Written by veteran writer Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd and Tony Weare, the graphic novel V For Vendetta was first published in 1982 as a ten-issue serial on the DC Comics label. The story, which made a huge impact and was admired, was adapted for the big screen by director James McTeigue in 2005 and managed to get its name written among cult films.
V For Vendetta draws a dark future and actually tells the audience about a terrorist incident. However, our main character turns into a hero because of the madness of the dictator in the story told. Let’s take a closer look at the interesting information, some of which you will hear for the first time, about V For Vendetta, the favorite movie of many moviegoers even today, and see what happened behind the scenes of the movie.
Interesting facts about V For Vendetta:
- The dictator described in the comic was inspired by the former British prime minister.
- The Matrix and V For Vendetta have something in common.
- James McTeigue made his directorial debut with V For Vendetta.
- Alan Moore hates the movie V For Vendetta.
- The actors worked hard before the movie.
- It took nearly a year to get permission to shoot.
- They had one chance for the legendary haircut scene.
- It took hundreds of hours to string the V dominoes.
- The movie was originally supposed to be released on November 5.
The dictator described in the comic was inspired by the former British prime minister:
- Margaret Thatcher
You might think that the dictator in V For Vendetta is Adolf Hitler because it is a US-German co-production and the visuals remind everyone of the Nazis, but when we look at the essence of the story and look at the comic, it is understood that this name is Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister nicknamed the Iron Lady. David Lloyd, one of the comic’s illustrators, even stated, “Our attitude towards Margaret Thatcher’s ultra-conservative government was one of the driving forces behind the fascist British police state we created in Vendetta.”
The Matrix and V For Vendetta have one thing in common:
- The Wachowski Brothers
It is possible to see some commonalities in the Matrix series and V For Vendetta movies. Even though they are different stories, the reason for these common points is the Wachowski Brothers. In the 1990s, sisters Lana and Lilly Wachowski bought the movie rights to the comic book V For Vendetta and wrote a screenplay. When the Matrix series intervened, the duo did not want to sit in the director’s chair, but they undertook the production of the film and ensured that the script they wrote was made into a movie by James McTeigue. In other words, the screenwriter and producer of V For Vendetta is the Wachowski Brothers, who are the directors of the Matrix series.
James McTeigue made his directorial debut with V For Vendetta:
- James McTeigue
The Wachowski Brothers, who wrote the script of the movie and wanted to be producers, went in search of a director for the movie V For Vendetta. The duo, who did not want to work with master directors, met with James McTeigue, the assistant director of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. James McTeigue, who had never directed, accepted the job so as not to let the Wachowski Brothers trust him, and he did a pretty good job.
Alan Moore hates the movie V For Vendetta:
- Alan Moore
Alan Moore, author of the V For Vendetta comic, read the script written by the Wachowski Brothers and threw it aside, saying it was complete bullshit. Moore didn’t watch the movie and didn’t even allow himself to be questioned because, he says, DC Comics and the movie industry stole the story from him. The comic book’s illustrator David Lloyd evaluated the film as a fantastic representation and said that he liked it very much.
The actors did some hard work before the movie:
Of course, every actor does pre-film work, but James McTeigue, who plays the character of V, and Natalie Portman, who plays the character of Evey, worked not on the acting, but on the basis of the story. The duo read many books and watched documentaries about the Algerian Revolution, American radicals, former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and the Gunpowder Plot. Because the characters they played were born at the end of a historical process.
It took nearly a year to get permission to shoot:
Most of the V For Vendetta movie was shot in a studio set up in Germany, thus reducing the cost. But the most important scene of the movie, the parliamentary explosion, must have been shot in England, on the real street. To shoot Downing Street in central London, stretching from Trafalgar Square to the parliament building, the filmmakers negotiated for 9 months with 14 different British agencies. They eventually managed to get a three-day leave to shoot between 12pm and 5am.
They had one chance for the legendary haircut scene:
Undoubtedly, one of the most impressive scenes of the movie is the scene where the hair of Evey, played by Natalie Portman, is cut. Natalie Portman’s hair is actually cut in this scene. Therefore, they had to shoot the scene in one go. In an interview he gave years later, Portman said that this scene was the most difficult scene of the movie, it was very tense, but thanks to this scene, he became a more recognizable actor for the audience.
It took hundreds of hours to string the V dominoes:
One of the other iconic scenes of V For Vendetta is the scene where V creates a domino effect by touching a stone and a huge V shape emerges. This scene is also real. 4 professional domino artists worked for more than 200 hours to arrange the dominoes in a V shape. Exactly 22,000 dominoes were used to create the image. Of course, they had only one chance to shoot this scene, but luckily they succeeded.
The movie was originally supposed to hit theaters on November 5th:
The face in the V mask, which has become an icon today, is actually a British soldier known as Guy Fawkes. He was tasked with blowing up the English Parliament Building in the Gunpowder Plot on November 5, 1605, which was planned to overthrow the conservative oppressive king. But just when he was about to explode, he was caught with explosives in the cellar of the parliament and was executed on 31 January 1606, being declared the greatest traitor in British history.
That’s why November 5 is so important to the movie V For Vendetta. Already in the trailer of the film “Remember, remember November 5!” it is called. However, the film was released much later, as the post-production process of the film took longer than planned. However, this delay had no negative effects and V For Vendetta grossed $27 million in the first few days.
We told some interesting information about the behind the scenes of the movie V For Vendetta, which fascinates the audience with its mask, story and music. Do you love the movie V For Vendetta? You can share your thoughts in the comments.
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