Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story.
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$20 000 000
Box office
$72 042 875
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Anthony Bregman, Steve Golin, Charlie Kaufman, Georges Bermann, Glenn Williamson, David L. Bushell
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Dan Leigh, Hinju Kim, Scott P. Murphy
Audition
Jeanne McCarthy, Blythe Cappello
Editing
Valdís Óskarsdóttir
Whole Team (109)
Whole Team (109)
Short description
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
What's left behind the scenes
- The footage of the elephant parade was not specially prepared; Kate saw it through the window, and the entire crew and cast rushed to film the parade.
- The company specializing in memory erasure is called "Lacuna Inc." The word Lacuna has Latin origins and means a gap or omission. It is also worth noting that the term "lacunar infarct" refers to an infarct where a small part of the brain becomes responsible for performing a specific function (particularly, memory).
- The plot idea came to Michel Gondry after a conversation with artist Pierre Bismuth, who suggested the following: Early in the morning, you open your mailbox and find the following message: "The person you knew has just erased you from their memory..."
- The actors were allowed to improvise during filming, which they happily did.
- In the scene taking place inside Joel's head, where the protagonist watches the memory erasure process, two Joels can be seen on screen at once. Interestingly, this scene was filmed without the use of special effects; instead, a quick-change trick was used.
- In the scene taking place in Joel’s mind, where the protagonist observes the memory erasure process, two Joels can be seen in the frame simultaneously. Interestingly, this scene was filmed without the use of special effects; a quick-change trick was employed.
- During an unplanned scene at a street parade, reporters tried to interview Jim Carrey. If you listen closely, you can hear someone from the crowd shouting "Talk to me!" to Jim.
- The film's title is borrowed from Alexander Pope's poem 'Heroidals' (1714). Charlie Kaufman also used this poem when creating an earlier project, 'Being John Malkovich' (1999).
- Michel Gondry asked Mark Ruffalo to hide and scare Kirsten Dunst during the filming of one of the scenes. The plan worked, and Kirsten screamed like crazy. A bed scene was also filmed with these same actors, but it was subsequently cut from the movie to reduce the runtime.
- Originally, during the train scene, the plan was to select music to fill the pauses in conversation. However, the authors thought it would be more interesting to do the opposite: the music plays while the characters are talking and stops when an awkward silence occurs.
- All of the scenes in the train were filmed in actual, moving train cars. No sets were used.
- During an unplanned scene at a street parade, reporters tried to interview Jim Carrey. If you listen closely, you can hear a shout from the crowd, “Talk to me,” directed at Jim.
- The actors were allowed to improvise during filming, which they did with great enthusiasm.
- The original version of the film included a scene of the final night between Joel and his ex-girlfriend Naomi (Ellen Pompeo), but it never made it into the final cut.
- Michel Gondry's favorite moment in the film was the scene with Clementine's sudden disappearance. Jim Carrey was unaware of this, so when Kate Winslet vanishes, Jim's face expresses genuine fear and confusion.
- Nicolas Cage showed considerable interest in the role of Joel, but it ultimately went to Jim Carrey.
- Michel Gondry's favorite moment in the film was the scene with Clementine's sudden disappearance. Jim Carrey was unaware of this, and so when Kate Winslet disappears, Jim's face shows genuine fear and incomprehension.
- The computer used in the procedures is called the Amstrad PPC (portable personal computer). This model was considered very popular in the early 1990s.
- All the scenes in the train were filmed in real carriages of a moving train. It was decided not to use sets.
- The title of the film is borrowed from Alexander Pope's poem "Eloisa to Abelard" (1714). The same poem was used by Charlie Kaufman when creating his earlier project "Being John Malkovich" (1999).
- Initially, during the train scene, the plan was to select music for pauses in the conversation. However, the filmmakers found it more interesting to do the opposite: the music plays when the characters are talking, and falls silent when an awkward pause occurs.
- The shots of the elephant parade were not prepared specifically; Kate saw it out the window, and she and the entire cast and crew ran to film the parade.
- Michel Gondry developed a unique camera control system that he actively used during filming. He allowed the actors to act as they pleased, while directing the camera operators, each of whom wore headphones to hear the director's instructions. Michel himself remained at a distance, monitoring only the image transmitted from the cameras. In this way, the actors were given some freedom in expressing their emotions since no one was hovering over them. Kate Winslet admitted that she liked this experiment, which allowed her to bring out the character of Clementine more vividly.
- The computer used during the procedures is called the Amstrad PPC (Portable Personal Computer). This model was considered quite popular in the early 90s.
- The idea for the plot came to Michel Gondry after a conversation with artist Pierre Bismuth, who suggested the following: Early in the morning, you open your mailbox and receive the following message: 'Someone you knew has just erased you from their memory…'
- The opening credits begin only at the 18th minute of the film.
- Almost all of the film's special effects are non-computerized. The secrets of the filming are revealed on the DVD version of the film.
- The surname of nurse Mary never appears in the end credits, however, if you watch the film carefully, you can notice a shot in which she can be recognized. This surname is Svevo. It was chosen for a reason, in honor of the Italian writer Italo Svevo (1861-1928), who was actively interested in the works of Sigmund Freud and believed he had managed to correspond with the philosopher.
- Michel Gondry developed a unique camera control system that he actively used during filming. He allowed the actors to act as they pleased, but directed the operators, each of whom was equipped with headphones through which they could hear the director's instructions. Michel himself remained at a distance, only monitoring the picture transmitted from the cameras. Thus, the actors were given some freedom in expressing their emotions, as no one was standing over them. Kate Winslet admitted that she enjoyed this experiment, which allowed her to more vividly portray Clementine.
- Michel Gondry asked Mark Ruffalo to hide and scare Kirsten Dunst during the filming of one of the scenes. The prank worked, and Kirsten screamed like crazy. A bedroom scene with these same actors was also filmed, but ultimately cut from the film to reduce the runtime.
- Nicolas Cage was very interested in the role of Joel, but Jim Carrey ultimately landed it.
- Nurse Mary's last name never appears in the final credits; however, if you watch the film closely, you can spot a frame where it can be identified. The name is Svevo. It was chosen not by chance, but in honor of the Italian writer Italo Svevo (1861-1928), who was deeply interested in the works of Sigmund Freud and believed he had managed to correspond with the philosopher.
- The company specializing in memory erasure is called "Lacuna Inc." The word Lacuna is of Latin origin and denotes a gap or a void. It is also worth noting that the term "lacunar infarct" refers to a stroke in which a small part of the brain responsible for a specific function (specifically, memory) is affected.
- The original version of the film included a scene of Joel and his ex-girlfriend Naomi's (Ellen Pompeo) last night together, but it did not make it into the final cut.
- The opening credits do not appear until the 18th minute of the film.
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