This is one of those films that lives in infamy simply because of what it portrayed and how well the actors played their parts. Michael Douglas was after all one of the best actors of his time, while Glenn Close put in a performance that was second to none when it came to being crazy and completely out of control. She’s even gone on to state that there were parts of the movie she wasn’t too fond of and that she would definitely do the role differently if the movie was being made in this day and age. As it stands however Fatal Attraction is one movie that people reference quite often and tend to think about if they’re in a particularly difficult relationship.
Here a few facts you might not have known about the movie.
10. The knife used by Glenn Close was made out of cardboard.
That’s how good the prop teams are in movies that they can make a cardboard knife look absolutely real. Close even has this prop she’s admitted, she framed it and has it hanging in her kitchen.
9. Glenn Close popped a Valium before her audition.
She was still extremely nervous despite already being considered a great actress. She decided to let it all go and just act, which was why she got the part.
8. The term “bunny boiler” is actually in the dictionary.
It’s amusing to think that this film actually coined a term that was put into the dictionary. It literally means a woman who acts vengefully when spurned by her lover.
7. In the original ending Close’s character kills herself and blames it on Douglas’ character.
This ending was determined to be just too low key and was scrapped in favor of the current ending. Close didn’t care for the new ending but went along with it and still regrets it to this day.
6. This was the second-highest grossing film in 1987.
Despite being a thrill ride from front to back it was beat out by 3 Men and a Baby, which took the top spot that year.
5. Close admits that she would have played the part of Alex very different if the movie was being made in this era.
The idea of her character having a mental disorder had never occurred to her during the making of the film, but now it would be one of the first things on her mind.
4. The director and Close never looked at her character as a monster.
Despite her actions she’s just a woman that couldn’t handle the stress of rejection when it was stacked atop everything else in her life. She was lonely and needed companionship. When it was taken away she couldn’t cope.
3. Close wasn’t too fond of the bunny scene.
She actually went so far as to go to a psychiatrist and ask if someone could be mentally unbalanced enough to do something like this. She thought it was kind of over the top.
2. The movie got a lot of flak from psychiatrists and feminists.
It definitely got the roles mixed up. Close’s character was an emotionally unbalanced woman that was struggling to keep her life on track. Douglas’ character had an affair and was still the hero somehow. Isn’t that a little odd?
1. There was almost a TV series made from the movie idea, but it was never realized.
There were just too many casting problems to deal with and eventually the idea had to be scrapped.
There’s no need to improve upon something that was dubious in nature but is still held up as one of the more iconic movies in film history.
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