Before fans knew Vin Diesel from Fast and Furious, he was first recognized in David Twohy’s Pitch Black, a horror science fiction movie that ended up becoming a cult-classic favorite. No one expected it would turn out to be such a huge hit, but it surprisingly amassed enough support to guarantee sequels, an animated movie, and even a video game.
Although Diesel rose to popularity in the late 1990s, his presence in the movie was not the reason it became successful. During this time, the Internet was still a concept many fans were not yet so obsessed with, but it truly aided in the project’s feat.
How Vin Diesel’s Pitch Black Movie Became A Sleeper Hit
Pitch Black director David Twohy spoke with Fandom via IGN and discussed the unexpected victory of his 2001 movie starring Vin Diesel, Keith David, Radha Mitchell, and Cole Hauser. While the organic fans certainly contributed to its momentum, it was the marketing strategy that pushed it to the top.
“Internet buzz helped make Pitch Black a successful film. The film outperformed expectations — it made $14 million the first week and debuted in fourth place. The next week it was in fifth place and is expected to remain there this week. The producers expected more fall-off after the first week.”
It’s crazy to think that they initially expected Pitch Black to decrease interest as the weeks rolled by, a situation they somehow prepared for. Interestingly, the result leaned on the more positive side.
“They thought the film would only appeal to a genre audience. But clearly, we’re pulling in more than just the hard-core science fiction fans. We’re getting a more general audience, more of the thriller audience as well.”
Fans would think it was Diesel’s charisma that captivated more spectators, but it was actually the novel idea of viral websites and social media marketing. Twohy shared that he helped make the layout of the movie’s website (not existing anymore) that would publicize the project.
“We have a great website. I helped design it myself! It’s a dramatic video presentation in and of itself. There’s also a 20-page animated comic to go with it.”
Site visitors must have been so impressed with all the visual treats and information they found on the Internet. Twohy said he wanted to give fans more than a trailer and some teasers that most filmmakers practice nowadays.
Vin Diesel Performed Terribly At His Audition For Pitch Black
As if it was not disappointing enough that Vin Diesel was not the audience charmer of Pitch Black movie, David Twohy also said he was horrible during the audition and that the studio wanted another actor for the part. It was the director who only saw his potential. He explained via Yahoo:
“He read in the room, and he wasn’t great, because that is not his gift — reading in a room, off a page. He really wants to inhabit a role. But by the time we brought back our lead candidates, Vin was off-book, and you could tell he was the right choice at that point.”
Ultimately, the studio was convinced Diesel was the right guy for the job. Well, not after Twohy threatened to leave the project after they insisted he should work with Steven Seagal instead.
