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 1891: IT'S COMPLICATED

FILM 1891: IT'S COMPLICATED 

TRIVIA: Meryl Streep had asked her alma mater, Vassar College, if they could film the college graduation scenes on their campus. They refused even though Streep serves on their Board of Trustees and two of her children attend there.

Although they have never previously worked together in a film, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are tied for most times hosting Saturday Night Live (1975) with 14 times each. They also co-hosted the 2010 Academy Awards.

In the scene where Jane answers a phone call from her daughter Lauren, she is clearly surprised by Jake who kisses her causing her to say "You're still on the phone" instead of "You're still on the plane." This was a genuine reaction from Meryl Streep who did not expect Alec Baldwin to kiss her. Nancy Meyers had directed Alec to kiss Meryl since it would be something Jake would do. Fortunately, Streep kept the scene going and incorporated her mistake therefore the scene could be kept in the movie.

FILM 1757: THE POST

FILM 1757: THE POST 

TRIVIA: In all of the scenes depicting President Nixon on the phone in the Oval Office, Nixon's actual voice is heard from White House tapes. 

In scenes involving the Pentagon Papers, the actual Daniel Ellsberg's original documents were used as genuine props, including the pages that were scattered over the floor of Benjamin C. Bradlee (Tom Hanks)' home.

In his memoir, the real Daniel Ellsberg claimed that walking out of RAND with the Pentagon Papers (and returning them) over the course of months was a calculated risk, since he had never had his bag checked by security, but he did not know for sure if it was not policy to do so.

Steven Spielberg wanted to have his film released as quickly as possible given the parallels between its theme and the burgeoning political 'fake news' climate in the U.S. According to Meryl Streep, the physical shoot started in May (2017) and finished at the end of July (2017) and Spielberg had it cut two weeks later, an unprecedented feat. The gestation from script to final cut lasted a modest 9 months.

Never having previously collaborated with director Steven Spielberg in a director/actor capacity, Meryl Streep was flabbergasted to learn that Spielberg never rehearses with his actors. Co-star Tom Hanks was well aware of this idiosyncrasy but decided, in gleeful anticipation of a 'diva' reaction, not to tell Streep. Despite her initial shock, Meryl and Steven got along extremely well during the shoot with Spielberg being so impressed with her character transformation, he had difficulty restraining himself from constantly complimenting her every take on set.

Benjamin Bradlee (Tom Hanks character) in real life had a son named Ben Bradlee Junior who is depicted in the film Spotlight (played by John Slattery). The film is based on the true story about about the Boston Globe newspaper uncovering a major scandal.

The Post is dedicated to Nora Ephron, once married to Carl Bernstein who with Bob Woodward uncovered the Watergate scandal in 1972 as reporters for The Washington Post.

Tom Hanks has a connection with both of the film's main characters' real-life individuals. Hanks actually personally knew Ben Bradlee (who Hanks portrays in the film), and he met Kay Graham (who Meryl Streep portrays in the film) the day before she died.

Coincidentally, Benjamin C. Bradlee and wife Sally Quinn were Long Island neighbors of Steven Spielberg for many years, and they knew each other socially.

With this film, his fifth collaboration with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks broke his tie with Harrison Ford to be the actor that Spielberg has directed the most times. Ford has also been directed by Spielberg five times, but his scene in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was cut from the final film.

Michael Stuhlbarg is in three of the movies nominated for best picture Oscars: The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, and The Post, but he was not nominated himself.

The Post marks the 28th collaboration between Williams (composer of the film's score) and Spielberg. The score uses a combination of both orchestral and sparse, light electronic elements throughout.

Film 1080: Doubt

Trivia: Meryl Streep hand knitted the shawl she wears in this movie.

Sigourney Weaver, Annette Bening, Kathy Bates and Anjelica Huston were considered to play Sister Aloysius.

Viola Davis, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Mrs. Miller, in the film, is only in two scenes. The first is an extended dialogue with Meryl Streep's character, Sister Aloysius. In the second, she appears only for about 10 seconds and does not speak.

John Patrick Shanley offered the role of Sister James to Natalie Portman, but she declined.

Tom Hanks, John Cusack and David Hyde Pierce were considered to play Father Flynn.

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