FILM 1859: CAMPFIRE TALES

FILM 1859: CAMPFIRE TALES

TRIVIA: Film debut of Jacinda Barrett.

Originally intended for a theatrical run, the film was eventually released direct-to-video in 1998.

FILM 1831: UNBREAKABLE

FILM 1831: UNBREAKABLE

TRIVIA: Writer and Director M. Night Shyamalan always had Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in mind to play the roles of David Dunn and Elijah Price.

Of all the films he's made, this is M. Night Shyamalan's personal favorite.

One of Quentin Tarantino's favorite films.

Charlayne Woodard, who plays the mother to Samuel L. Jackson's character, is actually almost a full five years younger than her on-screen son.

The scene where David's son tries to shoot him to prove he has super powers is based on the popular urban legend that George Reeves was once confronted by a child who asked to shoot him with a real gun while he was in his Superman costume. According to the legend, Reeves, just like David, got the boy to put the gun down by convincing him it would ricochet and hurt someone else.

DIRECTOR CAMEO: M. Night Shyamalan: Stadium drug dealer.

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK: M. Night Shyamalan: [Philadelphia] Set in Philadelphia, like most of his films.

FILM 1825: FORCES OF NATURE

FILM 1825: FORCES OF NATURE

TRIVIA: About a year after the release of the movie, Sandra Bullock actually did survive a plane crash when the corporate jet she was a passenger in skidded off the runway at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming airport. She was not injured in the crash.

David Strickland's last film.

FILM 1820: MONKEY SHINES

FILM 1820: MONKEY SHINES

TRIVIA: This was George A. Romero's first studio film. However, the studio he was working with, Orion Pictures, had re-cut the film against Romero's wishes which contributed to the box office failure of the film. Afterwards, Romero went back to independent filmmaking until The Dark Half (1993) (also from Orion).

This was the first film role for Stephen Root, then a stage actor. According to Root, he had been instructed by his agent not to let the casting directors know that he was inexperienced with film as an actor. Root's official debut was Crocodile Dundee II (1988), which had been released in theaters a month before this film, despite being shot a month after it.

FILM 1557: THE INTOUCHABLES

TRIVIA: Although the real-life 'Driss' was a young Algerian man called Abdel, directors Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache changed the character's nationality to West-African, as they had enjoyed working with Omar Sy on Tellement proches (2009), and really wanted him to play the part. Sy also had the experience of living in the impoverished French suburbs, just like Driss.

First movie ever to be honored by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, a US non-profit organization aiming at helping people suffering paralysis, and supporting advanced research. The directors received the HOPE award from this foundation in New-York City on November 28, 2012.

FILM 1530: PREMONITION

TRIVIA: When Sandra Bullock was restrained and struggling in the hospital scene she really did cut herself by accident. So instead of using a body double for the injection, it really was Bullock who got the Tetanus shot in the scene.

The story is nearly identical to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater episode "The Ides of March," which originally aired more than two decades previous on 10 September 1975.

FILM 1429: TAKING LIVES

TRIVIA: A scene was shot in which Illeana drives back to her house with the old pick-up and a branch from a tree falls and breaks the windshield. It took several takes to get the shot, and apparently destroyed the last remaining windshields for the pick-up available anywhere in North America at the time. The scene was not used.

FILM 1417: ARLINGTON ROAD

TRIVIA: The script for "Arlington Road", written by Ehren Kruger, was discovered when it won the Nicholl Fellowship Screenwriting competition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This film is only the sixth winner of the competition to actually be produced.

FILM 1328: MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION

When churlish, spoiled rich man Bob Merrick foolishly wrecks his speed boat, the rescue team resuscitates him with equipment that's therefore unavailable to aid a local hero, Dr. Wayne Phillips, who dies as a result. Phillips had helped many people, and when Merrick learns Phillips' secret, to give selflessly and in secret, he tries it in a ham-handed way. The result further alienates Phillips' widow, Helen, with whom Merrick has fallen in love. Merrick's persistence causes another tragedy, and he must remake his life, including going back to medical school, in an attempt to make amends and win her love.