FILM 2025: LEGALLY BLONDE

FILM 2025: LEGALLY BLONDE

TRIVIA: To prepare for her role as Elle, Reese Witherspoon spent two weeks studying the behavior of sorority girls, as she did not wish to portray a stereotypical airhead sorority image. She states on the DVD commentary that they were all very kind and polite, and she enjoyed her time with them. She also observed women shopping from the café at Neiman Marcus, and attended law school for a day.

Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, Katherine Heigl, Christina Applegate, Milla Jovovich, and Jennifer Love Hewitt were all considered for Elle Woods.

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) wears forty different hairstyles throughout the film.

While at Stanford, source book author Amanda Brown wrote letters back home, regarding her inability to fit in with her classmates. Later she made a manuscript based on those letters and sent it to an agent, who was drawn to it because it was the only manuscript submitted written on pink paper--referenced in the film through Elle Woods scented pink résumés.

A perfect score on the LSAT exam is 180, therefore Elle's score of 179 puts her in the top 0.1 percent.

As agreed in her contract, Reese Witherspoon kept all of her costumes after filming.

When Elle (Reese Witherspoon) is studying for the LSAT with her sorority sister, Amy (Kimberly McCullough), Amy is reading off answer choices for an LSAT question. This is an actual LSAT question, which is part of the analytical reasoning section, taken from actual LSAT #31, June 2000.

On her first day, Elle comments that, "Whoever said orange is the new pink is seriously disturbed." This is a reference to Producer Marc Platt's other production, Josie and the Pussycats (2001), in which teenagers are brainwashed into thinking "orange is the new pink."

FILM 2024: 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS

FILM 2024: 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS

TRIVIA: Ashton Kutcher and Katie Holmes were originally set to play the roles of Matt and Erica. They both dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.

Josh Hartnett tried to emulate his character's celibacy. He lasted for two weeks.

When Matt and Erica first meet at the laundromat, Erica is wearing a t-shirt that says "Türkiye" (Turkey) and has the map of Turkey on it. She's clearly wearing a t-shirt bought as a souvenir to give the idea that she has nothing else left to wear.

FILM 2023: MANHUNTER

FILM 2023: MANHUNTER

TRIVIA: This movie was originally going to be titled "Red Dragon", the same name as the novel. However, when Year of the Dragon (1985) became a box-office failure, Executive Producer Dino De Laurentiis decided to avoid a "dragon" title.

The translation of the French title is "The Sixth Sense".

David Lynch, who was considered to direct, ended up having a major effect on the future interpretation of the Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Lecter) character: Sir Anthony Hopkins has said that Jonathan Demme was inspired to cast him after seeing his performance as Dr. Treves in Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980).

This is the only "Hannibal" movie where his last name is spelled "Lecktor", for some reason. In all other adaptations of the novels, it's spelled "Lecter".

In the scenes where Will Graham (William Petersen) is interviewing Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox) in his cell, Writer and Director Michael Mann took care to set up the shots so that the position of the bars of the cell do not move when the point of view switches between Graham and Lecktor.

The scene where Reba McClane (Joan Allen) touches a sedated tiger features a real sedated tiger. The veterinarian is played by a real veterinarian.

Frankie Faison (Lieutenant Fisk) is the only actor to appear in four Thomas Harris"Hannibal" adaptations. He appeared as Barney in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), and Red Dragon (2002).

Curiously enough, Writer and Director Michael Mann had initially considered fellow filmmaker William Friedkin for the part of Dr. Hannibal Lecktor, but when Brian Dennehy, also a prospective Hannibal, insisted that Mann see Scotsman Brian Cox in the acclaimed 1984 off-Broadway production of "Rat in the Skull", Mann was instantly won over by Cox's award-winning performance. Cox's scenes as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor were shot over a three-day period.

When the production could not get permission to film on-board a commercial airplane, Writer and Director Michael Mann booked his actors, actresses, and crew onto a twilight flight from Chicago to Florida where the production was relocating anyway. A stripped-down camera, lighting and sound equipment were taken on board as carry-on luggage. Pilots and flight attendants were appeased with gifts of movie crew jackets.

According to an interview with Brian Cox, the following actors were considered for the role of Dr. Hannibal Lektor: Brian Dennehy, Bruce Dern, John Lithgow, and Mandy Patinkin.

During the filming of this movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins was playing King Lear at the National Theatre. During the filming of The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Brian Cox was playing King Lear at the National Theatre.

In shooting the final confrontation between Francis Dollarhyde (Tom Noonan) and Will Graham (William Petersen), Noonan had to lie in a pool of stage blood for several hours as the crew worked on other shots. After all of this time, the stage blood dried into a thick, cement-like adhesive that nearly fused Noonan to the carpet.

Tom Noonan (Francis Dollarhyde) spent many hours in make-up so that artists could paint fake tattoos on his back and torso modelled after William Blake's "Great Red Dragon" paintings. Though Noonan appeared with the tattoos in publicity photographs (available in a Special Edition DVD), Writer and Director Michael Mann concluded that the tattoos were too "over the top", and discarded the idea. Red Dragon (2002) features the tattoos on-screen.

Writer and Director Michael Mann was reportedly inspired to have Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" on the soundtrack by his correspondence with a convicted killer in Texas named Dennis Wayne Wallace, who claimed "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was a love song that spiritually connected him to the woman he murdered.

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

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 2021: MURDER MYSTERY

FILM 2021: MURDER MYSTERY

TRIVIA: This movie set a new Netflix record. Netflix claims that, in the first three days, 30,869,863 accounts watched the film: 13,374,914 North American accounts and and an additional 17,494,949 accounts watching from the rest of the world.

Adam Sandler's real life wife, Jackie Sandler, makes a cameo appearance as the flight attendant on the plane. 

Andrea Bendewald, who plays a customer in the salon, is Jennifer Aniston's best friend. Bendewald was maid of honour at her wedding to Brad Pitt and guest starred in the sitcom "Friends."

Luke Evans and Victor Turpin are a couple in real life.

FILM 2019: US

FILM 2019: US

TRIVIA: Jordan Peele gave the cast ten horror films to watch so they would have "a shared language" when filming: Dead Again (1991), The Shining (1980), The Babadook (2014), It Follows (2014), A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), The Birds (1963), Funny Games (1997), Martyrs (2008), Let the Right One In (2008), and The Sixth Sense (1999).

Lupita Nyong'o based Red's voice on Robert F. Kennedy Jr and specifically the spasmodic dysphonia he suffers from.

Like The Lost Boys (1987), several key scenes take place on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. This is even referenced in-universe, when Adelaide's mother (Anna Diop) says, "You know, they're shooting a movie over there by the carousel."

The Bible verse that continuously appears in the film (Jeremiah 11:11) reads: "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them."

In addition to Jeremiah 11:11 being seen written on a sign twice, the numbers 11:11 appear frequently throughout this film. When Gabe is watching a baseball game on TV, the announcer says that the game is tied 11-11. When Addie and Jason are talking in his room, the digital clock reads 11:11 pm. Also, a carnival worker in 1986 and one of the twins in the present day both wear a T-shirt for the band Black Flag, the logo of which consists of four vertical black bars that resemble the number 1111. And again at the end of the movie when the ambulance is driving down the windy back road the camera pans out and shows the ambulance number 1111 on top of it.

The filmmakers did not need to do much work on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, as many games and rides are originals going far back as the 1910's. Also, indeed there is an underground tunnel system under The Boardwalk, though it is mostly used for storage and as a shelter in case of any emergency. There is no hall of mirrors (as shown in the film) on the beach.

Nicole Richie appears at the beginning of the movie as a 5 year old because she was actually in the Hands Across America commercial.

Grossed $71 million over its United States opening weekend, the highest ever for an original horror film, and the second highest for an original live-action film, after Avatar(2009)'s $77 million.

"I Got 5 On It" by the hip-hop rap duo, Luniz, is the song featured in the Us movie trailer and remixed into several scenes in the movie. The song was released in May 1995. It was certified a platinum single (one million units sold) in October 1995. The title is a phrase meaning to pay half of a dime bag (a $10 bag of cannabis) with another person.

The fast food that the family eats is called "Copperpots" a nod to Chester Copperpot, the legendary treasure hunter in "The Goonies" which is referenced many times in the movie.

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 2017: THE MUMMY

FILM 2017: THE MUMMY

TRIVIA: This film is intended to be the first installment in a possible Universal Monsters shared universe, also known as "Dark Universe."

The film's tagline, "Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters," is a quote from Bride of Frankenstein (1935), which was also produced by Universal and will be the next installment in the Dark Universe franchise.

The zero gravity scene took sixty-four takes and was shot for two days in a falling plane. Reportedly, a lot of the crew got nauseous during the scene and vomited, except for the main stars, Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis, who were really proud of the stunt.

When Jake Johnson was offered his part in the movie, he loved the idea and the opportunity to work with Tom Cruise, knowing that Cruise does most of his own stunts. He signed on immediately, but when he read the full script and learned what kind of dangerous actions were expected of him, he admitted to getting cold feet. However, Cruise allowed Johnson access to his private facilities for a rigorous 4.5 month training course, making him well prepared for all the stunts he was required to do.

Director Alex Kurtzman stated that there is no post credits scene because "That's Marvel's domain."

Due to the film's lukewarm reception and box office, Universal's proposed Dark Universe franchise was shelved indefinitely.

The Mummy had a relatively disappointing box office run, grossing just over $400m worldwide. Studio sources have said that Tom Cruise exerted too much control on the set, and that his input into editing and marketing greatly changed the pace and style of the movie.

When Ahmanet is mummified and is put the sarcophagus, the lid was too close to Sofia Boutella's face. And it hit her right in the nose, and all the bandages around her head were soaked with blood. After the bloody bandages were removed, a second take was done, only this time, the lid was further away from her face.

FILM 2016: MOANA

FILM 2016: MOANA

TRIVIA: Dwayne Johnson believes that voice acting is the most difficult career in acting, and is personally annoyed when celebrities are cast in animated films despite voicing their characters badly. When Johnson was cast for the film, he repeatedly asked the other voice actors present if he was really giving a good performance.

The spiral on Moana's necklace and on the sail of her boat is called a koru. It represents the unfurling fern frond, symbolizing new life, new beginnings, personal growth, hope, a new start, perfection, rebirth, awakening, purity, the spirit of rejuvenation and peace. As a double spiral, it also symbolizes kinship and belonging.

The genie's lamp from Aladdin (1992) can be seen on Tamatoa's shell.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has said the character of Tamatoa the Giant Crab was a tribute to David Bowie.

The tattoos on Chief Tui's abdomen are the same tattoos worn by pro wrestler Peter Fanene Maivia, Dwayne Johnson's maternal grandfather.

When he first gets his hook and is trying to shapeshift, Maui changes into various animals. For a split second, he turns into Sven the Reindeer from Frozen (2013).

The first baby in the Production Babies credit is Sebastian, Lin-Manuel Miranda's son, who was born during the making of this film. He's named for the crab in The Little Mermaid(1989).

Although it's a computer animated film, Maui's tattoos are hand-drawn. This is the first full-length Disney animated feature film since Winnie the Pooh (2011) to feature pure hand-drawn animation.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has said that The Little Mermaid (1989) had inspired him to become a songwriter for films like this. Interestingly enough, both The Little Mermaid (1989) and Moana (2016) were directed by the celebrated duo directing team of John Musker and Ron Clements.

Flounder, Ariel's side kick in The Little Mermaid (1989), makes an appearance in the background sketch graphic during the song "You're Welcome".

The first draft of the screenplay was written by Taika Waititi, who would go on to direct Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Rachel House appeared in both films.

ACTOR TRADEMARK: Dwayne Johnson: [eyebrow] When Moana first meets Maui, he cocks his eyebrow in a strange way. This is the people's eyebrow, Johnson's signature move from his wrestling career.

FILM 2015: SICARIO

FILM 2015: SICARIO

TRIVIA: While Benicio Del Toro's character is frequently silent in the movie, he initially had more lines. "In the original script, the character explained his background several times to Kate," Del Toro said. "And that gave me information about who this guy was, but it felt a little stiff to have someone you just met fifteen minutes ago suddenly telling you what happened to him and who he is." Working with director Denis Villeneuve, Del Toro began cutting some of his dialogue to preserve the mystery of who his character is; Villeneuve estimated they cut 90% of what Del Toro was originally intended to say by screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. Like Del Toro, Villeneuve saw power in stripping the character down to a brooding silence, stating that dialogue belongs to plays and "movies are about movement, character, and presence, and Benicio had all that."

When discussing the score with composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, director Denis Villeneuve said he wanted the the sound of a threat. The one film Villeneuve used as a comparison was Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975).

Emily Blunt based Kate Macer's character on one of four female FBI agents she spoke to in preparation for the role, whom she described as "shy" and with a "loner quality" to them.

The word "Sicario" derives from the Latin word "Sicarius," meaning "dagger man." The term was used by Romans to describe Jewish zealots who killed Roman citizens using a "sica" or small dagger hidden in their cloaks. There were so many murders in the province of Judea around the 1st Century AD that the figure of "Sicarius" was codified in Roman law ("Lex Cornelia de Sicariis et Veneficis -- Cornelian Law for Stabbers and Poisoners") of 81 AD. These words also derive from the verb "secare," which means "to slice."

FILM 2014: LOST RIVER

FILM 2014: LOST RIVER

TRIVIA: First film written and directed by Ryan Gosling.

Matt Smith filmed his scenes during his break away from playing The Doctor on Doctor Who. He had to shave his head for the role of Bully and wore a wig for the last episodes of Doctor Who which were filmed later on.

Thomas McDonald, the actor who plays 'Skip' (the man leaving the area near the beginning of the film), is/was a real life resident of the now sparsely populated shooting location in Detroit.

When Ryan Gosling sent a text to Johnny Jewel (who created much of the film's soundtrack), outlining the influences and intended vibe of the film, Johnny's reply was "dark goonies. cool."

During one scene in the club, a woman can be seen wearing a large skull mask. This mask was originally worn by one of the circus gang motorcycle riders in the film Batman Returns (1992). It was pulled from the basement of the Warner Bros. props department for use in this film.

FILM 2013: MOVIE 43

FILM 2013: MOVIE 43

TRIVIA: The movie was filmed over a span of four years. Production took so long because filming had to be done around the actors' busy schedules. The segment with Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman was the first to be filmed, and producer Charles B. Wessler used it to secure the financing for the rest of the movie. He called in a lot of favors to get as many high-profile actors as possible for the other short films, most of them willing to work for a few days on something unconventional. However, almost none of the actors knew completely what the other segments were about, or how the full movie would be. When it came out, none of the major actors wanted to promote it.

Anton Yelchin originally played a necrophiliac, in a segment called The Apprentice (2014), directed by Steve Baker and Damon Escott. The segment was removed, due to the highly offensive subject matter.

Not screened in advance for critics, because Rouge Pictures was afraid of bad reviews making audiences miss the film. The film was ultimately considered as one of the worst films ever made.

Colin Farrell was originally cast as The Leprechaun.

Sam Rockwell was originally attached to reprise his role as Batman in the superhero segment (which was intended to be a sequel to the short film Robin's Big Date (2005)) but pulled out to do Seven Psychopaths (2012) instead.

Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts play a married couple in this movie. At the time, they were married in real life.

FILM 2012: THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN

FILM 2012: THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN 

TRIVIA: Filmed in the same house as Halloween II (2009).

Feature film debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda.

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 2010: DEAR JOHN

FILM 2010: DEAR JOHN

TRIVIA: On its opening weekend in the United States, it went to number one, becoming the film to finally end the reign of James Cameron's Avatar (2009), which had sat at the top of the box office for seven consecutive weeks.

"Dear John" is military slang for a letter from a girlfriend breaking up with a soldier.

The character of Alan was inspired by writer Nicholas Sparks' son, who is afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.

Amanda Seyfried wrote the song Savannah sings to John. Titled "Little House," the whole song is featured on the movie's soundtrack.

FILM 2009: GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

FILM 2009: GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

TRIVIA: This is the second time that Christa B. Allen has played the younger version of a character played by Jennifer Garner. The first was in 13 Going on 30 (2004).

Originally set up at Walt Disney Pictures with Ben Affleck attached to play the lead character, and Kevin Smith to direct. Production was to begin in the fall of 2003, but budgetary concerns and the failure of Gigli (2003) forced the studio to cancel the film one month prior to shooting. Ironically, when the film did get made years later, Affleck's wife Jennifer Garner appeared in it. And the role Affleck was supposed to play, was instead played by his Dazed and Confused (1993) co-star, Matthew McConaughey.

The movie features Lacey Chabert as the bride and Rachel Boston as a bridesmaid, who both now regularly star in romantic comedies featuring weddings filmed for the Hallmark Channel.