Trivia / Requiem for a Dream

• Actor-Inspired Element: To get into the character of Marion, who is a dress designer, Jennifer Connelly started making clothes for herself and ended up making most of her own wardrobe.
• Actor-Shared Background: Like her character, Jennifer Connelly's father worked in the garment industry.
• Dyeing for Your Art:
  • Jared Leto lost 25 pounds and befriended real heroin junkies from Brooklyn to prepare for his role as Harry Goldfarb.
  • Jennifer Connelly didn't shave her pubic hair, as she felt that a junkie wouldn't care about personal hygiene.
  • Averted with Ellen Burstyn, who achieved Sara's weight loss through prosthetics and just wore wigs for when she dyes her hair. She did, however, lose ten pounds during a two-week break in the filming schedule through dieting.
• Executive Meddling: Released unrated, the studio forced Aronofsky to let them release an edited version to DVD to get Walmart and Blockbuster to carry the film.
• Harpo Does Something Funny: The Tappy Tibbons material was shot in one day, with Christopher McDonald improvising a good deal of his material. At the end, the SAG extras for the audience and the crew all gave him a standing ovation.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The R-rated edit is now out-of-print and can only be found in VHS and some DVD copies.
• Method Acting:
  • Darren Aronofsky asked Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans to avoid sex and sugar for a period of 30 days in order to better understand an overwhelming craving.
  • Jennifer Connelly rented an apartment in the building Marion is said to live in, isolated herself painting and listening to music she thought Marion would like, and reflected on the nature of addiction. She also attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings with a recovering friend.
• Playing Against Type: Marlon Wayans (Tyrone) is best known for his comedic work.
• Production Posse: Sean Gullette (Arnold, Marion's therapist), Ben Shenkleman (Dr. Spencer) and Mark Margolis (Mr. Rabinowitz) all had roles in π. Margolis would become a permanent fixture of Arofsky's posse, with a small role in all of his films.
• Self-Adaptation: Hubert Selby Jr, author of the original novel, co-wrote the screenplay of the movie.
• Throw It In!: Harry's nurse, toward the end of the film, sticks out her tongue as she prepares the hypodermic shot. The director kept it.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Darren Aronofsky and Selby Jr. had originally intended for Tyrone, Marion and Harry to be teenagers in the film adaptation, but the studio refused.
  • Dave Chappelle was offered the role of Tyrone, but he turned it down.
  • Neve Campbell was the first choice for Marion Silver, but declined when she found out the role required on-camera nudity.
  • Aronofsky wanted Giovanni Ribisi for Harry Goldfarb because he had curly blond hair, which Harry had in the novel.
  • Faye Dunaway turned down the role of Sara Goldfarb. Ellen Burstyn likewise turned it down at first, horrified by the script. But upon watching π and meeting with Darren Aronofsky, she changed her mind and would later call the role her proudest acting achievement.

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