Richard Kelly’s original choice for the music to be played over the final sequence was U2’s “MLK.” Since they ran into difficulties obtaining the rights to that particular song, it was decided to use Gary Jules’ cover of “Mad World” instead. The song was originally authored by Tears for Fears.
Richard Kelly wanted Tim Robbins to play the part of Donnie’s father.
The black-and-white poster in Donnie’s room (an eye reflecting a skull) is a reproduction of an etching by M.C. Escher.
The DVD contains several Easter Eggs (hidden items). Two are visible in the “Philosophy of Time Travel” book in the Special Features section. On each of the appendix pages, press the up arrow on your remote and then press enter. For Appendix A, the viewer gets a deleted scene about the flooding of the school. For Appendix B, the viewer gets an alternate trailer for the movie. Another can be found after selecting the “Cunning Visions” menu screen. At the bottom of the screen, highlight the Special Features menu entry, press the right arrow on your remote to highlight the icon, and then press enter. This will give you access to a secret web site gallery.
The original poster art for the movie had used an Arabic-style font, but this was changed to a more standard Time New Roman font for the video release. This is because the movie was released right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, the font remains unchanged in the film.
Jason Schwartzman was originally slated to play Donnie Darko. However, due to scheduling conflicts, he was replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal.
The first edit of the film ran a whopping 165 minutes (2 hours, 45 minutes). The director’s cut of the film is similar to the version that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001.
