TRIVIA TIDBITS
Hey folks, don’t know if you’ve noticed yet but it’s the festive season and something called “Christmas” is apparently upon us. During this time, gifts are supposed to be exchanged. As a result, I thought I’d gift you all with a Christmas themed trivia post as it’s been a while since I done some of these. So without further ado, this weeks Christmas Tidbits are…
1: Films made prior to “It’s a Wonderful Life” used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. Because the cornflakes were so loud, dialogue had to be dubbed in later. Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical) and soap and water. This mixture was then pumped at high pressure through a wind machine to create the silent, falling snow. 6000 gallons of the new snow were used in the film. The RKO Effects Department received a Class III Scientific or Technical Award from the Motion Picture Academy for the development of the new film snow.
2: “Home Alone” 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 23rd with an audience of over 5 million, making it the most popular show aired during the Christmas season in Poland. One of the reasons for this is because the movie was one of the first western productions aired in Poland after the fall of communism.
3: The prosthetic make-up that Jim Carrey wore in “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” took 3 hours to apply. Carrey felt so horribly confined and uncomfortable in the latex skin he needed counselling from a Navy SEAL who taught him torture-resistance techniques.
4: The original concept of “White Christmas” was to reunite Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, as they had been successful in “Holiday Inn” in 1942. Astaire refused, as he had “retired” at the time, so the part was reworked for Donald O’Connor. O’Connor eventually pulled out and the part was reworked at the last minute for Danny Kaye.
5: In “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation“, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) unsuccessfully attempts to demonstrate his handiwork with the house Christmas lights to his family. Afterwards, he asks his son, Rusty (Johnny Galecki), to help him check all the light bulbs again. Rusty looks at his bare wrist, pretending to have a watch, and excuses himself. Looking at a bare wrist and pretending to have a watch is actually one of Chevy Chase’s trademark gags.
6: Tim Burton has said the original poem of “A Nightmare Before Christmas” was inspired after seeing Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. The juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and his reindeer sparked his imagination.
7: There is a scene in “The Polar Express” at the North Pole City communications room featuring an elf describing a bad little boy in New Jersey named Steven who is terrorising his two little sisters. This line is a nod to Robert Zemeckis’ friend and mentor, Steven Spielberg. Spielberg grew up in New Jersey and has admitted many times that he frequently terrorised his two younger sisters.
8: On the final day of shooting of “Elf” in New York, it was just the director, Jon Favreau, Will Ferrell, and a camera man driving around the city looking for locations to shoot. They would jump out and ask pedestrians if they would be willing to be extras for some quick cash while Ferrell paraded around acting like Buddy. Much of the montage when Buddy first arrives in New York was filmed then, such as when he is getting his shoes shined and jumping between traffic.
9: As Tim Allen has a criminal record and Disney has a ‘no hiring of ex-cons’ policy, an exception was made in the case of “The Santa Clause“. Before he was cast, though, the role of Scott Calvin/Santa Clause was written with Bill Murray in mind.
10: Before Billy Bob Thornton got the lead role in “Bad Santa“, Jack Nicholson had read the script and wanted to do it. However, he had to turn it down because he was already committed to “Something’s Gotta Give“. Bill Murray was actually signed on for the role but, again, he dropped out for “Lost in Translation“…
… and on that note, I’d like to wish everyone a very “Murray Christmas”
MARKED MOVIES 
December 23, 2013 at 10:59 am
Great trivia, loved the It’s a wonderful life one.
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December 23, 2013 at 11:48 am
Cheers Vinnie. Yeah, I loved that one too. I wasn’t aware that it used to be cornflakes they used..
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December 23, 2013 at 11:51 am
Lovely stuff Mark, excellent fact about It’s a Wonderful Life. Also, I think Jim Carrey having to be trained in torture-resistance techniques in somewhat ironic 😉
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December 23, 2013 at 11:53 am
Ha! Yeah, man. I found the Carrey one quite ironic too and It’s a Wonderful Life was interesting to me too. I had no idea that was the first film to invent the new snow.
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December 23, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Wow tons of good ones here. Most of them were completely new to me. Funny you mention “Holiday Inn”. It’s one of my mom’s all-time favorites. She watched it so much as a kid that I really grew to dislike it. Now I haven’t seen it in years.
Great stuff man. I love this feature.
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December 23, 2013 at 1:35 pm
Cheers bro! I know what you mean about a parent watching a film far too many times. Mine was unfortunately, Dirty Dancing. Can’t stand that damn film. 😉
Glad to hear you enjoyed the post, though. I’ve just not had the time to compile these of late. I do hope to get them up and running again at some point.
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December 23, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Always enjoy these posts Mark!
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December 23, 2013 at 1:35 pm
Cheers Zoe! Glad to hear it 🙂
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December 23, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Wow I didn’t know that about the cornflakes! And I really can’t see anyone else other than Bill Bob Thornton in Bad Santa. He was perfect
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December 23, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Yeah, Mikey! The cornflakes was a new one for me too. As for Billy Bob, I’d have to agree with you even though I think that Nicholson and Murray could have done a good job.
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December 23, 2013 at 1:46 pm
All interesting tidbits. Thanks!
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December 23, 2013 at 1:47 pm
Cheers James! Thanks for dropping in!
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December 23, 2013 at 3:20 pm
When you wrote that piece of Tim Allen a few months ago, I immediately thought of his role in The Santa Claus. Couldn’t imagine Santa as a coke dealer. 😉
Nice trivia as always and happy holidays.
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December 23, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Yeah, it would seem wherever Tim Allen goes he brings a “White” Christmas with him, if you know what I mean… ? 😉
Happy holidays, my man! 🙂
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December 23, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Nice list Mark. Murray Christmas, lol.
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December 23, 2013 at 3:46 pm
And a very Murray Christmas to you too, sir! LOL 😉
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December 23, 2013 at 4:19 pm
Great stuff, Muckers!!
Yesterday MRS THE IPC made me watch a Liberace Christmas special from the 50s. Here’s a tidbit for you: it was TERRIBLE.
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December 23, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Haha! Would you mind if I stole that bit of Trivia for a forthcoming post? 😉
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December 23, 2013 at 4:44 pm
I would only fucking love it!!
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December 23, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Great edition! 1-3 are my favorites, and also 6 🙂
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December 23, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Thanks Fernando! Bill Murray or Jack Nicholson as a possible Bad Santa was my favourite but a few of these were surprises to me, admittedly.
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December 23, 2013 at 6:34 pm
They would’ve been very interesting in the role!
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December 23, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Absolutely! I can see them pulling it off. Not to take away from Thornton, though. He was fantastic.
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December 23, 2013 at 6:37 pm
Yep. One of his best performances.
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December 23, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Agreed! Looking forward to another installment of that.
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December 23, 2013 at 9:34 pm
As always my man, them there’s some great movie trivia. Merry Christmas Mark 🙂
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December 23, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Dag nammit! Thank ye!
Ya’ll have a purty Christmas too now, ya hear. 😉
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December 23, 2013 at 9:43 pm
What a spectacular TRIVIA post! I didn’t know a single one before this, so well done Mark! Ahah, funny about those loud cornflakes, crazy how technology has made things easier to make films now. Fun stuff as always, my friend. What a great way to get into the Christmas mood 😀
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December 23, 2013 at 9:58 pm
Glad to hear you enjoyed them Ruth. A lot were new to me too and that cornflakes one is a beauty. I doubt I’ll ever forget that now. This will probably be my last post for wee while now but I hope you have a lovely Xmas. 🙂
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December 23, 2013 at 10:01 pm
Have a wonderful Christmas Mark! Sorry that my card will be late, but hey, it can be considered a New Year greeting right 😉
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December 23, 2013 at 10:11 pm
There’s no such thing as being late amongst bloggers, remember? 😉
I appreciate you taking you the time to send it. Thanks again my friend 🙂
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December 24, 2013 at 1:24 am
Cornflakes as snow flakes? That’s clever! Murray Christmas, to you, too–hey, where can I get a calendar? I love the thought of Bill wearing only a red ribbon 😉
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December 24, 2013 at 7:42 am
Yeah, Cornflakes, Cindy. Who’d have thunk it, eh? So Bill in a little red ribbon does it for you then does it? Lol
Murray Christmas, Cindy. 🙂
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December 24, 2013 at 11:04 am
Great trivia again. It’s funny how many people associate Bill Murray with Christmas, but I guess Scrooged sticks in a lot of people’s minds. Nice snow effect on your page too!
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December 25, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Awesome stuff! Home Alone is the most popular Christmas film in my country, Estonia, too (and the sequels), but I guess it’s the same way in most Eastern European countries. 😛 Murray Christmas to you too, Mark! 😀
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December 25, 2013 at 8:25 pm
Yeah, this was news to me until recently Elina but I assume it probably is the same in many Eastern European countries. Either way, it’s still my favourite Xmas film.
Murray Christmas Elina. 🙂
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December 25, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Interesting stuff here, Mark. I can only imagine what those actors wearing that amount of makeup like in the Grinch must feel like, something you don’t really think about much while watching the movie.
Also interesting about Tim Allen, seeing as he went on to star in three Toy Story sequels as well. I wonder if Pixar has those same “no cons” standards?
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December 25, 2013 at 8:28 pm
Cheers Chris. Yeah, sometimes it’s easy to forget the hardships of gruelling makeup deals. Still, it’s a testament to Carrey for still managing to act underneath it all. He certainly still gets his idiosyncratic style out.
As for Tim Allen, it would seem that Disney actually quite like him. Who knows, maybe he was providing a good bit of cocaine to keep them sweet. 😉
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December 26, 2013 at 9:33 am
Hi, Mark;
‘White Christmas’ was full of surprises. I think Croby and Danny Kaye work very well together. Especially in non dance timing shown in their “Sisters” routine. And Kaye’s gaunt and gawky style makes “Choreography” a favorite of mine.
You story on Corn Flakes, Wilder and his soapy solution to cinematic snow is a pleasant revelation!
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December 28, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Hi Jack,
Thanks for dropping in my friend. Glad to hear that the cornflakes story was a revelation. That’s always the aim with these little posts so it always pleases me when someone finds something new from them. By the way, sorry for the late reply, I’ve been taking a break from the blogosphere of late.
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December 26, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Murray Christmas, Mark! Great trivia as always. 🙂
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December 28, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Cheers Eric. Hope your Christmas was a Murray one?! 😉
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December 26, 2013 at 11:38 pm
[…] back, it seems strange now to imagine the great Bill Murray magically transforming into the beloved and iconic role of Santa Claus in this Disney classic. In fact it’s […]
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December 28, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Just getting to this Mark. The Bill Murray card is priceless. I really liked the inspiration for A Nightmare Before Christmas.
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December 30, 2013 at 9:21 am
No worries Dave. Thanks for dropping by, it’s always a pleasure, sir! The Murray Christmas card is a beauty isn’t it?
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January 21, 2014 at 6:19 pm
I want this next year too!
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January 21, 2014 at 11:11 pm
I’ll do my best. Don’t see why not! 🙂
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