25 years ago, The Truman Show star Jim Carrey proved to the world that he was somehow even more than just a generational comedic talent. Combined with the Oscar-nominated screenplay of Andrew Niccol and the direction of honorary Oscar winner Peter Weir, Carrey showcased his gifted dramatic chops by way of Truman Burbank, the unknowing star of the world’s most popular reality television show. On day 10,909 of his life’s 24/7 broadcast, Truman gradually begins to recognize that there’s something off about his seemingly idyllic existence on Seahaven Island, which, unbeknownst to him, is actually the world’s largest soundstage in Burbank.
Niccol originally wrote The Truman Show before his 1997 debut as writer-director of the cult hit, Gattaca, and so he considers both pieces to be companions in a way. After all, Truman is about a man’s discovery that the world around him is fictitious, while Gattaca is about a man (Ethan Hawke’s Vincent Freeman) who fakes his identity in order to join a eugenics-driven society.
“[The Truman Show] would actually be a spiritual predecessor. I wrote The Truman Show before Gattaca, but we had to wait over a year for Jim Carrey, so Gattaca came first,” Niccol tells The Hollywood Reporter.
The tone and genre of Niccol’s original Truman Show script were also a bit more in line with Gattaca‘s dystopian sci-fi world, but once Weir signed on to direct, he opted for a lighter tone that included the utopian facade of Seahaven. Originally set in an alternate New York City, Niccol is also revealing some of Truman’s darker story points that were later shed during his sixteen rewrites for Weir.
“I did envisage something darker,” Niccol shares. “In the original script, there was an innocent passenger attacked on the subway as a way to test Truman’s courage, and Truman had a platonic relationship with a prostitute who he dressed as Sylvia [Natascha McElhone].”
Below, during a chat with THR to commemorate The Truman Show’s 25th anniversary last month and today’s 4K release, Niccol also discusses the original final line of the film before it ceded to Truman’s beloved catchphrase that Carrey improvised.
To get the basics out of the way, what was the first kernel of the idea that later became The Truman Show?
As children, we often think the world revolves around us. I thought it would be interesting if it did. It was that along with my lifelong, inescapable paranoia that we are being lied to. How can the wardrobe, hair and makeup, and most importantly, dialogue we encounter in what masquerades as our everyday lives possibly be authentic? And there are an awful lot of continuity errors.
Jim Carey in The Truman Show
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
According to the Internet, your original treatment was a sci-fi thriller. Did you envision something that was more of a piece with Gattaca’s tone? A spiritual successor perhaps?
It would actually be a spiritual predecessor. I wrote The Truman Show before Gattaca, but we had to wait over a year for Jim Carrey, so Gattaca came first. I did envisage something darker. In the original script, there was an innocent passenger attacked on the subway as a way to test Truman’s courage, and Truman had a platonic relationship with a prostitute who he dressed as Sylvia [Natascha McElhone]. [Writer’s Note: In the film, when Truman and Sylvia are separated by force on the beach, she leaves behind her sweater, so you can see how that second abandoned story point could have been realized.]
Once Peter Weir signed on, you apparently did a number of rewrites in order to lighten the tone of the original script. Was there anything else that was lost along the way that you regret a little bit?
I always thought the premise was bullet-proof, and even though the original draft is set in an alternate version of New York City — if you can fake it there, you can fake it anywhere — I was happy to embrace Peter’s more idyllic, small-town take on a counterfeit world.
The casting of Jim Carrey received a great deal of attention at the time since it was considered to be his dramatic turn after a career of mostly comedy. Did you immediately see the potential in his casting?
Peter is a genius at getting actors to stretch as he proved with Robin Williams [Dead Poets Society] and others. While not the most obvious choice at the time, Peter immediately saw how Jim would elevate the story, which of course he undoubtedly did.
As far as building the rules and logic of the world, what finer points do you recall grappling with the most? For example, because Truman had never seen genuine sunlight, I loved that the film shows a Vitamin D bottle next to his morning coffee.
There was a lot of debate about how the mechanics of the set worked. There was even a version where we followed Truman through the sky, and he encountered a studio tour and a souvenir store all devoted to him. In the end, Peter made the right decision to end it when he left the set.
Ed Harris in The Truman Show
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
“Good morning! And in case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night.” Did Christof (Ed Harris) somehow condition Truman to say this catchphrase in order for him to unknowingly greet viewers in every potential timezone?
I think it was originally an ad-lib by Jim, but yes, the duplicitous Christof seized on it and directed the extras in Truman’s life to pretend to be amused.
Was it a eureka moment when it was realized that Truman’s catchphrase should be the final line?
For a while, I think the last line was, “You never had a camera in my head.” Curiously, I have a film in the works where they do have a camera in your head. Kind of.
At the time of release, telecasting real people’s lives was still considered novel, but now, people are willingly broadcasting a version of their lives on social media for all to see. Does it surprise you that the film still resonates in an era where so many people want to be the stars of their own “shows”?
When I first conceived of the film, there wasn’t any so-called reality television. I say “so-called” because I’ve always thought Truman is the only genuine reality star. When you know there’s a camera, there is no reality. I am a bit surprised that we have become our own Trumans, turning the camera on ourselves and cataloging every aspect of our own lives, willingly.
Lastly and most importantly, did Truman find happiness with Sylvia in the real world or the “sick place” as Christof called it?
Of course, that has to be left to the imagination of the audience. Ultimately, it’s always better if you write the ending.
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The Truman Show is now available on 4K. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
