FILM 1904: THE WITCHES

FILM 1904: THE WITCHES

TRIVIA: After a test screening, Roald Dahl angrily expressed to the producers how "appalled" he was at "the vulgarity, the bad taste" and "actual terror" in certain parts of the film. Dahl demanded his name and the title be removed from the film prior to release, but after receiving an apologetic, complimentary letter from Jim Henson, Dahl grudgingly withdrew his threat.

Most of the witches in the meeting are men in women's clothing.

Felicity Dahl has stated that Roald Dahl never again requested someone for a role in his book after the producers of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) denied his request to cast Spike Milligan as the title character. But he was ecstatic when Anjelica Huston was cast as the Grand High Witch, as she had been Dahl's personal favorite for the role.

It took Anjelica Huston eight hours of make up time to transform into "The Grand High Witch".

The last film Jim Henson personally oversaw.

The German title is "Hexen hexen", which literally means "Witches practice witchcraft".

Cher, Eartha Kitt, Fiona Fullerton, Geneviève Bujold, Anne Bancroft, Olivia Hussey, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Blair, Faye Dunaway, Susan Sarandon, Jodie Foster, Vanessa Redgrave, Frances Conroy, and Liza Minnelli were all at some point considered for the part of The Grand High Witch prior to Anjelica Huston's casting. Huston's casting later satisfied Dahl.

FILM 1208: PRACTICAL MAGIC

TRIVIA: According to Sandra Bullock in the commentary, in the scene where Gillian and Sally get drunk with their aunts and they sling insults, the actresses actually got drunk. They were drinking some very bad tequila that Nicole Kidman brought.

The black dog that follows Sally's (Sandra Bullock's character) husband Michael (Mark Feuerstein's character) on the day of his death is no accident. According to several cultural traditions (mainly those of the British isles and Latin America), a sign of impending death can take the form of a black dog.

Film 967: Oz the Great and Powerful

Trivia: Christoph Waltz was in early talks to play a role.

At the start of the film, Oz works with the circus company "Baum Brothers Circus." This is a reference to L. Frank Baum, the original author of the Oz series.

This is the second Oz-related movie to be produced by the Disney company. Their first film was Return to Oz.

This film allowed director Sam Raimi and composer Danny Elfman to patch things up after their falling out during the post-production of Spider-Man 2.

Because Warner Bros. owns the rights to iconic elements of the 1939 MGM film, including the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland, Disney was unable to use them nor any character likenesses from that particular film. This extended to the green of the Wicked Witch's skin, for which Disney used what its legal department considered a sufficiently different shade called theostein. The studio could not, however, use the signature chin mole of Margaret Hamilton's portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Early on, Oscar (Oz) makes mention of his shabby jacket. There is a famous story of how a shabby jacket was purchased at a used clothing store for use in the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie. It was later discovered (and confirmed) that the jacket was originally made for and owned by L. Frank Baum (the author of The Wizard of Oz).

To prepare for his role as Oz, James Franco received training with magician Lance Burton.