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.

FILM 2007: NEXT

FILM 2007: NEXT

TRIVIA: (at around 4 mins) The "girl with necklace" at his magic show is played by Alice Kim Cage, Nicolas Cage's wife.

The diner where Nicolas Cage runs into Jessica Biel's character is the same diner used in xXx (2002) with Vin Diesel.

At the cabin, Cage tells a joke about a Buddhist monk ordering a hot dog. He actually ruins the joke when he messes up the punchline, saying "I'll have one with everything." However, the actual line is "Make me one with everything", a subtle but extremely important difference.

PODCAST: LAST SEEN

PODCAST: LAST SEEN

The heist of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is something like the holy grail of art crime. This podcast will look at why not a single artwork has been recovered....

MY VERDICT: I enjoyed this podcast but I did think it was a little long. It’s a breath of fresh air to listen to a series that’s got a true crime subject that doesn’t involve murder. 

FILM 1985: THE BOSTON STRANGLER

FILM 1985: THE BOSTON STRANGLER

TRIVIA: Film debut of Edward Winter.

Shortly before filming was set to begin, the real Albert DeSalvo escaped from the mental institution where he was imprisoned. He was later captured after being on the run for thirty-three hours.

Tony Curtis broke his nose while filming a chase scene.

Tony Curtis was on Variety's list of Top Ten Overpriced Stars in 1968.

Other actors considered for the role of Albert DeSalvo were Robert Redford and Warren Beatty.

FILM 1981: THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE

FILM 1981: THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE

TRIVIA: Alex Rocco, who plays bank robber Scalise, was a former member of the notorious The Winter Hill Gang that operated out of Boston, Massachusetts. Moreover, Rocco introduced Robert Mitchum to Howie Winter, who was the second boss of The Winter Hill Gang, to help Mitchum research his role as Eddie Coyle.

Peter Boyle found it very difficult to draw a glass of tap beer for his part of a bartender. Director Peter Yates arranged for a correctly-filled glass to be available for Boyle below the camera line. Unseen by the camera eye, Boyle then switched glasses.

The entire film was shot on location.

Robert Mitchum gained weight for his role as Eddie Coyle.

FILM 1969: SHOPLIFTERS

FILM 1969: SHOPLIFTERS 

TRIVIA: The original title of the film, Manbiki Kazoku, literally translates as Shoplifting Family.

First Japanese movie to win the Palme d'Or since The Eel (1997) in 1997.

Official submission of Japan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

PODCAST: HAPPY FACE

PODCAST: HAPPY FACE

For Melissa Moore, 1995 was a nightmare. That’s the year the teenager learned her father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, was a serial killer. It’s also the year Melissa Moore’s doubt spiral began: When you look like your father, and you share his intelligence and charisma, how do you know you’re not a psychopath, too? Happy Face is the story of Keith Hunter Jesperson, his brutal crimes, and the cat and mouse game he played with detectives and the media. But it’s also the story of the horrific legacy he gifted his children. Join Melissa Moore as she investigates her father’s crimes, reckons with the past, and wades through her darkest fears as she hunts for a better future.

MY VERDICT: When I first heard the trailer for this podcast, I honestly thought it was one of those fictional story-telling podcasts – a dramatization, because of the high production value and the articulate way Melissa expressed herself, I couldn’t believe it was real, but it was. This story is different from any other true crime story I’d listened to because it has such a unique perspective, the perfective of the daughter of a serial killer. 

I would highly recommend this podcast but, be warned, it’s heartbreaking.

FILM 1962: TRESPASS

FILM 1962: TRESPASS

TRIVIA: Production was disrupted on August 3, 2010 when it was reported that Nicolas Cage had abandoned the project as he had allegedly insisted on switching roles from Kidman's husband to the kidnapper. The role was then offered to Liev Schreiber. However, the following day Cage resumed his role as the husband.

The film had a budget of $35 million, the movie grossed $24,094 and was pulled from theaters after only ten days.

This film broke the fastest-ever-from-theaters-to-Home-Video record previously held by 2003's From Justin to Kelly (2003). That film took 29 days to get to DVD, Trespass made it in only 18.

FILM 1959: WIDOWS

FILM 1959: WIDOWS

TRIVIA: This was Steve McQueen's first feature film that did not have Michael Fassbender in the cast.

According to Steve McQueen, Colin Farrell and Robert DuVall improvised many of their scenes.

The West Highland terrier featured in this film also appeared in Game Night (2018).

The film is based on the 1983 British TV series Widows (1983).

Ann Mitchell was also in the original British TV series.

FILM 1955: BORDER

FILM 1955: BORDER

TRIVIA: Actress Aubrey Plaza, involved in no way with the film, was such a fan of it that the filmmakers offered to allow her to host a screening. She arranged this at a theater in Los Angeles and invited 60 people to attend. Ten minutes before it was to begin she was informed that the film had not arrived in the theater. She went into the lobby to announce this, but mid-announcement was told the film had arrived. Everyone was seated and then forty minutes went by. She asked friends Fred Armisen and Nick Kroll, who were in the audience, to go on stage and entertain everyone. Armisen pretended to be the film's director while Kroll took questions from the audience. This lasted another twenty minutes. Ultimately the theater management said the film never arrived, but offered to show the crowd the film Suspiria instead. Then, an hour into showing Suspiria, they cut the film off abruptly and began to play Border, which had finally arrived. Plaza relayed this story on The Conan O'Brien Show.

Official submission of Sweden for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

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 1942: BEVERLY HILLS COP

FILM 1942: BEVERLY HILLS COP

TRIVIA: Eddie Murphy, John Ashton, and Judge Reinhold improvised most of their comic lines. Literally hundreds of takes were ruined by cast members, actors, or the director laughing during shooting. During the "super-cops" monologue, Ashton is pinching his face hard and looking down in apparent frustration. He is actually laughing. Reinhold put his hand in his pocket and pinched his thigh really hard, trying to prevent himself from laughing.

Axel Foley's T-shirt is from Mumford, a real-life Detroit-area school one of the filmmakers attended. When the film came out, the school got orders for the shirts from customers all over the world.

During his tirade at the Beverly Palms Hotel, Axel pretends to be writing an article called "Michael Jackson: Sitting on Top of the World" for Rolling Stone magazine. In real life, Playboy ran an article called "Eddie Murphy: Sitting on Top of the World."

According to Steven Berkoff in a UK newspaper interview, Sylvester Stallone quit the film because of disagreements about the orange juice for his trailer.

Damon Wayans' film debut.

Trying to find Foley and Rosewood, the LAPD use a "satellite tracking system" At the time it was, made up to advance the plot. It was invented later, an ancestor of the modern-day Global Positioning System (GPS). 

Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

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

DIRECTOR CAMEO: (Martin Brest): the clerk who checks Axel out of the hotel at the end of the movie.

FILM 1927: BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

FILM 1927: BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

TRIVIA: The El Royale is based on the famous Cal Neva Resort and Casino that was once owned by Frank Sinatra.

Chris Hemsworth had to lose 25-30 lbs of muscle weight immediately after Avengers: Infinity War (2018) wrapped to star in this film.

FILM 1895: THE STEPFATHER

FILM 1895: THE STEPFATHER

TRIVIA: Loosely based on the story of John List, the New Jersey man who killed his family in 1971, and was on the run until 1989, when his profile on the television show America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988) resulted in his capture. The episode is: America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back: John Emil List/John Riccardi (1989).

Stephanie (Jill Schoelen)'s mother was played by Shelley Hack, who's only 16 years older, and Terry O'Quinn, who was the stepfather, is only 11 years her senior.

Cinematographer John Lindley was hired as a last minute replacement for the original director of photography who was arrested in a domestic dispute right before shooting was to start.

Entertainment Weekly ranked this as the 22nd scariest movie of all time.

Director Joseph Ruben originally wanted Jerry Blake to whistle the Barbra Streisand song "The Way We Were," but the rights to the song proved to be too expensive.

FILM 1887: THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS

FILM 1887: THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS

TRIVIA: Sesame Workshop sued the team behind the film for the tagline, "No sesame. All street," claiming that the film tarnishes their reputation. The suit was rejected on May 30, 2018. Soon after, STX issued a brief statement, "We fluffing love Sesame Street (1969) and we're obviously very pleased that the ruling reinforced what STX's intention was from the very beginning - to honor the heritage of The Jim Henson Company's previous award-winning creations while drawing a clear distinction between any Muppets or Sesame Street characters and the new world Brian Henson and team created. We believe we accomplished that with the very straightforward NO SESAME, ALL STREET tagline. We look forward to continued happytimes as we prepare to release Happytime Murders this summer." Some TV spots for the film started with "From the studio that was sued by Sesame Street..."

Officer Donny, the cop that Edwards says she "should have f***ed" when she had the chance, is played by Melissa McCarthy's real life husband, Ben Falcone.

Directed by Brian Henson, the son of Jim Henson who famously conceived The Muppet Show (1976) and the Muppets.

This is the first theatrical film Brian Henson has directed since Muppet Treasure Island(1996).

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 1882: ROBOCOP

FILM 1882: ROBOCOP

TRIVIA: It was discovered that when in full RoboCop costume, Peter Weller could not fit properly into the police car as he was too bulky. That's why most shots of him show him exiting the car or preparing to get into it. For shots where he actually needed to be in the car, he only wore the top part of the costume and sat in his underwear. However, to maintain the illusion that RoboCop wears the entire suit while inside a car, most shots show his robotic feet exiting the car first.

Some 25 years later, an internet rumor began to get funding for a RoboCop statue to be placed in Detroit. Peter Weller himself created a public service announcement to support the proposal. Eventually, a Kickstarter campaign was created and proved successful, as the 12 foot statue is now in production.

The RoboCop suit was so hot and heavy that Peter Weller was losing 3 lbs a day from water loss. Eventually, an air conditioner was installed in the suit.

In Sacramento, California, a robbery suspect fled into a darkened movie theatre to escape pursuing police. He became so engrossed in the movie playing on screen (RoboCop), that he failed to notice that police had evacuated all other patrons from the theatre. When the lights flipped on, the stunned man was taken into custody.

Paul Verhoeven and Rob Bottin clashed repeatedly before and during production over the design and make-up of the RoboCop character. What they argued most about was the scene where Murphy takes off his helmet. Bottin wanted the scene to be filmed in a darkened area, fearing that harsh light would reveal too much of the make-up effects; Verhoeven wanted the scene to be filmed as brightly as possible, citing that director of photography Jost Vacano would be able to light it properly without revealing anything. Verhoeven got his way and Bottin refused to talk to him any further for the remainder of production. However, at the premiere, both men were so impressed with how the scene had turned out, that they instantly forgave each other. Bottin, who had even vowed to never again work with Verhoeven, happily accepted the offer to work on Verhoeven's next project, Total Recall (1990).

Nancy Allen first arrived on set when Paul Verhoeven was shooting the deliberately cheesy sitcom "It's Not My Problem" which appears on television screens throughout the film. Allen was initially horrified to think that she had signed on to make a film with an incompetent director.

Because the hands of the RoboCop suit were made of foam rubber, the car keys would bounce off of Peter Weller's hand every time he attempted to catch them. The production took up to 50 takes and an entire day's worth of filming before finally getting the shot right.

On the DVD Ray Wise explains that he and Kurtwood Smith ended up being too close to an explosion which caused pieces of glass to be embedded into Ray's face. He received an additional stunt pay for this mishap as per the studio. Ray then jokingly states that he devised ways where he would be as close to the explosions as possible to gain extra money.

RoboCop's first Directive, "Serve the public trust", was inspired by a fortune cookie.

After Peter Weller complained about the costume during the first few days of filming, the role of RoboCop was offered to Lance Henriksen, who turned down because of time conflicts - Henriksen was also considered for the title role in The Terminator (1984) (before the cyborg was decided for to be large and bulky and Arnold Schwarzenegger was brought on), and finally got to play a robot in Aliens (1986) (see also trivia for The Terminator (1984)).

Paul Verhoeven's first American film.

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

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK: Paul Verhoeven: [in-movie fake commercials] Several fake advertisements are featured throughout the movie: The Family Heart Center (a medical center specializing in artificial heart transplants), Nukem (a futuristic Battleship-like board game), and the 6000 SUX - the primary vehicle that Clarence Boddicker and his gang use.

FILM 1881: LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN

FILM 1881: LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN

TRIVIA: According to the DVD commentary with Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu, Lindsey's reaction when she walks in on Slevin with his towel open is real. The scene was scripted, but Josh Hartnett actually flashed Lucy Liu without telling her prior to filming.

Josh Hartnett (Slevin) lived with Screenwriter Jason Smilovic and his girlfriend in New York City while the script was being written. Smilovic said that he thought of having Slevin wear a towel a lot of the time because he saw Hartnett in one so often. More so it added a vulnerable quality to Slevin.

Lucy Liu said in a "Making of" featurette, that she had more fun making this movie than any of her other movies.

In promotional material for this movie, Sir Ben Kingsley's credit included his knighthood. At first, the actor was singled out for some criticism, as such things are usually omitted from professional credits. It transpired that this was a mistake by a studio executive, who was unfamiliar with the British honors system.

DIRECTOR CAMEO 

Paul McGuigan: The hand X-ray in the coroner's office is the director's hand. 

FILM 1877: BOUND

FILM 1877: BOUND

TRIVIA: Gina Gershon recommended Joe Pantoliano for the role of Caesar.

When executives at some studios read the script, they told the Wachowskis that if they changed the character of Corky to that of a man, they would be interested. The siblings declined, saying "that movie's been made a million times, so we're really not interested in it."

Joe Pantoliano was instructed by the Wachowskis to watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and base his Cesar character on Humphrey Bogart's Fred C. Dobbs.

The film was financed with the understanding that Jennifer Tilly was to play the role of Corky. The actress playing Violet dropped out of the project shortly before shooting began, however. At this point Gina Gershon became available to do the film. At first she was to play Violet; but since she was better suited to Corky, she and Tilly switched roles.

Jennifer Tilly named Violet as the best role she ever had.

Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly went fully nude for the main lesbian sex scene between Corky and Violet and they declined the use of body doubles.

The main sex scene set in Corky's apartment was filmed in one long shot. The Wachowskis believed that this would look more realistic than several shots edited together. Although it should have been a closed set, there were actually many people present, moving the walls of the set in order to allow full movement of the camera around the actors.

Gina Gershon's influences for her role were James Dean, Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood.

This was Joe Pantoliano's first leading role in a film. It's also his favourite role.

The part of Violet was expected to go to Linda Hamilton.

CAMEO: Susie Bright: The noted sex author appears as the lesbian in the bar that Corky hits on before the lesbian cop arrives. The grey-haired woman in the next booth is Bright's ex.

BOOK 193: NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH: JAMES HADLEY CHASE

BOOK 193: NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH: JAMES HADLEY CHASE

The novel was influenced by the American crime writer James M. Cain and the stories in the pulp magazine Black Mask. Chase reportedly wrote the book as a bet to out-do The Postman Always Rings Twice.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish provoked considerable controversy because of its explicit depiction of sexuality and violence. The novel was a great critical success and was included in the Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.

In 1942, the novel was adapted into a stage play which ran for over 200 performances at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London.[4] Robert Newton starred. In 1948, it was adapted into a British film No Orchids for Miss Blandish and given a contemporary New York City setting. The 1971 American film The Grissom Gangwas also based on the novel, moving the setting of events back several years to 1931 Kansas City.

In 1944, it was also the subject of an essay by George Orwell, Raffles and Miss Blandish, and parodied by Raymond Queneau in We Always Treat Women Too Well. In 1962 the novel was extensively rewritten and rearranged by the author because he thought the world of 1939 too distant for a new generation of readers. (Confusion can result if readers of the Orwell essay refer his quotations and references to the 1962 edition.)

( Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Orchids_for_Miss_Blandish_(novel) )