Hello to everyone who has been following this blog for many years - I'm still blogging, I'm just moving over to https://www.claireheffer.com/blog - please continue to follow and let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been kind enough to visit over the years. May the lists continue...
Showing posts with label ben stiller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ben stiller. Show all posts

Friday, 6 May 2016



FILM 1517: MYSTERY MEN

TRIVIA: According to Ben Stiller in an interview on Late Show with David Letterman (1993), he and Greg Kinnear got into a heated argument on the set. Afterwards, Stiller tried to be released from the film.

Tom Waits' odd hand gestures when explaining the psychofrakulator were the result of him writing his dialogue on his fingers and reading the words as he went along.

A number of the sets used in the film are the same sets used in Batman Forever (1995).

The Mystery Men were the supporting cast of an underground superhero comic book called the Flaming Carrot. Mr. Furious and the Shoveler were the only ones from the comic to make it into the movie. Captain Amazing was created as a replacement for the Flaming Carrot, who was felt to be too bizarre to bring to the silver screen.

The Bowler's stream-of-consciousness monologue in support of independent filmmaking at the conclusion of the film was originally not intended to be included in the finished print. Janeane Garofalo was instructed by director Kinka Usher to say whatever came to her mind at the time (Usher simply wanted to use up some excess film.) Usher liked her performance so much he edited it into the final print.

CAMEOS: Michael Bay (noted action director) and Riki Rachtman, (former host of MTV's Headbangers Ball (1987)) as two of the Frat Boys. Bay asks "can we bring the brewskies?".

According to Hank Azaria, the cast argued constantly with each other over the comedic tone of the film.

As the team enters Dr. Heller's amusement park workshop, creepy music is heard. This is not just incidental music, but turns out to be Dr. Heller practicing on a 'waterphone', the strange cylindrical device with steel wires he can briefly be seen holding. The waterphone is primarily used in the motion picture industry in the composition of creepy incidental music.

In an odd parallel, Tom Waits actually creates curious machines from junk and hardware store purchases, in the same way that his character (Dr. Heller) does. Waits' machines are musical, and one is 6-stringed steel dumpster.

A subtle reference to William Shatner: once, while recording lines for the video game Star Trek: Judgment Rites (1993), Shatner pronounced "sabotage" strangely and was asked twice to repeat the line. He finally blurted, "Don't tell me how to act - it sickens me!" In Mystery Men (1999), this line is repeated by Ben Stiller. Later, Janeane Garofalo says to Stiller, "You say 'sabotage', I say 'saboTAGE'," another Shatner quote from the Star Trek recording session.

Ricky Jay's character tells Captain Amazing, "I'm a publicist, not a magician." Jay is in fact a well-known magician.

In a 2011 interview with A.V. Club, Hank Azaria claimed that during production Kinka Usher declared "I'm going back to commercials when this is done. I've had enough. I'd much rather do my cool little one-minute shorts that I make than deal with all this nonsense."



Monday, 31 August 2015



FILM 1371: THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

TRIVIA: The drunken helicopter pilot jokes that "There are like eight people in Greenland". When Walter goes to Greenland, he only sees eight different people.

As of 2014, Papa John's has no restaurants in Iceland. A bakery in the West Iceland town of Borgarnes was converted into Papa John's for the movie.

"LIFE" was an American photojournalism magazine. It was published weekly from 1936 to 1972, as an intermittent special from 1972 to 1978, and monthly from 1978 to 2000. From 2004 to 2007, it was a weekly newspaper supplement published by Time Inc. In its heyday, it occupied five floors of the Time & Life Building in Midtown Manhattan. George Story appeared as a baby in the first picture in the first issue of Life, published November 23, 1936. He died April 4, 2000, days after LIFE announced it would no longer be published as a monthly.

Local Icelandic media reported on the willingness of residents and municipalities to assist in the film production. A townhouse in Stykkishólmur, on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, in the west, was painted black. The inhabitants in Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland agreed to keep a low profile for a day.

Sean O'Connell's camera has its Nikon logo blacked out. The movie's producers may not have had Nikon's permission to use their name. However, many real-life professional photographers cover their camera's logos to avoid questions from lay photographers, or to avoid advertising their gear choices.

When the boat lands in Iceland, two of the crewmen encourage Walter to run to the only bicycle available, because a group of "horny Chileans" want to take the bicycle to a strip club. Iceland's parliament banned strip clubs in 2010. The law made stripteases illegal and banned any club from making a profit based on an employee's nudity.

Actors Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Mike Myers and Sacha Baron Cohen were all considered for the role of Walter Mitty during the development of this film.

In January 2014, a screener copy of the film was leaked to the web bearing the caption "Property of Fox" at the top and "'Ellen Degeneres' 11/26/13" at the bottom. Degeneres' production company was forced to issue a statement regarding the issue.


Shirley MacLaine, appeared on the cover of Life magazine four times. The first time was with her daughter, Sachi Parker, in the February 9, 1959 issue. The second time was to promote My Geisha (1962) in the February 19, 1961 issue. The third time was to promote The Children's Hour (1961) in the February 23, 1962 issue. The fourth time was to promote Irma la Douce (1963) in the June 21, 1963 issue.

Sunday, 11 January 2015



FILM 1277: ZOOLANDER

TRIVIA: Derek's repetition of the line "But why male models?" for the second time in the cemetery scene was an ad-lib by the actors; Ben Stiller forgot his line and simply repeated the earlier line again, and David Duchovny ran with it and gave him a straight answer.

Ben Stiller wrote the part of Hansel specifically for Owen Wilson and said that no one else was even considered for the role.

Ben Stiller wrote David Bowie's scene as judge of the walk-off into the script without knowing for sure whether he would agree to it.

Ben Stiller had several family members in this film: His wife Christine Taylor (Matilda), father Jerry Stiller (Maury Ballstein), mother Anne Meara (protestor who hits Mugatu with an egg), sister Amy Stiller (one of Hansel's friends in his loft), and brother-in-law Mitch Winston (Director of the infomercial).

Derek Zoolander's "Blue Steel" look evolved from Christine Taylor ribbing her husband Ben Stiller about the way he combs his hair in front of a mirror in real life.

Bret Easton Ellis, author of the 1998 book Glamorama, about a dimwitted male model who finds himself embroiled in a terrorist ring with roots in the fashion industry, sued Ben Stiller following the release of Zoolander (2001), citing copyright infringement. The case was later settled out of court.

Owen Wilson says "Who you tryin' to get crazy with 'ese? Don't you know I'm loco?" These are the opening lines to the Cypress Hill song "Insane in the Brain".


When Derek and Hansel disguise themselves and sneak into Maury's office, Hansel's jumpsuit has a name tag on which is printed the name "Kumar". This refers to Kumar Pallana, who has appeared in all of Wes Anderson's films (Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)).

Monday, 3 March 2014



FILM 1102: FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

TRIVIA: John Cusack was considered for the role of Mel Coplin.


Dick Van Dyke was offered the role of Richard Schlichting. Originally, Mary Tyler Moore was to play the role of his wife Mary but she eventually switched roles in order to portray Pearl Coplin.