Disturbia (2007) | Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this month’s episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron have a line they can’t cross as they discuss Disturbia.

Written by: Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss, and David Morse

Directed by: D.J. Caruso

Trailer:

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Hitchcock references: Plot is very similar to Rear Window

The script was written in the 1990’s and was optioned. The original studio let the option expire after hearing about Christopher Reeve’s remake of Rear Window. It wasn’t until 2004 that the script was rewritten and sold.

Before filming started, Caruso and LeBeouf watched the thriller films Rear Window, Straw Dogs, and The Conversation. They also viewed the 1989 romantic film Say Anything… and “mixed all the movies together”.

The copyright holders of Cornell Woolrich’s short story ‘It Had to Be Murder’, which Rear Window (1954) was based on, sued DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, and Steven Spielberg for using the story without permission. In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling “The main plots are similar only at a high, unprotectable level of generality … Where ‘Disturbia’ is rife with subplots, the short story has none. The setting and mood of the short story are static and tense, whereas the setting and mood of ‘Disturbia’ are more dynamic and peppered with humor and teen romance.”.

Disturbia was filmed on location in the cities of Whittier, California and Pasadena, California, and on a soundstage at Paramount. The homes of Kale and Mr. Turner, which were supposed to be next door to each other, were actually located in two different cities. The exterior of Kale’s house was also used in the filming of Zathura (2005).

When Kale is spying on Mr. Turner cutting his grass through a gap in the fence, the shot is actually forced-perspective. The ‘house’ behind David Morse was actually a 6’x5′ section of decorated wall, positioned in a way so that it would look full sized from the camera’s POV. David Morse was actually taller than the set behind him.

During filming, David Morse did not speak to Shia LaBeouf or any of the other teens. LaBeouf said, “When we finished filming, he was very friendly. But he’s a method actor, and as long as we were shooting, he wouldn’t say a word to us.” While filming a scene with Shia LaBeouf, Morse slammed his hand into a wall, breaking three fingers. LaBeouf said, “You could see that they were broken. They were all mangled. But he didn’t say a word about it. Everybody’s asking him what they can do to help, and he just says, ‘I’m okay. I’m okay. Let’s go again.’ It was intimidating, to say the least.”

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Next up, we’ll be discussing The Others. A spooky tail that has notes of Rebecca.

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