Trivia / Shallow Grave

• Breakthrough Hit: For Danny Boyle.
• California Doubling: Although the story is set in Edinburgh and they considered filming there, a grant of G¸150K from the Glasgow Film Fund tempted them westwards for the majority of the filming.
• Completely Different Title:
  • In France, the film was released as Small Murders Between Friends.
  • In Sweden, it was released as Dödsleken ("The Game of Death").
• Fake Scot: The Manchester-born Christopher Eccleston.
• Dark Horse Casting/Star-Making Role: Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston were complete unknowns prior to this. In fact, Kerry Fox's presence actually got the film green-lit, as she was the only name actor in the main cast. (Ironically, nowadays Fox is not as well-known as McGregor and Eccleston since she has mostly stuck to independent films.)
• Looping Lines: Danny Boyle said in his DVD Commentary on the 2009 Special Edition DVD and 2012 Blu-ray that Alex is not meant to be dead, so the line of Alex saying hello to the detective was added in post-production to clarify this.
• No Budget: Such were the budgetary constraints on this shoot, the production had to auction off various props in order to raise enough money to buy essential film stock needed to complete the picture.
• Real-Life Relative: Ewan McGregor's mother is one of the potential flatmates.
• Sleeper Hit: It had a tiny budget, a cast of mostly unknowns and a first time director. It went on to become the highest grossing British film of 1995.
• What Could Have Been: Robert Carlyle auditioned for David.
• Write What You Know: Like Juliet, writer John Hodge is a doctor.

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