FILM 1973: THE SNOWMAN

FILM 1973: THE SNOWMAN

TRIVIA: Martin Scorsese was originally attached to direct this movie. He remained on board as executive producer.

Tomas Alfredson has said that production was too rushed. He came on board late, and reckons that up to 15% of the screenplay was never filmed. Location filming in Norway was shortened so production could move to London, which compromised the story.

Featured on episode 209 on the podcast "How Did This Get Made?".

The ringtone of Rakel's phone is cover of Edvard Grieg's piece "In the Hall of the Mountain King".

All of Val Kilmer's lines are dubbed throughout the film. According to a Reddit AMA in May 2017, Kilmer disclosed that he had "a healing of cancer," and his tongue "was still swollen although healing all the time."

Jonny Greenwood created a score that was not used.

FILM 1937: THE CAPTIVE

FILM 1937: THE CAPTIVE

TRIVIA: The film was booed when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.

This is Atom Egoyan's second successive film based on child abduction - the previous being Devil's Knot (2013). Both films starred Kevin Durand and Bruce Greenwood.

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 1819: THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

FILM 1819: THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

TRIVIA: 20th Century Fox invited a group of scientists to preview the film, to test their reactions to the science used in the film. None of the scientists were impressed with what they saw, although most conceded that the movie was enjoyable nonsense.

The river crossing scene was actually filmed on the US-Mexico border, and the extras really were crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico.

The consultation by NASA scientists was requested before the filming of the movie, but NASA stated that the events in the film were too ridiculous actually to occur, and hence denied the request. NASA sent a memo out to all of its employees stating that they were not allowed to comment on the likelihood of the events portrayed, but later rescinded this restriction.

In 2008, Yahoo! Movies listed the film as one of the Top 10 Scientifically Inaccurate Movies.

Two library-bound survivors ask whether they should burn the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, whose "The Antichrist" states in its preface: "Only the day after tomorrow belongs to me. Some are born posthumously." Part of this line provided this movie's title.

When the camera pulls away from the Earth after the astronaut exclaims "the air is so clear" the image of the Earth is a modified version of the "Blue Marble" picture created by Robert Simmon. The Blue Marble picture is comprised of thousands of satellite photos, and some of the clouds are duplicated. The Apple iPhone uses the Blue Marble picture as the default wallpaper.

FILM 1745: GROUNDHOG DAY

FILM 1745: GROUNDHOG DAY

TRIVIA: According to Director Harold Ramis, most of the time, when he tried to explain a scene to Bill Murray, Murray would interrupt and ask, "Just tell me - good Phil or bad Phil?"

All the clocks in the diner are stopped, mirroring Phil's predicament.

On the DVD, Harold Ramis states that the original idea was for him to live February 2nd for about ten thousand years. Later, he says that Phil probably lived the same day for about ten years. A breakdown of this day count and Ramis' thoughts can be found here: youtu.be/swJ-kNdtrdQ

Harold Ramis originally wanted Tom Hanks for the lead role, but decided against it, saying that Hanks was "too nice".

Not filmed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but actually in Woodstock, Illinois (just fifty miles from Bill Murray's hometown of Wilmette, Illinois). There is a small plaque that reads "Bill Murray stepped here" on the curb where Murray continually steps into a puddle. There is another plaque on the building wall at the corner that says "Ned's Corner" where Bill Murray was continually accosted by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky).

Bill Murray was undergoing a divorce at the time of filming, and was obsessing about the film. He would ring Harold Ramis constantly, often in the early hours of the morning. Ramis eventually sent Writer Danny Rubin to sit with Murray, and iron out all his anxieties, one of the reasons why Murray stopped speaking to Ramis for several years.

When Phil takes the elderly man to the hospital, and talks to the nurse, a boy with a broken leg can be seen in the background. This is the same boy who falls out of a tree later on in the film, only this time, Phil catches him.

Harold Ramis makes a cameo in the film as the neurologist that assures Phil that he is okay, but should perhaps talk to a psychiatrist.

Since the film's release, the town of Punxsutawney has now become a major tourist attraction.

Danny Rubin said that one of the inspirational moments in the creation of the story, came after reading "Interview with the Vampire", which got him thinking about what it would be like to live forever.

Brian Doyle-Murray (Buster Green) is the elder brother of Bill Murray (Phil Connors).

The two radio announcers heard at the beginning of each day were played by Harold Ramis and Brian Doyle-Murray.

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

Fred and Debbie, the young couple who are supposed to get married that day, are played by Michael Shannon and Hynden Walch. Both would later go on to be better known for playing characters from DC Comics. In both cases, they played superstrong aliens from another planet. Walch voiced Starfire from the planet Tamaran in Teen Titans (2003), while Shannon played General Zod from the planet Krypton in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

BOOK 161: DOWNTOWN OWL: A NOVEL: CHUCK KLOSTERMAN

Written by Chuck Klosterman, first published by Scribner in 2008. It is the author's first all-fictional publication.

In October 2012, Gettin' Rad Productions, the production company owned by Adam Scott and his wife, Naomi Scott, optioned the movie rights to Downtown Owl. “It’s lovely and moving and funny. We just thought it’s a really great story about people that I relate to but also small enough that it would make a good first film out of the gate for us," Adam Scott was quoted in The Hollywood Reporter. However, no further updates on the film project have been released since then.

Film School Rejects writer Neil Miller said, "This book is rich with unique and interesting characters and situations that would be perfect matches for a Coen-esque romp through 1983 rural North Dakota."

FILM 1461: THE REVENANT

TRIVIA: Leonardo DiCaprio had to devour a raw slab of bison's liver, even though he is vegetarian. He also had to learn to shoot a musket, build a fire, speak two Native American languages (Pawnee and Arikara), and study with a doctor who specializes in ancient healing techniques. DiCaprio calls it the hardest performance of his career.

Due to production being behind schedule, the snow melted during the location shoot in Canada before filming was complete. With summer rapidly approaching, there was no choice but to relocate the entire production to southern Argentina, where there were similar wintry conditions.

Shot chronologically on an 80-day schedule that took place over a total principal photography time period of nine months. This unusually long production time was due to the cold weather conditions, the remoteness of the locations and director Alejandro González Iñárritu's and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's aesthetic plan to shoot only with natural light for maximum realism. Only a few shooting hours were available every day and had to be carefully planned in advance.

Tom Hardy was concerned about the safety of some of the stunts he had to do, which caused friction between him and director Alejandro González Iñárritu before Gonzalez allowed Hardy to choke him in return. Later, the image of Hardy strangling Gonzalez was immortalized in a T-shirt gifted by Hardy to all members of the crew, at the end of the shoot.

The origin of the title is rooted in the French verb "revenir," which means "to return." Revenant in French also means (reverting to) "spirit" or "ghost."

This film adds another name to the list of Oscar-winning directors (Alejandro González Iñárritu) that Leonardo DiCaprio has worked with. The others are: Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Danny Boyle, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Sam Mendes and Woody Allen. He has also worked with Quentin Tarantino, who has won two Academy Awards for screenwriting.

Alejandro González Iñárritu was insistent that computer-generated imagery not be used to enhance the film, stating: "If we ended up in greenscreen with coffee and everybody having a good time, everybody will be happy, but most likely the film would be a piece of shit."

FILM 1444: HOME ALONE

TRIVIA: Joe Pesci deliberately avoided Macaulay Culkin on set because he wanted Culkin to think he was mean.

The picture Kevin finds of Buzz's girlfriend was a picture of a boy made up to look like a girl because Chris Columbus thought it would be too cruel to make fun of a girl like that. The boy that was used in the photo was the art director's son.

Entered into The Guinness Book of World Records as the "Highest Box Office Gross - Comedy", accumulating $533,000,000 internationally.

The movie that Kevin watches on video tape is not a real film, but footage specially created. It was called "Angels With Filthy Souls." Along with other similar era references in the movie, this is a play upon the movie Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) starring James Cagney.

The ornaments that Marv steps on are actually candy.

Joe Pesci kept forgetting that he was filming a "family" movie during his character's on-screen outbursts, so director Chris Columbus advised him to say "fridge" instead of the "F-word".

The line "You guys give up, or are you thirsty for more?" was improvised.

Kevin's bed-wetting cousin, Fuller, is played by Macaulay Culkin's younger brother, Kieran Culkin.

Macaulay Culkin drew the map that he uses to set up the traps.

John Candy filmed his part in only one day, albeit a 23 hour day. The story about having once forgotten his son at a funeral home was entirely improvised. His part is obviously inspired by the character he played in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) also written by John Hughes.

The movie is considered a traditional Christmas movie in Poland. It has aired on national TV during prime-time Christmas season every year since 1990. In 2011 the movie aired on December 23 with an audience of over five million, making it the most popular show aired during the Christmas season in Poland.

Daniel Stern wore rubber feet for his barefoot scenes.

According to Chris Columbus during an interview with Alec Baldwin on Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing, John Heard was unhappy about working on the film, feeling that the film was going to be terrible. However, upon seeing the finished film and its subsequent success, Heard apologized to Columbus when they were shooting his scenes on the film's sequel, having broken character before his first take to tell Columbus. The director says he still had footage of Heard's apology on video-tape.

Many of the frames that focus on Kevin in the beginning of the film are shot from above his head, making him seem small and helpless. At the end of the film, Kevin is mostly shot from below, making him seem taller and more confident.

Although the part was written especially for Macaulay Culkin by John Hughes, several hundred other boys were auditioned by director Chris Columbus. According to the DVD Commentary, Columbus was hesitant to cast Culkin because John Hughes had so recently cast him in Uncle Buck (1989) and didn't want to appear as a pushover in the film community. It was only after auditioning all the other young actors that he realized Culkin was in fact the best choice for the part.

Director Chris Columbus would ask Joe Pesci to do his "How am I funny?" speech from Goodfellas (1990) on set.

Catherine O'Hara revealed in 2014 that Macaulay Culkin still calls her "Mom".

Chris Columbus was previously hired by John Hughes to direct one of the National Lampoon's Vacation films. After meeting with Chevy Chase, however, it became clear to Columbus that the two of them would not get along, so he asked Hughes if there were any other projects he could work on instead. Home Alone was one of the options presented to him.

Originally, Danny DeVito was considered for the role of Harry.

Jon Lovitz turned down the role of Harry Lime.