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 1893: K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER

FILM 1893: K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER

TRIVIA: Upon reading the film's script, the surviving crew members were so incensed that they sent an open letter to Harrison Ford, Producer/Director Kathryn Bigelow, and Producers Christine Whitaker and Steven-Charles Jaffe, expressing their dismay. Among the less-than-credible details they objected to were profane language, the animosity between the two highest-ranking commanding officers, insubordination among the crew, drunk crew members, the attempted mutiny, the guns (which are kept under seal in a secret location) and the handcuffs (which were only used by and available to cops).

The director and producers of K-19 were the first Western civilians ever allowed inside the Russian naval base at the Kola Peninsula.

The movie set of the sub was identical in size to the actual K-19 sub, thanks to the K-19 blueprints that were available to the producers. Since the sub's corridors were very narrow, the filming camera rolled along a rail system implemented on the ceiling. The rails were painted so they would blend with the sub's interiors.

The blue glow inside the nuclear reactor is known as the Cherenkov effect. In order to simulate it, the crew poured seven hundred two-liter bottles of Canada Dry tonic water and illuminated the reactor with ultraviolet light. The tonic water contains quinine, which emits a bluish glow in the presence of ultraviolet light.

According to Jacob Pitts, during one scene, the Director of Photography was having trouble getting Harrison Ford's eye line. When he asked Ford where he was looking, Ford replied that he was looking into his soul. When the DP asked him where his soul was, he replied, "Under a pile of money."

The meter used in the scene where the ships doctor is checking the radiation dosimeters by inserting them into a dosimeter reader is not actually a reader at all. It is a modified Hewlett Packard (now Agilent) HP3555A/B Transmission Level/Noise test set used by telephone and communications technicians. This actual meter was not developed by HP until several years after the K19 incident. The method for reading dosimeters at the time was to look through them (like you would a telescope) and read the progression of an indicator on a ruler like scale.

Natalya Vintilova has the only female speaking role in the whole movie.

FILM 1246: DARKMAN

TRIVIA: Bill Paxton was almost cast as Peyton Westlake. According to Paxton, he told his friend Liam Neeson about the audition. When Neeson got the the role, Paxton was so angry that he did not speak to Neeson for months.

Julia Roberts was almost cast as Julie Hastings before she got the role in Pretty Woman (1990) and had to be replaced.

Director Sam Raimi wanted Bruce Campbell to play the lead role, but the producers were uncertain that Campbell could handle the part.

For the role of Darkman, Sam Raimi wanted someone who could play a monster with the soul of a man. An actor who could do all that beneath a lot of makeup. He also liked Liam Neeson's Gary Cooper charisma. Neeson was drawn to the operatic nature of the story and the inner turmoil of the character. To research the role, Neeson contacted the Phoenix Society, an organization that helps accident victims with severe disfigurements adjust to re-entering society.

The production suffered from behind-the-scenes troubles. The screenwriting process was grueling, and there were lengthy post-production battles with the studio. Also, Sam Raimi and Frances McDormand clashed because of creative differences. She was allegedly very difficult to direct.

Director Trademark : Sam Raimi:  [Oldsmobile]  The beige 70s-vintage Oldsmobile seen in so many of Sam Raimi's films appears when Darkman is flying over the bridge dodging oncoming traffic. During a close-up shot of the oncoming Olds, you can see Sam Raimi's friends (and fellow filmmakers) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen driving the car.

Film 858: Unknown

Trivia:  According to his passport, Martin Harris was born on June 7th. This is also the birthday of Liam Neeson who portrays Dr. Harris.