Trivia / Memoirs of an Invisible Man

• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $40 million. Box office, $14.4 million.
• Creative Differences:
  • Ivan Reitman was originally set to direct the film, but when he and Chevy Chase couldn't agree on the tone, Reitman demanded the studio choose either him or Chase. They chose Chase.
  • William Goldman originally wrote several drafts of the screenplay, all of which were rejected, as he wrote it as a simple comedy, and the producers preferred to use the film to "explore the loneliness of invisibility." Eventually, he left the project, though he still receives a screenplay credit. He claimed never to have seen the movie, and thus couldn't say for sure how much of his material is actually in the film.
  • Even eventual director John Carpenter suffered a bit, as he wanted to focus on the comedic aspects, but Chevy Chase insisted on playing it mostly serious.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Chevy Chase got into shape for the role, working out and losing 20 pounds. Helps he had to at times get covered in full-body green or blue suits to make himself invisible - the worst being the scene where he's made up to become visible, as Chase had to even wear uncomfortable lenses, and suffer through the heat (his costume, the June weather, the studio lights).
• Hostility on the Set: John Carpenter admitted in 2023 that, like so many actors and directors before him, he did not get along well with Chevy Chase at all, even saying the experience nearly turned him off film making entirely and that Chase "needs to be killed" and could "burn in hell for all eternity".
• One-Book Author: Harry F. Saint apparently only did a short story for Esquire before resting in the book's profits ($2.5 million between book clubs and film rights), and has vanished as much as Nicholas Halloway afterwards.
• Tom Hanks Syndrome: Attempted by Chase in the film, who only gets a couple of one-liners, no more than any other actor would expect. It didn't work out so well for him, though.
• Wag the Director: The project was largely a Vanity Project shepherded by Chase through the studio. He found Goldman's script too comedic, "Clark Griswold becoming invisible", and sought screenwriters to rework it, reportedly to do something "more serious, with more adventure". John Carpenter would go on to say that the production of the film was very troubling and vigorous. While also battling studio executives, Carpenter claimed Chase and Daryl Hannah were "the stuff of nightmares" and "impossible to direct." In particular, Chase would often refuse to wear his special effects makeup and would remove it prematurely, ruining a day's worth of filming.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Richard Donner was briefly attached to direct.
  • Kirstie Alley was considered for the role of Alice Monroe.
• Write Who You Know: The author of the book worked on Wall Street in New York, hence the protagonist being a businessman.

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