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FILM 1588: THE BFG

TRIVIA: This theatrical feature film has been in development for almost twenty-five years.

Steven Spielberg tried to convince Gene Wilder to make an appearance in the film, but Wilder declined. Wilder played the titular character in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), also based on a Roald Dahl book.

This marks the reunion of director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Melissa Mathison, following their celebrated collaboration on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).

The Queen makes a call to Nancy asking for Ronnie only to find that he was asleep. This could be a reference to Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan, the latter of whom known for taking naps regularly while in office. This would also set the movie sometime between 1981 and 1989, when Reagan was in office, and perhaps also when E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was made and first released sometime between 1981 (filmed) and 1982 (debuted in cinemas).

The movie's source Roald Dahl novel "The BFG" (1982) was ranked at the No. # 88 spot of all-time Top 100 Children's Novels by the monthly American 'School Library Journal' in 2012. "The BFG" (1982) is the fourth Dahl novel to be included in their hundred list, more than any other author.

Actor Mark Rylance was immediately inspired by Melissa Mathison's screenplay, and said: "Melissa added some twists and turns and made [source novelist Roald] Dahl's original story much more dramatic, in a way that gives you more of a chance to see the friendship develop. He is just misunderstood. The BFG and Sophie are both isolated beings, and they find a friend who understands them, maybe better than they do, and those are the best kind of friends. That's part of the great love and friendship they have for each other."

Before her breakout role in Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown auditioned and was on the shortlist for the role of Sophie.