FILM 2005: KISS KISS BANG BANG

FILM 2005: KISS KISS BANG BANG 

TRIVIA: Shane Black's directorial debut.

As a show of support for Robert Downey Jr.'s recovery from alcohol and drugs, Val Kilmerrefused to drink during the entire production.

The film was given a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.

Val Kilmer's depiction of Gay Perry is generally considered to be the first openly gay character to front a Hollywood action movie.

Robert Downey Jr.'s favorite movie of his own.

In reference to the "Ike, Mike, and Mustard" quote, Mike and Ike are boxed candies in mixed colors of black and white and are also diner slang for salt and pepper shakers. Also, pre-1950s, an "Ike, Mike, and Mustard" joke was an off color joke, generally with sexual references, that wouldn't be told in polite or mixed company.

Shane Black read several stories by Raymond Chandler when writing this script. As a result, the story is divided into chapters and the chapter titles come from Chandler works. Specifically: 1. "Trouble is My Business", 2. "The Lady in the Lake", 3. "The Little Sister", 4. "The Simple Art of Murder", and Epilogue: "Farewell, My Lovely".

The phrase "kiss kiss, bang bang" appeared in the 1960s as an overseas slang for spy movies, especially James Bond movies. It was popular in Europe and Japan. It first appeared as a film title for Kiss Kiss - Bang Bang (1966), a 1966 spy comedy made in Spain with Italian financing. It was also the title of famed critic Pauline Kael's second published collection of reviews. Kael wrote that she chose the words as her title because they are "perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies."

Early in production, Warner Brothers considered Benicio Del Toro for Harry, and Hugh Grant for Gay Perry.

The film is credited as being based (very loosely) on Bodies Are Where You Find Them, by Brett Halliday. This was the fifth novel (of more than 70) in the Mike Shayne detective series, originally published in 1941. Brett Halliday was the pen name of Davis Dresser, who created the character and wrote the first thirty novels, stepping down from the job in 1958. Dell Publishing hired other writers to pen the rest, sometimes assisted by Dresser; all of them continued to use the Brett Halliday pen name. The book covers of the Johnny Gossamer paperbacks created for the film are based on Dell's cover design for the Mike Shayne series from the early 1950s to mid 1960s. Bodies Are Where You Find Them was reprinted by Dell with this cover design in 1959.

CAMEO: Laurence Fishburne: Voice of the bear in the fake beer commercial.

FILM 1918: PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE

FILM 1918: PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE

TRIVIA: Tim Burton and Paul Reubens brought on Danny Elfman as composer after Burton had attended concerts by Oingo Boingo, of which Elfman was lead singer and songwriter. Elfman was originally apprehensive, having no formal music training, but he was assisted by Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek as orchestrator. Elfman later said that hearing his music performed by an orchestra for the first time was one of the most thrilling experiences of his life.

Jan Hooks improvised the dialogue for her scenes as the Alamo tour guide.

This was Tim Burton's directorial feature debut. He had previously directed some short films.

The Drive-in sequence was filmed at the Studio Drive In, formerly located in Culver City CA. The Studio was built in the 1930s, and was the first Drive-in Theatre constructed in California. It served as a set for several films, including Grease (1978). It was closed in 1993 and demolished in 1998. No trace of this Drive-in remains.

The rock band whose video shoot Pee Wee rides his bike through is Twisted Sister.

During the magic shop scene, Mario shows Pee-wee heads of different sizes. The largest head that he shows Pee-wee last is actually Aleister Crowley.

The Mr. T cereal eaten by Pee-Wee actually existed. It was not something made up for the film.

Elizabeth Daily (Dottie) would later go on to provide famous cartoon voices such as Buttercup in The Powerpuff Girls (1998) and The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002)

CAMEO: Cassandra Peterson: (a.k.a. Elvira) Biker Mama at the Biker Bar.

CAMEO: Tom Berenger: Patron that turns around in the diner after the Large Marge sequence.

CAMEO: Phil Hartman: reporter interviewing Francis at the drive-in is "Captain Carl" from Pee Wee's TV shows.

DIRECTOR CAMEO : Tim Burton: the thug who accosts Pee-wee just before he enters the fortune teller's studio.

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FILM 1809: LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF

FILM 1809: LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF 

Los Angeles Plays Itself is a video essay by Thom Andersen, finished in 2003, exploring the way Los Angeles has been presented in movies. Consisting almost entirely of clips from other films with narration, the film was not initially released commercially. The film was only seen in screenings presented by Andersen, occasional presentations at American Cinematheque and copies distributed via filesharing and other person-to-person methods. In 2014, it was announced that the film would finally be released officially by Cinema Guild.

Andersen stated that the film idea occurred to him after a lecture he gave at the California Institute of the Arts, where he talked about his objections to L.A. Confidential, the 1997 Curtis Hanson film adapted from James Ellroy's novel.

In the film, Andersen argues that the influence of Hollywood overshadows Los Angeles and is one of the reasons the city's name is frequently abbreviated. He makes the case that directors have a distaste for modernist architecture, which is regularly used for villain's homes.

(Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Plays_Itself)

FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

TRIVIA: Ryan Murphy interviewed Bette Davis months before her death in 1989. The agreed-upon 20-minute interview lasted four hours, and inspired his characterization of Davis. When he asked her about Joan Crawford, she would talk about how much she hated her, before saying "She was a professional. And I admired that."

The series was in development - with Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon on board - for seven years before finally being given the green light.

Three Oscar winners (Jessica Lange, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Zeta-Jones) portray three other Oscar winners (Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland, respectively).

Catherine Zeta-Jones was Ryan Murphy's only choice for the role of Olivia de Havilland, which he offered to her personally.

Catherine Zeta-Jones claimed that while she did not contact 100 year old Olivia de Havilland to advise on her portrayal, she did consult her (also 100 year old) father-in-law Kirk Douglas for advice. She claimed that Douglas described de Havilland as "Aaah Olivia," Bette Davis: "Aww, she was a broad. She told it as it was," and Joan Crawford: "She was out of her fucking mind!"

During the beginning credits of each episode, both Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon's name switches for who's is shown first each week - as if they are fighting for top billing, much like their respective characters in Feud (2017).

Both leading actors are considerably older than the real life individuals they are playing. Bette Davis was 54 during filming of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) - Susan Sarandon is 70. Joan Crawford was 56, Jessica Lange is 67.

Bette Davis works with Faye Dunaway on "The Disappearance of Aimee (1976)" and explains that Ms. Dunaway is even more difficult to work with than Joan Crawford who Ms. Davis admitted to being professional and prompt. Five years after making that film, Faye Dunaway portrayed Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest (1981)" and received numerous negative reviews for her over the top and downright inaccurate portrayal of Joan. To this day, Ms. Dunaway refuses to discuss "Mommie Dearest (1981)" or her experience making it.

B-movie director William Castle is played by cult film director John Waters. The casting is a wish-fulfillment for Waters, who was heavily influenced by Castle. The production deliberately did nothing to make Waters resemble Castle so that any viewer who recognized him would get the joke. Waters also recorded a commentary track for the Joan Crawford bio-pic Mommie Dearest (1981).

The Tudor style house occupied by Bette Davis was featured in the movie Donnie Darko.

Susan Sarandon claimed that there were four to five other projects she was aware of since the 1980s in which she was suggested to play Bette Davis.

FILM 1719: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

TRIVIA: At 9 minutes and 32 seconds, Gloria Grahame's performance in this movie became the shortest to ever win an Oscar. She held the record until 1976, when Beatrice Straight won for her 5 minute performance in Network (1976).

The character of Shields is regarded as a mixture of producer David O. Selznick, Orson Welles and producer Val Lewton. Georgia, the alcoholic daughter of an iconic actor, is very clearly based on Diana Barrymore. Bartlow, the college professor turned best-selling author turned screenwriter, is thought to be based on Paul Green, a UNC professor who followed a similar career track. Gilbert Roland's appearance as "Gaucho" is seen as a self-parody; the Mexican-born actor, once a star in silent dramas, had just appeared as "The Cisco Kid" in a string of "B" westerns.

To somewhat soften the depiction of Shields, Vincente Minnelli cut a scene in which he accepts the Best Picture Oscar® for the film whose idea he had stolen from his best friend. In the scene, Shields devotes most of his speech to his late father, then makes only a brief mention of his friend at the end.

Vincente Minnelli was so impressed by Ned Glass' performance as the wardrobe man, he kept expanding his role. After two days of shooting, he still needed a close-up of Glass, but the next day the actor did not show up. Having failed to do a thorough background check before shooting started, MGM had hired Glass without realizing he had been blacklisted. The night before his final shot, studio security had called to inform him he would not be allowed on the lot. After a hasty conference with studio executives, MGM decided they would rather ignore the blacklist than pay the $20,000 to $30,000 it would require to re-shoot the key scene.

Concerned about Lana Turner's insecurities and talk of her limited acting abilities, Vincente Minnelli got her through her first scene by telling her that every retake was the result of somebody else's problem. Through gentle coaching he got a strong performance out of her while also keeping her confidence intact.

Kirk Douglas was highly interested in Lana Turner during the shooting, but he could not do anything because of the Fernando Lamas' presence, Lana Turner's boyfriend.

Lana Turner plays an actress whose career started as a movie extra. Turner started her own career as an extra in A Star Is Born (1937).

The motto under the SHIELDS Pictures Inc coat-of-arms is "NON SANS DROIT". This was the same motto used by Shakespeare and means "Not without right".

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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