PopHorror Let's Get Scared
American Psycho, a film based on the eponymous novel by Bret Easton Ellis, released on April 14th, 2000. The film was directed by Filmmaker Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol 1996) and follows the story of a wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale: Batman franchise), who hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies. The film also stars Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde 2001), Willem Dafoe (Platoon 1986), Chloë Sevigny (American Horror Story franchise) and Jared Leto (Urban Legend 1998).
“There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable… I simply am not there.” — Patrick Bateman
Fun Facts:
1) The vast majority of the dialogue in the movie is taken word-for-word from the novel by Bret Easton Ellis.
2) The single biggest cost on the film was purchasing the rights to the various songs used throughout the movie.
3) During the shooting of the film, Bale spoke in an American accent off-set at all times. At the wrap party, when he began to speak in his native Welsh accent, many of the crew thought he was speaking that way as an accent for another film. They had thought he was American throughout the entire shoot.
4) Looking for a way to create the character of Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale stumbled onto a Tom Cruise appearance on a 1993 episode of the Late Show With David Letterman. According to co-writer and director Mary Harron, Bale saw in Cruise “this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes,” and Bale subsequently based the character of Bateman on that. Interestingly, Tom Cruise is actually featured in the novel. He lives in the same apartment complex as Bateman.
5) During production, Bale followed the morning routine that his character Patrick Bateman describes toward the beginning of the film.
6) In the DVD commentary, Mary Harron says that during the first shower scene with Patrick Bateman, all of the women onset gathered around to watch Christian Bale wash himself.
7) The “whoosh” sounds during the famous business card scene was created by slowing down the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath.
8) A sign reading “This is not an exit” is shown in the closing scene. These are the last words of the novel.
9) Ewan McGregor was offered the role of Patrick Bateman, but declined after Bale personally urged him to do so.
10) The name Bateman is derived from the main character of the Psycho film franchise, Norman Bates.
