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: George Clooney’s first steady TV role was as a character named Ace in the 1984 medical sitcom, (coincidentally named) “E/R” that was based in Chicago and co-starred Elliott Gould, Mary McDonnell and Jason Alexander. Ten years later it would take another TV series “ER” (also based in Chicago) to finally launch him to stardom.
2: Leonardo DiCaprio was the first choice for Col. Hans Landa in “Inglorious Basterds” but Quentin Tarantino then decided that a German-speaking actor should play the part. Christoph Waltz eventually got the part. The two actors would later appear together in “Django Unchained“.
3: Not only did Buster Keaton do all his own stunts, but, when needed, he acted as a stunt double for other actors in the films.
4: There are only 5 actors to achieve 4 consecutive Oscar nominations. They are: Jennifer Jones (1943-46), Thelma Ritter (1950-53), Marlon Brando (1951-54), Elizabeth Taylor (1957-60) and Al Pacino (1972-75).
5: “The Evil Dead” director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell were friends from high school, where they made many super-8 films together. They would often collaborate with Sam’s brother Ted Raimi. Campbell became the “actor” of the group, as “he was the one that girls wanted to look at.”
6: Harrison Ford nominated River Phoenix to play him as a teenager in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade“. When describing how he prepared for playing the role, Phoenix explained that he didn’t really base his portrayal on the Indiana Jones character, but on Harrison Ford. So he observed Ford out of character before acting his part.
7: Vincent D’Onofrio gained 70 pounds for his role as Pvt. Pyle in “Full Metal Jacket“, breaking Robert DeNiro’s movie weight-gain record (60 pounds) for “Raging Bull“. It took him seven months to put the weight on and nine months to take it off with physical training.
8: Three former friends of director Richard Linklater – Bobby Wooderson, Andy Slater, and Richard “Pink” Floyd – sued him for the unauthorized use of their names and images in the film “Dazed and Confused” and for their representation as stoners, which they said, damaged their reputation. The characters were played by Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane and Jason London respectively.
9: The character of Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop” was originally going to be played by Mickey Rourke or Sylvester Stallone. Rourke passed on it and Stallone left the project and used some of his script ideas to make “Cobra“. Other actors who were considered for the role were Al Pacino and James Caan before Eddie Murphy finally took over.
10: The presence of oranges in all three of “The Godfather” movies indicates that a death or an assassination attempt will soon happen. A few examples are: The Senator is framed for murder after playing with oranges at the Corleone house; Johnny Ola brings an orange into Michael’s office before the attempt on Michael’s life; Fanucci eats an orange just before he is gunned down and Michael is eating an orange while plotting to kill Roth; Hagen and Woltz negotiate Johnny Fontane’s position at a table with a bowl of oranges on it, and later Woltz discovers his horse’s severed head; Don Corleone buys oranges right before he is shot; Sonny drives past an advertisement for Florida Oranges before he is assassinated; at the Mafioso summit, bowls of oranges are placed on the tables (specifically in front of those Dons who will be assassinated); before Don Corleone dies, he puts an orange peel in his mouth to playfully scare his grandson.
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 
November 27, 2012 at 12:01 pm
I never noticed that part about The Godfather until now (I feel like watching the movies again just to see it). Great trivia as always.
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November 28, 2012 at 11:26 am
Thanks man. It always nice to hear when some of these tidbits are new to people. The Godfather one’s great I think.
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November 27, 2012 at 1:13 pm
As always, good trivia fellow winner 🙂
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November 28, 2012 at 11:27 am
Why thank you. Sir Carter of Tysonness. 😉
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November 27, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Never even noticed the oranges thing. And I completely forgot about D’Onofrio playing Private Pyle! Good stuff Mark!
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November 28, 2012 at 11:28 am
Thanks Keith. Another one fresh to The Godfather bit eh? I had heard of this years ago but only remembered it recently.
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November 27, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Great post! I can’t imagine Inglorious Basterds without Christoph Waltz. Interesting tidbit about the Godfather movies. Why oranges, I wonder? 🙂
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November 28, 2012 at 11:30 am
Thanks Steph. I can’t imagine anyone else as Landa either. Waltz was fantastic.
I’m not sure why Coppola decided on oranges, I must dig a little deeper and find out.
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November 27, 2012 at 3:19 pm
I totally reckon I could put on more weight than that in 7 months 🙂 And like everyone else, I hadn’t noticed that about The Godfather and the oranges. Odd, but kinda cool! Another splendid edition Mark!
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November 28, 2012 at 11:32 am
Cheers Chris. Glad you enjoyed it. I’m actually surprised that more people hadn’t heard about the Godfather oranges. I thought that was common knowledge amongst films fans. Either way, I’m glad to impart the wisdom 😉
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November 27, 2012 at 4:17 pm
Such a shame we lost River Phoenix so young. He was so good in the few things he did…
Love that Orange bit with the Godfathers. I’ve heard that before. I’ve always wondered what Coppola was thinking, why he did that. It cant be coincidental, can it?
Glad Dicaprio lost out on that Landa role – as much as I love him. Waltz is so great. 😀
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November 28, 2012 at 11:38 am
Yeah, I was a big fan of Phoenix. Greater things lay ahead for him. Apparently, the movie he was shooting at the time of his death “Dark Blood” has now been completed. It’s due for release next year I think.
Not sure as to Coppola’s reasons for the oranges but it was definitely deliberate.
I’m with you on Waltz man. He was excellent in that role. DiCaprio I like very much but there’s no way Waltz could be beaten.
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November 27, 2012 at 9:58 pm
That’s an awesome trivia about the Godfather, wow that is interesting indeed. I’m curious where Coppola got that idea from.
I’m w/ Fogs that I’m glad Leo didn’t get the part of Landa, man I can’t imagine anyone else in that role besides Christoph Waltz.
I like Joaquin and he’d have been wonderful as Indy I’d think if he had been around long enough 😦
Oh Raimi and Campbell were friends from high school… that explains why they collaborated so much. I think Campbell might have a contract that he has to have a part in all Raimi’s films, ahah.
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November 28, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Another one fresh to The godfather one Ruth? It’s a beauty but like I’ve said to others, I don’t know why he done it. I’ll look into though.
Totally agree on Waltz too. He was fantastic as Landa.
Yeah Raimi and Campbell go way back. Apparently Joel Coen is an old friend as well.
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November 27, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Man, Keaton really could (and did) do it all. Love him. And that oranges/Godfather bit of trivia is fantastic. Never heard that before.
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November 28, 2012 at 12:43 pm
Thanks for stopping in again Alex. Glad to hear you found something of interest. Only one person so far seems to have heard of The Godfather one.
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November 27, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Man, can’t imagine anybody else as Axel Foley. That’s a surprising one, it just seems like it was designed for Eddie Murphy.
The Clooney bit I knew, and has been one of my favorite TV trivia tidbits for a while.
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November 28, 2012 at 12:51 pm
I can’t imagine anyone else as Foley either Morgan. Certainly not the ones mentioned.
The Clooney one was new to me, I just stumbled across that the other day. It’s a good one though. Thanks man.
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November 28, 2012 at 9:13 am
Very interesting tidbits, as always, Mark! 🙂
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November 28, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Thanks again Fernando. 🙂
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November 28, 2012 at 9:30 am
Love the ORANGES one… Makes me want to go back and watch the Godfather films again
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November 28, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Thanks Scott. You could do a little drinking game during it – Every time an orange appears you must have a shot. I’d imagine you’d be inebriated by the end.;-)
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November 28, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Great trivia, love the Godfather orange bit.
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November 28, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Thanks Vinnie. Another Godfather trivia fan. Everyone seems to like that one. 🙂
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November 29, 2012 at 11:58 am
Happy that DiCaprio didn’t appear in Basterds, Waltz really was perfect in the role.
Interesting facts on Beverly Hills Cop!
Hmm, better stay away from oranges then…
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November 29, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Yeah, it might be wise to avoid oranges man. It doesn’t auger well… “the future’s bright, the future’s orange”? – Not for the mafia it’s not 😉
It looks like everyone’s in agreement on Waltz Nostra. He was absolutely superb.
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November 29, 2012 at 8:59 pm
I’m going to be a broken record here, but that Godfather trivia is awesome. Had no idea about that.
Great work as always, Mark.
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November 29, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Haha. That’s okay Eric. I’m just glad to hear that people always get something from these posts. It’s moments like this that make this feature worthwhile. Thanks man.
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December 2, 2012 at 8:25 pm
again…that Godfather one is amazing, i’ll look out for it next time I watch it. Love this feature.
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December 3, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Thanks man. I’m glad to pass that info onto yet another person. 🙂
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January 30, 2014 at 11:51 pm
I knew it took him ages to lose the weight from the role but 9 months!
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January 31, 2014 at 7:30 am
Yeah, apparently so. I’m still a bit disappointed that he broke DeNiro’s record to be honest.
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