DID YOU KNOW?

Roald Dahl invented over 250 new words, there’s even an official Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Dahl wrote many of his stories in a little shed at the bottom of his garden. Known as his ‘writing hut’, Dahl sat in a battered old armchair and penned famous tales such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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FILM 1945: CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

FILM 1945: CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

TRIVIA: Melissa McCarthy's husband, Ben Falcone, was attached to the project before she was. He recommended her for the lead when another actor backed out.

A pile of Lee Israel books ("Beyond the Magic", an unauthorized biography of Estée Lauder) are shown on sale at a bookstore for 75% off. Lauder was publishing her own memoirs and initially tried to pay Israel *not* to write her book, but she refused and rushed her book to publication. The autobiography was released in October 1985 and Israel's biography one month later. The book buying public chose to buy the Lauder autobiography rather than the Israel biography. Lee Israel later said she regretted not taking the money when it was first offered.

Although he portrays an alcoholic, Richard E. Grant is allergic to alcohol.

Julianne Moore was attached to this project during early development. She removed herself from the project due to creative differences.

Melissa McCarthy's first portrayal of real-life person.

FILM 1721: VOYEUR

Journalism icon Gay Talese reports on Gerald Foos, the Colorado motel owner who allegedly secretly watched his guests with the aid of specially designed ceiling vents, peering down from an "observation platform" he built in the motel's attic.

FILM 1719: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

TRIVIA: At 9 minutes and 32 seconds, Gloria Grahame's performance in this movie became the shortest to ever win an Oscar. She held the record until 1976, when Beatrice Straight won for her 5 minute performance in Network (1976).

The character of Shields is regarded as a mixture of producer David O. Selznick, Orson Welles and producer Val Lewton. Georgia, the alcoholic daughter of an iconic actor, is very clearly based on Diana Barrymore. Bartlow, the college professor turned best-selling author turned screenwriter, is thought to be based on Paul Green, a UNC professor who followed a similar career track. Gilbert Roland's appearance as "Gaucho" is seen as a self-parody; the Mexican-born actor, once a star in silent dramas, had just appeared as "The Cisco Kid" in a string of "B" westerns.

To somewhat soften the depiction of Shields, Vincente Minnelli cut a scene in which he accepts the Best Picture Oscar® for the film whose idea he had stolen from his best friend. In the scene, Shields devotes most of his speech to his late father, then makes only a brief mention of his friend at the end.

Vincente Minnelli was so impressed by Ned Glass' performance as the wardrobe man, he kept expanding his role. After two days of shooting, he still needed a close-up of Glass, but the next day the actor did not show up. Having failed to do a thorough background check before shooting started, MGM had hired Glass without realizing he had been blacklisted. The night before his final shot, studio security had called to inform him he would not be allowed on the lot. After a hasty conference with studio executives, MGM decided they would rather ignore the blacklist than pay the $20,000 to $30,000 it would require to re-shoot the key scene.

Concerned about Lana Turner's insecurities and talk of her limited acting abilities, Vincente Minnelli got her through her first scene by telling her that every retake was the result of somebody else's problem. Through gentle coaching he got a strong performance out of her while also keeping her confidence intact.

Kirk Douglas was highly interested in Lana Turner during the shooting, but he could not do anything because of the Fernando Lamas' presence, Lana Turner's boyfriend.

Lana Turner plays an actress whose career started as a movie extra. Turner started her own career as an extra in A Star Is Born (1937).

The motto under the SHIELDS Pictures Inc coat-of-arms is "NON SANS DROIT". This was the same motto used by Shakespeare and means "Not without right".

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

FILM 1689: HUSH

TRIVIA: Contains less than 15 minutes of dialogue, meaning that more than 70 minutes occur without a single word spoken.

Director Mike Flanagan and co-writer/star Kate Siegel are a married couple, and conceived the storyline for Hush (2016) while on a dinner date in 2014. They wed in February, 2016.

Kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan previously worked together on Oculus (2013).

BOOK 179: ON WRITING: CHARLES BUKOWSKI

Sharp and moving reflections and ruminations on the artistry and craft of writing from one of our most iconoclastic, riveting, and celebrated masters.

Charles Bukowski’s stories, poems, and novels have left an enduring mark on our culture. In this collection of correspondence—letters to publishers, editors, friends, and fellow writers—the writer shares his insights on the art of creation.

On Writing reveals an artist brutally frank about the drudgery of work and canny and uncompromising about the absurdities of life—and of art. It illuminates the hard-edged, complex humanity of a true American legend and counterculture icon—the “laureate of American lowlife” (Time)—who stoically recorded society’s downtrodden and depraved. It exposes an artist grounded in the visceral, whose work reverberates with his central ideal: “Don't try.”

Piercing, poignant, and often hilarious, On Writing is filled not only with memorable lines but also with Bukowski’s trademark toughness, leavened with moments of grace, pathos, and intimacy.

(Info from: Amazon)