Hasitha Fernando dives into the story behind Natural Born Killers as the controversial film turns 30…
Natural Born Killers has oft been labelled one of the most controversial films ever to be conceived with its ultra-violent and heavily controversial subject matter continuing to divide audiences even after 30 years of its release. In this write up we take a brief look at what went on behind-the-scenes during the making of this divisive yet thought provoking effort three decades later.
The story was based on a real-life mass murder spree
Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate were a young couple who embarked on a notorious killing spree between November 1957 to January 1958 across the American Midwest taking the lives of a total of eleven people. Along with the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s son, Starweather and Fugate’s mass murder spree was one of the earliest crime scandals that received nationwide prominence from all media outlets. Several films were inspired by the pair’s dastardly deeds with the most famous effort being Terrence Malik’s 1973 neo-noir crime drama Badlands starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Other movies that have been inspired by the crime spree over the years included The Sadist (1963), Guncrazy (1992) and Kalifornia (1993). The story penned by Quentin Tarantino also featured a similar narrative with two victims of traumatic childhoods engaging in a series of murderous acts ending up being glorified by the mass media for their reprehensible behavior.
Quentin Tarantino outright disowned the movie when he saw it
After the breakthrough of Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino became hot property in Hollywood and it was during this period that he optioned two unproduced feature length screenplays for movies that would later become True Romance and Natural Born Killers. Tarantino’s initial plan was to have his friend Rand Vossler, a colleague who worked with him at Video Archives, to direct the effort but unfortunately the pair were unable to secure any funding to get the ball rolling. Filmmaker Oliver Stone, meanwhile, was keenly interested in the script crafted by Tarantino and expressed interest in buying it and in exchange for Vossler giving up his directorial debut he’d be credited as a co-producer. Satisfied with the agreement Tarantino optioned the rights for his screenplay to Stone but what happened next made Tarantino disown the final product.
The script which was crafted by Tarantino ended up being heavily rewritten by Stone, producer Richard Rutowski, and screenwriter David Veloz throughout the production period. As a result, what we saw on screen was a version that was far different to what Tarantino envisioned. Although Tarantino received a ‘Story By’ credit he outright disowned the movie. As a compromise, however, the producers of Natural Born Killers allowed him to publish the original screenplay to help him get over his hate for the movie, as his primary concern was being credited with material he didn’t have a hand in creating.
Oliver Stone originally wanted to make a “feel-good actioner” out of the script
When the producers of Natural Born Killers optioned Tarantino’s screenplay Stone initially envisioned the project as a feel-good, light-hearted actioner. This was because his previous effort, 1993’s Heaven and Earth was a challenging production which bombed at the box-office and Stone simply wanted to make a fun-filled actioner that played against genre norms. However, as the project was shaping up he soon realized that this wasn’t the best approach to tackle the story and instead opted to make a dark satire on how serial murderers are deified by the media for their despicable deeds.
Woody Harrelson was cast because of a look of violence in his eyes
Woody Harrelson first received acclaim for his breakout performance in the NBC sitcom Cheers for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for playing the charismatic bartender Woody Boyd. When he shifted to feature films Harrelson achieved early success with 90’s movies like White Men Can’t Jump, Money Train and Indecent Proposal. He later on nabbed high-praise and accolades for playing Larry Flynt in 1996’s The People vs. Larry Flynt for which he earned an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination. When it came to Natural Born Killers Harrelson revealed during an interview that he was cast in Mickey’s role because director Oliver Stone said he had the look of violence in his eyes. Warner Bros. initially considered Michael Madsen in the role but sought someone less physically intimidating as it would lessen the character’s brutality to a certain extent.
Oliver Stone wanted Juliette Lewis to bulk up for the role
Throughout her career, Juliette Lewis has been known for taking on quirky, offbeat roles in mainstream and indie films. She received prominence for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s 1991 psychological thriller Cape Fear, for which she nabbed an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. When Lewis was cast as Mallory Knox in Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone wanted the actress to bulk up for the role so she’d look mean and tough but the performer vetoed that notion saying she wanted her character to not resemble a female bodybuilder. In the end Stone agreed to her notion but insisted that she take kickboxing lessons to ensure her hand-to-hand combat looked credible in the movie.
Robert Downey Jr. went method to become a sleazy tabloid reporter
In the film, Wayne Gale is the sleazy reporter chronicling the violent adventures of the Knox’s as they travel across the American Midwest. After being cast in the role Robert Downey Jr., who requires no introduction nowadays with his body of work, spent time with controversial Australian journalist Steve Dunleavy to gain some insight into his character. At the end of his preparatory period Downey Jr. sported an Australian accent and convinced Stone to allow him to portray Wayne Gale also with an Australian accent.
The film featured Rodney Dangerfield’s only dramatic performance
Rodney Dangerfield’s career is filled with comedic turns being a stand-up comedian by profession. But Natural Born Killers marked the first and only instance in which Dangerfield took on a dramatic role by playing the abusive father to Juliette Lewis’ Mallory. Dangerfield wasn’t given a script by the director and was simply instructed to play “the father from hell”. The comedic actor was also given the freedom by Stone to write his own “disturbing” material for his diabolical performance.
The lead actors had to share a scene involving 150 venomous snakes
The nightmarish scene involving venomous snakes that takes place in the open desert was a challenging one to shoot since over 150 rattlesnakes were utilized for it. Initially there were concerns by the producers since the actors had to play out their scenes in close proximity to a large bunch of snakes. But since the sequence was filmed during nighttime most of the rattlesnakes were inactive and none aggressive, which certainly made things easier for the film crew.
The shoot was a hellish experience for the director of photography
Shooting Natural Born Killers was quite an ordeal for Academy Award winning cinematographer Robert Richardson. To start off, the guy hated the script and didn’t want any part of it. But Oliver Stone somehow used their friendship to persuade Richardson to join the project. In spite of this the DOP called the shoot a “nightmarish” experience and one of the worst experiences of his entire career. Most of these negativity stemmed from the elements in the story which triggered bad memories from his childhood, leading to insomnia and an overt dependence on sleeping pills throughout the entire shoot. In addition, members of his family also suffered unexpected mishaps which added further strain upon him. However, the talented creative has gone on to elaborate that all these obstacles imbued him with the right amount of creative energy to shoot the movie successfully.
A mixed reception, stern criticism & a strange legacy
Made on a production budget of $34 million Natural Born Killers went on to make $110 million at the worldwide box-office. The film received a mixed critical reception when it debuted and as of writing maintains a 50% rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes based on 50 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the effort a four out of four writing, “Seeing this movie once is not enough. The first time is for the visceral experience, the second time is for the meaning.” Other film critics felt that the movie didn’t achieve what it set out to do Janet Maslin of the New York Times wrote, “While ‘Natural Born Killers‘ affects occasional disgust at the lurid world of Mickey and Mallory, it more often seems enamored of their exhilarating freedom. If there is a juncture at which these caricatures start looking like nihilist heroes, then the film passes that point many times.”
Criticism was mainly levelled at the degree of violence portrayed in the film and its propensity to inspire violent behavior in audiences. The devastating Heath High School shooting and Columbine High School massacres have often been pinned on the movie’s portrayal and glorification of violence. In fact several countries outright banned the movie from being show at local cinemas due to the controversial nature of the film. Regardless, Natural Born Killers holds up a dark mirror to society as a whole, and how the media exploits and sensationalizes violence to suit their own ends. The end result being the establishment of a vicious cycle where society feed off of a constant orgiastic state of violence while the media irresponsibly supplies our almost drug-induced demand. This makes one question who is the real villain and the real victim in this complex, twisty-turny narrative.
What are your thoughts on Natural Born Killers? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment
