Jeffrey Walizer Jr

The Coen brothers' Fargo (1996) is a brilliant mixture of dark comedy and crime, featuring outstanding performances from Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare. Interestingly, the opening claim that the film is based on a true story was largely fabricated, although some elements were inspired by real crimes. William H. Macy was so determined to play Jerry Lundegaard that he insisted on another audition, telling the Coens, "I'm scared you're going to screw this up and hire someone else." Frances McDormand and John Carroll Lynch even invented an elaborate backstory for Marge and Norm, imagining that they had originally met as police officers. The cast also studied How to Talk Minnesotan to perfect their regional accents. Joel Coen wanted Marge to be the opposite of a stereotypical movie detective, portraying her as an ordinary, fundamentally good person. Meanwhile, the crew had to manufacture much of the snow because Minnesota experienced an unusually mild winter during filming. Macy later recalled how Ethan Coen laughed when he tried to make Jerry look intimidating in his first scene with the kidnappers. As Macy put it, "I love playing the rascal, the bad guy."