Trivia / American History X

• Acclaimed Flop: American History X was praised by critics and Edward Norton received an Oscar nomination; however, the film was not successful at the box office, grossing only $23.9 million on a $20 million budget.
• Alan Smithee: Attempted by Tony Kaye. He wanted to be credited as "Humpty Dumpty" instead of "Alan Smithee", which was flatly rejected. This led to a war of words culminating in a $200-million-plus lawsuit between Kaye and New Line, and probably costing Edward Norton an Oscar. Additionally, this incident was one of the factors, along with the critical massacre of Box Office Bomb An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, that would result in the moniker being retired for good in 2000.
• Creator Backlash: Director Tony Kaye greatly disliked the final cut of the film, so much so that he publicly disowned the film before its release and attempt to have his credit placed with Alan Smithee.
• Dawson Casting: Edward Furlong played a high-schooler at 21. However, he looked pretty convincing.◊
• Deleted Scene: Three scenes were cut:
  • A scene in which an elderly black woman is harassed and made to cry on the boardwalk by Danny's skinhead friends, Jason and Chris.
  • A scene after the "party", in which Cameron and Seth go to a café and discuss Derek's change. They then harass a black guy/white girl couple, and then leave. A car is waiting outside, in which several black men watch them leave, before going after them. One black man inside the car remarks "Somebody's gonna get their ass whipped." The aftermath is not shown, but we later learn that Cameron and Seth were attacked.
  • A brief scene in the café near the end in which Derek winks at a little black girl and asks her if he looks okay.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Before filming began, Edward Norton and Edward Furlong shaved their heads for their roles. Edward Norton also gained 30 pounds of muscle.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Fairuza Balk, who is of partial Romani heritage (and self-identifies as being of Native American descent) and an outspoken anti-ziganophobia activist, playing a neo-Nazi. Edward Furlong is also of Mexican descent (as well as Russian descent).
• Missing Episode: More details on the original 96-minute cut.
• Wag the Director: Tony Kaye was removed from the project after shooting completed, and the final cut of the film was edited by Jerry Greenberg with heavy input from Edward Norton, something Kaye very vocally expressed his dissatisfaction with. In the aftermath, some accused Norton of vainly giving himself more screen time, while others seem to believe that he merely stepped in to rescue the film from the scrap heap.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard but found the subject matter of the film distasteful and passed on the project.
  • Marlon Brando was originally considered for Cameron Alexander.
  • Allegedly, Tony Kaye wanted the film to end at the Vinyard family's apartment, with Derek shaving his head in the bathroom sink and grinning at his reflection before taking out a handgun (implying that he is about to avenge his brother's murder).
  • Earlier drafts of the script included Cameron and Seth getting gunned down instead of just attacked and that heroin was hidden in Derek's truck. The two black men trying to break into the truck were going to steal it.

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