FILM 2020: DETECTIVE PIKACHU

FILM 2020: DETECTIVE PIKACHU

TRIVIA: Tim mentions a gangster film on TV is an "old detective movie." The clip being shown is actually "Angels With Filthy Souls", a movie-within-a-movie which was featured in the original Home Alone (1990).

The realistic style of the Pokémon were based on the artwork by RJ Palmer. The movie's production designer discovered him while he was looking for realistic Pokémon designs on the internet, and he was so impressed by Palmer's artwork that he gave him a job as the concept artist for the movie.

The day before the film's theatrical release, the entire movie was "leaked" onto YouTube. In reality, clicking this video will play a minute of the film, before cutting to a loop of Pikachu dancing for an hour and forty five minutes.

Despite having six distinctive cries (according to both sound bites and Build a Bear) the voice for Psyduck is unlisted and unnamed.

The first movie based on a video game to have a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, at 64%.

A petition was made to have Danny DeVito voice Pikachu.

At one point Pikachu looks to ensure that Psyduck stays calm by repeating the term "Serenity Now" a number of times. "Serenity Now" is a famous catchphrase from Seinfeld Season 9 Episode 3

It was The Pokémon Company's idea to have Ryme City ban battling and using Pokéballs, wishing to show a different and "more elevated" relationship between Pokémon and people. They were also very protective of Ash Ketchum and forbade any reference to him from being made. Going as far as even forbidding Tim from wearing a cap.

Ryme City is very obviously London, complete with distinctive Routemaster buses and cars driving on the left-hand side of the road (and Pret-A-Mangers). Other landmarks that prominently appear include the Gherkin and King's Cross Station as Tahnti Station.

In a world full of Pokémon with different kinds of powers, of course people are going to put that to use. For example, in the night market, one man uses a Charmander's flame tail to flambe the food in the wok, and the laboratory people are using Greninjas as hitmen to take Detective Pikachu and Tim down. Demonstrated more in earlier scenes, a Machamp is directing traffic, a squad of Squirtles help put out a fire, the police force has a lot of dog-type Pokémon, and a Braviary is flying around the city to deliver a construction worker on a crane his lunch. It also makes sense for certain Pokémon types to have their own occupations, like Octillery cutting up sushi and Loudreds being used as loud speakers in the round house.

FILM 2018: GRETA

 FILM 2018: GRETA

TRIVIA: The film is set in New York, but was actually filmed in Ireland.

Greta's last name, "Hideg", is the Hungarian word for "cold".

The restaurant scenes were shot over the space of a week. By the end of the week, the smell of fish on set was so bad, it made people need to leave early.

In the film, Frances' friend's name is Erica. This is the same name as the character Isabelle Huppert plays in the 2001 psychosexual thriller, The Piano Teacher.

Neil Jordan and Stephen Rea previously worked together in the 1992 film "The Crying Game" and the 1999 film "The End of the Affair."

FILM 2005: KISS KISS BANG BANG

FILM 2005: KISS KISS BANG BANG 

TRIVIA: Shane Black's directorial debut.

As a show of support for Robert Downey Jr.'s recovery from alcohol and drugs, Val Kilmerrefused to drink during the entire production.

The film was given a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.

Val Kilmer's depiction of Gay Perry is generally considered to be the first openly gay character to front a Hollywood action movie.

Robert Downey Jr.'s favorite movie of his own.

In reference to the "Ike, Mike, and Mustard" quote, Mike and Ike are boxed candies in mixed colors of black and white and are also diner slang for salt and pepper shakers. Also, pre-1950s, an "Ike, Mike, and Mustard" joke was an off color joke, generally with sexual references, that wouldn't be told in polite or mixed company.

Shane Black read several stories by Raymond Chandler when writing this script. As a result, the story is divided into chapters and the chapter titles come from Chandler works. Specifically: 1. "Trouble is My Business", 2. "The Lady in the Lake", 3. "The Little Sister", 4. "The Simple Art of Murder", and Epilogue: "Farewell, My Lovely".

The phrase "kiss kiss, bang bang" appeared in the 1960s as an overseas slang for spy movies, especially James Bond movies. It was popular in Europe and Japan. It first appeared as a film title for Kiss Kiss - Bang Bang (1966), a 1966 spy comedy made in Spain with Italian financing. It was also the title of famed critic Pauline Kael's second published collection of reviews. Kael wrote that she chose the words as her title because they are "perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies."

Early in production, Warner Brothers considered Benicio Del Toro for Harry, and Hugh Grant for Gay Perry.

The film is credited as being based (very loosely) on Bodies Are Where You Find Them, by Brett Halliday. This was the fifth novel (of more than 70) in the Mike Shayne detective series, originally published in 1941. Brett Halliday was the pen name of Davis Dresser, who created the character and wrote the first thirty novels, stepping down from the job in 1958. Dell Publishing hired other writers to pen the rest, sometimes assisted by Dresser; all of them continued to use the Brett Halliday pen name. The book covers of the Johnny Gossamer paperbacks created for the film are based on Dell's cover design for the Mike Shayne series from the early 1950s to mid 1960s. Bodies Are Where You Find Them was reprinted by Dell with this cover design in 1959.

CAMEO: Laurence Fishburne: Voice of the bear in the fake beer commercial.

FILM 1961: ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE

FILM 1961: ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE

TRIVIA: The voice of Ace Ventura and the manner in which he speaks, was added by Jim Carreyonly after several read throughs of the script. The voice was something Carrey used in his stand up routine. The "All righty then" was the catch phrase of one of his stand up characters and after the lines from the script weren't feeling right, he added it to the script and read through it again using that voice for all the lines. It was such an improvement that it became the main Ace Ventura personality trait.

Ace Ventura compares Ray Finkle's room to Hannibal Lecter's prison cell from The Silence of the Lambs (1991). 17 years later, in Inside the Actors Studio: Jim Carrey (2011), Jim Carrey recounted that he asked Anthony Hopkins to dinner and discovered that his approach to Ace Ventura was the same as Hopkins' to Hannibal Lecter: they moved like animals. Carrey based Ventura's movement on birds and Hopkins based Lecter's movements on reptiles. Carrey confessed that Hopkins was becoming Hannibal Lecter right at the table.

Rick Moranis turned down the role of Ace Ventura.

According to Tom Shadyac in the DVD commentary, Jim Carrey came up with "Alrighty then" and other lines specifically because he thought they might catch on. The hand gesture Ventura gave before leaving the police station was also something Carrey intended to become popular. It did not.

Jim Carrey had his own personal chef on the set of the film, who also was required to prepare meals for Carrey's pet iguana.

Tom Shadyac's directorial debut.

FILM 1931: IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

FILM 1931: IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

TRIVIA: Sidney Poitier insisted that the movie be filmed in the north because of an incident in which he and Harry Belafonte were almost killed by Ku Klux Klansman during a visit to Mississippi. Hence the selection of Sparta, Illinois for the location filming. Nevertheless, the filmmakers and actors did venture briefly into Tennessee for the outdoor scenes at the cotton plantation, because there was no similar cotton plantation in Illinois that could be used. Poitier slept with a gun under his pillow during production in Tennessee. Poitier did receive threats from local racist thugs, so the shoot was cut short and production returned to Illinois.

Rod Steiger was asked by Director Norman Jewison to chew gum when playing the part. He resisted at first, but then grew to love the idea, and eventually went through two hundred sixty-three packs of gum during the shooting of the film.

According to Sidney Poitier, Tibbs' retaliation slap to Endicott (Larry Gates) was not in the original script nor in the novel on which the film is based. Poitier insisted that Tibbs slap Endicott back and wanted a guarantee that the scene would appear in all prints of the film. According to Stirling Silliphant, the slap was in the original script, though not in the novel.

Set in a hot Mississippi summer, but filmed during autumn in Illinois, many of the actors had to keep ice chips in their mouths (and spit them out before takes) to prevent their breath from appearing on camera during the night scenes.

The movie's line "They call me Mister Tibbs!" was voted as the #16 movie quote by the American Film Institute.

Frequently cited as Sidney Poitier's favorite of all the films he's done.

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #75 Greatest Movie of All Time. It was the first inclusion of this film on the list.

Virgil Tibbs was ranked Hero #19 in the Heroes category on the AFI's 100 Heroes and Villains list.

Virgil's salary of "$162.39 per week" would be roughly $1,200 in 2017.

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

FILM 1888: BLUE STEEL

FILM 1888: BLUE STEEL

TRIVIA: Tom Sizemore's film debut.

In Germany, it was distributed as "a film from Oliver Stone", even though Stone was only one of the movie's producers.

Despite the lack of financial success, the performances of Jamie Lee Curtis and Ron Silver received acclaim.

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 1885: THE RIVERMAN

FILM 1885: THE RIVERMAN

TRIVIA: Robert Keppel had been a University of Washington Criminology Professor when he was approached by Detective Dave Reichert to help solve the Green River Serial Murders case. Keppel was a profiler, who had helped track down Ted Bundy. While on death row in Florida, Bundy contacted Keppel offering to find the killer he had dubbed "the Riverman" in hopes that he would get a stay of execution. Keppel then began a series of psychologically grueling and often combative interviews with Bundy. Keppel became obsessed with the case and with Bundy, eventually coercing him to confess for the murders of eight women still listed as missing from his reign of terror. The real life relationship between Keppel and Bundy served as the inspiration for the movie, Silence of the Lambs (1991) staring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. The Green River Serial Killer was finally brought to justice on November 30, 2001 when advances in forensic DNA proved that suspect Gary Ridgway was in fact the killer. On November 5th, 2003 Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated first degree murder in a King County, Washington (Seattle) courtroom. Due to a plea bargain centered around Ridgway's assistance in helping authorities find missing victims, Ridgway avoided the Death Penalty.

Robert D. Keppel had watched the film and was very pleased with it. He also praised Cary Elwes and Bruce Greenwood's performances.

Based on the best-selling book, "The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer" by Robert Keppel

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) )

FILM 1843: SAFE HAVEN

FILM 1843: SAFE HAVEN

TRIVIA: This is the first Nicholas Sparks film adaptation to have an actual antagonist.

This is the 8th film adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel and the second one to be directed by Lasse Halström, the first one being Dear John (2010).

Keira Knightley was offered the role of Katie. Knightley chose to star in Begin Again(2013) instead.

Covered on episode 105 of the podcast How Did This Get Made.

BOOK 190: THE SNOWMAN: JO NESBØ

BOOK 190: THE SNOWMAN: JO NESBØ

The Snowman (Norwegian: Snømannen, 2007) is a novel by Norwegian crime-writer Jo Nesbø. It is the seventh entry in his Harry Holeseries.

The book was adapted into a film. The film was released in the UK on 13 October 2017. Unlike the novel, the film was poorly received by critics.

MY VERDICT: I enjoyed the book. It’s always hard to tell whether a book is written well when you’re reading a translation so I won’t comment on this but I did feel that the narrative was a little disjointed. It could have been written much clearer with much more suspense. The whole idea behind the murders and the investigation was interesting though, the book kept my attention. 

I did however guess who the killer was pretty early on, which is very rare for me (although I am getting better), I don’t know if that’s a mark against the book or not?

FILM 1796: THE DELIBERATE STRANGER

FILM 1796: THE DELIBERATE STRANGER

TRIVIA: According to Ann Rule in an updated edition of her true crime novel about Ted Bundy, "The Stranger Beside Me", after "The Deliberate Stranger" first aired on TV, the real Bundy started to receive hundreds more love letters per day. Rule concluded that many of these women who sent Bundy love letters were actually writing them to Mark Harmon, or imagining that Bundy was more like Harmon than he actually was.

The real Ted Bundy continued to claim he was innocent until shortly before his execution in 1989. Bundy provided details of the murders even as he was walked to the electric chair.

Ted Bundy, who was still on death row and appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme court when "The Deliberate Stranger" premiered on TV, refused to watch the movie.

Robert Hays was first sought out for the role of Ted Bundy due to his striking resemblance to Bundy. Hay's rejected the role due to moral issues with the script and respect for the victims families.

Jeannetta Arnette as Mrs. Ritcher is based on Ted Bundy biographer Ann Rule (The Stranger Beside Me), who, fifteen years older, worked with Bundy at a Crisis Center as he (in this movie and real life) listened compassionately to her marital problems. She remained his supporter until the Florida Trials, but still kept in touch.

FILM 1788: PSYCH: THE MOVIE

FILM 1788: PSYCH: THE MOVIE

TRIVIA: Steve Franks has another five stand-alone TV movies planned.

Timothy Omundson suffered a stroke a few weeks before shooting began as a result only appear briefly as Carlton Lassiter. If the sequels happen, he will probably have a much larger presence.

After the decision was made to go ahead without Timothy Omundson, Steve Franks and James Roday "camped out" in a restaurant booth and rewrote the script in 72 hours.

The villain's title, The Thin White Duke, was their way of paying their respects to the late David Bowie. They were fans of Bowie's but were never able to get him on the show.

When Shawn and Gus discover the document on the computer regarding Juliet O'Hara, Shawn makes a joke that Juliet would never be in a Hallmark movie. The actress who plays Juliet, Maggie Lawson, actually did appear in a Hallmark movie entitled "My Favorite Wedding."

The Pony in a Onesie character was voiced by S.E. Hinton, the author of The Outsiders, Rumble Fish and Tex, 3 classic 80s movies.

Shawn's character wears a #TeamGrimmie shirt in honor of Christina Grimmie (who had tragicly passed away by a gunshot wound at her concert meet & great). Christina, and her best friend Sarah, were the biggest fans of the Psych tv series, and eventually had befriended the cast, so the main stars decided to honor her in the film.

At one point, Shawn tells Gus to stick to the road, keep clear of the moors, and beware of the moon. This is the same advice given to Jack and David in An American Werewolf in London. Not only was that movie spoofed in an earlier episode, but director John Landis also directed three early episodes of Psych.

THE ALIENIST (2018)

THE ALIENIST (2018)

TRIVIA: Based on the novel "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr.

An alienist is a term for a psychiatrist who assesses the competence of a defendant in a law court.

The show takes place in 1896 New York City.

The full name of Luke Evans' character is John Schuyler Moore. Schuyler is an old New York Dutch family whose roots can be traced back to well before the founding of the nation and has close ties to the Roosevelt clan. A well-known descendant was Elizabeth Schuyler, wife of Alexander Hamilton.

Blackwell's Island was later named Welfare Island, and subsequently renamed Roosevelt Island. Due to the number of hospitals and asylums, the area was designated as a Hospital Park. By the mid-twentieth century, it became a mixed-use zone, through the introduction of residential developments, and by the twentieth-first century, a satellite campus of Cornell University and Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedom Park was established at the Southern end of the Island.

The main titles for the series where created by the design studio "Elastic". The same studio responsible for the intro of True detective and Game of Thrones.

BOOK 186: FAREWELL, MY LOVELY: RAYMOND CHANDLER

Farewell, My Lovely is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio.

CULTURAL REFERENCES

In the first shot after the opening titles of Get Carter, the character played by Michael Caine is seen reading a paperback copy of the book.

In the opening episode of the television series Bored to Death, the character Jonathan Ames, played by Jason Schwartzman, is inspired to become a private detective after reading the book.

PSYCH  (2006–2014)

TRIVIA: As a running gag, in every episode you'll find a pineapple, the word "delicious," a fist bump, the phrase, "I can't do this right now," and the question "What?"

James Roday (Shawn Spencer) and Maggie Lawson (Juliet O'Hara) started dating during the filming of season one. Their relationship lasted seven years.

Inspired by how Series Creator Steve Franks' father, who was a Los Angeles Police officer, would teach him how to be observant.

With the exception of Emilio Estevez who appeared in name only as one of Shawn's aliases, and Paul Gleason, every main actor and actress from The Breakfast Club (1985) appeared in the series. Judd Nelson appeared in the episode "Death is in the Air", Molly Ringwald appeared in the episode "Shawn Interrupted", Ally Sheedy appeared in the episodes involving the Yin-Yang killer and "Psych: The Musical", Anthony Michael Hall appeared in "No Trout About It" and the beginning of season eight, and John Kapelos appeared in two episodes ("Santa Barbarian Candidate" and "1967: A Psych Odyssey").

A recurring gag featured in the show's outtakes involves the cast and crew laughing hysterically at the mention of the phrase "three-hole punch." According to James Roday, the gag began with a script written by Tim Meltreger, which included a joke about a three-hole punch. During filming, Roday misspoke the line as "three-hole puncher." Meltreger called for a cut and raced onto the set, then insisted that Roday read the line exactly as scripted, because, in his words, "Three-hole punch is *way* funnier than three-hole puncher!" Subsequently, it became a running joke on the set: someone says the words "three-hole punch" while shooting and the cast and crew all pretend to laugh as if it's the funniest thing they've ever heard.

Spencer's mother, played by Cybill Shepherd, is called Madeleine, as a nod for her character in show Moonlighting (1985), Madeleine (Maddie) Hayes.

A running gag in the show is that Gus and Shawn will frequently say "C'mon son!" when something strange, surprising, or silly has happened. This phrase was coined by media personality Ed Lover. In the season eight episode "Remake, a.k.a. Cloudy...With a Chance of Improvement", Ed Lover guest starred as a bailiff, telling Gus to "Come on, son" as he attempts to escort him from the courtroom. He also appeared in the season six episode "Last Night Gus" as himself.

In season six, episode four (The Amazing Psych Man & Tap Man, Issue #2), Juliet acts impressed thinking that Shawn is The Mantis. She immediately learns that Shawn is faking it and Shawn responds with the phrase "I know you know that I'm not telling the truth...... I know, you know," which are the exact lyrics of the Psych theme song.