Trivia / Panic Room

• Actor-Inspired Element: Meg was originally written to be helpless, but with Jodie Foster's involvement, the character was revised to be stronger. The casting change also led to Meg's being rewritten to be similar to her daughter, whereas Meg had been different from her before
• Cast the Runner-Up: Nicole Kidman was supposed to star, but wound up as the voice of Stephen's mistress when Meg calls.
• Creative Differences: Darius Khondji quit the production after several weeks as cinematographer to be replaced by Conrad W. Hall. David Fincher later admitted that he micro-managed Khondji and didn't allow him to fully take part in the decision-making process.
• Hide Your Pregnancy: Jodie Foster was already a few months pregnant when she started filming. The scene where she answers the door and talks to the cop was filmed last and they put a baggy sweater over her.
• No Stunt Double: Jared Leto did his own stunts.
• The Other Marty: Originally Nicole Kidman was cast in the lead role and shot a few scenes. She had injured her knee while filming Moulin Rouge! and was replaced by Jodie Foster. She did end up in the film as the voice of Foster's ex-husband's mistress when she calls him for help.
• Release Date Change: The studio planned to release the film in February 2002, but it determined that production could not be completed by then.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: 12 year old Kristen Stewart looked like Jodie Foster when she was that age and plays her daughter.
• Voice-Only Cameo: Nicole Kidman, who was originally supposed to play the lead, is the voice of Stephen Altman's mistress.
• What Could Have Been:
  • After Nicole Kidman dropped out, Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie and Robin Wright were considered to replace her.
  • Hayden Panettiere was originally due to play Sarah. Unlike with The Other Marty above, she was replaced by Kristen Stewart without actually filming any scenes.
  • Denzel Washington was considered for Burnham.
  • Mel Gibson was originally considered for the part of the ex-husband, mainly for the Playing Against Type of him getting more and more abused as the film progresses.
  • Originally David Fincher planned to make the film in pitch darkness but this proved too impractical.
  • Burnham was originally written to be "a slick, technical type" and the designer of the panic room in Meg and Sarah's home. Fincher did not think a designer could be persuaded to break into a home, so he rewrote the character to be a blue-collar worker who installs panic rooms for a living.
  • Raoul was originally written to be "a giant scary hulking guy", but Fincher rewrote him to be "this wiry, mean kind of ex-con white trash guy". In one revised instance, Raoul punches Meg instead of slapping her to be reinforced as "an appalling character".
  • A rather disturbing shot that was never filmed involved Raoul's mangled fingers being seen inside the panic room door, and falling out when it opened.

---