‘The Truman Show’ Writer Andrew Niccol Talks Darker Tone of Original Screenplay and Connection to ‘Gattaca’

25 years ago, The Truman Show star Jim Carrey proved to the world that somehow he was even more than just a generational comedic talent. Combined with the Academy Award-nominated screenplay by Andrew Niccol and direction by honorary Academy Award winner Peter Weir, Carrey showcased his gifted dramatic skills through Truman Burbank, the unwitting star of the world’s most popular reality TV show. On day 10,909 of the 24/7 broadcast, Truman gradually begins to recognize that there is something strange about his seemingly idyllic existence on Seahaven Island, which, unbeknownst to him, is actually the largest theater in pose of the world in Burbank.

Niccol originally wrote The Truman Show before his 1997 debut as writer-director of the cult film, Gattaca, and thus treats both pieces as companions in some sense. 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 forges his identity to join a society driven by eugenics.

“(The Truman Show) would actually be a spiritual predecessor. I wrote THE Truman Show Before Gattacabut we had to wait more than a year for Jim Carrey, so Gattaca it came first,” says Niccol The Hollywood Reporter.

The tone and genre of Niccol’s original Truman show even the script was a bit more in line with GattacaWeir’s dystopian sci-fi world, but once Weir signed on to direct, he went for a lighter tone that included the utopian facade of Seahaven. Originally set in an alternate New York City, Niccol is also revealing a few Truman’s darker spots in the story that were subsequently spilled over its sixteen rewrites for Weir.

“I imagined something darker,” Niccol shares. “In the original script, there was an innocent passenger being attacked on the subway to test Truman’s mettle, and Truman had a platonic relationship with a prostitute whom he dressed as Sylvia (Natascha McElhone).”

Below, during a chat with DAY to commemorate The Truman ShowIn celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary last month and its 4K release today, Niccol also talks about the film’s original punchline before it succumbed to Carrey’s beloved Truman line.

To get the basics out of the way, what was the first kernel of the idea that it later became The Truman Show?

As children, we often think the world revolves around us. I thought it would be interesting Done. It was this, along with my inevitable lifelong paranoia, that we were lied to. How can the wardrobe, hair and make-up and, above all, the dialogue we encounter in what masquerades as our daily life be authentic? And there are a lot of continuity errors.

According to the internet, your original treatment was a sci-fi thriller. Have you imagined something that was more than a piece with Gattaca‘calculation? Maybe a spiritual successor?

In reality it would be a spiritual predecessor. I wrote THE Truman Show Before Gattacabut we had to wait more than a year for Jim Carrey, so Gattaca it came first. I imagined something darker. In the original script, there was an innocent passenger being attacked on the subway to test Truman’s mettle, and Truman had a platonic relationship with a prostitute whom he dressed as Sylvia (Natascha McElhone). (Author’s note: In the film, when Truman and Sylvia are forcibly separated on the beach, she leaves her sweater behind, so you can see how that abandoned second story point could have been accomplished.)

Once Peter Weir signed on, you apparently did a number of rewrites to lighten the tone of the original script. Was there anything else that got lost along the way that you regret a little?

I always thought the premise was bulletproof, and even though the original draft is set in an alternate version of New York City – if you can pretend there, you can pretend anywhere – I was happy to embrace the most idyllic, little Peter -town faces a counterfeit world.

Jim Carrey’s casting received a lot of attention at the time as it was considered his dramatic turn after a mostly comedic career. Did you immediately see the potential of casting him?

Peter is a genius at getting actors to stretch, as he demonstrated with Robin Williams (The Society of Dead Poets) and other. While it wasn’t the obvious choice at the time, Peter immediately understood how Jim was going to elevate the story, which of course he undoubtedly did.

In regards to building the rules and logic of the world, what fine points do you remember struggling with the most? For example, since Truman had never seen real sunlight, I liked that the film shows a bottle of vitamin D next to his morning coffee.

There was a lot of discussion about how the mechanics of the set worked. There was even a version where we followed Truman across the sky, and encountered a studio tour and gift shop all dedicated to him. Ultimately, Peter made the right decision to call it quits when he left the set.

“Good morning! And if we don’t see each other, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. Did Christof (Ed Harris) somehow conditioned Truman to utter this catchphrase in order to be able to unwittingly greet viewers in every potential time zone?

I think it was originally an improvisation by Jim, but yes, the double Christof took 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 was supposed to be the last line?

For a while, I think the last line was, “You’ve never had a camera in my head.” Curiously, I have a film in the works where they have a camera in your head. Guy.

At the time of release, televising the lives of real people was still considered a novelty, but now people willingly broadcast a version of their lives on social media for all to see. It surprises you that the film still resonates in an age where so many people Want be the star of your own “shows”?

When I first conceived the film, there was no so-called reality TV. I say “so-called” because I always thought Truman was the only real reality star. When you know there is a camera, there is no reality. I’m a little surprised that we’ve become our own Trumans, pointing the camera at ourselves and cataloging every aspect of our lives, willingly.

Finally and most importantly, did Truman find happiness with Sylvia in the real world or in the “sick place” as Christof called it?

Of course, this has to be left to the public’s imagination. In the end, it’s always best if you write the ending.

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The Truman Show is now available in 4K. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.