History Trivia / AmericanPsycho

* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/ChristianBale was always Creator/MaryHarron's first choice to play Patrick Bateman.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: Patrick's state-of-the-art home entertainment toys seem a bit quaint when read now.

** Huey Lewis not only loved the scene of Patrick talking about his music but actually agreed with some of his opinions of it.
*** Here he is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk15H6PjBis re-enacting the "Hip To Be Square" scene with Weird Al.]]

** ZigZagged with Creator/BretEastonEllis. Although he has praised certain aspects of the film, like giving the film a more darkly comedic tone to clarify that the source material was satire and that it introduced the book to new audiences, he thought that the film didn't have the ambiguity the novel had, some of the improvisations like Patrick's Moonwalk Dance were out of character and in general, and thought it was just an okay movie that didn't need to be made. Although when he's asked about it, he says his opinion is more positive than negative.

* RealSongThemeTune: Several real songs from the 1980's are used as musical numbers, such as Music/TearsForFears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Music/TheHumanLeague's "Don't You Want Me", Music/NewOrder's "True Faith", Music/PhilCollins' "In the Air Tonight", and, of course, Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews' undisputed masterpiece, "Hip to Be Square". Many of these songs were previously featured in the 2000 film.

** Producer Eward R. Pressman first bought the rights to the book in 1992, with Creator/JohnnyDepp expressing an interest in starring as Patrick Bateman and Stuart Gordon directing. Gordon wanted to do the film in black and white and stick as close to the book as possible, meaning a guaranteed X-rating. When this fell through, Creator/DavidCronenberg was brought in, with Creator/BretEastonEllis adapting the book himself. Ellis found the process difficult, due to Cronenberg wanting to excise the book's violence and the restaurant and nightclub scenes (which he considered boring). Cronenberg was still listed as being attached to direct in March 1994, but with a new script by Norman Snider.
** Pressman appeared at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival to pre-sell distribution rights, but to no avail. Mary Harron replaced Cronenberg as director and wrote a new script with Creator/GuinevereTurner and Creator/ChristianBale starring. Lionsgate picked up the distribution rights in 1997 and filming was due to begin in August 1998. However, Lionsgate felt that Bateman wasn't famous enough and pushed for Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio for the lead. Harron, who only wanted Bale, refused to even meet with [=DiCaprio=], let alone cast him, as she felt that he was completely wrong for the part and that his teenage girl fanbase would be put off.

** In the meantime, Bale remained committed, turning down other movie roles and auditions for nine months, confident that [=DiCaprio=] would depart. In 2022 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRGHIN2PGIA he talked]] of how he would occasionally talk to Harron on the phone, and she would tell him that the film was being made by other people, and he should probably stop preparing for it, and we would simply reply ''Yeah, no--we're gonna make it.'' He and Harron were eventually brought back under the agreement that the budget would not exceed $10 million. Production finally started in Feburary 1999 and finished in April of that year.

** In the meantime, Bale remained committed, turning down other movie roles and auditions for nine months, confident that [=DiCaprio=] would depart. He and Harron were eventually brought back under the agreement that the budget would not exceed $10 million. Production finally started in Feburary 1999 and finished in April of that year.

** Producer Eward R. Pressman first bought the rights to the book in 1992, with Creator/JohnnyDepp expressing an interest in starring as Patrick Bateman and Stuart Gordon directing. Gordon wanted to do the film in black and white and stick as close to the book as possible, meaning a guaranteed X-rating. When this fell through, Creator/DavidCronenberg was brought in, with Creator/BretEastonEllis adapting the book himself. Ellis found the process difficult, due to Cronenberg taking liberties with the book. Cronenberg was still listed as being attached to direct in March 1994, but with a new script by Norman Snider.

* StarMakingRole: Despite being warned that playing Patrick Bateman would be "career suicide", the film wound up garnering more attention for Creator/ChristianBale, with the success of the movie and his performance landing him bigger leading roles, eventually leading him to play [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy Batman]]. This version omitted all the scenes in restaurants and/or nightclubs and ended with an elaborate musical sequence to Muisc/BarryManilow's "Daybreak" atop the World Trade Center.

** Bret Easton Ellis [[SelfAdaptation wrote a screenplay for an adaptation himself]] but it was never used.

* DisownedAdaptation: ZigZagged. Creator/BretEastonEllis has praised certain aspects of the film, like giving the film a more darkly comedic tone to clarify that the source material was satire and that it introduced the book to new audiences; but thought that the film didn't have the ambiguity the novel had, some of the improvisations like Patrick's Moonwalk Dance were out of character and in general, thought it was just an okay movie that didn't need to be made. Although when he's asked about it, he says his opinion is more positive than negative.