Completely Cuckoo

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, tracing the truly Byzantine path from Ken Kesey's international best-selling 1962 novel (written while he was working in the psychiatric ward of a California veterans' hospital) to a 1963 Broadway play starring Kirk Douglas, to finally, the 1975 film that would sweep that year's Academy Awards. Along the way intriguing details are revealed on the writing process (Kesey was initially hired, and then fired, as the screenwriter), casting (Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando were both offered, and turned down, the role of McMurphy), and production (the actors lived at the hospital for the ten weeks of filming and were encouraged to stay in character at all times).