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| One of the engines from American Airlines Flight 587 |
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| A scene from 'Donnie Darko' where the engine is recovered |
The film follows the adventures of the troubled title character as he seeks the meaning behind his Doomsday-related visions.
Filmed over the course of 28 days (coincidentally mirroring the time transpired in the movie), the film was almost released straight-to-video.
Donnie Darko was screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001, before receiving a limited theatrical release on October 26, 2001 by Flower Films.
Due to the film's advertising featuring a crashing plane and the September 11 attacks that transpired a month before, the film was scarcely advertised."
"The jet engine that falls in Donnie's bedroom tears through the American flag he has on his ceiling."
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| September 11 attacks, 2001 |
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| Donnie's bedroom ceiling and the flag |
A lot of people comment about how creepy it was that this film came out the same year as the September 11 attacks, but I haven't heard anyone comment on how creepy it was that about two weeks after the movie's cinema release of October 26th that a plane (American Airlines Flight 587) would lose two engines before crashing into a suburban New York neighbourhood and killing another five people on the ground.
"American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Santo Domingo's Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic.
On November 12, 2001, the Airbus A300-600 flying the route crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City, shortly after takeoff.
All 260 people on board the flight were killed, along with five people on the ground.
It is the second-deadliest aviation incident in New York state; the second-deadliest aviation incident involving an Airbus A300, after Iran Air Flight 655; and the second-deadliest aviation accident to occur on U.S. soil, after American Airlines Flight 191.
The location of the accident and the fact that it took place two months and one day after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan initially spawned fears of another terrorist attack.
Terrorism was officially ruled out as the cause by the National Transportation Safety Board, which instead attributed the disaster to the first officer's overuse of rudder controls in response to wake turbulence, or jet wash, from a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400 that took off minutes before it.
According to the NTSB, this aggressive use of the rudder controls by the co-pilot caused the vertical stabilizer to snap off the plane.
According to the NTSB, this aggressive use of the rudder controls by the co-pilot caused the vertical stabilizer to snap off the plane.
The plane's two engines also separated from the aircraft before it hit the ground"
I'm a fan of the movie 'Donnie Darko' and I had no idea of some of the spooky parallels between this movie and the American Airlines Flight 587 crash of November 12, 2001, until I was writing my last post -
2001: The Present Can Only Be Viewed from the Past?
Here is the skeletal plot (without the meat) of the movie in a nutshell with SPOILERS -
"On October 2, 1988, Donnie Darko, a troubled teenager living in suburban Virginia, is awakened and led outside by a figure in a monstrous rabbit costume, who introduces himself as "Frank" and tells him the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.
At dawn, Donnie returns home to find a jet engine has crashed into his bedroom.
His older sister, Elizabeth, informs him that the FAA investigators do not know where it came from....
His older sister, Elizabeth, informs him that the FAA investigators do not know where it came from....
As a vortex forms in dark clouds above his house, Donnie drives into the hills and watches the storm as an airplane descends from above.
The plane, carrying Rose and the dance troupe, is wrenched violently as one of its engines detaches and falls into the vortex.
Events of the previous 28 days recapitulate in reverse order and action, until Donnie finds himself in bed back in the early hours of October 2.
As he lies in his bed, waiting and laughing, the jet engine crashes through his room, killing him.
Others with whom Donnie had interacted in the 28 days awaken, some looking disturbed.
Gretchen rides by Donnie's house and learns of his death from a neighborhood boy, David, but says she did not know him.
Gretchen and Rose exchange a glance and wave as if they know one another but cannot remember from where."
The plane, carrying Rose and the dance troupe, is wrenched violently as one of its engines detaches and falls into the vortex.
Events of the previous 28 days recapitulate in reverse order and action, until Donnie finds himself in bed back in the early hours of October 2.
As he lies in his bed, waiting and laughing, the jet engine crashes through his room, killing him.
Others with whom Donnie had interacted in the 28 days awaken, some looking disturbed.
Gretchen rides by Donnie's house and learns of his death from a neighborhood boy, David, but says she did not know him.
Gretchen and Rose exchange a glance and wave as if they know one another but cannot remember from where."
The movie takes place in 1988.
Frank tells Donnie the world will end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.
If you add these numbers, the sum is 88.
An 8 on its side is of course the symbol for infinity and this movie is full of references to the numbers 8 and 88.
Donnie mentions the DeLorean vehicle, which was used for time travel in the movie Back To The Future.
Donnie mentions the DeLorean vehicle, which was used for time travel in the movie Back To The Future.
In the movie, the DeLorean had to reach a speed of 88mph to travel in time.
"The climax of Donnie Darko occurs one week before the 1988 US presidential election.
"The climax of Donnie Darko occurs one week before the 1988 US presidential election.
George Herbert Walker Bush was elected on November 8, 1988 [11/08/88].
The first line in the movie is "I'm voting for Dukakis."
"Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time was published in 1988.
The first line in the movie is "I'm voting for Dukakis."
"Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time was published in 1988.
I suggest that you read Jeff Kripal's book,'Authors of the Impossible' to see where I'm coming from with this post, as far as Richard Kelly's writing of the 'Donnie Darko' script goes.
The accident flight had two flight crew members, seven cabin crew members and 251 passengers."
There is some very interesting numerology in the above passage in regard to the number 8.
260 people on board lost their lives on that flight (2+6+0 = 8) and if we take away the crew members there was 251 passengers who died (2+5+1 = 8).
And for people who find the number 13 a bad omen the airplane registration number was N14053 (1+4+0+5+3 = 13) and a total of 265 people lost their lives in this incident with the addition of the five people on the ground (2+6+5 = 13).
260 people on board lost their lives on that flight (2+6+0 = 8) and if we take away the crew members there was 251 passengers who died (2+5+1 = 8).
And for people who find the number 13 a bad omen the airplane registration number was N14053 (1+4+0+5+3 = 13) and a total of 265 people lost their lives in this incident with the addition of the five people on the ground (2+6+5 = 13).
"The flight crew consisted of Captain Ed States (42) and First Officer Sten Molin (34), who was the pilot flying.
The plane pushed back from its gate at 9:00 AM. It taxied to Runway 31L behind a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400 bound for Tokyo.
The plane pushed back from its gate at 9:00 AM. It taxied to Runway 31L behind a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400 bound for Tokyo.
At 9:11 AM, the 747 was cleared for takeoff.
As the JAL flight climbed, the tower contacted Flight 587's pilots and warned them about potential wake turbulence from the 747."
The pilot of in charge of Flight 587, although not flying the plane at the time of the crash according to reports was Ed States.
Donnie Darko's father is named Eddie Darko.
Rose Darko tells Kitty Farmer in the movie that her husband Eddie is in New York.
"At 9:13:28, the A300 was cleared for takeoff on Runway 31L.
The pilot of in charge of Flight 587, although not flying the plane at the time of the crash according to reports was Ed States.
Donnie Darko's father is named Eddie Darko.
Rose Darko tells Kitty Farmer in the movie that her husband Eddie is in New York.
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| Holmes Osborne as Eddie Darko |
The aircraft left the runway at 9:14:29, about 1 minute and 40 seconds after the JAL flight.
From takeoff, the plane climbed to an altitude of 500 feet above mean sea level (msl) and then entered a climbing left turn to a heading of 220°.
At 9:15:00, the pilot made initial contact with the departure controller, informing him that the airplane was at 1,300 feet and climbing to 5,000 feet.
The departure controller instructed the aircraft to climb to and maintain 13,000 feet."
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| November 12th, 2001 was also a Monday. MOONday?! |
The song that plays as Donnie is riding his bike home is "The Killing Moon" by Echo And The Bunnymen.
"The stabilizer separated from the aircraft and fell into Jamaica Bay, about one mile north of the main wreckage site.
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| November 12th, 2001 was a Monday (Dark MOONday?) |
Eight seconds later, the stall warning sounded on the cockpit voice recorder.
At the moment the stabilizer separated from the aircraft, the plane pitched downwards, headed straight for Belle Harbor.
As the pilots struggled to control the aircraft, it went into a flat spin.
The resulting aerodynamic loads sheared both engines from the aircraft seconds before impact. The engines landed several blocks north and east of the main wreckage site.
Losing the engines cut off power to the FDR at 9:16:00, while the CVR (cockpit voice recorder), utilizing a battery backup, cut off at 9:16:15 moments before impact with the ground.
The fuselage slammed into Belle Harbor on Beach 131st Street, instantly destroying three houses (258, 262, and 266 Beach 131st Street) and spraying fiery debris along Beach 131st Street south of Newport Avenue.
All 260 people aboard the plane and five people on the ground were killed instantly, and the impact forces and a post-crash fire destroyed the wreckage."
Richard Kelly was born on March 28, 1975 in Newport News, Virginia, USA and the plane crashed around Newport Avenue.
On another eerie note Richard Kelly wrote the screenplay for 'Domino' for the director of that movie Tony Scott.
'Domino' was a film about Domino Harvey's life story.
The daughter of actor Laurence Harvey turned away from her career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter.
"Domino Harvey was arrested on federal charges of trafficking methamphetamine; she maintained that she was innocent.
Harvey continually denied that she was a drug trafficker, claiming to have been set up.
While under house arrest, she lived with a person whom she had hired as a "sober guardian" to help her refrain from drug use.
On the night of 27 June 2005 her aide discovered her unconscious in her bathtub.
She was taken to a hospital but could not be resuscitated."
"Tony Scott died by suicide on August 19th, 2012, by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in the San Pedro port district of Los Angeles."
"Samantha Darko writes a story entitled "The Last Unicorn" about a unicorn named Ariel.
This is possibly a reference to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner: The Director's Cut."
Ridley Scott is Tony Scott's brother.
"Samantha Darko is holding a stuffed toy unicorn at the airport.
In another scene, as she is jumping on a trampoline, she is wearing a shirt with a unicorn on it."
"At the screening of The Evil Dead, there are only three people in the theater: Donnie, Gretchen, and Frank.
"One of the passengers killed on the flight was Hilda Yolanda Mayol, a 26 (2+6 = 8) -year-old American woman on her way to vacation in her native Dominican Republic.
Just as a sidenote to this post, when I started this post yesterday, I saw this news story on a national Australian news site when it had only been up on the net for 28 minutes.
Qantas flight from LA to Melbourne forced back after engine appears to spark
"A Melbourne-bound Qantas flight carrying nearly 500 passengers has been forced to turn back to Los Angeles after an engine failed, appearing to spark mid-air.
Flight QF94 was two hours into its trip when the pilots had to shut down one of the A-380 plane's four engines.
Qantas spokesman Thomas Woodward said the pilots turned the plane around and landed it safely back in LA."
'Domino' was a film about Domino Harvey's life story.
The daughter of actor Laurence Harvey turned away from her career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter.
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| Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw in 'The Manchurian Candidate' |
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| Laurence Harvey (1 October 1928 – 25 November 1973) |
Harvey continually denied that she was a drug trafficker, claiming to have been set up.
While under house arrest, she lived with a person whom she had hired as a "sober guardian" to help her refrain from drug use.
On the night of 27 June 2005 her aide discovered her unconscious in her bathtub.
She was taken to a hospital but could not be resuscitated."
Harvey?!
"Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six foot-tall rabbit for a best friend, a whimsical middle-aged man is thought by his family to be insane - but he may be wiser than anyone knows."
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| A scene from the movie 'Harvey' |
This is possibly a reference to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner: The Director's Cut."
Ridley Scott is Tony Scott's brother.
"Samantha Darko is holding a stuffed toy unicorn at the airport.
In another scene, as she is jumping on a trampoline, she is wearing a shirt with a unicorn on it."
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| Donnie and Gretchen watch The Evil Dead at The Aero Theatre |
These three characters all experience death in the film.
In fact, these are the only deaths in the movie."
"In the movie theater scene, Richard Kelly originally intended to have Donnie and Gretchen going to see C.H.U.D. (1984).
However, there were problems with finding out who owned the rights to the movie.
Finally, Sam Raimi came to the rescue by allowing Kelly to use and distort footage from The Evil Dead (1981), free of charge.
The Aero closed in 2003 but re-opened in early 2005."
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| Released 1988 |
This movie was released theatrically in 1988 amid controversy
(it was banned in my home state of Queensland).
In 2004, when the director's cut of Donnie Darko was released,
Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ awakened a similar controversy.
Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ awakened a similar controversy.
Both Donnie Darko and The Passion of the Christ were distributed by Newmarket Films [usa]."
Two months earlier, on 9/11, Mayol was working at a restaurant on the ground floor of the World Trade Center and escaped before the tower collapsed."
The jet engine has a spiral painted on it.
These are painted to tell if the engine is spinning.
The Fibonnaci spiral is based on the mating patterns of rabbits.
"A memorial was constructed in Rockaway Park, Belle Harbor's neighboring community, in memory of the 265 victims of the crash at the south end of Beach 116th (1+1+6 = 8) Street, a major commercial street in the area.
These are painted to tell if the engine is spinning.
The Fibonnaci spiral is based on the mating patterns of rabbits.
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| The memorial at the south end of Beach 116th Street |
It was dedicated on November 12, 2006, the fifth anniversary of the incident, in a ceremony attended by then Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg.
A ceremony commemorating the disaster is held annually at the memorial every Nov 12, featuring a reading of the names of those killed aboard the aircraft and on the ground, with a formal moment of silence observed at 9:16 a.m., the estimated time of the crash."
"A Melbourne-bound Qantas flight carrying nearly 500 passengers has been forced to turn back to Los Angeles after an engine failed, appearing to spark mid-air.
Flight QF94 was two hours into its trip when the pilots had to shut down one of the A-380 plane's four engines.
Qantas spokesman Thomas Woodward said the pilots turned the plane around and landed it safely back in LA."
Mind blown. Along with the 8's,lots of 2's with Flight 587 being the 2nd deadliest. Loved Donnie Darko, think I'll watch it again with these syncs in mind.
ReplyDeleteI might have to watch DD again, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I last watched it.
Although now that Twin Peaks is out it could take me a while to slot it into my viewing schedule.