FILM 2022: AMERICAN ANIMALS

FILM 2022: AMERICAN ANIMALS

TRIVIA: This is a true story about college students who stole a priceless book from Transylvania University, which is located in Lexington, Kentucky. Though the movie was filmed in North Carolina.

During filming the actors were not allowed to meet their real life counterparts because the director feared they would sympathise and/or play them in a certain light.

The movie was filmed in the Davidson College Library during the week of Spring Break of 2017. Through the chaos of equipment, actors, extras, and all the technical people it takes to make a movie, the library staff continued to perform their jobs. Some of the staff were asked to submit their head shots to be cast in the film which resulted in one person being asked to be in the film. However, it was inconvenient for staff to take the time away from their jobs to be in the film, so, therefore, no staff person was in the film. But, if you look closely in the shots filmed in the library, there are offices with their blinds down. Staff are behind those blinds working diligently making sure the library still functioned.

John Waters named this film second among his top ten favorite films released in 2018.

Darren Keith revealed Warren asked him for help with the heist as well but he denied the offer in hopes of pursuing his acting career.

PODCAST: GLADIATOR

PODCAST: GLADIATOR 

Football star Aaron Hernandez went from the bright lights of the Super Bowl to a convicted murderer in a few years. The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team, best known for its investigation of the sexual abuse scandal inside the Catholic Church, takes a hard look at the crisis facing football through the lens of Aaron Hernandez’s life and terrible crimes. Did a brain badly damaged by football contribute to Hernandez’s violent behavior? Did he keep secrets about his sexuality that collided with a hyper-masculine football culture? Did elite coaches and teams look the other way as Hernandez was spiraling out of control? Spotlight uncovered new documents, audio, and interviews to go deep into the story of what happened to Aaron Hernandez, and what it means for those of us who cheer on a violent game. From Wondery, the podcast team that brought you Dr. Death.

MY VERDICT: Despite knowing nothing of American Football and not having much interest in sport in general, I found this podcast thoroughly fascinating. The story follows Aaron Hernandez through his career and asks questions about how the people around him could have prevented his violent decline or whether the sport itself was to blame. I don’t know if all these questions were answered but I certainly learnt a lot along the way.

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 1758: LADY BIRD

FILM 1758: LADY BIRD 

TRIVIA: Saoirse Ronan and Greta Gerwig first met each other at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015 when Ronan was promoting Brooklyn (2015) and Gerwig was promoting Maggie's Plan(2015). Ronan had already read Gerwig's script and instantly connected with the titular character, so when both women discussed the script at length in Ronan's hotel room and she read the key part aloud, Gerwig knew that she had found her "Lady Bird."

The film is Greta Gerwig's solo feature directorial debut.

Saoirse Ronan has said that the most difficult word for her to pronounce with an American accent was "perfect."

Director Greta Gerwig suggested to Saoirse Ronan not cover up her acne for the film.

The film cast includes four Oscar nominees: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet.

The film takes place from 2002 to 2003, the time when Greta Gerwig herself graduated from St. Francis Catholic High School in her hometown of Sacramento, California.

Throughout the film, a small poster of the movie Rushmore (1998) can be seen on the wall of Lady Bird's bedroom. Saoirse Ronan, who played Lady Bird, worked with that movie's director, Wes Anderson, on The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and co-star Lucas Hedges appeared in Anderson's films Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Anderson also co-wrote the movies The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(2004) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) with Noah Baumbach, who is the current romantic partner of Greta Gerwig, this movie's writer and director.

FILM 1748: THE HOUSE

FILM 1748: THE HOUSE

TRIVIA: Amy Poehler and Jason Matzounkas appeared on Parks and Recreation (2009).

Mariah Carey was scheduled to film a cameo. However, her scenes were never filmed. Will Ferrell recalled that Carey showed up four hours late, then didn't want to do the scene she had agreed to do. Carey then delayed production, as she didn't want to sing the song, one of her own, that she was supposed to sing. This would have required the legal department to clear the song. Carey also required her trailer to be filled with white flowers and stuffed animals of lambs. Carey's scene was ultimately not filmed.

Amy Poehler and Nick Kroll were a couple from 2013 to 2015.

FILM 1660: RAW

TRIVIA: When shown on Gothenburg Film Festival, several attendants in the audience fainted and vomited. Over 30 people left the cinema prematurely and they had to take a break in the middle of the movie due to all the turmoil.

Director Julia Ducournau really wanted actress Garance Marillier, to work on her body and posture. You can see a drastic change between the beginning and the end of the movie, Garance Marillier 's posture changes as her character transforms.

The raw chicken that Justine is eating out of the fridge is actually sugar. Garance Marillier said about the scene that while it didn't disgust her from chicken, it did disgust her from candies for life.

BOOK 176: PLEASE DON'T COME BACK FROM THE MOON: DEAN BAKOPOULOS

Please Don't Come Back from the Moon (2005) was his debut novel, about fathers in Maple Rock, Detroit abandoning their families under a strange compulsion to go to the moon. It is narrated by the young Mikey, a would-be writer, whose father feels the same desire to leave. The New York Times said it "deftly weld[ed] magic realism with social satire". Entertainment Weekly gave it a B- saying it turned into a very conventional coming-of-age story. People gave it 3.5/4.