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 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 2011: JUST GO WITH IT

FILM 2011: JUST GO WITH IT

TRIVIA: This is the first collaboration between Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. The two of them have known each other for twenty years, before either of them became famous. They met through some mutual friends and shared meals together. She also used to watch him perform at the Improv, and she attended his wedding in 2003. He had also tried to get her to join Saturday Night Live (1975) during his time there, but she turned it down to join Friends (1994).

FILM 1994: MURIEL'S WEDDING

FILM 1994: MURIEL'S WEDDING

TRIVIA: The writer/director P.J. Hogan wanted to use the music of ABBA in the film. At first, permission for the music to be used was denied. When the director promised to fly to Europe to plead his case to the founders of the band, permission was granted, as long as the band received a percentage of the film profits. The film turned out to be a big international hit, and thus helped inspire the very successful Broadway show which became the movie Mamma Mia! (2008).

Toni Collette gained 40 pounds in 7 weeks with the help of a dietitian for this role.

Bill Hunter was filming The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and Muriel's Wedding (1994) at the same time, each requiring him to have different length hair, beard and to be in different parts of the country. Both films developed international cult followings and prominently featured the music of ABBA.

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

In the video store where Muriel works, a poster for the movie Strictly Ballroom is visible. Bill Hunter, who plays Bill Heslop (Muriel's father), Is also in Strictly Ballroom in the role of Barry Fife.

P.J. Hogan based Muriel's personality on himself, but Muriel's actions were inspired by his sister, who embezzled $15,000 from their father and then disappeared to Sydney to live with a friend.

Betty Heslop passes a magazine called Womans Day in the supermarket. Womans Day is a real magazine which did a feature article about the movie. The same cover (as the one in the movie) was used.

FILM 1987: CRAZY RICH ASIANS

FILM 1987: CRAZY RICH ASIANS

TRIVIA: Netflix wanted to produce the film and offered a much bigger budget, but Kevin Kwan deliberately turned down the offer in favor of a modest $30-million budget from Warner Bros. This was done to send a message that Asian-American studio movies are commercially viable.

Awkwafina was supposed to wear several different wigs throughout the movie; however, after putting on the blonde wig, it was decided to scrap other wigs and just keep the one. The joke about this was kept in the scene where actor Ken Jeong starts calling her "Asian Ellen [Degeneres]".

This is Henry Golding's first movie; he was only a travel show host before this, but was introduced to the project after a producer met a studio accountant in Singapore, who suggested his name. However, Henry turned down to audition for the role several times as he did not think he was good enough for the part and believed a "legitimate" actor would be better suited. It was not until the director, Jon Chu, reached out to him via a mutual Facebook friend that he was finally convinced to do the part.

As of October 2018, the film had grossed over $235 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy in a decade.

The tiger in the foyer of Tyersall Park (where Nick and Astrid would hide their cigarettes) was an interesting movie prop. Per the Hollywood Reporter, "The mansion's taxidermied tiger was problematic. The best specimen was in London, and the production designer realized he'd have trouble getting it across international borders. Instead, he hired sculptors in Thailand, to create a tiger out of foam and fur, only to have it held up in Thai customs because agents thought it was the real thing. 'We finally got it installed the night before we filmed the scene,' he says."

FILM 1986: THE BREAK-UP

FILM 1986: THE BREAK-UP

TRIVIA: Vince Vaughn's parents have bit roles in the movie. His mother plays a tourist and his father plays Jennifer Aniston's father.

Vince Vaughn gained 26 pounds for the role. Vaughn was reported to have gained weight as a result of his recent decision to quit smoking.

In the opening scene at Wrigley Field, Jon Favreau makes a reference to going to "Wiener Circle" to have hot dogs after the game. Wiener Circle is a hot dog stand famous for the staff yelling and cursing at customers when they order. If the customer does not return the favor, they do not take your order. Generally, though, this only happens late at night on the weekends.

Toward the end, Vince Vaughn uses his favorite line when he tells the passengers on his tour boat about getting hopped up and making some bad decisions. He uses the same line at the beginning of his role in The Wedding Crashers.

Jennifer Aniston's character Brooke gets a "Telly Savalas" wax job during the movie. In real life, Savalas was Aniston's godfather.

This is the fourth time Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau have been in a movie together (after Swingers (1996), Made (2001), and Rudy (1993)).

John Michael Higgins plays a member of an acapella group called the Tone Rangers in this movie. Several years later, he goes on to play an acapella competition commentator in the movies Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2.

Second film starring Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio, the first one was " The Cell" (2000)

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 1982: 17 AGAIN

FILM 1982: 17 AGAIN

TRIVIA: Zac Efron called Matthew Perry for help on his lines and mimicking some of his movements to give a more authentic performance.

In one scene, Mike wakes up and begins describing his "dream" of being in high school again only to find his daughter, Maggie, caring for him. This is an homage to the counterpart scene in Back to the Future (1985), in which Marty McFly wakes up and finds his teen-aged mother caring for him.

Thomas Lennon and Matthew Perry also appeared in an episode of Friends (1994) - "The One in Vegas: Part One." Lennon played a blackjack dealer and Joey's "hand twin." Although they both appeared in the episode, Lennon and Perry did not share a scene.

Although they play mother and daughter in this film, Leslie Mann is only thirteen years older than Michelle Trachtenberg.

FILM 1980: BURNING

FILM 1980: BURNING 

TRIVIA: The scene in which the main characters talk at Jong-su's house was filmed for about a month. They were only able to shoot for a few minutes every day to capture the twilight on camera.

Paju, the hometown of Jong-su, is famous for its fog. According to cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong, there were many foggy scenes at dawn, but some were deleted because they came out so beautifully. Many of the scenes where Jong-su runs to search greenhouses at dawn were also deleted because the foggy landscapes were too beautifully shown.

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

FILM 1977: THE WEDDING PLANNER

FILM 1977: THE WEDDING PLANNER

TRIVIA: Jennifer Love Hewitt was developing a separate film with the same premise for her to star in but was forced to cancel the project when this film was released.

Brendan Fraser was set to play the role of Dr. Steve/Eddie, but scheduling conflicts with filming the movie Bedazzled (2000) prevented him.

In an early scene in Matthew McConaughey's office, he indicates a framed picture of his "sister". The prop is actually a picture of associate producer and choreographer Anne Fletcher, who had a scene in the movie that was cut.

Franny's Mother, played by Joanna Gleason, sings very badly in the movie and is asked numerous times by her daughter not to sing. In fact, Gleason has a very good singing voice and has appeared in several Broadway musicals, including "Into the Woods" for which she won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. 

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.

FILM 1968: EIGHTH GRADE

FILM 1968: EIGHTH GRADE

TRIVIA: At a screening in San Francisco, director Bo Burnham said he originally intended for all the young characters to communicate with one another over Facebook. When his star, Elsie Fisher, saw his script, however, she said, "No one uses Facebook." He then made that a line in the movie and had the characters use Instagram and Snapchat instead.

Speaking on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, director Bo Burnham said that technology company Apple was going to provide laptops and phones for the film for free, but they were unhappy with the scene where the iPhone broke when it got thrown. As a result, the laptops shown in the film were those belonging to the crew and the broken iPhone scene was kept in.

Filming began one week after actress Elsie Fisher graduated eighth grade.

Was listed as one of former US President Barack Obama's favourite films of 2018.

MY VERDICT: This film really spoke to me – I was the shyest of all teenagers and I was just like this girl - except I didn’t have the luxury of any of the social media. The last third of the film brought me to tears and just reminded me how hard growing up is. I’m so glad I’m an adult now – I wouldn’t wish teenage years on my worst enemy. Even though I grew up in a different era I think teenage awkwardness is pretty universal and I think this film is genuine and true to real life. Watch it let me know if you can relate… Also there were some bits that made me really laugh out loud - so don't go into it thinking it's a sombre film because it's not that at all.

FILM 1956: A SIMPLE FAVOUR

FILM 1956: A SIMPLE FAVOUR

TRIVIA: The gin used in the martinis shared by Anna and Blake's charaters is Aviation (American) Gin, a company owned by Blake Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds.

One of the reasons that Blake Lively wanted Emily to wear suits was because she wanted to differentiate Emily from the character she played on "Gossip Girl." Both characters are women in fashion from the Upper East Side. "I wanted it to be a very different look and vibe," she says.

Blake Lively wanted to create an iconic look for her character. She drew inspiration from Paul Feig's style in real life - "the buttoned up, three piece suit, bow tie, pocket square, cuff link wearing version."

The most prominent part of the soundtrack consists of French songs from the '60s.

In an interview, Anna Kendrick recalled the scene where Stephanie goes to Emily's house as being particularly fun to film. She says, "we found a way to kind of flirt with each other that was really fun, even though the things we're saying don't necessarily have that element."

Director of photography John Schwartzman was inspired by the "brightly lit, poppy colors" of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet." He says, "The idea was to not try to hide things in the shadows on this movie. Let's put it all out there in plain sight and let the audience figure out all the information."

The theme that screenwriter Jessica Sharzer was most interested in exploring was how society often forces women to choose one role to play in life, then penalizes them for breaking out of that role. "I like that this story looks at how different women decide between career and children."

Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus researched real mommy vloggers on Instagram for inspiration in creating Stephanie's look. The sweater that she wears with the pom poms was inspired by one vlog that was very "This is how you DIY kitty cats on your collar," as Kalfus puts it. (Stephanie actually does wear cats on her collar earlier in the film when she gets in touch with Sean in London.)

In order to help the audience feel as though they were really following Stephanie's vlogs, director of photography John Schwartzman chose to re-film the vlog scenes as they played back on a very high-resolution monitor. The technique allowed him to incorporate the detailed texture of the pixels on screen.

Director Paul Feig worked with Linda Cardellini, who plays Diana Hyland, on "Freaks and Geeks". He was thrilled to get another chance to work with her after 17 years.

The director of photography, John Schwartzman, previously worked on major motion pictures like "The Rock," "Jurassic World," and "Pearl Harbor." Schwartzman went to film school with Feig, but this is the first time they have worked on a film together.

FILM 1951: THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

FILM 1951: THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

TRIVIA: Matt Damon actually sang the song "My Funny Valentine."

Jude Law learned to play the saxophone and Matt Damon learned to play the piano for this film. However while Damon's training enabled him to recreate the proper keyboard fingering the music heard in the film is played by Sally Heath (the Bach) and Gabriel Yared (the Vivaldi).

This is Matt Damon's favorite film he has made.

Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role of Tom Ripley.

Fausto and Dickie (and Tom, later) sing "Tu Vuo' Fa' L'Americano," a humorous song about an Italian man in the 50s who wants to imitate the American lifestyle he sees in the movies. But American food doesn't do him any good and in the end, the money he spends comes from his mother's purse.

After viewing this film, Tommy Wiseau was so emotionally moved that he vowed to make a film just as, if not more compelling. This film would become The Room (2003).

When Anthony Minghella learned that Cate Blanchett was interested in playing the small supporting role of Meredith - as opposed to the female lead - he duly expanded the role to get her on board.

FILM 1936: ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT

FILM 1936: ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT

The twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction true story of the Brobergs, a naive, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor with designs on their twelve-year-old daughter.

FILM 1935: THE FAVOURITE

FILM 1935: THE FAVOURITE

TRIVIA: Olivia Colman gained 2.5 stone (16 kg. or 35 lbs.) to play Queen Anne.

Costume designer Sandy Powell intentionally used anachronistic fabrics. Laser-cut lace and vinyl was used for many courtiers' clothes. The servants' dresses and britches are made from denim recycled from thrift store jeans from throughout England. Queen Anne's dressing gown is made from a chenille blanket that Powell found on eBay.

Kate Winslet was originally cast, but dropped out.

The wigs had their own trailer.

The film was shot mostly with available sunlight or practical lighting, such as candles and fireplaces. Robbie Ryan kept backup lighting equipment on stand-by, but used very little additional light, mostly due to unseasonably warm weather during filming.

Most of the costumes and wigs were made from scratch. The budget was very tight, so renting them was not feasible. The early 18th century is rarely depicted on film, so few costume houses had much appropriate stock available. Clothes and wigs were custom built, then deconstructed and re-used in other scenes.

This is the first time Yorgos Lanthimos directed a film in which he is not the screenwriter and nor is his regular partner, Efthymis Filippou.

Costume designer Sandy Powell had to divide her duties between this film and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). Fortunately, both productions used adjacent workspaces at Pinewood Studios.

Winston Churchill was born in the palace Queen Anne built for Sarah Churchill in 1874, 166 years after the movie takes place. The Churchill family continued to live in Blenheim Palace for 300 years.

According to makeup designer Nadia Stacey, Nicholas Hoult named all of his wigs. His main wig was Barbara (or, more frequently, Babs). The orange wig he wears when he watches courtiers throwing pomegranates at a nude Tory is Lulu. Another was named Hattie. Hoult also became very attuned to how Harley might wear beauty spots, depending on the situation or the message his character was trying to convey. "Nick and I would sit every day and look at the scene and say, 'We should do it here now because you're going to see the Queen,'" said Stacey. "We really played with that."

This is the second film that Rachel Weisz and Nicholas Hoult have starred in together. The first was About a Boy (2002).

FILM 1932: THE AMERICAN MEME

FILM 1932: THE AMERICAN MEME

THE AMERICAN MEME follows the journeys of four shocking social media disruptors, Paris Hilton (@parishilton), Josh Ostrovsky (@thefatjewish), Brittany Furlan (@brittanyfurlan) and Kirill Bichutsky (@slutwhisperer), as they hustle to create empires out of their online footprints. Although their paths to influencer status are distinct, their respective followings are akin to small armies.

FILM 1930: SOMETHING BORROWED

FILM 1930: SOMETHING BORROWED

TRIVIA: When Marcus and Rachel are sitting on the bench in the park, the woman sitting on the bench next to them can be seen reading the book, "Something Blue" by Emily Giffin - "Something Blue" is the sequel to the book "Something Borrowed".

Kate Hudson (Darcy) and Steve Howey (Marcus) also played a couple (who got married) in Bride Wars (2009).

Hilary Swank was cast but dropped out. Ginnifer Goodwin later replaced her.

Darcy and Dex's wedding invitation says the wedding is at The Plaza, which is the same place that Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway's characters get married at in Bride Wars

FILM 1926: WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

FILM 1926: WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

TRIVIA: Although the documentary includes a brief clip of Mr. Roger's meeting with Koko the Gorilla and shows Koko removing Mr. Roger's shoes, it does not explain the story behind the gorilla's actions. After Koko's death in June 2018, multiple obituaries for the gorilla explained that Koko faithfully watched Mr. Rogers' show every day, and during their encounter, she removed his shoes because she was used to seeing him do the same at the start of every episode.

Director Morgan Neville was partly inspired to create this documentary after asking Yo-Yo Ma about how he handled his status of being a celebrity. Ma said Fred Rogers mentored him on how his fame could be used for good.

FILM 1914: THOROUGHBREDS

FILM 1914: THOROUGHBREDS

TRIVIA: This was Anton Yelchin's final film before his death on June 19, 2016, at the age of 27.

Originally written for the stage.