History Trivia / TheTrumanShow

** Though the original script contains many scenes that made it to the final movie, its tone was much DarkerAndEdgier, reading more like a sci-fi thriller and set in (a fake version of) [[BigApplesauce New York]] — for example, the scene where Truman threatens Meryl is much more violent, to the point where he actually tries to drown her in a sliced-open waterbed. He hires a prostitute to dress up as Sylvia, and has sex with her, cheating on his wife. He also threatens to kill a baby at one point (by holding it above his head and threatening to smash it on the ground) and threatens a man with a flare gun (All things considered, probably for the best that it was altered) .

* ReferencedBy: ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' of all things. One of the characters all but calls the movie out by name during a discussion over the difficulties of replicating modern society in a fictional medium.

** Though the original script contains many scenes that made it to the final movie, its tone was much DarkerAndEdgier, reading more like a sci-fi thriller and set in (a fake version of) [[BigApplesauce New York]] — for example, the scene where Truman threatens Meryl is much more violent, to the point where he actually tries to drown her in a sliced-open waterbed. He hires a prostitute to dress up as Sylvia, and has sex with her, cheating on his wife. He also threatens to kill a baby at one point (by holding it above his head and threatening to smash it on the ground) and threatens a man with a flare gun. (All things considered, probably for the best that it was altered.)

* WordOfGod: Extra material offered by the writers reveals that Christof was an acclaimed filmmaker who won an Oscar in his 20s for a documentary on the homeless. He created ''The Truman Show'' soon after. This emphasizes what he's trying to say in the main page "WhatTheHellHero" quote -- he really has tried to give Truman the perfect All-American life, sheltered from the cruelty and absurdity of the real world.

* TropeNamer: ''The Truman Show'' was the originator of the names of the following tropes:
** TrumanShowPlot
** CueTheSun

* ReferencedBy: ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' of all things. One of the characters all but calls the movie out by name during a discussion over the difficulties of replicating modern society in a fictional medium.

* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/PeterWeir cast Creator/JimCarrey after seeing ''Film/AceVenturaPetDetective'', because his performance reminded him of Creator/CharlieChaplin.

** The first draft of the script had UsefulNotes/[[Sydney]] standing in for Fiji, and Christof researching a potential trip for Truman a là the Mount Rushmore vacation.

** Also in the script, "Fiji" was to have existed within the same space as the nuclear power plant, complete with just about every Polynesian cliché imaginable. Indeed, Truman was to have been drawn to the sounds of hammers and saws, the construction of the set.

* DawsonCasting: The actors all portray their high-school/college-aged selves during a flashback.
** Sort of. The original script called for Truman to be 18, which makes Truman's behavior a ''lot'' more understandable in the film.
** Less noticeable with Truman who'd be 29 as he's lived over 10,900 days whereas Jim Carrey was in his mid-30s when making this movie.

** Jim Carrey has since acknowledged this film as an accurate metaphor for the fatigue he was feeling from his own stardom, which is one reason he lost himself in MethodActing on the set of ''Film/ManOnTheMoon''.

* PlayingAgainstType: One of Carrey's non-comedy roles before he broke into drama. Although he is still rather whimsical here, it is played for {{Bathos}} and to [[SadClown contrast his tragic situation]].

* TomHanksSyndrome: Jim Carrey's first chance to really dip his toe into more serious material.

* PlayingAgainstType: One of Carrey's non-comedy roles before he broke into drama. Although he still has his moments.

** Sort of. The original script called for Truman to be 18, which makes a lot of Truman's behavior a ''lot'' more understandable in the film.

** A major piece of the plot that drives Truman's longing to escape the staged world is noticing that a homeless beggar has an uncanny resemblance to his father who drowned during his childhood. He is quickly whisked away by the crew when Truman lingers too long around him. FridgeLogic says that they likely kept the same actor employed as an extra, thinking Truman would never notice.

** Jim Carrey has since acknowledged this film as an accurate metaphor for the fatigue he was feeling from his own stardom, which is one reason he lost himself in MethodActing on the set of ''Film/ManOnTheMoon.''
** There is also, of course, the aptly named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show_delusion Truman Show Delusion.]]

%%** Sort of. The original script called for Truman to be 18, which makes a lot of Truman's behavior a ''lot'' more understandable in the film.

* YouLookFamiliar: In a DeletedScene, Truman runs into a jogger played by the same actor who played a homeless man in a wheelchair two days earlier.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: In Hong Kong, the title is interpreted as a PunBasedTitle for "Tru(e) (Hu)man Show", and translated that way into ''Janyan Show'' (''The Real-person Show''). This title eventually the generic term for the RealityTV genre.

* PlayingAgainstType: One of Carrey's non-comedy roles before he broke into drama.