They sought to make a period film grounded in the 1980s, sharing the setting with the novel. The pre-production period was tumultuous; Harron cast Bale to play Bateman, but because distributor Lionsgate Films secured a contract with Leonardo DiCaprio in the role, Harron was dismissed and replaced with Oliver Stone.
In 1997, Mary Harron was set to make 'American Psycho' with Christian Bale as her chosen lead, reported Cinemablend. However, the studio hesitated due to Bale's relative obscurity and considered Leonardo DiCaprio for the part.
Why did Leonardo DiCaprio not play Patrick Bateman?
The staple Hollywood classic, American Psycho, had the Titanic's heartthrob. However, as difficult as it might seem to envision any other actor besides Bale in the role of Patrick Bateman, DiCaprio left the project at the time due to creative differences with the makers.
Why did people not want American Psycho to be made?
"American Psycho," Mary Harron's 2000 adaptation of the infamous Bret Easton Ellis novel, was already mired in controversy before it completed filming. Ellis' novel was so graphically violent, so loaded with misogyny, that many people thought the film version would be something close to a snuff film.
According to co-writer and director Mary Harron, Bale saw in Cruise "this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes," and Bale subsequently based the character of Bateman on that. Interestingly, Tom Cruise is actually featured in the novel.
Christian Bale Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters | GQ
Is Patrick Bateman schizophrenic?
This, combined with sex, violence, drugs, and other desires of the id, is how Bateman enacts his sociopathic violence in a superficial world. Bateman's episodes of schizophrenia also shows clear signs on how he copes with being an affluent person living in a superficial world, fashioned on consumerism.
Who was originally supposed to play Patrick Bateman?
Christian Bale: Patrick Bateman in 'American Psycho'
Johnny Depp was first tapped for the part, but he turned it down. Then, Leonardo DiCaprio was slated to play Bateman, but his management advised against it at the last minute.
The book was named the 53rd most banned book from 1990-1999 by the American Library Association, and its sale and marketing in Germany was restricted from 1995 to 2000.
In Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder.
While it's true that Patrick is experiencing delusions and hallucinations, it doesn't mean that the murders are in his head. Turner blames the muddiness of the ending on the dichotomy between the fantasy world that Bateman is currently living in and the reality of the murderous situation at hand.
The casting process can be unpredictable, and Christian Bale's journey as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho had its twists and turns. Initially replaced when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role, Bale eventually reclaimed the part and delivered a memorable performance as the iconic character.
It is left open to reader interpretation whether Bateman actually commits the crimes he describes, or whether he is merely hallucinating them; he is, therefore, an unreliable narrator. In the climax of the story, Bateman calls his lawyer and leaves a lengthy, detailed message confessing all of his crimes.
Johnny Depp Turned Down American Psycho — And That Changes The Movie Completely - IMDb. While it might feel a bit over the top to say, it's simply true: Mary Harron's "American Psycho", an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name, easily endures as one of the best horror films of the 21st century.
He displays a high functioning form of Asperger's syndrome, yet there are still symptoms present in Bateman of which even the highest functioning people with Asperger's syndrome cannot rid themselves. One of the key symptoms in Asperger's syndrome is the need for strict routine.
It's made clear there is no "top" to Bateman. There is only becoming more successful than the previous day. Therefore, Bateman would be a Sigma in that regard. In American Psycho's first act, Bateman makes it known to his fiancée that he wishes to conform to society as best he can, unlike his other roles.
“In the morning if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1,000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub.
Bateman and his friends are also heavy drug users. Early in the novel, Bateman's cocaine use is largely social, but he later does more and more of the drug and his attitude towards it become increasingly aggressive. Bateman begins taking pills, too – downers like Halcion, Valium, and Xanax.
What happened to all the bodies in American Psycho?
In the final scene of American Psycho, serial killer Patrick Bateman returns to Paul Allen's apartment, the location of some of his worst crimes, and finds it to be clean and free of bodies.
As journalist Shaurya Singh wrote in the newsletter The Digital Native, Bateman's main characteristics – his sexual insecurity, insensitivity, shallowness and obsession with money – connected with some of the obsessions of Generation Z (and plenty of other generations) during the pandemic.
Out of all American Psycho's many crimes (murder, rape, torture), the one that finally got it in trouble with the police was … a lack of shrink wrap. In Australia, books with mature content can only be sold in shrink-wrapped plastic (presumably so minors don't flip through them by accident).
American Psycho explores the inherent violence of corporate greed, using Patrick Bateman's sadistic acts as a metaphor for the callousness of Wall Street. The film's ambiguous ending signifies Bateman's moral awakening, as he tries to hold himself accountable for his actions while those around him remain indifferent.
Thankfully Patrick Bateman is purely fictional, and psychopaths are not the murderers they are perceived as in literature. Instead, those with ASPD succeed in business thanks to their mastery of maintaining a personal image and ability to manipulate others for personal gain.
According to the Wiki article, the lawyer "mistakes him for another colleague". This is supposed to drive home the fact that although he is somewhat of a narcissist, he is unimportant to certain people around him.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously known as multiple/split personality disorder). A person with this may have two, or many alternate personalities and be completely unaware of said “alters”, as we see with the character in Fight Club.
