FILM 1751: BATTLE OF THE SEXES

FILM 1751: BATTLE OF THE SEXES

TRIVIA: In 1973, Billie Jean King was 29 and Bobby Riggs was 55. At the time of filming, Emma Stone was 28 and Steve Carell was 54.

Emma Stone was initially cast as Billie Jean King, but scheduling issues forced her to pass on the role. Brie Larson was ultimately tapped to replace Stone. After a few months, Larson dropped out. After Stone's schedule was cleared, she was able to take back the role.

Emma Stone put on 15 pounds of muscle for this film.

The film sugarcoats the tragic love affair with Marilyn. What was private until 1981 became public when Marilyn sued King by invoking the palimony law nearly destroying King's career. It would take years from then for King to rebuild what she'd lost.

Five of the supporting cast members are sketch comedy veterans. Steve Carell was a writer and cast member of The Dana Carvey Show (1996). Sarah Silverman and Tom Kenny were cast members of Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995). Fred Armisen was a cast member of Saturday Night Live (1975) and a cast member/writer/producer of Portlandia (2011). Chris Parnell was a cast member of Saturday Night Live (1975).

FILM 1123: THE WAY WAY BACK

TRIVIA: In an interview, writer/director Jim Rash said the script's main inspiration was the opening scene, inspired by a similar conversation he had with his own stepfather when he was 14.

The script was written in 2007 as "The Way Back", but the title was later changed to avoid confusion with the film The Way Back (2010). The title refers to the "way back seat," the 1970s colloquial expression for the third, often-hidden seat located in the cargo section of a station wagon.

The film was originally supposed to take place in 1984, but was moved into the present due to budgetary constraints. Owen's comment about how the water park "hasn't been upgraded since 1983" and Duncan's REO Speedwagon sing-along are both references to this fact.

Sam Rockwell would often improvise and joke around on the loudspeaker during scenes. One time, forgetting that there were children around, he made an inappropriate joke about herpes, which upset the owner of the park. Rockwell had to go and apologize so that they could continue filming.

In order to save money, the filmmakers decided to not get trailers for the actors, and instead decided to rent a house for the duration of filming (approx. 6 weeks), where the actors could go between takes. The house turned into a popular hangout spot for the cast and crew, and they would often go to the house even during weekends or days off.

In the original script, the character of Caitlyn was a young teenager who worked in the park and had no significant screen time. In later drafts, Jim Rash and Nat Faxon decided to make the character older and have her interact with Owen (Sam Rockwell)more, though it was mostly superficial interaction. When Maya Rudolph was cast, Rash and Faxon told Rudolph and Rockwell, that although there was not much in the script, the two actors would have to create a meaningful relationship between their two characters.

Film 954: Date Night

Trivia: In all of Mark Wahlberg's scenes, he is shirtless. His scenes were carefully filmed at specific angles to avoid showing a tattoo of Bob Marley that he has on his left shoulder.

In the scene where Tina Fey's character is preparing for bed, she is shown wearing a "University of Virginia" T-shirt. Tina Fey graduated there in 1992.

Despite the fact that his character's minimal apparel is a running joke throughout the movie, there is a dedicated wardrobe assistant to Mark Wahlberg listed in the end credits.

The name of the strip joint where the Fosters go to meet the DA (The Peppermint Hippo) is a based on a famous chain of gentlemen's clubs called The Spearmint Rhino.

As Taste and Whippit are leaving their apartment, Taste says "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat". This is a reference to a quote from the movie Heat. William Fichtner, who plays District Attorney Frank Crenshaw, was in Heat.

The erotic dance between Steve Carell and Tina Fey was improvised but to make them feel awkward in character, director Shawn Levy shouted obscure phrases to them while behind the camera.