FILM 1990: HEARTBURN

FILM 1990: HEARTBURN 

TRIVIA: Meryl Streep's daughter Mamie Gummer was used as Annie the baby.

The film doesn't make this explicit, but in real-life, Writer Nora Ephron had been so upset by her husband's infidelity that she went into labor prematurely.

Meryl Streep was pregnant in real life during the making of the movie.

Tony Shalhoub's first feature film role. Shalhoub had a love scene with Meryl Streep, but nearly all of his scenes were cut. Shalhoub can still be seen, though, as a passenger on a plane sitting behind Jack Nicholson.

The movie is based on Nora Ephron's real-life marriage to, and divorce from, Carl Bernstein, and the birth of their two sons. The woman with whom Bernstein had an affair was Margaret Jay, who was the wife of the British Ambassador to the United States, and daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan. Jay became a Baroness in 1992, and rose to become the first female Leader of the House of Lords between 1998 and 2001.

Jack Nicholson replaced Mandy Patinkin as Mark Forman. Patinkin was originally cast as the male lead, but was suddenly replaced by Nicholson after two days of shooting when Director Mike Nichols realized there was no chemistry between Patinkin and Meryl Streep.

Jack Nicholson's performance of "Soliloquy" ("My Boy Bill"), from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel", is a nod to Writer Nora Ephron's parents, Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron, who wrote the screenplay for the musical film Carousel (1956), which was also produced by Henry Ephron.

In Everything Is Copy (2015), Jacob Bernstein's documentary about his mother Nora Ephron's life and career, he reveals that contentious negotiations over the movie adaptation of her novel "Heartburn" extended his parents' divorce for several years longer than most divorces take. Eventually, their divorce agreement included a stipulation that the movie was not allowed to depict the "Mark Forman" (Carl Bernstein) character as anything but a good, loving, and conscientious father (whatever his failings as a faithful husband were), and Mike Nichols had to be named as a legal signatory to the divorce.

FILM 1941: MARS ATTACKS!

FILM 1941: MARS ATTACKS!

TRIVIA: The writers weren't sure what the Martians should sound like, so the script read "ack, ack, ack, ack" for all of their lines of dialogue. This became the actual words spoken by the Martians in the film.

The Martian Girl costume had no zipper or buttons (to make it as smooth as possible), so Lisa Marie had to be sewn into it every day.

Although supposedly taking place in the 1990s, the U.S. Army's uniforms, tanks, Jeeps, artillery, et cetera, all date from the 1950s, when the movies being spoofed were made.

When people had their flesh vaporized from their bones, the remaining skeletons were either red or green. Tim Burton explained this had been done because the movie had been scheduled for a Christmas release. Also, the red and green skeletons were first seen in Beetlejuice (1988). When Barbara and Adam were in Juno's office, you can see them with other ghouls looking at the screen. 

Tim Burton pitched the idea of the film to Warner Brothers by showing them the Topps trading cards that inspired the screenplay.

The little dog owned by television hostess Nathalie Lake (Sarah Jessica Parker), is actually owned by Lisa Marie (Martian Girl).

Tim Burton had wanted the Martians brought to life via stop-motion animation, but finally went with CGI. The animators told Burton they could animate the Martians without motion blur to make them look more "stop-motiony," but Burton decided against that.

The Martians land in Pahrump, Nevada, home of radio talk-show host Art Bell. Bell is well known for featuring guests who are involved, in one way or another, with the subject of outer-space life forms. This ranges from scientists investigating the possibility of extraterrestrial life, to people who claim to have been contacted, kidnapped, examined, or impregnated (sometimes all at the same time) by space aliens. 

Martin Amis worked on the script for this movie. He said, "I rather liked the film, though it contained not a word I wrote."

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK (Tim Burton): (cast): Features many actors and actresses who appeared in previous Burton films: Sylvia Sidney from Beetlejuice (1988), Jack Nicholsonfrom Batman (1989), O-Lan Jones from Edward Scissorhands (1990), Danny DeVito from Batman Returns (1992), Sarah Jessica Parker, and Lisa Marie Smith from Ed Wood(1994).

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK (Tim Burton): (music): Music by Danny Elfman.

FILM 1900: BROADCAST NEWS

FILM 1900: BROADCAST NEWS

TRIVIA: Albert Brooks revealed that when he first read the script, the scene where Aaron does a weekend broadcast simply noted "Something bad happens to Aaron on the air." Albert was watching CNN, when a reporter he'd never seen before (and hasn't seen since) began sweating badly. Albert phoned Writer and Director James L. Brooks at three in the morning, and stated that Aaron HAD to start sweating profusely.

Jack Nicholson was not paid for his role, at his own request.

John Cusack is credited as "Angry Messenger". During the staff firings, a young man yells "sons of bitches!", and angrily throws a messenger bag to the office floor. We don't see the character's face, but the voice sounds like Cusack's.

James L. Brooks wrote this movie especially for Debra Winger, but she was forced to turn it down because she was pregnant with her son Noah Hutton. Before casting Holly Hunter as a replacement, Brooks considered Sigourney Weaver, Judy Davis, Elizabeth McGovern, Christine Lahti, and Elizabeth Perkins.

Marc Shaiman and Glen Roven, who played News Theme Writers, are real-life composers, who have also done television jingles. Shaiman, after doing this movie, went on to score major motion picture films, and has since been nominated for five Academy Awards.

The only Best Picture Oscar nominee that year to not be nominated for Best Director.

First theatrical film in four years for James L. Brooks, whose previous film was Terms of Endearment (1983), which won five Academy Awards including Best Picture. Albert Brooksand Jack Nicholson appeared in this movie and Terms of Endearment (1983). At least eighteen members of cast and crew worked on both of these movies. Also, both of the movies were Oscar nominated in numerous categories, with this movie and Terms of Endearment (1983) receiving seven and eleven Academy Award nominations, respectively.

The movie was selected to be included in TIME Magazine's Best Films of the 1987 year list.

Jane Craig was inspired by CBS News Producer Susan Zirinsky. Before filming began, Holly Hunter spent time job shadowing Zirinsky to see how things worked in a real newsroom. Hunter also cut her hair into a "bob" style haircut to resemble Zirinsky.

When Jennifer is sent to Anchorage, Alaska, to report on bodies that had been found, after being buried by a serial killer, that was the Robert Hansen case. He would hunt women after raping them . Eventually convicted of seventeen murders.

William Hurt (Tom Grunick) is less than eight years younger than Stephen Mendillo, who played his father.

Brother and sister John Cusack and Joan Cusack are listed in the film's cast list for this movie. This film is one of ten cinema movie collaborations of the siblings (to date, June 2015).

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

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FILM 1889: HOW DO YOU KNOW

FILM 1889: HOW DO YOU KNOW

TRIVIA: One of the lesser known "big box-office bombs of all time"; the budget spiraled up to one hundred twenty million dollars due to high salary demands of its principle cast and director, as well as a costly re-shoot for the beginning and the ending. Coupled with marketing costs, the movie lost an estimated one hundred five million dollars.

Jack Nicholson's and James L. Brooks' fourth film together.

Reese Witherspoon's character has a romantic relationship with Owen Wilson. Previously, Witherspoon played a character in Legally Blonde (2001), who had a romantic relationship with Luke Wilson (Owen's brother).

FILM 1593: SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE

TRIVIA: Twentieth Century Fox declined making the film citing that the leads were too old.

In this movie, Jack Nicholson plays a notorious bachelor, who always "escaped the noose", while Diane Keaton plays a divorcée. In real life it's the other way round: Nicholson is a divorcé while Keaton is a bachelorette.

First (albeit brief) full frontal nudity scene for Diane Keaton. Although highly publicized as her first actual nude scene, in fact, she first appeared topless 26 years earlier in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977).

Nancy Meyers wrote the roles of Erica and Harry specifically for Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson.

Jack Nicholson turned down starring in Bad Santa (2003) to be in this movie.

FILM 1532: TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

TRIVIA: James L. Brooks received a special gift at the end of production, to congratulate him for completing his first movie. This was a book of "Life in Hell" cartoons, drawn by Matt Groening. Brooks was so impressed with the comics that he asked Groening to create cartoon shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show (1987). This gave rise to The Simpsons (1989).

Debra Winger behaved erratically on the set of this film because she was trying to get over a severe cocaine addiction. At one point, she and Shirley MacLaine got into a shoving match.

The character of Garrett Breedlove does not appear in the novel and was written specifically with Burt Reynolds in mind by writer-director James L. Brooks. Reynolds loved the script but was already committed to star in Stroker Ace (1983). Paul Newman and Harrison Ford turned down the role before Jack Nicholson signed on. Nicholson talked with a number of real astronauts while in Houston in preparation.

The role of Emma was originally written for Sissy Spacek.

James L. Brooks settled on Shirley MacLaine to play Aurora because "she was the only one who saw it as a comedy."

Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger were both nominated for 1983's Best Actress Oscar, which went to MacLaine. On her way to the podium, she reportedly whispered to Winger, "Half of this belongs to you," to which Winger reportedly replied, "I'll take half."

James L. Brooks was the fourth director to win an Academy Award for direction on debut. Delbert Mann' was the first for Marty (1955) whilst Jerome Robbins was the second for West Side Story (1961). Others have been Robert Redford for Ordinary People (1980) and Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves (1990).

CAMEO: Albert Brooks: the voice of Aurora's husband in the opening scene, credited as A Brooks.

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