Where Was Donnie Darko Filmed? Best Mind-Bending Flick Of All Time!!

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Have you finished watching The Joker and looking for something similar? Then we recommend you watch Donnie Darko next! If you’re interested to find out where was Donnie Darko filmed along with some other interesting facts, then read this piece till the end.

Donnie Darko is an American psycho-thriller flick that was released in the early 2000s. This sci-fi flick was directed by Richard Kelly. On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone played the lead characters in Donnie Darko.

The basic premise of this riveting film revolves around Donnie, a young American guy who gets weird visions of mythical creatures. The plot thickens when Donnie commits a series of crimes after getting influenced by the strange alien being.

Looking back, we can definitely say that the overall concept of Donnie Darko was way ahead of its time. This film didn’t perform too well at the box office, but over the years, Donnie Darko became super-popular amongst movie buffs.

This mystery thriller flick won 12 major awards and collected 16 prestigious nominations in total.

Friends, if you’re wondering where was Donnie Darko filmed, then let’s discuss in detail and find out the filming locations.

Where Was Donnie Darko Filmed? Let’s Know This Mystery Thriller Flick Closely!

Friends, did you know that two other versions of this film were made? But it’s no surprise that Richard Kelly also happened to be the director of the sequels of Donnie Darko as well. In my opinion, there’s no other filmmaker in Hollywood who could’ve handled and masterfully executed the complex premise of Donnie Darko.

Before Richard started working on the screenplay of this film, he spoke with other novelists who wrote mind-bending plots for their novels. At the same time, Kelly arranged a special meeting with other filmmakers to get some advice in choosing the filming location for this project.

So, after Kelly finished writing the script for this project, he began looking for ideal filming locations with his team. As the story of Donnie Darko is set in and around the state of California, Kelly thought it would be best to shoot around the same locations.

Sometime later, the production members and Kelly were able to identify a bunch of ideal shooting locations near Long Beach. The director decided to shoot the majority of the outdoor scenes in this city. 

Whereas Kelly asked the production members to look for suitable locations in other areas of California to capture the remaining scenes. After all, this was done, Kelly and his team prepared to start shooting.

Although, before the principal photography commenced, the shooting process had to be rescheduled due to a major incident. The previous contract which Kelly made with the owners of a big studio abruptly ended after a disagreement.

This major fallout at the eleventh hour cost a lot of money to the producers of this project. As per reports, the makers later filed a lawsuit against the owners of the same studio. The production members arranged the logistics and transportation in advance and had to change everything at short notice.

But, luckily all of this happened before the actual filming began, otherwise, this project would’ve been canned for sure. Nevertheless, after the production members solved this major problem, they finally commenced the shooting process.

The principal photography began in the first week of July 2000 and was completed within a month or so. Other than the unfortunate incident that I mentioned earlier, the production members didn’t face any other issues during the course of shooting.

The majority of the outdoor scenes were filmed near Long Beach and Santa Monica. While the other outdoor scenes and the interior scenes of Donnie Darko were filmed in other locations in California.

Don’t worry, I’ll also reveal those locations because now we are going to discuss where was Donnie Darko filmed in detail.

California | USA

Where Was Donnie Darko Filmed? Best Mind-Bending Flick Of All Time!!

The opening scene of Donnie Darko, where we see a dead body lying on the streets in California, was actually filmed near Long Beach. The production members filmed this particular scene near Country Club Drive, California.

In fact, the sequences depicting Donnie’s home were also filmed near the same location, inside a medium-sized house located at 4225 Country Club Drive, Long Beach. A couple of other outdoor sequences were shot in and around the same city, after which the production members moved to the next location.

The sequences depicting Donnie’s school were shot inside Loyola High School, located at 1901 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles. Additional outdoor scenes were filmed in and around the city of Santa Monica.

The interior scenes of Donnie Darko were filmed inside a well-equipped studio in Burbank, after which the entire shooting process ended.

Let us now take a closer look at the plot of Donnie Darko. In the meantime, you can also read Hang Em High, Popular Western Movies, and Something New.

Plot Of Donnie Darko | What’s It About

Where Was Donnie Darko Filmed? Best Mind-Bending Flick Of All Time!!

The basic premise of Donnie Darko revolves around a young American kid who starts seeing weird-looking creatures after surviving a car accident. At the beginning of the film, the lead actor appears to be dead, lying on the street in California.

As the story progresses further, Donnie wakes up from the accident spot and returns back to his home. Shortly after, the lead actor starts seeing weird and mythical creatures gazing at him from a distance. Soon, the same creature takes control of Donnie’s mind and makes him commit gore crimes.

Watch Donnie Darko and find out the full story!

Final Words

Friends, we’ve reached the end of this article. I’ve mentioned the filming locations of this mind-bending film and also walked you through the plot. If you’d like us to cover any other title of your choice, let us know in the comments. We’d be more than happy to get that sorted for you.

However, if you have any other questions regarding where was Donnie Darko filmed, you can tell us about that too. If you’re interested in reading similar pieces, then make sure to browse through other blogs on Oldflamescandles.

Ujwal Mattoo
Ujwal Mattoo
With full journalism and half engineering background, Ujwal has hands in both the tech and creative fields. He is a film enthusiast who loves all kinds of genres. As much as he enjoys watching movies, he is always amused to know more and write about the locations to feed his hunger for traveling. In this world of fictional louds, he voices his opinions softly! He is either busy writing or playing with Milo, his dog!

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