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If you missed our interview with filmmaker Henry Jaglom yesterday, check that out over here. As previously mentioned, Jaglom’s films are now available for download on iTunes. We’ve got THREE FREE downloads to give away today in our interview follow-up contest. If you win, you can pick his latest film, Hollywood Dreams, or any of the available Jaglom films offered on iTunes. Watch ‘em on your laptop, your iPod, iPhone, or whatever’s handy. (Contest only open to those residing in the U.S. because the movies are only available for download on the U.S. iTunes site. Sorry if that counts you out!)
Here’s how to win:
1) Drop a comment with some interesting bit of film trivia. Some curious factoid most people may not know. We’ll pick three random winners and post the ‘toids on our site (so make sure they’re accurate because we’ll be checking).
2) Enter as many times as you want, so long as each factoid is in a separate comment.
Comments (66)
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This isn’t exactly film per se, but it has to do with actors. It turns out that Shirley Maclaine is the older sister of Warren Beatty!! How strange.
posted by ae on 10-8-2008 at 6:41 am
Film Fact: George Lucas used to make good movies!! Believe it or not, true fact!
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 7:40 am
When Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn made “The Lion In Winter”, she was 25 years older than him. In real life, the people they portrayed, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, she was 11 years older than Henry.
posted by Sheldon Siegel on 10-8-2008 at 9:05 am
Bill Paxton (of HBO series “Big Love” and lots of movies) is the only actor to have been killed by a Predator (in Predator 2), a Terminator (in the original Terminator) and an Alien (in Aliens).
Not exactly a secret, but it’s pretty interesting!
posted by AK on 10-8-2008 at 9:34 am
You need to double check this one! Angela Lansbury played Frank Sinatra’s mother in Manchurian Candidate. She was either younger than him or only a few years older!
posted by Marty on 10-8-2008 at 9:53 am
In the last scene of Casablanca, they are at an airport and you can see a plane in the background worked on by some men. To create an illusion that the plane was full size and worked on by men in a distance, they used little people and a much smaller plane model.
posted by Marty on 10-8-2008 at 9:56 am
The little boy who sells Bogart the lottery ticket in Sierra Madre was Robert Blake, who later starred in Baretta and charged with murder.
posted by marty on 10-8-2008 at 10:02 am
There is a sequel to the Masters of the Universe movie in existence- but not as a He-Man movie. The Jean-Claude Van Damme movie “Cyborg” was written as the sequel to MOTU, but the characters were changed after MOTU’s demise in the toyshops.
posted by cowsnkids on 10-8-2008 at 10:14 am
In the original Blues Brothers movie, the clerk that was out to lunch and eventually returned to accept the tax payment to save the orphanage was Steven Spielberg.
posted by Chan on 10-8-2008 at 10:20 am
This is a film fact, but could also be a “teen TV soap opera” fact. Ian Ziering (of a jillion bad movies and “Beverly Hills, 90210″), Michael Pitt (of some pretty good movies and “Dawson’s Creek”), and Scott Wolf (of “Go”, some bad movies, and “Party of Five”) all went to the same high school. Note that Pitt moved to NYC to pursue acting before he graduated.
posted by Hank on 10-8-2008 at 10:23 am
When the mothership rises over the mountain in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, you can see R2D2 as attachement on the bottom of the ship.
posted by Zane on 10-8-2008 at 10:29 am
Sean Connery twice played James Bond in two adaptations of the same source material. The films “Thunderball” and “Never Say Never Again” were both based on Fleming’s “Thunderball”, while Connery was bond in the film “From Russia with Love”, and then reprised the role- 42 years later- for the video game adaptation of the same name.
posted by Mike on 10-8-2008 at 10:33 am
In Planes, Trains, and Automobiles…
When leaving the El Rancho Motel they turn right towards Milwaukee instead of left towards Chicago.
posted by Ryan on 10-8-2008 at 10:38 am
Actor Terrance Stamps’ younger brother Chris Stamp was a co-manger of Jimi Hendrix and the rock group The Who.
posted by Don on 10-8-2008 at 10:57 am
The hotel in Dumb and Dumber that was supposedly in Aspen was filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado . . . the hotel that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining.
posted by Brian on 10-8-2008 at 11:34 am
Rev. William O’Malley, a Jesuit and professor at Fordham Prep, played Father Dyer in the 1973 film The Exorcist. Many scenes were shot on campus in campus buildings, the bedroom scene included.
posted by FRam on 10-8-2008 at 11:36 am
Rev. William O’Malley, a Jesuit and professor at Fordham Prep, played Father Dyer in the 1973 film The Exorcist. Several scenes from the movie were shot in buildings at Fordham University, including the bedroom scene
posted by FRam on 10-8-2008 at 11:41 am
The cult classic “Buckaroo Banzai” was intended to have a sequel. However, when the movie didn’t do as well as expected, and the script was reworked into the movie “Big Trouble In Little China”.
reCAPTCHA: after Burbank
posted by Anthony on 10-8-2008 at 11:42 am
This is TV not movie, but on the Andy Griffith Show on the episode “The Song Festers” one of the women in the choir is Barbara Griffith, Andy Griffith’s wife in real life at the time.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 12:37 pm
In the famous ‘Ludovico’ scene of A Clockwork Orange, an actual physician is putting the drops in Malcolm McDowell’s eyes
posted by Amy on 10-8-2008 at 12:45 pm
Back to the Future II – Crispin Glover (George McFly from BTTF1) demanded so much money for the sequel assuming they couldn’t make the film without him… so the screenwriters worked George’s death into the plot.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 12:55 pm
Psycho – Janet Leigh was so freaked out from shooting the shower scene in Psycho that she never took a shower again, just baths.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 12:56 pm
Collateral – The scene where the main characters have to stop the taxi for some wandering coyotes serves as a metaphor for Tom Cruise’s role – old-school mainstays being phased out by the passing of time. But the shot was never planned, during shooting, the coyotes were spotted, filmed, and worked into the movie.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 12:57 pm
Dial M for Murder – Hitchcock’s only 3D film. He was commisioned to make a 3D movie, but insisted in not using the effect to distract from the film. As such, the 2D version is not handicapped and incidentally, there is no surviving copy of the 3D version.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 12:58 pm
The Magnificent Seven – Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen fought each other relentlessly through their on screen performances. Each one considered themselves the star of the movie and engaged in adlibbed movie “tricks” to steal scenes. For example, when McQueen jumps up to ride shotgun on the hearse, he shakes the shotgun shell next to his ear before loading, and multiple times Brynner removes his hat to reveal his attention-grabbing bald head.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 12:59 pm
The Producers – The original title was “Springtime for Hitler” (after the name of the play from the movie), but it was deemed too risky and changed.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:00 pm
Raiders of the Lost Ark – Rated “PG”, but obviously not suitable for small children, this movie almost single-handedly instituted the “PG-13″ rating.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:01 pm
Raiders of the Lost Ark – In the famous scene with the swordsman, an elaborate and complex fight was planned with Indy only using his whip to beat the villian. Harrison Ford was suffering from a nasty flu and after a long day of retakes, finally suggested the adlibbed scene where he just pulls his gun and shoots the guy.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:02 pm
Enemy of the State – The surveillance scene where Will Smith is meeting a woman in a park and the bad guys are watching and listening from multiple angles is an homage to the famous opening scene in “The Conversation”, one of Gene Hackman’s earlier and finer roles (who also stars in “Enemy of the State”).
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:03 pm
Martin Scorcese appears in all his films.
posted by Marty on 10-8-2008 at 1:03 pm
Fitzcarraldo – The natives involved in the movie were so disturbed by Klaus Kinski’s behavior during the shooting of the film, that they sent an envoy to the director Werner Herzog offering to assassinate Kinski as a favor.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:04 pm
Miracle – Al Michaels actually had to re-record his famous “do you believe in miracles?!” game coverage for the film.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:05 pm
Bonnie and Clyde – While there were already talks about the need for a film rating system, this release of this movie pushed the talks over into action and a rating system was soon implemented.
posted by Dave on 10-8-2008 at 1:06 pm
On Dave’s comment, I believe the movie was Gremlins, but I won’t swear to it!
posted by Marty on 10-8-2008 at 1:06 pm
Bill Paxton is the only person to have been killed by an Alien, Predator and a Terminator.
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 1:20 pm
Maybe be just a beatiful, wonderful rumor, but Christian Bale went from 120 lbs for The Machinist to 220lbs for Batman Begins. Then down to 200 during filming.
Apparently though, upon his first fitting for the batsuit, he’d bulked up so much that he ripped the suit. :D
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 1:27 pm
The town of Erie PA in That Thing You Do was filmed in Orange, CA.
posted by Norkio on 10-8-2008 at 1:28 pm
After making the film “Dark Knight: A ‘Batman’ Tale,” one of the lead actors, Heath Ledger, who played a character named “The Joker,” passed away.
posted by Tim on 10-8-2008 at 1:38 pm
Probably not obscure, but Jack Nickolson was raised believing his mother was his older sister. He also finds it extremely rude when people shout from room to room.
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 1:59 pm
Disney’s Finding Nemo has the highest body count of any other Disney movie (if you include the krill).
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 2:01 pm
The original studio release of “Blade Runner” contained footage cut from Kubrick’s “The Shining.”
posted by Tim on 10-8-2008 at 2:07 pm
This is possibly my favorite piece of film trivia that I’ve ever heard:
What Oprah cloyingly refers to as the “va-jay-jay,” William Randolph Hearst, the inspiration for the film “Citizen Cane,” referred to as, yes, “Rosebud.”
posted by Tim on 10-8-2008 at 2:15 pm
OH NO! I meant “Citizen Kane.” I feel like O’Biden.
posted by Tim on 10-8-2008 at 2:20 pm
When filming The Princess Bride, Billy Crystal directed himself as Miracle Max because Rob Reiner was physically unable during his scenes. Why? because Rob Reiner would laugh so hard he would become nauseated.
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 2:21 pm
Since you’ll be confirming it, I’ll try something I’ve been using for years, and have no idea on its veracity.
The movie “AI: Artificial Intelligence” was originally just going to be released as “AI.” However, a marketing test found that people thought the title was “A1.” Hence, they added the subtitle to keep people from thinking it was a movie about steak sauce.
posted by Sillstaw on 10-8-2008 at 2:25 pm
Both Brad Pitt and Jim Carrey have chipped front teeth that feature prominantly in a role. Jim Carrey removed has in Dumb and Dumber and Brad Pitt recieved one while filming Fight Club and kept it for the remainder of the film.
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 2:27 pm
Because it’s his birthday.
Matt Damon’s character in Team America: World Police was supposed to be intelligent and eloquent. But when his marionette dolls head came out looking less than smart, all of his lines were changed to “Matt Damon”.
posted by cj on 10-8-2008 at 2:32 pm
If Swoozy Kurts were to marry Patrick Swayze, her name would be Swoozy Swayze!
posted by jesse on 10-8-2008 at 3:08 pm
Peter Ostrum’s role as Charlie Bucket in ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ (1971) was his only film appearance… he became a veterinarian.
posted by Amy on 10-8-2008 at 3:14 pm
Okay, someone posted this to IMDB, so maybe more people know it than I would have thought , but I still find it interesting:
_________________________________________________
Before Dustin Hoffman auditioned for (Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy) he knew that his all-American image could easily cost him the job. To prove he could do it, he asked the auditioning film executive to meet him on a street corner in Manhattan, and in the meantime, dressed himself in filthy rags. The executive arrived at the appointed corner and waited, barely noticing the “beggar” less than ten feet away who was accosting people for spare change. At last, the beggar walked up to him and revealed his true identity.
__________________________________________________
posted by Amy on 10-8-2008 at 3:31 pm
Durning the fliming of “thetowering inferno” paul newman and steve mcqueen
argued about who had top billing (they were given even) that they demanded that they both had the exact same amount of lines.
posted by schmelz on 10-8-2008 at 3:32 pm
Matt Damon is not the first (nor the last) actor to play the film version of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley. The role has been also played by:
Alain Delon (the first)
Dennis Hopper
John Malkovich
Barry Pepper
posted by Amy on 10-8-2008 at 3:41 pm
Every clock in the movie “Pulp Fiction” is stuck to the time 4:20
posted by Hannah on 10-8-2008 at 4:20 pm
In the movie, “The Godfather”, an orange is always seen before someone is killed/dies
posted by Hannah on 10-8-2008 at 4:23 pm
The other street car in “A Street Car Named Desire” is Cemetery
posted by Blarg on 10-8-2008 at 4:34 pm
In “The Empire Strikes Back”, Lucas wanted to keep the secret that Darth Vader was Luke’s father as long as possible. So he had the actor who played Vader read a different line (”Obi-Wan killed your father”) and then Lucas later dubbed in the words “I am your father” himself. It wasn’t until the premiere of the movie that anyone except a few insiders found out that Vader is Luke’s father.
posted by mmmark on 10-8-2008 at 4:36 pm
Tony Hawk (skate board god) played one of the skateboard punks in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol
posted by David on 10-8-2008 at 10:04 pm
In “Dressed to Kill”, the VOICE of Michael Caine’s ‘Bobbi’ is provided by the uncredited William Finley.
posted by Amy on 10-8-2008 at 10:07 pm
This is also not really a secret, but definitely cool. M. Night Shamylan likes to play with visual effects in his movies. In the 6th sense, every time there is a scene with a ghost, there is something bright red in the scene…Balloon,sweater,tent etc…..In Unbreakable, whenever Samuel L Jackson’s character Mr. Glass is in the scene, there is a vivid purple color….gift wrap, carpet,jacket liner….and finally in The Village, the whole red/yellow color thing.
posted by Joseph Faiola on 10-8-2008 at 10:12 pm
What would the Godfather be if any of the following actors were chosen to play Michael Corleone instead of Al Pacino?:
(per IMDB)
Martin Sheen
Dean Stockwell
Rod Steiger
Warren Beatty,
Jack Nicholson
Alain Delon
Burt Reynolds
Robert Redford
posted by Amy on 10-8-2008 at 10:18 pm
About a Film ACTOR, so may not strictly count, but still quite bizarre:
_______________________________________
Peter Sellers was absolutely terrified of the color purple, because it was, as he put it, “the color of death.” While filming scenes for his movies, each set had to be thoroughly scoured for the offending color before his arrival. If purple was found anywhere in the vicinity, Sellers would refuse to appear on the set until it was removed.
posted by amy on 10-8-2008 at 10:25 pm
Ingrid Bergman was 5′10″ tall and Humphrey Bogart was just 5′8″ tall. He had to stand on blocks for their close-ups.
posted by Space Cowgirl on 10-9-2008 at 1:03 am
Ingrid Bergman was 5′10″ tall and Humphrey Bogart was just 5′8″ tall. He had to stand on blocks for their close-ups in Casablanca.
posted by Space Cowgirl on 10-9-2008 at 1:04 am
Deliverance – Needing someone to fill one of the hillbilly roles, Burt Reynolds brought an acquaintance of his to the director whom he felt fit the part perfectly. When asked if he was comfortable with the fact that his character would need to portray brutal sexual acts with other men, the man apparently responded “I done worse”.
posted by Dave on 10-9-2008 at 2:11 am
@Dave (and Marty)
The movie that created the PG-13 was actually Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, not Raiders. The movie was rated PG, but the scene where the priest pulls out the guys heart was very offensive to people who brought their kids, so the ratings system was revised to have something between PG and R.
posted by Dwayne on 10-9-2008 at 7:50 am
But while we are on Raiders of the Lost Ark…
When Steven Spielberg was recruiting Matt Damon for Saving Private Ryan, he showed him the first movie he made while still in high school, and Damon recognized a piece of it as having been used in Raiders.
Apparently, Speilberg didn’t think Raiders would have critical acclaim, so he decided not to bother with an A effort, instead just shooting for a B+.
(For Spielberg, I had to Google whether it was Steven or Stephen – http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=95)
posted by Dwayne on 10-9-2008 at 9:21 am