TUESDAY’S TRIVIA TIDBITS.
Welcome back to Tuesday’s Trivia Tidbits. For those of you out of the loop, this is a little compilation of 10 movie related facts that I will be posting weekly and info that I always find interesting. So without further ado, this weeks are…
1: According to Francis Ford Coppola, the term “Don Corleone” is actually incorrect Italian parlance. In Italian, addressing someone as “Don” would be like addressing them as “Uncle” in English, so the correct parlance would be “Don Michael” or “Don Vito”. Coppola says that Mario Puzo, who couldn’t speak Italian, simply made up the idea of using “Don” with a person’s last name, and it has now become a pop culture staple.
2: Kevin Spacey was considered for a role in “Skyfall“, but declined due to scheduling conflicts. It is believed that director Sam Mendes originally offered the role of the villain to Spacey, the part in the film played by Javier Bardem. Spacey worked with Mendes previously on “American Beauty“. Interestingly, in this movie Kevin Spacey’s character complains to his wife that by attending his daughter’s cheer-leading dance he is “missing the James Bond marathon on TNT.”
3: Although a prominent character in “Toy Story 3“, an early version of Lotso can be seen in the original “Toy Story” during the staff meeting. Woody asks if the toys “up on the shelf can hear” him, and we see a shot of a big, pinkish bear. John Lasseter wanted to use Lotso in the original Toy Story, but PIXAR had troubles getting the fur right.
4: There are six people to have won an Academy Award for Best Director, though are mainly known as actors. They are: Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Richard Attenborough, Kevin Costner and Robert Redford.
5: Christian Bale dropped an amazing 63 pounds for his role as the emaciated insomniac Trevor Reznik in the film “The Machinist” with only a single vitamin consultation with a nutritionist to guide him. For the most part, he only ate salads and apples, chewed gum, smoked cigarettes, and drank nonfat lattes.
6: According to Stanley Kubrick’s wife Christiane, the director would screen every movie he could get a hold of. One of his favorites was “The Jerk“. He considered making “Eyes Wide Shut” a dark sex comedy with Steve Martin in the lead. He even met with Martin to discuss the project.
7: Judi Dench’s 1999 Oscar was awarded for an eight-minute performance in only four scenes as Queen Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love“. It is the second shortest performance ever to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, the only shorter one being Beatrice Straight’s six-minute performance in “Network“.
8: The banner at the top of the early and original ‘Facebook.com’ included a stylized portrait of a young Al Pacino. It was designed by Andrew McCollum, a friend of Mark Zuckerberg (the creator of Facebook). The banner used on the website in the film “The Social Network” uses a portrait of actor Jesse Eisenberg (who plays Zuckerberg in the movie).
9: In “True Romance” there is a head criminal character named ‘Blue Lou Boyle’. He never appears onscreen but was originally a speaking part (with Robert DeNiro as the definite favorite), but many cuts were made to Quentin Tarantino’s script, including a scene featuring him. Instead, he’s briefly mentioned as Vincent Coccotti’s (Christopher Walken) superior.
10: (Courtesy of Fogs’ Movie Reviews)
Due to John Carpenter’s “Halloween“, shoestring budget, the prop department had to use the cheapest mask that they could find in the costume store: a “Star Trek” William Shatner mask. They later spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes. Shatner admitted that for years he had no idea his likeness was used for this film. It was only during an interview that someone mentioned his mask was being used. He has since stated that he is honored by this gesture.
So there you have it. 10 esoteric Tidbits to masticate on. Some you may know. Some you may not. If you have any thoughts, stick your donations in the comment box.
See you next Tuesday…
(For earlier editions of Trivia Tidbits click here.)
MARKED MOVIES 
October 30, 2012 at 8:40 am
Interesting trivia, love the Godfather bit.
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October 30, 2012 at 8:56 am
Cheers Vinnie. Yeah, that was a new one to me as well. It’s a film filled with trivia so expect to see it regularly in these posts.
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October 30, 2012 at 9:21 am
Woot! Made my “Mark” on this series. LOL.
It’s all true!
Anyways, thats freaking crazy about Kubrick and Steve Martin. Can you imagine?!
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October 30, 2012 at 9:25 am
You have indeed made your “Mark” Fogs. See, that’s what happens when you help an old buddy out. LOL.
Yeah, I can’t imagine the Steve Martin deal to honest. I’m glad Kubrick made the film the way he did. I love it and one of my favourites from him.
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October 30, 2012 at 9:21 am
Great facts again Mark! I also knew that Kubrick had Harrison Ford originally in his mind for the role of Eyes Wide Shut, but Ford had scheduling conflicts with What Lies Beneath. Who would have been better in that role do you think? Martin or Ford? Or do you think Cruise was as good as it gets with that?
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October 30, 2012 at 9:28 am
Cheers Dan. Yeah, even cruise’s characters name is “Hartford” (a slight reference to Harrison Ford). Ford could have done it well I think but I can’t see Martin doing it. All be it, the film would have been done completely differently. That aside though, I thought Cruise was great in it. I wouldn’t change it.
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October 30, 2012 at 9:46 am
Like you, I’m glad Eyes Wide Shut is the way it is, I think it’s a brilliant film, much better than it gets credit for a lot of the time. It’s one of my favourite Tom Cruise performances. Love me some Kubrick info!
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October 30, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Glad to hear it Chris. Yeah, it’s one of Kubrick’s finest am most underrated. Agreed on Cruise as well. He’s fantastic in it and like this film he doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves.
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October 30, 2012 at 10:28 am
God damn Judy Dench…..8 minutes??? Must of been annoying to compete and lose against her in that category!
Great job Mark 🙂
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October 30, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Yeah 8 minutes man. That must have been gutting for everyone who was competing that year. I can’t remember who was also nominated but I should have a look. Surely someone else deserved it more?
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November 1, 2012 at 11:53 am
Yeah I’d be pissed if someone acted for 8 minutes and beat me. If you find out let me know. I agree, someone must of been better?
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November 1, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Eight minutes is all Dame Judy needed. It’s not like it was for Best Actress. Remember this was voted on by other actors, people who do what they do for a living, so the other nominees shouldn’t feel ripped off. Remember it’s not about quantity it’s about quality. Beside I don’t think you can honestly name many actresses better than her who aren’t named Meryl. Also if you follow that logic then I guess Anthony Hopkins should give his Best Actor award back because he was only in “Silence” for a little over 16 minutes. I don’t think the other actors were disappointed that night. Just a thought.
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November 2, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Excellent point on Hopkins Dave. I wasn’t aware that that’s all he featured for. In that respect, I suppose nobody can complain about Dench. Thanks for the info.
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November 2, 2012 at 3:51 pm
The others were Lynn Redgrave “Gods and Monsters”, Rachel Griffiths “Hilary and jackie”, Brenda Blethyn “Little Voice” and Kathy Bates “Primary Colors”. Not a fantastic year for supporting actresses but all of the above were good. I particularly liked Blethyn.
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October 30, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Mighty good stuff. Bale should put out a weight loss book! He’d make millions. He did the same thing for The Fighter.
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October 30, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Absolutely Keith. If his acting career ever nosedives then that could be his backup plan. 😉 Impressive stuff and two great performances from him.
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October 30, 2012 at 2:51 pm
It was hard to watch Christian Bale in The Machinist, however, his commitment to his roles is astounding.
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October 30, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Absolutely man. It was a miraculous and very brave transformation but disturbing to witness all the same. That’s commitment for ye! Thanks for dipping in. 🙂
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October 30, 2012 at 3:18 pm
I still have to watch The Machinist but man it’s just incredible how much weight he loses, Bale’s wife must be a super patient woman to see her husband goes through a drastic transformation like that throughout his career.
I’d love to see Kevin Spacey as Bond villain, maybe the next time around? I think he’d be awesome!
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October 30, 2012 at 3:24 pm
The Machinist is a great film Ruth. A little dark but great nonetheless. Yeah, I wonder what Bale’s wife is thinking throughout something like that? That must be horrendous to watch.
Spacey as a Bond villain? Absolutely! Although I was happy with Bardem’s performance in Skyfall. Maybe next time though. It would seem that Skyfall has set a benchmark on the amount of quality throughout the cast and crew of a bond movie.
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October 30, 2012 at 3:38 pm
I heard that because the filming schedule keeps getting delayed, Bale got skinnier and skinnier. He must be glad that he didn’t get a permanent damage to his body because of it.
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October 30, 2012 at 3:46 pm
Can you imagine? He must have regretted even getting involved at that point… and he does it all over again in The Fighter. He’s certainly a committed actor when the role requires it.
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October 30, 2012 at 3:59 pm
I know!! He’s sort of become addicted to yo-yo dieting. He actually ballooned up a bit just before Batman Begins, the crew actually told him, hey it’s Batman not Fatman, ahahaha….
Btw, I’ve got my review of Chasing Mavericks up. Bummer that it bombed so badly but Butler once again shows his versatility!
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October 30, 2012 at 6:21 pm
Whoa, I had no idea about the Pacino Facebook banner. That’s crazy. Love the bit about Kubrick’s fascination with The Jerk. Great compilation!
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October 30, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Thanks Alex. Nice to see you stopping by again. The Pacino Facebook banner was a new one for me too. Very unusual, but brilliant.
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October 30, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Woah, these are fascinating! Never noticed the Shatner mask thing.
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October 30, 2012 at 11:54 pm
Thanks Sati. Every week I’ve been doing them and I have to thank Fogs for that Shatner one. I didn’t know that either until he done a post on John Carpenter’s Halloween recently.
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October 31, 2012 at 8:11 am
Great tidbits as always, man! 3, 6 and 10: wow.
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October 31, 2012 at 9:44 am
Thanks again Fernando. Glad to hear youre still enjoying them. You have been one of their biggest fans I think.
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October 31, 2012 at 8:57 am
Another fantastic post of useless yet useful information!! Thanks matey
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October 31, 2012 at 9:46 am
Thank you matey! I like the way you worded that there. Esoteric is what I like to call them now 😉
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October 31, 2012 at 9:22 am
Love to read these. Again a lot of stuff I didn’t know about!
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October 31, 2012 at 9:47 am
Glad to hear it Nostra. It’s a little feature that has had no shortage of interest. I love this type of stuff though, so I’m always happy to do a little digging.
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October 31, 2012 at 1:21 pm
How did I miss this yesterday??? : ( My reader thing sucks and I don’t think I got an email. WTF. Great post!!
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October 31, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Haha! Thanks man. I don’t rely on the reader. It gives me posts that are five days old and very rarely gives me anything recent.
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October 31, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Good stuff.
4. Sadly actor Charles Laughton should be on that list for directing The Night of The Hunter. It was not received well in its time. Not even a single Academy Award nomination to its credit. Wow.
5. I heard Bale only ate one apple and one can of tuna per day. Ruth I heard the “Fatman” story too. Not only did he lose weight for The Machinist and The Fighter but he did it again for the Vietnam War POW movie Rescue Dawn too.
6. Ironic that one of Kubrick’s favorite films was entitled The Jerk. Shelly Duvall agrees.
8. Wow. As much as I know about The Social Network I never came across the Pacino thing. BTW you’ll be getting my post about the aforementioned movie soon. What’s your email address Mark? You can send it to me at ack_thpt@yahoo.com . Post if you dare.
10. I went to see Halloween on the big screen yesterday. I was kind of bored until the end. Some realizations… Donald Pleasence’s acting as Dr. Loomis was worthy of a MSTK3000 overdub. LOL. Carpenter’s score held up really, really well although the songs other than BOC’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” were kind of lame. Jamie Lee Curtis was pretty great. She was likable and pretty tough. Improvising with a knitting needle, coat hanger and making use of the dropped knife was some prettygood girl power stuff. In my mind she is the blueprint for all the other the ‘final girls’ in horror movies. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley will probably always be my favorite though. “Get away from her you BITCH!”
Fun fact: Lila Crane from Psycho was saved from Norman Bates by Sam Loomis just as Laurie Strode from Halloween was saved from Michael Myers by Dr. Sam Loomis. Coincidence? I think not.
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October 31, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Totally agree on Laughton man. He should have been include there.
Love your answer to Kubrick on #6 LOL
Glad to be of service on The Social Network one and look forward to your thoughts on it.
Great little fact at the end and I don’t think it was any accident either. Carpenter certainly made a few references to Hitchcock as he always does with directors he admires.
Thanks again Dave.
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November 1, 2012 at 1:38 am
Great post! I love your trivia lists. Seeing Christian Bale’s physical condition in The Machinist was truly disturbing.
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November 2, 2012 at 3:46 pm
Thanks Stephanie. Yeah, it looked rather dangerous what Bale was doing. A little above and beyond the call duty.
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November 1, 2012 at 2:56 pm
I kind of wish the Steve Martin Eyes Wide Shut had been made instead.
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November 2, 2012 at 3:54 pm
I take it you’re not a fan then Andy? 😉 It would have been interesting that’s for sure but I love the film the way it is.
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November 2, 2012 at 4:13 pm
I need to see it again. When it came out I was at an age where I was more interested in skipping through to all the nude scenes rather than watch the movie.
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November 2, 2012 at 5:35 pm
I gotta be honest too Mark, I’m not a big fan either. First of all they censored it which was weird I’m mean it’s a Kubrick film. It also felt like Kubrick hadn’t left the house in 20 years. It felt like it was made in the 70’s and not in a good way. London didn’t pass for New York for me. It seem too artificial although it was amazing how it passed for Vietnam in Full Metal Jacket. I also didn’t care for Jocelyn Pook’s score. The whole piano ostinato thing just didnt work for me although I really loved her score for L’Emploi du temps aka Time Out. Lastly this guy, who I can no longer take seriously, was in it:
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November 3, 2012 at 4:07 am
I loved the film man. I’ts one of my favourites from Kubrick. It’s probably the most misunderstood of his films.
It didn’t become the orgy that many were expecting but if taken from the point of view of Cruise’s subconcious, then the whole film begins to make sense. It almost seemed dreamlike and resulted in a near masterpiece.
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November 3, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I looked at the synopsis for Arthur Schnitzler’s book Traumnovelle and it’s basically the exact same story. It just didn’t “wow” me like his other films from Full Metal Jacket going all the way back to Paths of Glory and The Killing. I don’t know… maybe if Cruise wasn’t in it. That’s my biggest objection. I can’t overstate how much I can’t stand that arrogant little d-bag. Risky Business is the only thing I own with him in it. Even Rain Man is pretty much ruined for me.
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November 3, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Harsh words on the Cruiser there Dave. I have to admit that I normally enjoy his performances. As a person, he doesn’t strike me as someone I’d like but a lot of his performances don’t get the recognition they deserve. Magnolia is just one were he was absolutely superb.
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November 4, 2012 at 3:46 am
You he was good in Magnolia …at playing a jerk. LOL. It’s no different than a sports figure or a rock star for me. Take Barry Bonds, the former baseball player ,who used to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a jerk to the fans, his teammates and the media while he was here. As good as he was we couldn’t wait to see him go and we booed him every time he came to town.
Even though Jack Reacher was shot in Pittsburgh I have zero desire to see it. Why would I support a guy who I thought was a jerk? There’s plenty of movies out there to not have to watch him. I guess it comes down to how much you know about Scientology and his involvement with it. But enough about the Cruiser.
Saw Killer Joe today. So I’m guessing it got a NC-17 rating here in the states (18 certificate over there). I’ll never look at a chicken leg the same way again. LOL. Liked it up until the end. I didn’t like the final scene in the trailer. The ending kind of actually made me groan. Too tired to go into detail right now. I thought the actress playing Dottie was great. I’ll have to watch out for her.
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November 4, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Each to their own Dave. I can certainly understand your views on Cruise. I share them to an extent but I’m always able to take him separate from his personal side when he’s onscreen.
As for Killer Joe… How about that chicken scene? Something else wasn’t it. I also had a moment of deflation at the very end but in hindsight, I still think it worked. I wasn’t expecting it and in some ways you could say it was a cop out but I struggle to think of another ending that would have been satisfactory. Overall though, I thought it was an excellent film.
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November 4, 2012 at 11:09 pm
I thought Killer Joe was an excellent film up until the end. I’m not sure if it was a copout but it just left a bad taste in my mouth. A great ending like Take Shelter and Looper can uplift a film that’s just so so just as a flip ending can bring a film down for me like Killer Joe, Most M. Night movies or yes, even There Will Be Blood.
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November 5, 2012 at 9:43 am
Yeah, I understand what your saying. It does leave you quite frustrated. I haven’t seen Looper yet but Take Shelter’s ending was a beauty for me; the perfect level of ambiguity without the frustration. It’s been a while since I seen There Will Be Blood but if my memory serves, I hold it as a near masterpiece.
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November 3, 2012 at 3:48 am
The nude scenes were at a minimum as well. 😉 I think you should revisit it Andy. It works on different levels. I didn’t like if the first time I seen it either but I grew on me.
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November 3, 2012 at 4:53 pm
I plan to watch all of Kubrick’s movies again (since I now have them all on blu-ray) so we’ll see what happens
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November 3, 2012 at 11:31 pm
I look forward to your opinion after a revisit Andy. It’s a film that just gets stronger with each viewing for me.
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November 2, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Steve Martin and Kubrick. Huh. Would have loved to see how that would turn out.
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November 3, 2012 at 4:11 am
What a combo Eric! Who knows what we would have been given had that went ahead.
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January 30, 2014 at 11:37 pm
Cannot get enough of this series. Am loving it and even reading it in order. I had no idea Mario Puzo couldn’t speak Italian.
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January 31, 2014 at 7:25 am
Music to my ears sir! Yeah, apparently Puzo couldn’t speak it all. Very surprising considering what he’s famous for.
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