American Psycho - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of American Psycho or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to American Psycho

[morris]

After the film was completed and - by extension - his punishing gym and healthy lifestyle, Christian Bale admitted to co-writer Guinevere Turner that he was "so fucking sick of having to eat chicken breasts".

[darrell]

In the final scene, Patrick Bateman uses the phrase "Rockin' and Rollin' and whatnot..." This is a phrase often used by Sean Bateman, Patrick's younger brother, in the book, "The Rules of Attraction", also written by Bret Easton Ellis. Sean also makes a short appearance in the novel, "American Psycho", where he also uses the phrase. The line was originally used by John Travolta as Danny in Grease (1978).

[fred]

When Bateman kills Paul Allen, two GQ Magazines can be seen on the table: August 1987; "The Lusts and Luck of Corbin Bernsen", and June 1987; "Timothy Dalton is the New James Bond".

[jeffrey]

Though this didn't happen in the novel, it's noted that in the film, Patrick Bateman talks in great detail about his favorite musicians to his victims before he carries out his murderous attacks onto them. People have stated that they find this element very scary about the character because it not only shows how shallow and pretentious he is. It also shows how obsessive and unpredictable Bateman is.

[ivan]

The vast majority of the dialogue in the movie is taken word-for-word from the novel by Bret Easton Ellis.

[nora]

This is one of the two Christian Bale films released in 2000. The other film is Shaft (2000).

[sara]

Although Patrick Bateman is extremely wealthy, we never actually see him do any work. In fact, none of his colleagues are seen doing any work.

[toni]

One of the reasons why Chloë Sevigny was attracted to the project was that she has a brother who also works on Wall Street.

[morris]

The head that appears in Patrick Bateman's refrigerator was achieved by the actress in question sticking her head up through the fridge's shelves.

[marc]

There has been and still is an ongoing debate on whether this film is a drama, thriller, or horror film. Some would even argue that the film is more of a black comedy. Likely, this film is more of a cross-genre type of film in which it's contained with more than just one particular genre that defines it.

[maureen]

In the novel, Patrick had presented Evelyn with a secret urinal cake covered in luxury brand chocolate, in which he and other men have relieved themselves in, presumably as the last gift he gives her before he breaks up with her.

[kylie]

Christian Bale's frenzied confession to his lawyer down the phone that he's a serial killer was filmed in 14 takes. Director Mary Harron kept pressing Bale to do another take as he improved with each one. Bale was fueled regularly by cappuccinos during all this.

[chad]

In each scene with Detective Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe), Mary Harron asked Dafoe to portray his character three different ways: 1) Kimball knew Patrick Bateman killed Paul Allen, 2) Kimball didn't know Bateman killed Allen, and 3) Kimball wasn't sure if Bateman killed Allen. Harron would then edit the takes together, giving the audience an unsure vibe of what Detective Kimball thought of Bateman.

[tom]

The events that Bateman mentions in the phone message to his lawyer are events that transpired in the book by Bret Easton Ellis, but not in the film.

[morris]

During the iconic business card scene, upon closer inspection, the word "Acquisitions" is misspelled as "Aquisitions" on Patrick Bateman's, David Van Patten's, Timothy Bryce's, and Paul Allen's business cards. Likewise, the word is misspelled on Luis Carruthers' card as shown in a later scene. It's noted to be either a production mistake or to subtly show how shallow Bateman and his associates are in not noticing an important word that's misspelled on their business cards.

[jim]

The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Christian Bale, Jared Leto and Reese Witherspoon; and two Oscar nominees: Willem Dafoe and Chloë Sevigny.

[willard]

Christian Bale was warned by many that it would be career suicide for him to play the lead in a film like this. This only made him more eager to take the part, inspired by Nicolas Cage in Vampire's Kiss. Fortunately for him, the opposite turned out to be true. Bale's role in the movie was considered a breakthrough performance, and enabled him to shift his career from supporting roles to leading man status in the decades to come. This finally culminated in roles in the Batman and Terminator franchises, wide critical acclaim, as well as several movie awards nominations.

[leo]

In the scene before he murders Paul Allen, Bateman is seen taking a pill out of a prescribed medicine bottle in the bathroom. When he calls Jean and all the while, having a nervous breakdown in public much later in the film, he's seen clutching a similar prescribed medicine bottle and taking the pills. The prescribed medicine is most likely meant for maintaining mental issues. It's heavily implied that Patrick Bateman suffers from a series of notable mental illnesses such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Schizophrenia. Taking the medicine implies that he's trying to somewhat control his behavior.

[javier]

In Dexter (2006), Dexter Morgan uses Patrick Bateman's name as an alias to obtain M-99 to incapacitate his victims. Both characters notably share some similarities in terms of each being serial killers who lead double lives.