FILM 1588: THE BFG
TRIVIA: This theatrical feature film has been in development for almost
twenty-five years.
Steven Spielberg tried to
convince Gene Wilder to make an
appearance in the film, but Wilder declined. Wilder played the titular
character in Willy Wonka
& the Chocolate Factory (1971), also based on a Roald Dahl book.
This marks the reunion of director Steven Spielberg and
screenwriter Melissa
Mathison, following their celebrated collaboration on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982).
The Queen makes a call to Nancy asking for Ronnie only to find that he
was asleep. This could be a reference to Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan, the latter
of whom known for taking naps regularly while in office. This would also set
the movie sometime between 1981 and 1989, when Reagan was in office, and
perhaps also when E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was made and first released sometime
between 1981 (filmed) and 1982 (debuted in cinemas).
The movie's source Roald Dahl
novel "The BFG" (1982) was ranked at the No. # 88 spot of all-time
Top 100 Children's Novels by the monthly American 'School Library Journal' in
2012. "The BFG" (1982) is the fourth Dahl novel to be included in
their hundred list, more than any other author.
Actor Mark Rylance
was immediately inspired by Melissa
Mathison's screenplay, and said: "Melissa added some twists and
turns and made [source novelist Roald] Dahl's original story much more dramatic,
in a way that gives you more of a chance to see the friendship develop. He is
just misunderstood. The BFG and Sophie are both isolated beings, and they find
a friend who understands them, maybe better than they do, and those are the
best kind of friends. That's part of the great love and friendship they have
for each other."
Before her breakout role in Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown
auditioned and was on the shortlist for the role of Sophie.
