FILM 1884: THE HUNTING GROUND

FILM 1884: THE HUNTING GROUND

An exposé of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families.

FILM 1781: HAPPY DEATH DAY

FILM 1781: HAPPY DEATH DAY 

TRIVIA: The Bayfield University Baby killer costume was designed by Tony Gardner, who also designed the Ghostface mask, the horror icon of the Scream franchise and which is a reworked version of the Father's Death Halloween costume.

The theatrical trailer utilizes the song "In Da Club" by 50 Cent as Tree's birthday ringtone. However, the final film does not feature this as the crew and studio could not acquire the rights. As a result, an original ringtone composition was concocted.

FILM 1619: BIG HERO 6

TRIVIA: According to Scott Watanabe, the movie is set in an alternate future where after the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco was rebuilt by Japanese immigrants using techniques that allow movement and flexibility in a seismic event. After the city was finished being rebuilt, it was renamed San Fransokyo due to it being a city with Japanese and American architecture combined.

The production team watched videos of fire ants as an inspiration of the movement of the Microbots.

In order to create the thousands of civilians living in San Fransokyo, the production team invented a program called the "Denizen Factory", which allowed them to build a whole series of background characters that each have a distinct design.

Over 200 different signs were created for the advertisements of San Fransokyo.

The inflatable, vinyl, truly huggable design of Baymax is inspired by 'soft robotics' research at Carnegie Mellon University.

The model of the design of Baymax's eyes is a Japanese traditional bell which is called Suzu. Don Hall, the director, says that he got an inspiration when he visited a temple in Japan.

One of the few Disney Films that is partially owned by both Pixar and Marvel.

This is Alan Tudyk's third Disney movie in a row (Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Frozen (2013)).

During the first twenty minutes of the movie, Tadashi's breathing is also animated.

Fred's father, seen in the family portrait the six heros walk past upon first entering Fred's house, is based on Stan Lee (who has had a cameo in every Marvel movie to date).

FILM 1521: THE BLIND SIDE

TRIVIA: When Quinton Aaron auditioned for the film, he was working as a security guard between acting gigs. After his audition, he left a card with his contact information and offered to work as a security guard on the set in case he wasn't selected to play Michael Oher.

Collins Tuohy, an A student, rearranged her schedules, and dropped out of several advanced placement classes, to share more classes with Michael Oher and help him graduate.

The Lawrence Taylor hit on Joe Theismann happened November 18, 1985, during a Monday Night Football game between the Giants and Redskins. It was the most gruesome injury ever seen on a nationally-televised regular season NFL game. Taylor, who frantically motions for help after the hit, claims that he has never seen replays of it, and never wants to.

Julia Roberts was offered the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy before Sandra Bullock, who turned it down three times because of her concerns about playing the part of a devout Christian. During the first couple of weeks of shooting, Bullock thought her acting was so bad she considered dropping out. John Lee Hancock had worked so hard on the project she didn't want to ruin it. However, she didn't quit and ended up winning the Best Leading Actress Oscar for her performance.

Michael Oher was an experienced football player when he enrolled at Briarcrest. He developed into a premier left tackle, and was heavily recruited by top schools in the Southeastern Conference. Oher was less than pleased by the movie's depiction of him as passive, unskilled big guy who was only barely acquainted with football. Nor was he enamored by the Forrest Gump (1994)-like depiction of himself in the film.

While Miss Sue fibs to Michael about where the bodies are stored, she is telling the truth about the University of Tennessee and its association with the FBI. The University has a facility, started by William Bass (often called BARF - Bass Anthropological Research Facility), that does study the stages of decomposition of human remains in a variety of scenarios.

When the Tuohys are riding home from S.J. Tuohy's school play, Sean Tuohy says the "quesadilla saved our ass". According to the book, Taco Bell sales were down at one time and Sean's stores were in some financial trouble. Then, Taco Bell introduced the quesadilla and sales increased and Sean's stores prospered.

The highest-grossing sports drama of all time.

Sandra Bullock took a pay cut to make the film and agreed to a percentage of the film's profits, which turned out to be considerable.

The first time a movie marketed with a sole actress's name above the title grossed over $200 million.

The real Michael Oher (born in 1986) is two years younger than Quinton Aaron (born in 1984).

Among the texts on the set-list proposed by Miss Sue are Tale Of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. All concern transformation of the protagonist into an improved person, and the latter two particularly by protagonists born in poverty.

FILM 1508: ST. ELMO'S FIRE 

TRIVIA: Demi Moore had a drug problem, much like her character when she was cast in the film. One day, director Joel Schumacher actually demanded that she leave the set because she was really high. Moore actually had to go through rehab and promise to stay clean in order to play a character with a drug problem.

Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson all portrayed college graduates in this 1985 film, the same year all three actors also portrayed high school students in John Hughes' The Breakfast Club (1985). St. Elmo's Fire (1985) producer Lauren Shuler Donner has said all three were cast in the film due to strong recommendations from Hughes.

Mare Winningham played a virgin while she was actually pregnant during filming.

The street that the St. Elmo bar is on is in the Universal back lot with several fill in buildings in between sets. About two to three buildings to the left is the Hill Valley Clock Tower from Back to the Future (1985).

The "booga-booga" cheer that the friends do when they are celebrating or just in a good mood was not originally in the script. In a later interview, Rob Lowe stated that the cheer came out of observing fans whispering about the stars of the movie and then laughing. The cheer itself makes fun of what these whispered conversations sounded like from a few feet away.

The film's title, "St. Elmo's Fire", is derived from a real life meteorological phenomenon which is mentioned in the movie. It is also known as "St. Elmo's Light". According to website 'Wikipedia', it is "a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a coronal discharge from a sharp or pointed object in a strong electric field in the atmosphere (such as those generated by thunderstorms or created by a volcanic eruption)".

Actress Ally Sheedy recommended Judd Nelson to the production for the role of Alec Newbary. The pair had co-starred in The Breakfast Club (1985) and re-teamed the following year to both headline Blue City (1986). As such, St. Elmo's Fire (1985) is the second of three dramatic collaborations of the two actors (they both also appear in the documentary Don't You Forget About Me (2009)).

Of the considered "core" members of the so called 1980s "brat pack", this movie had the most of them cast in the one film, more than any of the other pictures of the period. These core "Brat Pack" members included Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy. Core "Brat Pack" members not in St. Elmo's Fire (1985) were Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall but the pair had appeared in the same 1985 year's The Breakfast Club (1985) alongside St. Elmo's Fire (1985)'s Nelson, Sheedy and Estevez, taking that film's "Brat Pack" total to five, but this being one less "Brat Pack" member than St. Elmo's Fire (1985), which had six. Both of these "Brat Pack" movies though were first released in the same 1985 year.

Breakthrough film as a director for writer and former costume designer Joel Schumacher.

Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore began dating during the filming of the movie. He said he was "deeply in love with her." For a time they were even engaged, though they never married.

FILM 1502: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

TRIVIA: Based on Dr. Zimbardo's real life psychological study: 'The Stanford Prison Experiment'.

The german movie from 2001 'Das Experiment' with Moritz Bleibtreu and the american remake from 2010 movie 'The Experiment' with Adrien Brody and Forrest Whitaker are also based on the 'Stanford experiment'