Trivia
Edward Norton was said to have re-edited the film to lengthen his screen time. Director Tony Kaye then attempted to get his name removed but violated a Directors' Guild of America rule that states that directors that use pseudonyms (such as "Alan Smithee") must not talk about why they had their name removed - which Tony Kaye had done in ads in Variety. Kaye sued the DGA and New Line Cinema for $200 million stating that the DGA rule violated his first amendment rights.
Share this
Seth wears a shirt during the basketball game featuring the number 88. This is a Nazi skinhead code for HH, or "Heil Hitler," H being the 8th letter of the alphabet. It also refers to a set of 88 precepts written by the neo-nazi leader David Lane. The 88 precepts are rules and concepts that all White Supremacists lived by.
Share this
The punk band Anti-Heroes sued New Line Cinema over a character's tattoo featuring the band. The band did not want to be associated with Nazis, even fictional ones, in any way. The band went on to record a song called "NLC" that debases the film studio.
Share this
Before filming began, Edward Norton and Edward Furlong shaved their heads for their roles. Norton also gained 30 pounds of muscle.
Share this
According to the book Cinematic Century, Tony Kaye's lawsuit against the studio over the use of his name in the credits was for $275 million.
Share this
The diner that Danny and Derek get breakfast before Danny goes to school in the morning is the same diner that is used in The Big Lebowski, during the infamous "toe" scene. The is located at Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles. It's called Johnie's Coffee Shop and is only open for filming.
Share this
The quotation that concludes Danny's paper is from the closing words of Abraham Lincoln's first Inaugural Address in 1861.
Share this
Director Tony Kaye wanted his credit to read "Humpty Dumpty" according to Entertainment Weekly.
Share this
The character of Cameron Alexander is based on Tom Metzger, leader of the White Aryan Resistance (WAR), an extremist white supremacy group based in southern California.
Share this
In the midst of the dispute about the time he was taking to edit the film, Director Tony Kaye attended a meeting with Michael De Luca (then New Line's senior product president). Kaye arranged for a Rabbi, a Catholic priest and a Buddhist monk to be present at the meeting to support his argument and "make the meeting a more spiritual one".
Share this
One of the T-shirts that Seth wears late in the film has the name Skrewdriver printed on it, a British white power skinhead band.
Share this
Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard but found the subject matter of the film distasteful and passed on the project.
Share this
During the party scene the swastika on the back of Seth's jacket is counter-clockwise. In the skinhead world the counter-clockwise swastika indicates that the person bearing it leads not follows.
Share this
