Both the Arrival and The Truman Show have similar box offices and budgets when compared to each other. Arrival had a budget of 47 million dollars and made a total of 203 million dollars which made 4.37 times in budget. The Truman Show had a budget of 60 million dollars and made a total of 264 million dollars which made 4.4 times its budget in profit. The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey, was always supposed to star Jum Carrey. Robin Williams was initially considered for the role of Truman Burbank. But the director went with Carrey because he reminded him of Charlie Chaplin.
The production of The Truman Show was riddled with delays and problems. The original draft of the movie, written by Andrew Niccol and called The Malcolm Show at the time, was more of a science-fiction thriller set in New York City. Producer Scott Rudin purchased the film and set Peter Weir and director. The original script was dark and depressing, so Weir wanted to make it funnier and lighter, which is probably why Jim Carrey and Robin Williams were both considered for the main role, as they were both amazing comedians. Jim Carrey was also filming two other films, The Cable Guy and Liar Liar when asked for The Truman Show so Weir would have to recast Jim or wait a year and wait a year he did.
Arrival is a science fiction film with a super-focused plot of language between different species. This aspect of science fiction is usually glossed over or ignored, using deus ex machina technology like universal translators and the like. Arrival is often compared to Interstellar which also focuses on a singular aspect of science fiction. The Truman Show is a unique take on the meta-commentary on the TV industry but is similar to movies like Pleasantville from 1998 and Stranger Than Fiction from 2006. How the Truman show differs from these films is that the fact that Truman is in a sitcom is kept a secret from the audience for most of the film. This allows second and even third viewings of the film to be a different experience.
The performances from Arrival’s and The Truman Show’s stars, Amy Adams and Jim Carrey respectfully, have been praised by reviewers. Amy Adams’ performance in Arrival is praised for its accuracy in the language process. Jim Carrey’s performance in The Truman Show was a statement that Jim wanted to make. He wanted to show that he can do a drama role, rather than only comedic roles. He even took less pay than usual for him. He was paid 12 million dollars rather than the 20 million he was used to for other films he starred in at the time.
Someone about the performances by Jim Carrey and Laura Linney give such a horrific tone to this movie. Jim Carrey is always someone to over-act and be nearly filled with manic energy. But in this film he’s not like then till the illusion of his life falls to pieces. While this film is labeled as a comedy, it’s very tragic when you think about it. We all can laugh at Jim Carrey’ wacky performance, but it’s a man on the brink of insanity just slingshotting in the other direction of his environment.