TRIVIA TIDBITS
Welcome back to Trivia Tidbits. For those of you out of the loop, this is a little compilation of 10 movie related facts that I always find interesting. So without further ado, this weeks are…
1: Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, Steve Buscemi and Michael Douglas were all originally offered roles in Robert Rodriguez’s “Sin City“. Douglas was offered the role of Hartigan (played by Bruce Willis), Buscemi was offered the part of Junior (played by Nick Stahl) when he became the Yellow Bastard, and Dafoe and Walken were both offered the role of Senator Roark (played by Powers Boothe).
2: In “The Wolf Of Wall Street“, the scene where Brad (Jon Bernthal) punches Donnie (Jonah Hill) is real. In fact, Bernthal hit Hill so hard that the prosthetic teeth he was wearing split and flew out of his mouth. Martin Scorsese then proceeded to film Hill’s face swelling in real time.
3: Al Pacino was offered $5 million but wanted $7 million plus profits from gross to reprise his role as Michael Corleone in “The Godfather Part III“. Francis Ford Coppola refused and threatened to rewrite the script by starting off with Michael’s funeral sequence instead of the film’s introduction. Pacino agreed to the $5-million offer.
4: The title of Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky” was actually considered for Crowe’s previous movie, “Almost Famous“. The original title for “Almost Famous” was actually “Untitled“. However, Dreamworks would not allow this, so Crowe titled the bootleg edition of “Almost Famous” on DVD “Untitled“.
5: Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale were considered for the role of Tom Ripley in “The Talented Mr. Ripley“. Anthony Minghella originally wanted Tom Cruise for the role but after seeing “Good Will Hunting” he decided to cast Matt Damon.
6: Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany’s son Stellan was named after actor Stellan Skarsgård, who is a friend of Bettany’s.
7: As stated in the DVD audio commentary of “The Ides Of March“, the bar where Stephen (Ryan Gosling) meets Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) is called “Head First” and is located directly across from the Cincinnati Reds baseball stadium. It’s named for Pete Rose, who would slide head first. Paul Giamatti is the son of the late Bart Giamatti, who as Commissioner of baseball imposed the lifetime ban on Pete Rose.
8: Patrick Swayze began his career as a dancer appearing in Disneyland’s parades as Prince Charming from “Cinderella“. One of the many Cinderellas he danced with was Michelle Pfeiffer.
9: Matthew McConaughey’s production company’s name, “JKL Productions” comes from his character Wooderson in “Dazed And Confused“, whose life credo was Just Keep Livin’!
10: The role of Adrian (played by Talia Shire) in “Rocky” was originally offered to Carrie Snodgress but she dropped out due to a disagreement about money. Susan Sarandon auditioned for the role, but was deemed too obviously attractive for the character and singer/actress Cher was considered for the role. Sylvester Stallone also had originally wanted Harvey Keitel for the role of Paulie (played by Burt Young) and Lee J. Cobb was considered for the role of Mickey (played by Burgess Meredith). Added to which, Warren Beatty claimed he was offered the lead role.
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…
(For earlier editions of Trivia Tidbits click here.)
MARKED MOVIES 
May 7, 2014 at 9:42 am
Fascinating as always mate!
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May 7, 2014 at 10:05 am
great list as always Mark!
didnt know 1, 5, 6 and 9.
Thanks!
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May 7, 2014 at 11:33 am
Cheers Rob! Glad to be of service my man. 🙂
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May 7, 2014 at 11:29 am
Good stuff man, always a top read! I can’t imagine seeing Cher in Rocky!
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May 7, 2014 at 11:31 am
Cheers Chris. I can’t quite imagine that either. I would’ve liked to see Harvey Keitel in there, though. As much as Burt Young was great, I’m a big fan of Keitel.
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May 7, 2014 at 1:26 pm
I like Susan Sarandon but it seems odd to consider her ‘obviously attractive’. She’s always seemed like an acquired taste to me. Awesome post!
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May 7, 2014 at 6:59 pm
I’m a big fan of Sarandon. She’s one of my favourite actresses but I’d agree that she probably wouldn’t have worked in Rocky. Talia Shire was perfect in the role. Thanks for stopping in! 🙂
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May 8, 2014 at 3:26 am
I think her sex appeal is what really puts her over the top. Bull Durham, Pretty Baby, The Hunger… Plus she still looks great today even though shes had some work done. “I’ve had some lipo under my chin and under my eyes,” she says. “I’m not saying I would never. I have these two huge frown lines here.” (She points to her forehead.) “But if you can’t move your face or you’re unrecognizable, I don’t see how that’s a productive enhancement. You don’t want to look like a female impersonator of yourself.” hello Meg Ryan.
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May 8, 2014 at 7:32 am
She definitely does have sex appeal. No doubt about that. Haven’t seen her in anything decent for a while but I’m a big fan of the lovely Susan.
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May 7, 2014 at 2:03 pm
Yay, Trivia Tidbits! Love all of these 🙂
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May 7, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Haha! Back for another round, man! Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
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May 7, 2014 at 9:46 pm
I always do! But these ones were exceptionally good!
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May 7, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Excellent! I was actually thinking that these posts were getting weaker over time. It’s encouraging to hear that they might not be. Thanks again, my man! 🙂
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May 8, 2014 at 2:10 am
They are not! Keep ’em comin’!
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May 8, 2014 at 7:31 am
I shall do my best, sir!
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May 7, 2014 at 2:36 pm
I just watched Rocky yesterday – I can’t see anyone else playing Adrian.
GREAT stuff as always, Muckers!
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May 7, 2014 at 7:18 pm
I’d agree with you there, Amigo. Shire was spot on. It’s hard to see anyone doing any better.
Boat drinks and Octopititties!
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May 7, 2014 at 3:35 pm
Always fun, Mark. This time I knew a few of the tidbits but I always learn something new here which I appreciate. Sin City 2 –can’t wait! and loved Talented Mr. Ripley. I get a kick out of the stars that missed out on fantastic roles which you mention here. They must kick themselves. 🙂
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May 7, 2014 at 7:21 pm
Thanks Cindy. I love hearing about who could have been in certain films. It always makes you think of the actor tackling the role in their own style. As for Sin City 2, you can definitely count me in. It should be great!
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May 7, 2014 at 4:06 pm
Fascinating info Mark.
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May 7, 2014 at 7:21 pm
Thanks Vinnie. Happy to supply it.
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May 7, 2014 at 4:16 pm
If you’re going to get turned down for a role, may as well be for being too attractive ha!
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May 7, 2014 at 7:22 pm
Haha! Yeah, at least you walk away with your ego intact.
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May 7, 2014 at 5:29 pm
Don’t think I was aware of any of these this time around. Good stuff.
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May 7, 2014 at 7:23 pm
Cheers Chris. My work here is done! 😉
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May 7, 2014 at 8:21 pm
Great as always Mark! Love this feature.
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May 7, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Cheers bud! Glad to hear you’re still taking something from it.
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May 8, 2014 at 12:00 am
Forget university, college or school – this is real eduction! Enlightening as always Mark.
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May 8, 2014 at 7:30 am
Haha! Get yer little Marked Movies scholarship here. There’s no limit to where you’ll go after that. 😉
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May 8, 2014 at 12:45 am
This is great, I didn’t know any of this trivia. I love the godfather trivia.
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May 8, 2014 at 7:30 am
Much obliged! It’s always nice to hear that someone has learned a little something from these posts.
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May 8, 2014 at 3:30 am
Bart Giamatti… is Paul’s father…. (smacks forehead) Doh!
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May 8, 2014 at 7:32 am
Haha! Well, there you go then! 😉
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May 8, 2014 at 5:03 pm
Whoa, did not realize Paul is the son of Bart Giamatti. Mind = blown. Excellent trivia as always, Mark.
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May 8, 2014 at 5:06 pm
Ha! Cheers Eric. That one seems to be a surprise to quite a few folk. Glad I could clear that one up. 😉
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May 8, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Great tidbits, as always. Steve Buscemi as Yellow Bastard sounds really good. So does Harvey Keitel as Paulie. I’m about to watch Wolf of Wall Street for the first time, so I’ll now be on the lookout for that punch. I’m also a huge fan of both Paul Giamatti and baseball and had no idea he was related to the late commish. Thanks for that!
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May 8, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Another that was surprised with the Giamatti link? Nice. Yeah, keep your eyes peeled for that punch in Wolf St. I remember it but I didn’t know this info beforehand. I’d be interested in swing it again myself now.
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May 9, 2014 at 7:25 am
Fun times again!
Man, you know, I must say Al Pacino in his youth was a bloody fantastic actor, and he continually blows me in The Godfather Part I and II as Michael Corleone, but it sounds like he is quite the prick in real life. Good for Coppola haha! I usually don’t read anything about celebrities and what they get up to and how they are with people because I tend to end up just disliking all of them (look at Connery and his abusive tendencies – tainted him for me for life).
Damn, Hill got hit pretty hard in that case! I think Damon was perfect for The Talented Mr Ripley, glad he did that one.
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May 9, 2014 at 12:24 pm
I think Pacino was just chancing his arm a little, knowing that the studio would make absolute millions. Can’t really blame him to be honest but it is a bit cheeky.
I’m surprised you would have Damon in that role and not DiCaprio? Totally agree that Damon was a good choice, but I reckon Leo could have slotted in nicely.
Cheers Zoe!
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May 9, 2014 at 12:40 pm
True that, I get that but if ever I hear something (especially around The Godfather), he was always bitching. Like how pissy he got that Brando was nominated for the Oscar and all that. Meh.
Yeah, no doubt he could have done it beautifully (there is nothing he can’t do well, in my opinion), but I just liked how Damon did this, and I think he is a very talented actor who gets overlooked frequently.
Anytime!
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May 9, 2014 at 8:59 am
Reblogged this on ChrisMentillo.com and commented:
Some Fun Movie Trivia:
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May 9, 2014 at 12:26 pm
Hey thanks for that, man. I appreciate it. 🙂
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May 10, 2014 at 4:12 pm
Hi, Mark:
Senator Roark was Powers Boothe. Cardinal Roark was Ruther Hauer in Sin City .
What’s cool about the film is that once word or mouth started going around for cast members. Willis was one of the first to sign on. And soon people (actors) who looked like Miller’s characters started showing up.
Marv, Hartigan, Miho and the Roarks are all dead on!
Mickey Rourke was used to heavy facial prosthetics in make-up. Having already done Walter Hill’s Johnny Handsome .
Can’t imagine anyone but Matt Damon as The Talented Mr. Ripley . Nor Talia Shire as Adrian. And Burgess Meredith never disappoints!
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May 11, 2014 at 4:42 pm
Hi Jack,
You’re absolutely right there. It was Powers Boothe. That a schoolboy error! I must go back and edit that. Thanks for pointing it my friend, I’ve got to get my facts straight when I post these things 🙂
Great movie though and I can’t fault the casting at all. I wouldn’t mind the likes of Walken, Dafoe or Buscemi getting a role but everyone done a fine job as it is. Can’t wait for the sequel.
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May 11, 2014 at 5:04 pm
Could easily see either Walken or Dafoe as “Boss Wallenquist”, who runs the vice and was only mentioned in the final shoot out in Sin City . Or “The Colonel”, who runs mercenaries for “The Boss”.
While Buscemi could be an add on as the guy who directs Klump and Schlubb, the polysyllabic low rent Mutt & Jeff bad guys who tormented Hartigan in the film.
Chris Meloni (HBO’s Oz and NBC’s Law & Order:SVU ) has a role as a hired assassin in pursuit of Dwight in A Dame To Kill For . Another case of inspired casting.
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May 11, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Aah! I didn’t know Meloni was given a role. That’s great.
I was hoping to see more of Michael Madsen but unfortunately, he’s been recast with Jeremy Piven. Can’t say I’m too happy about that one although having Brolin and Gordon-Levitt are welcome additions.
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