FILM 1780: THE RACHEL DIVIDE

FILM 1780: THE RACHEL DIVIDE

Rachel Dolezal becomes a social phenomenon when she passes herself off as an African American and becomes the head of her local N.A.A.C.P. chapter.

FILM 1775: THE WRAITH

FILM 1775: THE WRAITH

TRIVIA: The black car featured in the movie was a real-life technological wonder, the Dodge M4S. A joint effort of the Dodge Division of Chrysler Motors and PPG Industries, one of the highly sophisticated PPG Pace Cars for the PPG-CART Indy Car World Series. The M4S was designed and constructed at an estimated cost of $1.1 million, and featured performance and technology to match that lofty figure. The innovative body design was developed in the Chrysler studios, while PPG developed the finish - a special bronze pearl paint job formulated just for this car. The M4S was powered by a Chrysler 2.4-liter four-cylinder one-of-a-kind engine that exceeded 194 mph. According to Gary Hellerstein, transportation coordinator for this film, a total of seven versions of the M4S were needed for filming. The original, on loan from Dodge, was used for close-ups and details. Two more "drivers", consisting of perfectly detailed bodies on dune buggy chassis, were used for stunt driving chores. There were four "shells", empty bodies on bare, towable frames, that were sacrificed in various crash scenes.

While filming a chase sequence shot on a mountainside outside of Tuscon, a crew member was killed and another was critically injured. According to supplementary material on the DVD a camera car was overloaded and overturned. This was the only serious accident during the filming.

Dedicated to the memory of Bruce Ingram, who worked on the film as an assistant cameraman. He was the single person killed when the camera car overturned.

Johnny Depp, who was then dating Sherilyn Fenn, was present during filming and was living in the film crew's hotel with Fenn.

No explanation is given for the unusual metal bar body attachments that disappear after a kill, though some fans believe these are similar to support braces given people who've gone through severe physical trauma.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 star Felicia Day has stated this is her favorite bad movie of all time, and would love to feature it on Mystery Science Theater 3000 someday.

When police are chasing Packard Walsh and The Wraith at the end of the movie, at background can be seen a rainbow. It was purely incidental.

FILM 1631: GET OUT

TRIVIA: Jordan Peele cited the original Night of the Living Dead (1968) as an inspiration for making this his feature film writing-directing debut, because the film had an African American protagonist.

Jordan Peele 's feature film directorial debut.

Allison Williams' first feature film.

Second collaboration between Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener. They previously worked together in An American Crime (2007).

FILM 1401: A TIME TO KILL

TRIVIA: Kevin Costner was considered for the role of Jake Brigance, but wanted complete control of the project. Author John Grisham objected and Costner passed on the project.

Paul Newman turned down the role of Lucien Wilbanks because he found the film's message distasteful.

This was the second movie in which Keifer and his father Donald both had roles.

FILM 1220: BEN-HUR

TRIVIA: The only Hollywood film to make the Vatican approved film list in the category of religion.

During the 18-day auction of MGM props, costumes, and memorabilia that took place in May 1970 when new owner Kirk Kerkorian was liquidating the studio's assets, a Sacramento restaurateur paid $4,000 for a chariot used in the film. Three years later, during the energy crisis, he was arrested for driving the chariot on the highway.

The chariot race has a 263-to-1 cutting ratio (263 feet of film for every one foot kept), probably the highest for any 65mm sequence ever filmed.

The chariot race required 15,000 extras, on a set constructed on 18 acres of backlot at Cinecitta Studios outside Rome. Tour buses visited the set every hour. Eighteen chariots were built, with half being used for practice. The race took five weeks to film.

Paul Newman was offered the role of Judah Ben-Hur but turned it down because he'd already done one Biblical-era film, "The Silver Chalice," hated the experience and said it also taught him that he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic.

It is the first movie remake to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The Departed (2006) became the second remake, 47 years later.

When he was cast as Messala, Stephen Boyd grew a bushy beard for the role, only to be told that fashionable Roman men of the time didn't wear beards.

William Wyler selected all the camera angles for the chariot race, but left all the details of its actual shooting in the hands of his second-unit directors Andrew Marton and Yakima Canutt. When he saw Marton and Canutt's work, Wyler remarked that it was "one of the greatest cinematic achievements" he'd ever seen. Wyler then supervised the editing of the sequence.

According to Gore Vidal's interview in The Celluloid Closet (1995), Ben-Hur and Messala were former lovers so Messala betrayed Ben-Hur because their relationship ended. According to Vidal, this information was hidden from Charlton Heston because it was felt that he could not handle it. After Vidal's interview, Heston vehemently denied that Ben-Hur was homosexual but Vidal reiterated his claim.

One of only four MGM films where the studio's trademark Leo the Lion did not roar at the beginning of the opening credits, apparently because of the religious theme in the film. The others were The Next Voice You Hear... (1950) (another film with a religious theme), Westward the Women (1951) and North by Northwest (1959), in which composer Bernard Herrmann's growling music took the place of the lion's roar. (The lion used in 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was the new illustrated logo first used in the credits for that film, not a real lion. But this logo was shortly discarded permanently, and so doesn't count.)

FILM 1185: THE KILLING

TRIVIA: Initial test screenings were poor, citing the non-linear structure as the main problem. Stanley Kubrick was forced to go back and edit the film in a linear fashion, actually making the film even more confusing. In the end, it was released in its original form, and is often cited as being a huge influence on other non-linear films like Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994).

The narration was added at the studio's insistence. Stanley Kubrick hated the idea and thus makes much of the information that the narrator provides false or mistaken.

The location where John Clay (Sterling Hayden) proposes the deal to Maurice Oboukhoff (Kola Kwariani) is a mock-up of the 42nd Street Chess and Checker Parlor in New York City. Director Stanley Kubrick was a regular chess player there, as was Kola.

Kirk Douglas was so impressed with this film that he sought out the director for his next project, Paths of Glory (1957).

Stanley Kubrick initially wrote a script outline. He then asked Jim Thompson to flesh it out with dialog.