FILM 1345: POSSESSED

TRIVIA: Star Joan Crawford and director Curtis Bernhardt spent time in real psychiatric wards in Santa Monica, Santa Barbara and Pasadena, observing mental patients as research for the film. On one of these visits, Crawford and Bernhardt witnessed, without asking permission, a woman undergoing electro convulsive shock therapy. Warner Bros. was later forced to pay substantial damages to the woman, who claimed their presence was an invasion of privacy.

The second film with this title Joan Crawford appeared in. The first was the 1931 film Possessed (1931), co-starring a young Clark Gable. This makes Crawford the only star to appear in two completely different films with identical titles.

Star Joan Crawford reportedly said, "I will not go on with this picture unless the Epstein Boys rewrite my part." Julius J. and Philip Epstein were then on suspension from the studio. I order to get them to accede to Crawford's demands, Jack Warner had to take them off of suspension... with back pay.

FILM 1143: THE ENGLISH PATIENT

TRIVIA: In 2005, Juliette Binoche had her Oscar touched up by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her three-year-old son was fond of playing with it and it had subsequently become tarnished and peeling. One of the perks of being an Oscar-winner is that you can have your Oscar repaired for free by the Academy.

Bruce Willis was offered the role of Caravaggio but was talked out of taking the role by his then agent. He later admitted in interviews to regretting this decision.

Originally, 20th Century Fox was to finance the film, but disputes arose between the studio and the producers over casting. In particular, Fox preferred a more well-known actress to play Katharine Clifton instead of Kristin Scott Thomas; Demi Moore was lobbying particularly hard for the role. After the producers refused to give in on a series of casting choices, Fox backed out of the film, and the project was uncertain just as production was about to begin. However, within a few weeks - during which the cast and crew stayed on in Italy without knowing if the film would be made - the film was picked up by Miramax.

Ralph Fiennes' burn make-up took 5 hours to apply every day. Fiennes insisted that the full body make-up be applied even for the scenes where only his head would be filmed.

Was the first digitally-edited film to win an Academy Award for Best Film Editing (Walter Murch). Murch began editing the film mechanically, but then switched to the Avid system after his son suffered a medical emergency so that he could work from his home while his son recovered. Murch writes about the experience in his book "In the Blink of an Eye (2nd Ed.)."

Early into the production, Anthony Minghella fell over and broke his ankle. Therefore for much of the shoot he was either in plaster or crutches.

Minghella's first cut of the film was 4 hours and 10 minutes long.