Top Five: Paul Newman

1. COOL HAND LUKE MINIMALIST ALTERNATIVE MOVIE PRINT & POSTER

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/200340716/cool-hand-luke-minimalist-alternative?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=paul%20newman&ref=sr_gallery-2-10

2. ESQUIRE PAUL NEWMAN COVER GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION A4 - ART PRINT

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/548048254/esquire-paul-newman-cover-graphic?ga_search_query=PAUL&ref=shop_items_search_1

3. PAUL NEWMAN - COOL HAND LUKE POSTER

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/565603723/paul-newman-cool-hand-luke-poster?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=paul%20newman&ref=sr_gallery-1-19

4. VTG 1976 SLAP SHOT PAUL NEWMAN T-SHIRT S 70S CLASSIC HOCKEY COMEDY MOVIE

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/521212663/vtg-1976-slap-shot-paul-newman-t-shirt-s?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=paul%20newman&ref=sr_gallery-1-37

5. VINTAGE, THE STING - "ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK", VINYL LP, RECORD ALBUM, PAUL NEWMAN, ROBERT REDFORD, AMAZING COVER, ORIGINAL 1972

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/92260037/vintage-the-sting-original-motion?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=paul%20newman&ref=sr_gallery-7-19

New prints now available in my etsy shop…

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ClaireHefferDesign

Some of my most recent cover illustrations - more can be found here… https://www.flickr.com/photos/29592695@N08/albums/72157659042171433

FILM 1394: THE VERDICT

TRIVIA: Robert Redford was originally involved with this film. After writer David Mamet delivered his draft, Redford was uncomfortable with the main character and hired another writer to do another draft, and so on until Redford decided he didn't want to do the film. He was uncomfortable because he did not want to play an alcoholic. Sidney Lumet was offered the project. He read all the drafts and identified the original Mamet version as the one to make. At that point, Paul Newman agreed to star.

Among the people in the courtroom during the dramatic closing speech is a young Bruce Willis.

Though entitled "The Verdict", the original final draft of David Mamet's screenplay had no verdict in it. Producer Richard D. Zanuck commented that the title would require a question mark on advertising materials making it "The Verdict?". It was director Sidney Lumet who convinced Mamet to add in a verdict so the film could have a third act denouement.

Final American feature film for a major Hollywood movie studio starring British actor James Mason.

FILM 1216: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

TRIVIA: Lula Parker Betenson, sister of the real Butch Cassidy, often visited the set, and her presence was welcome to the cast and crew. During lulls in shooting she would tell stories about her famous brother's escapades, and was amazed at how accurately the script and Paul Newman portrayed him. Before the film was released, the studio found out about her visits and tried to convince her to endorse the movie in a series of ads to be shown in theatres across the country. She said that she would, but only if she saw the film first and truly stood behind it. The studio refused, saying that allowing her to see the film before its release could harm its reputation. Finally, at Robert Redford's suggestion, she agreed to do the endorsements - for a small "fee."

The more commonly used name for Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid's gang was The Wild Bunch. However, when the Sam Peckinpah film, The Wild Bunch (1969), was released a few months earlier, the name of the gang was changed to the Hole in the Wall Gang to avoid confusion with Peckinpah's film.

Katharine Ross enjoyed shooting the silent, bicycle riding sequence best, because it was handled by the film crew's second unit rather than the director. She said, "Any day away from George Roy Hill was a good one." (This was after she had been scolded and banned from the set for operating a camera.)

According to screenwriter William Goldman, his screenplay originally was entitled "The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy." Both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman read the script at approximately the same time, and agreed to do it, with McQueen playing the Sundance Kid. When McQueen dropped out, the names reversed in the title, as Newman was a superstar.

'Butch Cassidy' (Robert Leroy Parker) was so nick-named because he once worked in a butcher's shop whilst 'The Sundance Kid' (Harry Alonzo Longabaugh) was nick-named this because he once was arrested in the Wyoming town of Sundance.

Dustin Hoffman was considered for the role of Butch Cassidy.

FILM 1190: COOL HAND LUKE

TRIVIA: In the "road-tarring" sequence, the actors actually blacktopped a mile-long stretch of highway for the county.

The opening scene, where Luke is cutting off the heads of parking meters, was filmed in Lodi, California. After the filming, the city did not replace the meters, and for many years afterward, you could go there and see a block long row of metal posts, sans meters.

Luke's prison number (37) is a reference to the Bible - Luke 1:37. ("For with God nothing shall be impossible.")