MARKED MOVIES

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: The fictional nation in the film “The Hunger Games” is called Panem. This is derived from “Panem et Circenses” or “Bread and Circuses” which comes from the latter days of the Roman Empire, in which the government would keep the masses satisfied not by performing their public services well, but by providing violent and deadly entertainments for the people to watch, which is rather fitting for the subject matter of the film.

2: Before George Clooney was cast in “From Dusk Till Dawn“, Tim Roth, John Travolta, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, and Christopher Walken were offered the role of Seth Gecko. They all passed because of scheduling conflicts.

3: “Dirty Harry” is the slang term for a photographer with a single lens reflex (SLR) camera. The slang term for an SLR camera is a .44 Magnum.

4: In the novel of “No Country For Old Men“, Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones’ character) says of the dope-dealers, “Here a while back in San Antonio they shot and killed a federal judge.” Cormac McCarthy set the story in 1980. In 1979, Federal Judge John Howland Wood was shot and killed in San Antonio by Texas free-lance contract killer Charles Harrelson, father of actor Woody Harrelson who plays Carson Wells in the film.

5: Before Audrey Tautou got the part of “Amélie“, it was written specifically for Emily Watson. She wanted the part but had to decline because she didn’t speak French and had already agreed to be in “Gosford Park“.

6: There are only four films, based on a comic, that have been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. They are Al Pacino for “Dick Tracy“, Paul Newman for “Road to Perdition“, William Hurt for “A History of Violence” and Heath Ledger for “The Dark Knight“. Ledger is the only winner.

7: In “Lost In Translation“, the inspiration for having Bob Harris (Bill Murray) do a Suntory whisky commercial was partially inspired by the fact that Sofia Coppola’s father, Francis Ford Coppola, made a real Suntory commercial with Akira Kurosawa in the 1970s.

8: Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey and Robert Downey Jr. were all considered for the role of “Edward Scissorhands” before Johnny Depp got the role. Drew Barrymore was also considered for the role of Kim Boggs that eventually went to Winona Ryder.

9: Director Quentin Tarantino revealed at Comic-Con that Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington’s Characters are meant to be the great great great grandparents of the character John Shaft from the “Shaft” movies. An overt reference to this connection can be found in Kerry Washington’s character’s full name: Broomhilda Von Shaft.

10: Anthony Burgess originally sold the movie rights of “A Clockwork Orange” to Mick Jagger for $500 when he needed quick cash. Jagger intended to make it with The Rolling Stones as the droogs, but then re-sold the rights for a much larger amount. Ken Russell was then nominated to direct because his style was considered well-suited for the material. He would have cast Oliver Reed as Alex. At some point, someone suggested rewriting the droogs to be girls in miniskirts or old-age pensioners. Tim Curry and Jeremy Irons turned down the role of Alex. Stanley Kubrick once said “If Malcolm McDowell hadn’t been available I probably wouldn’t have made the film.” Author Anthony Burgess initially distrusted Kubrick as a director, but was happy with the results. He felt the film later made the book, one of his least favorite books he had written, overshadow his other work.

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.)

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: Michael Fassbender’s performance as Lt. Archie Hickox in “Inglorious Basterds” is layered with irony due to his real life. Fassbender was born in Germany to German and Irish parents and raised in Ireland, now residing in London with fluency in German as his first language and English as his second, and a mastery of English accents and dialects. In the film, he plays an Englishman who goes undercover as a German, and who can speak German fluently, but cannot hide his accent.

2: Sergio Leone was approached to direct “The Godfather” but turned it down since he felt the story, which glorified the Mafia, was not interesting enough. He later regretted refusing the offer, but would go on to direct his own critically acclaimed gangster film, “Once Upon a Time in America“.

3: (Courtesy of Fogs’ Movie Reviews)
In “Blue Velvet“, Dean Stockwell held a worklight in the Roy Orbison “In Dreams” sequence only after director David Lynch saw him holding one during a lighting session. He was originally supposed to hold a microphone but Lynch found the worklight far more creepier and effective.

4: After their success in “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid“, the subject of “Serpico” was first planned as a star vehicle for Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Redford was to play Frank Serpico (Al Pacino’s role) and Newman was to play his lawyer friend David Durk (a character renamed “Bob Blair” in the final film, where he is played by Tony Roberts).

5: As of 2010, there are only six actors to win an Academy Award for a role primarily in a language other than English. They are: Sophia Loren, Robert DeNiro, Roberto Benigni, Benicio Del Toro, Marion Cotillard and Christoph Waltz.

6: Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone had to wear genital pads during the sex scenes in “Basic Instinct” due to the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s.

7: Yann Martel, the author of the book “Life Of Pi” has stated that his inspiration for the book’s premise came from reading a book review of Brazilian author Moacyr Scliar’s 1981 novella “Max and the Cats“, about a Jewish-German refugee who crossed the Atlantic Ocean while sharing his boat with a jaguar.

8: There is a supposed “odd-numbered movie curse” associated with the “Star Trek” films in which the odd-numbered films tend to be weaker and the even-numbered ones tend to be stronger. This curse was supposedly proved false with the poor reception of film ten, “Star Trek: Nemesis“. J.J. Abrams’ new “Star Trek” is the eleventh film. Years before, Simon Pegg’s character in “Spaced” joked that every odd-numbered Star Trek film being “shit” was a fact of life. Pegg noted: “Fate put me in the movie to show me I was talking out of my ass.”

9: The mug shot of George Clooney’s character Jack Foley in “Out Of Sight” (of which Karen says “He doesn’t even look like that“) is the mug shot of Clooney’s character Seth Gecko from “From Dusk Till Dawn“.

10: While filming the whipping scene in “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom“, the crew played a practical joke on Harrison Ford. While he was chained to a large stone, Barbra Streisand appeared, dressed in a leather dominatrix outfit. She proceeded to whip him, saying “That’s for “Hanover Street“, the worst movie I ever saw.” She continued whipping him for “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope“, and making all of that money. Carrie Fisher then threw herself in front of Ford to protect him, and Irvin Kershner chided director Steven Spielberg. “Is this how you run your movies?” This entire sequence was filmed.

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.)

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: As part of their training for “End Of Watch“, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña spent five months doing 12-hour ride-alongs with on-duty LAPD officers. During Gyllenhaal’s first ride-along, he witnessed a murder.

2: Michael Madsen was offered the role of Sgt. Horvath in “Saving Private Ryan“. He turned it down, recommending friend Tom Sizemore for the part instead. Madsen was also originally cast as Michael Cheritto in “Heat” but was ultimately replaced (for unknown reasons) by Sizemore again.

3: David Lynch was originally offered the chance to direct “Return Of The Jedi“. He turned it down because he believed it was “Lucas’ thing.” He went on to direct “Dune” instead.

4: “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid” – According to screenwriter William Goldman, his screenplay originally was entitled “The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy.” Both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman read the script at approximately the same time, and agreed to do it, with McQueen playing the Sundance Kid. When McQueen dropped out, the names reversed in the title, as Newman was a superstar.

5: In the scene where Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard argue in the street in “The King Of Comedy“, three of the “street scum” that mock Bernhard are Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, and Paul Simonon, members of the British punk rock band, The Clash.

6: Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Jules in “Pulp Fiction” was originally written to have a gigantic afro, but a crewmember obtained a variety of afro wigs and one jheri curl wig. Quentin Tarantino had never thought about a jheri curl wig, but Jackson tried it on, Tarantino liked it, and it was kept.

7: Alfred Hitchcock originally envisioned the shower sequence in “Psycho” as completely silent, but Bernard Herrmann went ahead and scored it anyway, and upon hearing it, Hitchcock immediately changed his mind. Hitchcock was so pleased with the overall score written by Bernard Herrmann that he doubled the composer’s salary to $34,501. Hitchcock later said, “33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the music.”

8: Aaron Eckhart, Brad Pitt, Charlie Sheen and Thomas Jane were considered for the role of Leonard Shelby in “Memento” before Guy Pearce got the part. Christopher Nolan’s first choice was Alec Baldwin.

9: The title of “Alien” in Hungarian was “The 8th passenger: Death“. Consequently, the title of it’s sequel “Aliens” was: “The name of the planet: Death“.

10: Steven Spielberg considered directing the film “Three Amigos!” but chose to do “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” instead. He has said in interviews his choices for the roles of the Three Amigos were Steve Martin for Lucky Day, Bill Murray for Dusty Bottoms (ChevyChase’s role) and Robin Williams for Ned Nederlander (Martin Short’s 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.
See you next Tuesday…

(For earlier editions of Trivia Tidbits click here.)

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.)

This is my third blogathon this year and it’s yet another good one. It was started by Mettel Ray as you can see from the image above and you can find a little more info by visiting here.
The aim is to work through the alphabet with anything film related; The first one will begin with a number and then A-Z after that. It’s a little more tricky than you’d imagine as some favourites need to be left out. Not everyone can make the cut but honourable mentions are given also. Anyway, here goes with my alphabet that hopefully, reflects my taste in movies.

#:
12 Monkeys.

Under the watchful eye and Imaginarium of Terry Gilliam, is this fantastic, time-travel, Sci-Fi gem. Based on the short French film “La Jetee” and written by “Blade Runner” scribe David Webb Peoples. It also boasts career best performances from Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis.

(others I thought of) 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1900, 12 Angry Men.

A:
Amelie.

For the ultimate, heart-warming, feel good movie, Amelie is second to none. It also happens to be a highly artistic, creative and visual spectacle. That, and Audrey Tautou is adorable in the title role.

(others I thought of) Al Pacino, Angel Heart, Aliens, Alfred Hitchcock.

B:
The Big Lebowski.

Intelligent and meticulous comedies don’t come much better than this. Every character and line of dialogue is delivered to perfection. It has a solid cult following for a reason and remains one of the few films that gets better with every viewing.

(others I thought of) Blade Runner, Bill Murray, Boogie Nights.

C:
The Coen Brothers.

The bros. have never made a bad film in my opinion and rank as the most consistent and reliable of director’s. They’ve stumbled on occasion (“The Ladykillers“) but still always bring something fresh and unique to the screen.

(others I thought of) City Of God, Children Of Men, John Carpenter.

D:
Daniel Day-Lewis.

Day-Lewis is, quite simply, one of the greatest actors to ever grace the screen. His commitment to every role is matched only by the class of DeNiro. It’s always a pleasure to see what he brings to a role.

(others I thought of) Drive, David Lynch, The Darjeeling Limited, Dog Day Afternoon, The Dude.

E:
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

Or, the ‘Elaborate Complexity Of The Kaufman Mind‘. A stunning piece of work from the wonders of writer Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry. It could also, arguably, possess the best work from Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. A heartbreakingly surreal, near masterpiece.

F:
Fight Club.

A massive ‘Fuck You’ to capitalism and the establishment. Very few mainstream films are as daring and as well constructed as this is. Another film to boast one of Brad Pitt’s finest characters and to have him coupled with Edward Norton is stuff of cinema gold.

(others I thought of) Fargo. Francis Ford Coppola.

G:
Goodfellas.

One of the true, great, mafia films which might not be as grand as Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” but works equally as well on a more domestic and personal level. It was difficult to chose between them but had to go with Scorsese’s (for now).

(others I thought of) The Godfather parts I & II, Glengarry Glen Ross, Gary Oldman, George Clooney.

H:
Harold & Maude.

One of the most unconventional love stories you’re likely to see. Full of quirky humour and touching moments and has two excellent lead performances in Burt Cort and Ruth Gordon. A cult favourite.

(others I thought of) Harvey Keitel.

I:
Indiana Jones.

Does anything really need to be explained about this iconic, whip-cracking character? I think not! Marvellous stuff and the perfect example of cinema as sheer entertainment.

(others I thought of) Inception, Inland Empire.

J:
Jeff Bridges.

Highly underrated actor that had received 4 Oscar nominations over nearly 40 years before eventually winning one for “Crazy Heart“. He followed his win up the following year with another (his fifth) nomination. Always reliable and he’s also responsible for embodying The Dude.

(others I thought of) Jack Nicholson, Jackie Brown.

K:
Ken Loach.

For authentic, working-class or political cinema, I can’t see past the great director Ken Loach. He works with minimal budgets and mostly untrained actors and his results are always raw and realistic.

(others I thought of) Killer Joe, Kill Bill.

L:
L.A. Confidential.

As a big fan of crime-writer James Ellroy, it’s a pleasure to see an adaptation of his material actually work onscreen. Credit to everyone involved and it also marked a big step into the limelight for Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.

(others I thought of) Lars von Trier.

M:
Memento.

Christopher Nolan seems to have made a bigger impression on the movie-going public with “Inception” and his “Dark Knight” trilogy but it was in his early days with Memento that his class really showed. A sublime, labyrinthine modern noir with more twists and turns than you shake a stick at.

(others I thought of) Martin Scorsese, Miller’s Crossing, Mickey Rourke.

N:
No Country For Old Men.

Finally, the Coen brothers got their hands on well deserved Best Director Oscars for their work on Cormac McCarthy’s neo-western. Dark, gripping and boasts a villain to remember in Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh – who’s weapon of choice is a hydraulic cattle-gun. One of the Coens’ finest.

(others I thought of) Christopher Nolan.

O:
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

Radical points of view and anti-establishment voices were rife in the
60’s/70’s. Very few films or characters captured this as well as Cuckoo’s Nest or it’s protagonist Randall Patrick McMurphy. Jack Nicholson is on scintillating form and the film remains only one of three that have won all top 5 Oscars.

(others I thought of) Once Upon A Time In America.

P:
Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Versatile actor that always brings a real depth to his characters. Each and every one of his performances, no matter how small, are powerful character studies. Possibly the best of the modern generation of actors.

(others I thought of) Pulp Fiction, Paul Thomas Anderson, Paddy Considine, Pedro Almodovar.

Q:
Quentin Tarantino.

Tarantino managed to change the face of cinema in the early 90’s and he done it by merging lots of others’ work into his own idiosyncratic style. Some believed him to be a flash in the pan but Quentin is just as strong now as he ever was and very few director’s have as much anticipation on the release of a new film.

(others I thought of) Jesus Quintana.

R:
Robert DeNiro.

In my humble opinion, DeNiro is the finest actor that we’ve ever had. There are not many (if any) who can claim to have worked with such an abundance of top class directors and do it year after year. Now, he may not be reaching the heights he once did but there’s no denying the presence that DeNiro brings onscreen or the iconic roles he’s brought over the years.

(others I thought of) Reservoir Dogs, Robert Carlyle, River Phoenix.

S:
Steve McQueen.

To kill two birds with the one stone, and allow me to mention two of my favourite films, I’ve chosen the director of both of them. “Hunger” and “Shame” are two very fine pieces of work and McQueen’s collaborations with their leading actor also allows me to bring special mention to the brave and highly talented Michael Fassbender.

(others I thought of) Sergio Leone, Stanley Kubrick, Sean Penn, Sidney Lumet, Steven Spielberg, Se7en.

T:
Trainspotting.

Before the heights of an Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire“, director Danny Boyle tackled the ‘unfilmable’ novel by Irvine Welsh about the Edinburgh drug scene. Most of the actors have went on to bigger things but their performances here are still career highlights. Robert Carlyle as the violent psychopath Begbie, is especially memorable.

(others I thought of) The Thin Red Line, The Tree Of Life, Terrence Malick.

U:
The Usual Suspects.

With one of the finest twists in cinema history, it would be very difficult not to include this. Director Bryan Singer has never quite managed to emulate his success here but it’s a film that lasts long in the memory and another that is always mentioned and referenced.

V:
Vic Vega.

Since I’ve struggled to include “Reservoir Dogs“, I’ll include the most memorable character from the film; Michael Madsen’s sadistic portrayal of Mr. Blonde aka Vic Vega is completely unforgettable and instantly went down as an iconic piece of cinema with his ear-slicing jig to Steeler’s Wheel’s, Stuck In The Middle With You.

W:
Wes Anderson.

It’s a delight to have such a quirky and creative director working in film these days. No-one makes films quite like Anderson and he’s a director that I genuinely get excited about upon the news of a new project. Love or loathe him, there’s no mistaking his idiosyncratic style.

(others I thought of) Tom Waits, Wild At Heart, Waking Life.

X:
The X-Files.

For want of a better choice, I had to go with this. Not because the films were great but the tv series that spawned them was absolutely fantastic. Mulder and Scully are also two characters that have easily entered popular culture.

Y:
Y Tu Mama Tambien.

A great little Mexican, coming-of-age, road-movie that introduced me to the excellent talents of director Alfonso Cauron and actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna.

(others I thought of) Yojimbo.

Z:
Zodiac.

The second film to appear from director David Fincher. Choosing anything involving the letter “Z” doesn’t leave a whole lot of choice but I haven’t picked this because I was limited. It is genuinely a magnificent film and one of my favourites from Fincher. It makes a great companion piece to his other, more visceral, serial-killer thriller “Se7en“.

(others I thought of) Zombieland.

So there you have it. My Movie Alphabet that hopefully gives you better idea of my tastes. To view others who have taken part in the blogathon go here

Mark Walker.

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: The iconic picture of Sean Connery as James Bond holding his Walther PPK pistol is, in fact, not entirely true. The weapon he is holding in the photo is just an air pistol. The real Walther PPK never showed up for the photo shoot so Connery had to make do with the air gun instead.

2: Before Andrew Garfield was announced for the lead part in “The Amazing Spiderman“, Taylor Lautner, Josh Hutcherson, Robert Pattinson, Jamie Bell, Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Angarano, Michael Cera, Alden Ehrenreich, Zac Efron, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Xavier Samuel, Jim Sturgess, Anton Yelchin and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were also considered to play the lead role.

3: In an early draft of “The Big Lebowski” script, The Dude’s source of income was revealed. He was an heir to the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube. It was Joel Coen’s idea to drop this and never say.

4: After “The Lord Of The Rings“, eight of the nine members of the Fellowship got a small tattoo of the word “nine” spelled out in Tengwar, which is the Elvish script created by writer J.R.R. Tolkien. They got it at a tattoo parlor in Wellington, New Zealand, to commemorate the experience of the movie. The ninth member, John Rhys-Davies, declined and sent his stunt double in his place. Elijah Wood’s tattoo is on his lower stomach. Sean Astin and Billy Boyd have the tattoo on their ankles (to commemorate all those hours in the hobbit feet). Orlando Bloom, who plays the archer elf Legolas, has his on his forearm. His tattoo is visible during a fight scene in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl“. Ian McKellen’s is on his shoulder. Dominic Monaghan’s is on his shoulder. And the eighth member, Sean Bean, has his tattoo on his right shoulder. Viggo Mortensen has his tattoo on his left shoulder. It is visible on some pictures from the movie “Eastern Promises”

5: Before “Carlito’s Way“, film producer Elliott Kastner filed a lawsuit against Al Pacino for allegedly backing out of a deal to star in a film as Carlito Brigante with Marlon Brando as Davie Kleinfeld (the Sean Penn role). The suit was eventually dropped.

6: Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard in “American History X” but found the subject matter of the film distasteful and passed on the project. Edward Norton then took on the role and gained a second Academy Award nomination for his work.

7: In “Casino“, Robert DeNiro always held his cigarettes the same distance from the lit end so that their lengths never appear to change. This was to avoid the continuity problems that accompany a chain-smoking movie character.

8: Both Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman were trained at the Pasadena Playhouse. During their time there, they were voted “Least likely to succeed” but proved them wrong in 1967 when they got their big breaks: Hackman in “Bonnie and Clyde” and Hoffman in “The Graduate“.

9: Vivien Leigh, who suffered from bipolar disorder in real life, later had difficulties in distinguishing her real life from that of Blanche DuBois, the character she played in “A Streetcar Named Desire“.

10: Before Keanu Reeves was cast in “Speed“, various actors were offered the role of Jack and reportedly turned it down: George Clooney, Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin, Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Keaton, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Jeff Bridges. The film was originally written with the intention that Bridges would play Jack and Ellen DeGeneres would play Annie (Sandra Bullock’s role). DeGeneres was initially chosen because the role of Annie was going to be a comedic role opposite the serious role of Jack.

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.)

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: Michael Keaton’s real name is, in fact, Michael Douglas. He had to change his name when he began acting because there was already a Michael Douglas in movies. While he uses a stage name, he has never legally changed his name to Keaton. Michael Douglas’ name, on the other-hand, is actually of Russian descent, his father Kirk’s real name is Issur Danielovitch Demsky. So in essence, there is only one Michael Douglas and that’s Keaton.

2: Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz were the first actors who got an offer to appear in the film “The Lovely Bones” which would have been their second collaboration together (after “The Fountain“). However, while Weisz accepted her part, Jackman had to turn his down. Ryan Gosling was cast instead, although he would drop out as well due to creative differences. Gosling had gained 20 pounds and grew a beard for the role but three days before the shooting started he was replaced by Mark Wahlberg.

3: During the production of “Dumbo” there was a long and bitter animators strike, in which half of the studio’s staff walked out. Some of the strikers are caricatured as the clowns who go to “hit the big boss for a raise“.

4: Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, Steve McQueen and Burt Lancaster all claimed to have turned the film “Dirty Harry” down. Initially, Warner Bros. wanted either Sydney Pollack or Irvin Kershner to direct. Kershner was eventually hired when Frank Sinatra was set to star, but when Sinatra dropped out, so too did Kershner.

5: All the principal actors of “Saving Private Ryan” underwent several days of grueling army training – except for Matt Damon, who was spared so that the other actors would resent him, and would convey that resentment in their performances.

6: When originally released in the UK a number of town councils imposed a complete ban on the showing of the film “The Exorcist“. This led to the bizarre spectacle of “Exorcist Bus Trips” where enterprising travel companies organised buses to take groups to the nearest town where the film was showing.

7: Groucho Marx died three days after Elvis Presley. Unfortunately, due to the furor over the former’s death, the media paid little attention to the passing of this comic genius.

8: For the infamous orgasm scene in “When Harry Met Sally“, the original script called for just Harry and Sally to talk about women faking an orgasm, until Meg Ryan suggested that Sally actually fake an orgasm at the table. Rob Reiner loved the idea and put it into the script.

9: In 1969, after the success of “2001: A Space Odyssey“, Kubrick turned to one of his life-long obsessions into a motion picture screenplay – Napoleon. The script would have required an extremely large budget to be made into a film, and it was all on its way well into pre-production, when the studio suddenly decided to pull the plug after another big-budget biopic on the life of Napoleon, “Waterloo“, failed financially. Kubrick, angry and depressed that his film was canceled, would later in his career (and even in the production of other films) attempt to get the project back on its feet with different companies over the years. The requirements needed would have been to write a completely new screenplay, and Kubrick, feeling he couldn’t match the masterpiece that was his original draft, dropped the project.

10: As an amateur boxer, Mickey Rourke put together a streak of 12 straight Knockouts. He became a professional boxer in 1991 and went under the nickname “El Marielito“. He retired in 1995 undefeated, after boxing a draw with “Irish” Sean Gibbons in Florida in 1994. It was during this sporting time that Rourke required surgery on many facial reconstructions that have left him looking the way he is now.

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.)

Hello fellow bloggers, I trust that the world of blogging is treating you well? I have to admit that it has certainly put a little smile on my ugly moosh. Now, this isn’t a post that I’m used to delivering but I hope it’s something that I will be doing on a regular basis. It may also seem like small potatoes to some but it leaves me with such a warm feeling all over that I could sit and hug myself all day.
If truth be told, I was getting a little burned out with my blog as regular activity and input over the last month or so began to get on top a bit. Since the beginning of October I’ve been involved in my very good friend Ruth’s Blogathon from her site FlixChatter called “Small Roles Big Performances“. After that, I continued to deliver several, consistent film reviews and right through the month I managed to keep it going. I was involved in a couple of fun and interesting collaborations with another friend, Eric, who runs The IPC with his suggestion of a “double-take” on films like “Escape from New York” and “Leon“. Throughout all this, I was still (somehow) able to watch and compile my own personal work for Marked Movies and deliver reviews on an eclectic mix of genres; Horror isn’t something I’d normally be drawn too but I even attempted that and my good friend and colleague Michael who runs the site It Rains… You Get Wet seen it fit to include me in his excellent post Halloween Sundries on the Eve. Over at Head In A Vice, I’ve also been involved in Tyson’s enticing and forthcoming discussion of a certain movie (that I won’t disclose at present) involving four different bloggers. Yes, it’s been a busy month and I could go on and on here but ultimately I’m trying to shed some light onto the ultimate movie site that entices all of us bloggers. Yes… I’m speaking of “The Lamb” (The Large Association of Movie Blogs). If you haven’t heard of it… you should’ve! If you aren’t a member of it… you should be! Quite simply, it’s all under the watchful eye of film enthusiasts like ourselves and, in not so many words, a big thanks goes out to the man with the plan, the eye in the sky, Joel Burman, who has seen it fit to bestow me with Lamb of Month.

I can’t thank Joel enough and it’s little moments of recognition like this that make all the time and effort worthwhile. You can follow Joel personally on twitter @joelburman. Also, a big thank you goes out to everyone who’s been stopping by my site and taking the time to comment and include me in their own sites. I may have missed some people out here and for that I apologise but you all know who you are anyway. Thanks again. Onwards and upwards my friends.

Mark

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 “Angel Heart“, Alan Parker claimed that Robert De Niro’s performance as Louis Cypher was so eerie and realistic that he generally avoided him during his scenes, letting him just direct himself. De Niro’s performance was apparently an impersonation of his long-time friend and collaborator Martin Scorsese.

2: This might not mean much to many but it does to me; John Byrne is a cult and eccentric Scottish playwright/artist who wrote the play “The Slab Boys“. It was first performed as a Broadway production in 1983 starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Val Kilmer in early acting roles.

3: Steven Spielberg’s original concept for “E.T.” was a much darker movie in which a family was terrorized in their house by aliens. When Spielberg decided to go with a more benevolent alien, the family-in-jeopardy concept was recycled as “Poltergeist“.

4: In “The Third Man“, Cary Grant was considered for the part of Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles). Coincidentally, Grant was a regular lunchtime visitor to the set of the film when the shooting returned to London sound-stages.

5: Sidney Lumet was the first choice to direct the film “Scarface” in 1983 but he backed out and Brian De Palma took over. It was Lumet’s idea to make the characters Cuban and to include the 1980 Mariel harbor boat lift in the story.

6: In “A Few Good Men“, Jack Nicholson repeated his famous courtroom monologue as Col. Jessep off-camera several times so director Rob Reiner could film the reactions of other actors from various angles. Nicholson’s memorable on-camera performance was filmed last, but according to Reiner and the other cast members, Nicholson gave it his all every take as if he was on camera.

7: Nick Nolte has surprisingly been considered for many major roles in film that would probably have changed the films considerably had he been cast. They include: Indiana Jones in “Raiders of The Lost Ark“, Han Solo in “Star Wars“, John Rambo in “First Blood“, Clark Kent in “Superman“, Snake Plissken in “Escape From New York” and Rick Deckard in “Blade Runner” to name a few.

8: There are only five actors to be nominated for acting honors by the Academy Awards over five decades: Paul Newman, Laurence Olivier, Katharine Hepburn, Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine. Only Olivier (1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s), Caine (1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s) and Nicholson (1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s) have done it consecutively over 5 decades.

9: John Turturro took classes at a secretarial school to learn how to use a typewriter for his role in the Coen brothers’ “Barton Fink“. Between takes, he wrote a rough outline for his future directorial outing “Romance & Cigarettes” on the typewriter he used in the film. The Coens would later produce that movie for Turturro and it also featured Steve Buscemi who plays Chet the bellhop in “Barton Fink”.

10: The boots that Clint Eastwood wore in “Unforgiven” are the same ones he wore in the TV series “Rawhide” where, essentially, he made his name. In essence these boots have book-ended his career in the Western genre.

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.)

I’ve been involved in a couple of excellent Blogathons this year but this is the first relay race that I’ve been invited into. This one was created originally by David at Taste Of Cinema who provided the following as a description and the aim of the relay…

“People love wisdom words from great minds. As a cinephile, I prefer director quotes than words from any other group of people in the world.Their thoughts on cinema not only provide insights into deep understanding of cinema, but also open the window to their own films, their genres, their filmmaking methods, thus they need to receive more exposure as their films did.”

The rules of the relay are quite simple really. There will be a list of 10 directors and direct quotes from them that explain their motivations and reasons in how they see their craft. Every time the relay is received by a blogger they will have to choose which director to omit and replace him/her with a choice of their own and then choose another blogger to continue the race.

I was kindly invited into this by my good friend Keith who runs the fantastic site Keith & The Movies. It’s a site that always one of my regular stopping points as Keith delivers regular well written reviews of both classic and contemporary cinema, as well as, fun and and informative features like The Phenomenal 5 and The Throwdown series. If you are unfamiliar with Keith’s site you should definitely stop by.

Other bloggers involved in this so far have been… Movie and Song 365, And So It Begins…, The Cinematic Spectacle, On Page and Screen and FlixChatter. So without further ado, here is the list of director’s that have made the cut…

Quentin Tarantino

“I steal from every single movie ever made. I love it – if my work has anything it’s that I’m taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together. If people don’t like that, then tough titty, don’t go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal; they don’t do homages.” – Quentin Tarantino

Andrei Tarkovsky

“Unlike all the other art forms, film is able to seize and render the passage of time, to stop it, almost to possess it in infinity. I’d say that film is the sculpting of time.” – Andrei Tarkovsky

Seijun Suzuki

“Why make a movie about something one understands completely? I make movies about things I do not understand, but wish to.” – Seijun Suzuki

Federico Fellini

“I don’t like the idea of ‘understanding’ a film. I don’t believe that rational understanding is an essential element in the reception of any work of art. Either a film has something to say to you or it hasn’t. If you are moved by it, you don’t need it explained to you. If not, no explanation can make you moved by it.” – Federico Fellini

Pedro Almodovar

“When I make a film, I never stop uncovering mysteries, making discoveries. When I’m writing, filming, editing, even doing promotional work, I discover new things about the film, about myself, and about others. That is what I’m subconsciously looking for when shooting a film: to glimpse the enigmas of life, even if I don’t resolve them, but at least to uncover them. Cinema is curiosity in the most intense meaning of the word.” – Pedro Almodovar

Krzysztof Kieslowski

“You make films to give people something, to transport them somewhere else, and it doesn’t matter if you transport them to a world of intuition or a world of intellect…The realm of superstitions, fortune-telling, presentiments, intuition, dreams, all this is the inner life of a human being, and all this is the hardest thing to film… I’ve been trying to get there from the beginning. I’m somebody who doesn’t know, somebody who’s searching.” – Krzysztof Kieslowski

Andrea Arnold

“I wonder whether my bleak-o-meter is set differently from other people’s. I have such passion for what I do that I can’t see it as bleak. When people use that word, or “grim” or “gritty,” I just think, “Oh, come on, look a bit deeper.” My films don’t give you an easy ride. I can see that. The sense I get is that people have quite a physical experience with them. They feel afterwards that they’ve really been through something.” — Andrea Arnold

Jean-Luc Goddard

“A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end… but not necessarily in that order.”
—Jean-Luc Godard

Christopher Nolan

“Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.” – Christopher Nolan

Kathryn Bigelow

“If there is resistance to women making movies, I choose to ignore it. That is because I cannot change my gender and I refuse to stop making movies.” – Katheryn Bigelow

These are all great quotes and it’s very difficult to take one out but my decision rests with…

Lee Daniels

“Truth is hard to tell! And you have to be willing to be criticized for it.” – Lee Daniels

My reasons for this are solely based on his relative inexperience behind the camera and despite the quote being a great one, it doesn’t shed much light on his work. It was difficult but there has to be a casualty. My addition would be…

Paul Thomas Anderson

“I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film’s abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y’know, that’s great. But I hope it involves an audience. If not, that’s my fuck-up.” – Paul Thomas Anderson

Next in line… I’d like to pass the baton to my good friend and colleague Tyson who runs the site Head In A Vice, where he not only works on his own reviews but has a couple of ambitious and highly interactive projects on the go in reviewing all of the Imdb’s 250 list and working his way through every film that Robert DeNiro has done. Added to which, he’s amassed a very impressive list of bloggers’ Desert Island Picks. Anyway, enough talk! Tyson it’s over to you…

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.)