FILM 1649: THE BLUES BROTHERS

TRIVIA: A world-record--at that time--103 cars were wrecked during filming. This feat was exceeded two years later, when 150 cars (and a plane) were crashed for H.B. Halicki's The Junkman (1982). That record in turn held for two decades, until over 300 cars were wrecked during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded (2003).

During filming one of the night scenes, John Belushi disappeared and could not be located. Dan Aykroyd looked around and saw a single house with its lights on. He went to the house and was prepared to identify himself, the movie and that they were looking for Belushi. Before he could, the homeowner looked at him, smiled and said, "You're here for John Belushi, aren't you?" The homeowner then told them Belushi had entered their house, asked if he could have a glass of milk and a sandwich and then crashed on their couch. Situations like this prompted Aykroyd to affectionately dub Belushi "America's Guest."

John Belushi was nicknamed "The Black Hole" on the set, as he went through hundreds of pairs of sunglasses during production. He would do a scene and then lose the pair before filming the next one.

Carrie Fisher became engaged to co-star Dan Aykroyd during this shoot shortly after he saved her from choking by applying the Heimlich maneuver.

Some of the performers were not used to lip-syncing to their pre-recorded songs, the standard procedure for movie musicals. James Brown ended up singing his number live with a recorded backing (the rest of his choir was lip-syncing). John Lee Hooker's performance of "Boom Boom" was recorded live at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market. Aretha Franklin's performance is cut together from many, many takes, using the parts where her lip-syncing was actually in sync.

When recording the soundtrack for the movie, Cab Calloway was needed to record his hit "Minnie the Moocher" in better quality than his original album. When he came into the studios he was prepared to do his new disco version that was just released. Of course, the filmmakers wanted nothing to do with this and asked for the original version, which Calloway reluctantly gave them.

The young woman in the choir at The Triple Rock Church is R & B singer Chaka Khan.

At the Bob's Country Bunker gig, Jake introduces "Stand By Your Man" by saying it's a favorite of the horn section. The horn section doesn't play in the song.

DIRECTOR CAMEO: John Landis: the state trooper driving the second car, the one that shows up after the first car calls for backup, that chases the Bluesmobile through the shopping mall.

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK: John Landis: [filmmakers] Appearances by directors Frank Oz and Steven Spielberg.

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK: John Landis: [SYNW] a billboard advertising the fictional horror movie "See You Next Wednesday" is seen during the Good Ole Boys chase.

BOOK 169: THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS: ARUNDHATI ROY

The God of Small Things (1997) is the debut novel of Indian writer Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who should be loved, and how. And how much." The book explores how the small things affect people's behavior and their lives. It won the Booker Prize in 1997.

The God of Small Things was Roy's first book and as of August 2016 is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to complete. The potential of the story was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers. Roy received 500,000 pounds in advance and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries.

STYLE: NON-SEQUENTIAL NARRATIVE

The God of Small Things is not written in a sequential narrative style in which events unfold chronologically. Instead, the novel is a patchwork of flashbacks and lengthy sidetracks that weave together to tell the story of the Ipe family. The main events of the novel are traced back through the complex history of their causes, and memories are revealed as they relate to one another thematically and as they might appear in Rahel's mind. Although the narrative voice is omniscient, it is loosely grounded in Rahel's perspective, and all of the episodes of the novel progress toward the key moments in Rahel's life.

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

FILM 1581: THE CONJURING 2 

TRIVIA: James Wan was offered a "life-altering" amount of money in order to direct Fast 8 (2017). However, he turned that opportunity down to direct The Conjuring 2 (2016) instead. "I feel rejuvenated to tell a scary story one more time," Wan wrote on Instagram.

The remaining members of the Hodgson family visited the set. Frances O'Connor, who portrays their late mother, refused to meet them, as she feared it would affect her performance.

Patrick Wilson did his own singing.

On the first day of shooting, a priest was brought in to bless the set.

One of the real-life allegations that didn't feature in the movie, was that the Hodgson children's toys were thrown around and were too hot to touch.

Some have claimed that the real Janet is a gifted ventriloquist or the power to manipulate voices and she admitted faking some events. She revealed that around two percent of the haunting was phony during an interview with The Telegraph.

The opening scene where the Warrens are seen partaking in a séance in the Amityville Horror House, Lorraine is seen wearing a trenchcoat and a skirt. Inspiration for this costume was taken from what the real Lorraine Warren wore during a séance in real life during the Amityville case. She wore a replica of the outfit right down to the styling of her hair.

The ghost boy that Lorraine sees when astral projecting is based on the infamous Amityville photo supposedly taken by Gene Campbell, a professional photographer who was part of the team who worked with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Society of Psychical Research in England researched this case long before The Warrens, and it was determined it was Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis. Grosse and Playfaire moved into the house at one point and investigated this case for over a year. The Warrens just showed up and stayed for a couple of days.

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.