computer-generated imagery would help bring the film in for a low budget of $10 million (which eventually rose to $15 million). The film bombed, grossing $1.37 million at the domestic box office. Lucas drew inspiration for the film from Abbott & Costello’s Who Done It and The Big Clock. Universal agreed to make the film in 1993 only if Lucas would update the script for an MTV generation not familiar with old-time radio shows. Universal was also adamant that the film be filled with popular TV stars of the day. Christopher Lloyd agreed to play sound designer Zoltan only on the condition that his scenes be filmed in one day.

The Puppet Masters is adapted from Robert A. Heinlein’s 1951 novel of the same title. The screenplay went through a number of rewrites due to differences between the writers, who wanted to remain faithful to the novel, and Disney, which wanted a film it could sell. Cost-saving measures also changed the film’s futuristic setting to a contemporary one, with attempts to distance itself as derivative of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

2004

• October 22 – Alfie (UK, Patalex Productions)
• October 22 – I Heart Huckabees (USA, Qwerty Films)
• October 22 – Sideways (USA, Michael London Productions)
• October 22 – Surviving Christmas (USA, Tall Trees Productions)
• October 22 – The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Greece, Appian Way)
• October 22 – The Grudge (USA, Ghost House Pictures)
• October 22 – Vera Drake (USA, limited/Canada, Inside Track Productions)

Alfie was released in Canada, Mexico and the US on November 5, 2004. The Assassination of Richard Nixon received a limited US theatrical release on December 29, 2004 for awards consideration.

Alfie was inspired by 1966 British film of the same name and its 1975 sequel. A black and white photograph of original Alfie star Michael Caine representing Alfie Elkins Sr. appears during the film’s credits.

I Heart Huckabees features the debut of Jonah Hill in a small role. In 2007, videos were leaked of on-set arguments between director David O. Russell and star Lily Tomlin, but she dismissed them as just a result of the pressures of production.

Sideways was adapted from Rex Pickett’s 2004 novel of the same name. The film earned five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Supporting Actor (Thomas Haden Church), and Supporting Actress (Virginia Madsen), winning for adapted screenplay. It also earned seven Golden Globe nominations, winning for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Screenplay.

Surviving Christmas earned three Razzie Award nominations for Worst Picture (losing to Catwoman), Worst Actor (Ben Affleck, losing to George W. Bush in Fahrenheit 9/11), and Worst Screenplay (losing again to Catwoman).

The Grudge is remake of Takashi Shimizu’s 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge. Shimizu also directed the remake. Sarah Michelle Gellar filmed in Tokyo for three months before returning for reshoots.

Director Mike Leigh used improvisation to capture his actors’ unscripted emotions for Vera Drake. None of the actors, except star Imelda Staunton, knew the film’s subject matter was abortion, and no one including Staunton knew her character was going to be arrested until the actors playing the police knocked on the door of the house they were using for rehearsals. The reactions of shock and confusion were genuine. Staunton earned and Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for her performance, and won the BAFTA. Leigh was also Oscar nominated for direction and writing.

2014

Twentieth Century Fox Animation

• October 17 – Camp X-Ray (USA, GNK Productions)
• October 17 – Dear White People (USA, limited, Code Red)
• October 17 – Dementamania (UK, Gloucester Place Films)
• October 17 – Fury (USA, Le Grisbi Productions)
• October 17 – Listen Up Philip (USA, Tribeca Films)
• October 17 – Men, Women & Children (USA, Right of Way Films)
• October 17 – The Book of Life (USA/Canada, Twentieth Century Fox Animation)
• October 17 – Young Ones (USA, Saint Shadow)
• October 21 – Point and Shoot (USA, limited, documentary, The Orchard)
• October 23 – Nightcrawler (Indonesia, Bold Films)

Dementamania has no known US theatrical release date. Nightcrawler was released in the US, UK and Canada on October 31, 2014.

Camp X-Ray was the feature directorial debut of Peter Sattler. Star Kristen Stewart earned a Razzie Redeemer Award nomination for her performance. The award is presented to a former nominee or winner who comes back from a critical or commercial failure and is seen as ‘a respected artist’.

Dear White People was adapted into a series for Netflix in 2017.

The cast of Fury underwent four months of military training at a boot camp run by Navy SEALs. Director David Ayer also pushed the cast to physically spar with each other, leading to black eyes and bloody noses. Actor were also forced to live in the tank together for an extended period of time where they ate, slept, and defecated. Ayer and Sony were forced to apologize when a scene was filmed on Remembrance Day with extras wearing Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS uniforms. The film was leaked online before its release following the Sony Pictures hack, with the film downloaded 1.2 million times in three days. Despite the leak, the film was a box office success, grossing nearly $212 million worldwide against a $68 million budget.

Men, Women & Children is based on a novel of the same name written by Chad Kultgen that deals with online addiction.

The Book of Life is the feature directorial debut of Jorge R. Gutierrez. Several ideas in the film originated in Gutierrez’s 2000 student film Carmelo. The story was optioned by DreamWorks in 2007 but never proceeded due to creative differences. The film received five Annie Awards nominations, winning for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature. A sequel was announced to be in development in 2017, but as of 2019 plans for the sequel had ended.

Young Ones was released in the UK as Bad Land: Road to Fury to avoid confusion with the classic UK comedy series The Young Ones.

Nightcrawler was the directorial debut of Dan Gilroy. Gilroy originally intended to make the film about the life of American photographer Weegee, known for his vivid crime scene photos, but changed the idea to focus on the stringer profession, freelance photographers who sell their images to tabloid newspapers, after the release of The Public Eye in 1992, which was based on Weegee’s life. The film was shot in four weeks across 80 different locations. When writing the screenplay, Gilroy was unable to come up with a convincing hero, so he decided to make the lead an antihero, and used the films The King of Comedy, To Die For and The Talented Mr. Ripley for inspiration on how to write an antihero. Gilroy’s brother Tony felt the screenplay was compelling, and everyone who read it wanted to be involved. Jake Gyllenhaal was Gilroy’s first choice for the lead role of Lou. Gyllenhaal was already committed to another project but that fell through, allowing him to meet with Gilroy while he was filming Prisoners. Gilroy mention to Gyllenhaal that he saw Lou as a predator driven by never-ending hunger, and Gyllenhaal took that to heart, losing almost 30 pounds by eating nothing but kale, chewing gum and running 15 miles every day. Riz Ahmed was one of 75 actors to audition for the role of Rick. Gilroy told him he wasn’t right for the part but allowed him to audition anyway, and within the first minute of his audition tape Gilroy was confident in the actor’s abilities. Gilroy wrote the role of Nina specifically for his wife Rene Russo, although she was unaware of his intention while he was writing. The film’s budget was a low $8.5 million, and many on the crew felt not all of the scenes could be filmed, with at least 15 pages of the script needing to be cut. Gilroy took this as a challenge, and ‘efficiencies’ were built into the shooting schedule. Gilroy stated that there was never a day that filming was not completed before sunrise. Gilroy earned an Oscar nomination for his Original Screenplay, and Gyllenhaal was nominated for several awards for his performance.