TOP FIVE BIOPICS

TOP FIVE BIOPICS

1. LA VIE EN ROSE (2007)

This biopic of Édith Piaf is equal parts beautiful and tragic, the wonderful Marion Cotillard is transformed into Piaf and transfixes you in every scene. I’m not much of a crier but I was in floods of tears by the end of this film.

2. WALK THE LINE (2005)

Before watching this film I knew little of the life of the legendary Johnny Cash, but I found it so interesting that I have since read his autobiography and bought his whole discography. The two leads in this film, (Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon) although not sounding exactly the same as Johnny and June are great and this is a thoroughly enjoyable film to watch.

3. THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

Another film that makes me cry, the least Lynchian Lynch film, and a beautiful, hauntingly moving piece of filmmaking. This is based on the true story of a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a 'side-show freak'. I was an odd child so I actually knew a bit about John/ Joseph Merrick before I was this film but Lynch treats the story in a deeply human way.

4. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002)

This is one of those ‘Life is stranger than fiction’ stories that is told in a fantastic way with great direction from Spielberg and great performances from DiCaprio, Hanks and Walken. It takes you on an unbelievable journey that seems too strange to be true.

5.  THE DISASTER ARTIST (2017)

Although this isn’t a biopic in a traditional sense, as we know absolutely nothing of the past of the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau, it’s a document of a period of his life while making the infamous movie ‘The Room’. It’s funny and surprisingly heartwarming, and James Franco plays Wiseau in a way I think not many other actors could.

FILM 1735: THE DISASTER ARTIST

TRIVIA: Greg Sestero stated that when he was writing the book, Tommy Wiseau said that only two actors could play him in the adaptation: James Franco or Johnny Depp. Wiseau, who claims to have once lived in New Orleans, was a fan of Franco's performance in the film Sonny (2002).

James Franco spoke like Tommy Wiseau throughout each day's filming, and even directed using Wiseau's distinctive voice and syntax, though Jason Mantzoukas said that Franco did not direct in character and only spoke like Wiseau. Seth Rogen admitted he had a hard time being directed by Franco while being interviewed on The Howard Stern Show. Rogen said during the first two days, he had a hard time containing his laughter as Franco was speaking as Tommy Wiseau with his notable European accent. Franco told Rogen he would get used to it, which he eventually did.

To promote the film the distributor rented the same billboard on Highland Avenue in Los Angeles that Tommy Wiseau rented for five years to promote The Room (2003), mimicking the layout of the original billboard and including a phone number to RSVP to screenings.

In almost every interview for The Disaster Artist, James Franco mentions that Tommy Wiseau approves of "99.9%" of the film. His only objections were the lighting of the first scene, which Franco believes was because Tommy was wearing sunglasses when watching the scene, and also for the poor way James threw the football.

Besides an interview for Esquire and a video for Funnyordie.com, brothers James and Dave Franco have never worked together or appeared on-screen together until this film. Dave Franco almost appeared as himself with his brother in This Is the End, but he was later excluded because his charcter would have had to die and it was considered too sad for the already dark comedy. James was also considered for a role in 21 Jump Street (2012) respectively starring his brother Dave.

All three stars of podcast 'How Did This Get Made?' (Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas) appear in the film. In a Variety article, it was revealed that the podcast episode featuring The Room which Greg Sestero appeared on, was a contributing factor not only in the source book being completed but also served as an inspiration for the screenwriters.

BOOK 176: PLEASE DON'T COME BACK FROM THE MOON: DEAN BAKOPOULOS

Please Don't Come Back from the Moon (2005) was his debut novel, about fathers in Maple Rock, Detroit abandoning their families under a strange compulsion to go to the moon. It is narrated by the young Mikey, a would-be writer, whose father feels the same desire to leave. The New York Times said it "deftly weld[ed] magic realism with social satire". Entertainment Weekly gave it a B- saying it turned into a very conventional coming-of-age story. People gave it 3.5/4.

FILM 1391: TRUE STORY

TRIVIA: This movie is based on a true story.

The fingerprint pattern on the movie poster is actually made up of the word "LIES" repeated over and over.

The scene where Jonah Hill punches the bathroom stall was improvised. He actually ended up hurting his hand and had to go the the hospital afterwards, but ended up just being a slight bruised bone.

FILM 1203: PALO ALTO

TRIVIA: Gia Coppola's directorial debut.

In April's bedroom wall, there's a poster for the movie, The Virgin Suicides, directed by Gia Coppola's aunt, Sofia Coppola.

Film 967: Oz the Great and Powerful

Trivia: Christoph Waltz was in early talks to play a role.

At the start of the film, Oz works with the circus company "Baum Brothers Circus." This is a reference to L. Frank Baum, the original author of the Oz series.

This is the second Oz-related movie to be produced by the Disney company. Their first film was Return to Oz.

This film allowed director Sam Raimi and composer Danny Elfman to patch things up after their falling out during the post-production of Spider-Man 2.

Because Warner Bros. owns the rights to iconic elements of the 1939 MGM film, including the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland, Disney was unable to use them nor any character likenesses from that particular film. This extended to the green of the Wicked Witch's skin, for which Disney used what its legal department considered a sufficiently different shade called theostein. The studio could not, however, use the signature chin mole of Margaret Hamilton's portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Early on, Oscar (Oz) makes mention of his shabby jacket. There is a famous story of how a shabby jacket was purchased at a used clothing store for use in the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie. It was later discovered (and confirmed) that the jacket was originally made for and owned by L. Frank Baum (the author of The Wizard of Oz).

To prepare for his role as Oz, James Franco received training with magician Lance Burton.