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: In “Saturday Night Fever“, in Tony’s (John Travolta) bedroom there’s a poster for “Rocky“, a film directed by John G. Avildsen. The sequel to this film, “Staying Alive“, was written and directed by the star of “Rocky“, Sylvester Stallone. In fact, Avildsen was the original director of this film but was fired by producer Robert Stigwood shortly before principal photography began due to “creative differences”. John Badham was approached to fill in at the last minute. Tony also has a poster for “Serpico” on his wall. Avildsen was originally considered to direct that film as well, but left the project due to “creative differences.”
2: The three main characters in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” are named after dogs. Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) was named after screenwriter Willard Huyck’s dog, Willie (Kate Capshaw) is named after Steven Spielberg’s dog and Indiana (Harrison Ford) is named after George Lucas’s dog.
3: Kiefer Sutherland is named after Warren Kiefer, pen name of Lorenzo Sabatini. Sabatini directed “Il castello dei morti vivi“, in which his father Donald Sutherland made his theatrical film debut.
4: Anjelica Huston was offered the leading role of Annie Wilkes in “Misery” and was interested, but was unable to accept it due to her commitment to “The Grifters“. Bette Midler also turned the role down before it went to Kathy Bates.
5: In the closing credits of “Jackie Brown“, Quentin Tarantino gives special thanks to “Bert D’Angelo’s Daughter”. In the late 70’s, Paul Sorvino starred in a TV detective show, “Bert D’Angelo/Superstar“. Thus “Bert D’Angelo’s Daughter” is Paul’s daughter and Tarantino’s girlfriend (at the time) Mira Sorvino. Sorvino can actually be seen (out of focus) in a brief court room scene.
6: The original director of “Malcolm X” was going to be Norman Jewison but he had to withdraw from the project due to outside pressure demanding that the subject be made by a black film-maker. At one point Oliver Stone also expressed interest in directing it as a follow-up to “JFK“; Stone’s first choice was Denzel Washington, who went on to star in the title role when Spike Lee came on board as director.
7: The part of John Keating (Robin Williams’ role) in “Dead Poet’s Society“, was once intended for Dustin Hoffman. The film was also going to be Hoffman’s directorial debut before Hoffman withdrew from the film. Liam Neeson had then originally landed the role to be directed by Jeff Kanew, but lost it to Robin Williams when director Peter Weir came on board. Bill Murray was also considered at one point.
8: The name of the high school in “Carrie” is Bates High, a reference to Norman Bates from “Psycho“. In addition, the four note violin theme from “Psycho” is used over and over in the film.
9: Kate Winslet holds a unique position in Academy Awards history: Only twice have two actresses been nominated for playing the same character in the same film. The first two were Gloria Stuart and Winslet in “Titanic“. The second two were Judi Dench and Winslet in “Iris“.
10: Director Francis Ford Coppola explains on the DVD commentary of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” that Mina (Winona Ryder) and Jonathan Harker’s (Keanu Reeves) wedding was a reshoot done at a Los Angeles Greek Orthodox church. They filmed the entire ceremony with a genuine Orthodox minister and realized afterwards that Ryder and Reeves really were (unintentionally) married.
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 
April 9, 2013 at 1:59 pm
Mighty good stuff Mark. Annelica Huston in Misery? I can see that. She used to have that semi-wicked look going!
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April 9, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Cheers Keith. Yeah, Huston could have pulled that off. Bette Midler would have been interesting as well but Bates was outstanding. Probably the best choice overall.
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April 9, 2013 at 2:17 pm
“They filmed the entire ceremony with a genuine Orthodox minister and realized afterwards that Ryder and Reeves really were (unintentionally) married.”
Boy that would suck : )
Love it!
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April 9, 2013 at 3:27 pm
Haha! Suck for who? Both of them? I personally feel a but sorry for Reeves. I’ve never been that much of a fan of Ryder.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:29 pm
I’ve always had the hots for Ryder : )
It would suck to have been accidentally married to her and have to consummate that vow!! : )
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April 9, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Haha! Indeed! 😉
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April 9, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Great stuff. Imagine being unintentionally married. Sounds like the premise of a bad rom com. 🙂
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April 9, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Haha. Yeah, there’s a film in there itself. Cheers Steph.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:11 pm
10. That’s hilarious about Keanu and Winona.
9. Love me some Kate.
8. Mark… question? Do you feel that DePalma paid homage or just completely ripped off Hitchcock’s style with films like Sisters, Body Double, Obsession, Dresses to Kill, etc.? Even Woody Allen borrowing from Bergman and PT Anderson borrowing from Altman didn’t feel like stealing quite the way that DePalma’s did.
7. Actually met the actual teacher from Dead Poet Society once at MIT in Boston where he was giving a talk. He came to a luncheon at the faculty club where I was working as a waiter during my college years.
6. Spike made such a fuss about Jewison directing X. Remember this is the guy who directed In The Heat of The Night with Poitier and a young Denzel Washington in A Soldier’s Story (with an all black cast) and then again in The Hurricane. I get what Spike’s saying (imagine Schindler’s List directed by a non-Jew) but Jewison actually would have been a great choice in this instance.
5. What ever happened to Bert D’Angelo’s daughter?
That’s all I got.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Yeah, poor Reeves 😉
As for DePalma, you definitely have a point there Dave. He did seem to rely a little too heavily on Hitchcock’s stuff. I’m a fan of DePalma and enjoyed many of his films he did sway a bit further than just a homage at times.
Didn’t know that Keating was a real guy. That’s interesting, man.
Jewison would have been a good choice. Your spot on, man an the films you mention are proof of that. Still, I really liked Malcolm X and Spike Lee done a fantastic job.
Sorvino seems to have disappeared doesn’t she? I actually quite liked her as well.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Great stuff as always Mark. I love that Reeves/Ryder fact, I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall when someone told them about that.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Yeah, bummer man. Can you imagine their faces. Who pays for the divorce? Haha.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:27 pm
Great trivia as always. 10 is pretty interesting, did Ryder and Keanu get divorced afterward? Oliver Stone directing Malcolm X, I could definitely see that.
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April 9, 2013 at 3:36 pm
No idea how the divorce proceedings went, man but I assume it would have to have happened.
I can see Stone managing Malcolm X as well. Jewison too but Lee done well there. It’s a great film. Thanks man.
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April 9, 2013 at 4:44 pm
LOL. We dodged a bullet having Bette Midler drop out of Misery, huh? 😀
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April 9, 2013 at 4:58 pm
Haha! I actually think that Midler could have handled that. Bates is exceptional, though, so the right choice was definitely made. Cheers Fogs!
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April 9, 2013 at 5:12 pm
I couldn’t picture anyone in Misery besides Kathy Bates. She was so good.
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April 9, 2013 at 5:14 pm
I think the others mentioned could maybe have done it but you’re right. Bates is superb in that film. A worthy Oscar winner as well. Cheers Chris.
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April 9, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Angelica got Oscar nominated for The Grifters so she came out all right. Midler is too comedic for the role in my mind. Bates is just the right kind of crazy.
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April 9, 2013 at 5:57 pm
Huston was excellent in The Grifters. Didn’t know she was nominated, though. I think if given the chance Midler could have shown a dark side but everyone seems to agree that Bates is, most definitely, the right kind of crazy.
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April 9, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Hey, another trivia involving our *Chuck* ahah, I thought his British accent was hilarious in Dracula but hey I still like him 😀
Very interesting trivia about Saturday Night Fever, boy it’s been ages since I saw it but that song Stayin’ Alive is so iconic.
Great set as always Mark!
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April 11, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Yeah, that one with “Chuck” just presented itself at the last minute Ruth. Glad to include it, though. I find that quite a story.
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April 9, 2013 at 6:21 pm
knew the first two, didnt know the rest. 2/10 ain’t bad ;/
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April 11, 2013 at 1:13 pm
2/10 ain’t bad! You’ll get better as I’m finding it harder to unearth them.
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April 9, 2013 at 6:25 pm
1. I remember noticing the Rocky poster in Saturday Night Fever. I also saw Stallone’s Staying Alive, but never made any connection. Wow.
2. I knew Indiana was named after Lucas’s dog (they actually debated the name Indiana Smith). Had no clue about Short Round.
3. Donald Sutherland is one of those guys I always notice in movies but never identify as Kiefer’s father hahah.
4. I may be wrong, but Kathy Bates got a Best Actress nomination for Misery, didn’t she?
5. Yeah there’s a LOT of clever subtleties in Jackie Brown!
6. So…did Plymouth Rock land on Spike Lee. (That was a god-awful pun…sorry.)
7. I always confuse Bill Murray with Robin Williams, for some bizarre reason.
8. And two years later, Halloween was made: both films have a character named Sam Loomis (Halloween and Psycho that is); Psycho stars Janet Leigh and Halloween stars her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis. Though that’s probably not an accident. 😉
9. That’s really amazing.
10. Oh god. And next…?
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April 11, 2013 at 1:15 pm
You never made the connection between Donald and Kiefer Sutherland? I think they look very much alike.
Yeah, I think Bates actually won the Oscar for Misery.
As for Halloween and the relation to Hitchcock. I think that was Carpenter’s intention.
Thanks for dropping in again, man. 🙂
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April 11, 2013 at 1:16 pm
I do know that Donald and Kiefer were father and son, but when I’m watching one of Donald’s movies, I somehow never make the connection, if that makes sense. 🙂
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April 12, 2013 at 7:56 am
Whenever I see Donald, I’m always reminded of Kiefer. Not such a bad thing, though. I like them both.
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April 10, 2013 at 6:55 am
Great tidbits as always, Marky!
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April 11, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Thanks Fernando. 🙂
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April 10, 2013 at 10:35 am
That’s crazy about Ryder and Reeves! Nice work finding that one out 🙂
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April 11, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Yeah, I liked that one as well. It is pretty crazy isn’t it?
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April 12, 2013 at 4:59 am
I haven’t seen Misery yet, but I have seen The Grifters, and feel comfortable saying that Huston made a bad call on which film to take. 😀
#10 is funny, but I doubt it’s really true that they were “accidentally married”. I know the laws in L.A. aren’t going to be exactly the same, but I’m pretty sure they’d still involve filling out and filing the marriage certificate, which would be pretty hard to do accidentally.
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April 12, 2013 at 7:59 am
Yeah, Huston was great in The Grifters but Misery is far juicer role. In the end, I’m glad it worked out the way it did, though.
As far as certificates go, that probably would be an issue but the ceremony itself was apparently legitimate. Thanks Morgan.
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April 12, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Great trivia as always man.
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April 12, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Much obliged Vinnie.
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April 12, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Was just talking about Dead Poets society with my brother the other day. Thought Williams was great but would have been real interested to see Bill Murray in that role.
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April 12, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Well, the reason this one cropped up is because I just watched Poet’s Society a few days ago. It’s still a good film. I can totally see Murray doing a good job on it as well.
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April 12, 2013 at 4:58 pm
I was actually thinking of picking that up on Blu-ray I heard that there were some added scenes that fleshed things out a bit.
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April 12, 2013 at 5:51 pm
I’m sure about that, I only caught it on tv but it was good to see it again. It was a little manipulative at times but still a great little film.
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April 12, 2013 at 5:56 pm
I am thinking maybe less manipulative if it had more character development, perhaps could see more of peoples motivations. hopefully extended version will help out in that regard.
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April 12, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Well apparently Lara Flynn Boyle had a role in it but she was told not to attend the premiere as all her scenes had been cut. If that’s the case then you could be onto something there, man.
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April 12, 2013 at 6:13 pm
mmmmmmm Donna from Twin Peaks 😉
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April 12, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Yup, that’s the gal. 🙂
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April 15, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Ace as always – great trivia. I’m not sure why you’d want to call a dog Short Round in the first place though, but presumably it’s not a tall, lean beast.
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April 15, 2013 at 1:29 pm
It certainly is an odd name for a dog but apparently the screenwriter Willard Huyack named his dog Short Round after the orphan in Samuel Fuller’s 1951 movie “The Steel Helmet”.
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April 15, 2013 at 1:32 pm
You are an encyclopedia of knowledge!!
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April 15, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Haha! I do the work, so you don’t have to. 😉
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January 21, 2014 at 6:27 pm
That Malcolm X one is especially fascinating. One of my favourite biographies.
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January 21, 2014 at 11:15 pm
Yeah, I love Malcolm X too. I can see Stone doing a good job on that.
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