FILM 1955: BORDER

FILM 1955: BORDER

TRIVIA: Actress Aubrey Plaza, involved in no way with the film, was such a fan of it that the filmmakers offered to allow her to host a screening. She arranged this at a theater in Los Angeles and invited 60 people to attend. Ten minutes before it was to begin she was informed that the film had not arrived in the theater. She went into the lobby to announce this, but mid-announcement was told the film had arrived. Everyone was seated and then forty minutes went by. She asked friends Fred Armisen and Nick Kroll, who were in the audience, to go on stage and entertain everyone. Armisen pretended to be the film's director while Kroll took questions from the audience. This lasted another twenty minutes. Ultimately the theater management said the film never arrived, but offered to show the crowd the film Suspiria instead. Then, an hour into showing Suspiria, they cut the film off abruptly and began to play Border, which had finally arrived. Plaza relayed this story on The Conan O'Brien Show.

Official submission of Sweden for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

FILM 1602: NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

TRIVIA: Focus Features paid $20 million for global distribution rights after a heavy bidding battle in Cannes. This is the highest amount ever paid for a film at a festival.

Based on the book: "Tony and Susan". The book that Tony writes in the book is called "Nocturnal Animals" (so the writer chose that title).

Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal have been cast in another project called 'Ezekiel Moss' which would have been directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. However, the project was scrapped after Hoffman's death in 2014.

Although he is known as a fashion designer, Ford chose to leave the costuming in the film strictly to the costume designer. Not a single Tom Ford product appears in the film, as Ford "didn't want a commercial."

FILM 1394: THE VERDICT

TRIVIA: Robert Redford was originally involved with this film. After writer David Mamet delivered his draft, Redford was uncomfortable with the main character and hired another writer to do another draft, and so on until Redford decided he didn't want to do the film. He was uncomfortable because he did not want to play an alcoholic. Sidney Lumet was offered the project. He read all the drafts and identified the original Mamet version as the one to make. At that point, Paul Newman agreed to star.

Among the people in the courtroom during the dramatic closing speech is a young Bruce Willis.

Though entitled "The Verdict", the original final draft of David Mamet's screenplay had no verdict in it. Producer Richard D. Zanuck commented that the title would require a question mark on advertising materials making it "The Verdict?". It was director Sidney Lumet who convinced Mamet to add in a verdict so the film could have a third act denouement.

Final American feature film for a major Hollywood movie studio starring British actor James Mason.

Film 939: Fish Tank

Trivia: Katie Jarvis, who plays Mia, had never acted before this film. A casting director spotted her having a fight with her boyfriend at a train station and offered her the role.

The film was shot chronologically, and the actors were shown only the part of the script they would be filming the following week - none of them knew what would happen to their characters later in the film.

Film 938: Sleeping with the Enemy

Trivia: Julia Roberts caused a controversy after she left Abbeville, South Carolina, where the film shot some location work. She said the place was "a living hell" and a "horribly racist" town and she would never return there.

Features haunting music from Hector Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique".

It was Patrick Bergin's idea to use composer Hector Berlioz song, one of his favorite pieces of music, as Martin Burney's song of choice.

Film 937: Lola Versus

Trivia: Orlando Bloom was originally cast in the lead role but dropped out before filming began.