FILM 2005: KISS KISS BANG BANG

FILM 2005: KISS KISS BANG BANG 

TRIVIA: Shane Black's directorial debut.

As a show of support for Robert Downey Jr.'s recovery from alcohol and drugs, Val Kilmerrefused to drink during the entire production.

The film was given a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.

Val Kilmer's depiction of Gay Perry is generally considered to be the first openly gay character to front a Hollywood action movie.

Robert Downey Jr.'s favorite movie of his own.

In reference to the "Ike, Mike, and Mustard" quote, Mike and Ike are boxed candies in mixed colors of black and white and are also diner slang for salt and pepper shakers. Also, pre-1950s, an "Ike, Mike, and Mustard" joke was an off color joke, generally with sexual references, that wouldn't be told in polite or mixed company.

Shane Black read several stories by Raymond Chandler when writing this script. As a result, the story is divided into chapters and the chapter titles come from Chandler works. Specifically: 1. "Trouble is My Business", 2. "The Lady in the Lake", 3. "The Little Sister", 4. "The Simple Art of Murder", and Epilogue: "Farewell, My Lovely".

The phrase "kiss kiss, bang bang" appeared in the 1960s as an overseas slang for spy movies, especially James Bond movies. It was popular in Europe and Japan. It first appeared as a film title for Kiss Kiss - Bang Bang (1966), a 1966 spy comedy made in Spain with Italian financing. It was also the title of famed critic Pauline Kael's second published collection of reviews. Kael wrote that she chose the words as her title because they are "perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies."

Early in production, Warner Brothers considered Benicio Del Toro for Harry, and Hugh Grant for Gay Perry.

The film is credited as being based (very loosely) on Bodies Are Where You Find Them, by Brett Halliday. This was the fifth novel (of more than 70) in the Mike Shayne detective series, originally published in 1941. Brett Halliday was the pen name of Davis Dresser, who created the character and wrote the first thirty novels, stepping down from the job in 1958. Dell Publishing hired other writers to pen the rest, sometimes assisted by Dresser; all of them continued to use the Brett Halliday pen name. The book covers of the Johnny Gossamer paperbacks created for the film are based on Dell's cover design for the Mike Shayne series from the early 1950s to mid 1960s. Bodies Are Where You Find Them was reprinted by Dell with this cover design in 1959.

CAMEO: Laurence Fishburne: Voice of the bear in the fake beer commercial.

BOOK 186: FAREWELL, MY LOVELY: RAYMOND CHANDLER

Farewell, My Lovely is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio.

CULTURAL REFERENCES

In the first shot after the opening titles of Get Carter, the character played by Michael Caine is seen reading a paperback copy of the book.

In the opening episode of the television series Bored to Death, the character Jonathan Ames, played by Jason Schwartzman, is inspired to become a private detective after reading the book.

FILM 1634: FAMILY PLOT

TRIVIA: This is Alfred Hitchcock's final film and its final shot was of a woman breaking the fourth wall by looking straight into the camera and winking at the audience. This was arguably a fitting coda to his career exemplifying the black humor that was prevalent in his movies.

At one point during filming, Bruce Dern questioned Alfred Hitchcock about why he was cast in the movie. Hitchcock replied, "Because Mr. Packinow wanted a million dollars, and Hitch doesn't pay a million dollars." It took Dern a while to realize that "Mr. Packinow" was Al Pacino.

The final shot in the movie, a wink by the Barbara Harris character was a jokey reference that was not planned but Alfred Hitchcock decided to leave in.

This is the only Alfred Hitchcock film with a score composed by John Williams.

DIRECTOR CAMEO: Alfred Hitchcock: in silhouette 45 minutes into the film behind the door at the registrar of births and deaths.