The Truman Show

The Truman Show is a 1998 American science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone. The film chronicles the life of a man who is initially unaware that he is living in a constructed reality television show, broadcast around the clock to billions of people around the globe. Truman becomes suspicious of his perceived reality and embarks on a quest to discover the truth about his life.

The genesis of The Truman Show was a spec script by Niccol, inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone called "Special Service". The original draft was more in tone of a science fiction thriller, with the story set in New York City. Scott Rudin purchased the script, and immediately set the project up at Paramount Pictures. Brian De Palma was in contention to direct before Weir took over and managed to make the film for $60 million against the estimated $80 million budget. Niccol rewrote the script simultaneously as the filmmakers were waiting for Carrey's schedule to open up for filming. The majority of filming took place at Seaside, Florida, a master-planned community located in the Florida Panhandle.

Truman

Truman is a name of English origin that can be traced back to the Devon region of England. It may refer to:

People

Surname

See Truman (surname).

Given name

Jim Carrey

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (/ˈkæri/; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian American actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for his highly energetic slapstick performances.

Carrey first gained recognition in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy In Living Color. His first leading roles in major productions came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), as well as a supporting role in Batman Forever (1995) and a lead role in Liar Liar (1997). He then starred in The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), with each garnering him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

In the 2000s, he gained further recognition for his portrayal of the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), as well as Bruce Almighty (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man (2008), Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and A Christmas Carol (2009).

Peter Weir

Peter Lindsay Weir, AM (/wɪər/; born 21 August 1944) is an Australian film director. He played a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema (1970-1990) with his films such as the mystery drama Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), the mystery drama-thriller The Last Wave (1977) and the historical drama Gallipoli (1981). The climax of Weir's early career was the $6 million multi-national production The Year of Living Dangerously (1983).

After the success of The Year of Living Dangerously, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office hits—including the Academy Award nominated films such as the thriller Witness (1985), the drama Dead Poets Society (1989), the romantic comedy Green Card (1990), the social science fiction comedy-drama The Truman Show (1998) and the epic historical drama film Master and Commander (2003).

Early life and career

Weir was born in Sydney, the son of Peggy (née Barnsley) and Lindsay Weir, a real estate agent. Weir attended The Scots College and Vaucluse Boys' High School before studying arts and law at the University of Sydney. His interest in film was sparked by his meeting with fellow students, including Phillip Noyce and the future members of the Sydney filmmaking collective Ubu Films. After leaving university in the mid-1960s he joined Sydney television station ATN-7, where he worked as a production assistant on the groundbreaking satirical comedy program The Mavis Bramston Show. During this period, using station facilities, he made his first two experimental short films, Count Vim's Last Exercise and The Life and Flight of Reverend Buckshotte.

Andrew Niccol

Andrew M. Niccol (born 10 June 1964) is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. He wrote and directed Gattaca (1997), S1m0ne (2002), Lord of War (2005), In Time (2011), The Host (2013), and Good Kill (2014). He also wrote and co-produced The Truman Show, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1999 and won a BAFTA award for Best Screenplay. His films tend to explore social, cultural and political issues, as well as artificial realities or simulations.

His film Good Kill has been selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

Biography

Niccol was born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand, and grew up in Auckland, where he attended Auckland Grammar School beginning in 1973. He left New Zealand at age 21 and began directing TV ads in London, which he did for more than ten years before his directorial debut, Gattaca (1997). During production of S1m0ne, he met model and actress Rachel Roberts, with whom he has two children, Jack Niccol, (who also played "Young Nicolai" in the film Lord of War (2005)) and Ava Niccol.