Category: Trivia

‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Trivia

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Film School Rejects presents 25 Things We Learned from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites…

2. We see the number 42 early on — and will see it in the film again — and it’s a reference to Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) origin story involving a lottery that landed him at his elite prep school. It was also Jackie Robinson’s jersey number, but “it has nothing to do with Douglas Adams.”

9. It was Ramsay’s idea to hold off on the visual comic language — word bubbles, panels, etc. — until Miles is bitten by the spider.

“If you hit pause anytime a train goes, because everybody wanted to animate Stan [Lee], he’s in almost every single train.”

Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola and “The Godfather”

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Francis Ford Coppola has written a new introduction for the 50th anniversary edition of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and Entertainment Weekly has posted it.

The new intro is worth a read for fans of the book or movie.  Here are a few tidbits:

  • Coppola didn’t want to direct The Godfather until his second reading of the novel.
  • Most of Don Corleone’s most memorable lines were really spoken by Puzo’s mother!
  • Puzo advised Coppola to never associate with real gangsters! (Which leads to an interesting “encounter” with John Gotti.)
  • Puzo didn’t like the idea of Michael having Fredo killed.
  • It was Talia Shire (Adrian in Rocky!) who came up with the idea of Michael’s wife having a secret abortion and then telling him.
  • Both Coppola and Puzo wanted the third film to be called The Death of Michael Corleone.

 Entertainment Weekly’s post is worth a read and so is Puzo’s novel!

“The Dirty Dozen” Gets the Cinephilia and Beyond Treatment!

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The Dirty Dozen is a classic.  If you agree, then you’re going to want to check out Slaughterhouse Twelve: Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen at Cinephilia and Beyond.

Click on the link and you’ll find…

  • Nunnally Johnson & Lukas Heller’s screenplay for The Dirty Dozen
  • OPERATION DIRTY DOZEN: A behind-the-scenes video on the making of The Dirty Dozen
  • Rare behind-the-scenes photos
  • and much more!

Albert Einstein Trivia

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Lucas Reilly and Mental Floss present 19 Things You Might Not Have Known About Albert Einstein.  Here are three of my favorites…

4. NOBODY KNOWS EINSTEIN’S IQ.
Einstein’s IQ was never tested, though that hasn’t stopped people from guessing. Lots of websites claim the physicist’s IQ was 160, but there’s simply no way of verifying that claim. “One fundamental problem with the estimates I’ve seen is that they tend to conflate intellectual ability with domain-specific achievement,” Dean Keith Simonton, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Davis told Biography. For all we know, Einstein’s aptitude in arenas outside of physics might have rivaled that of an average Joe.

6. FASHION WAS NOT EINSTEIN’S STRONG SUIT.
Einstein hated wearing socks and was immensely proud of the fact that he didn’t have to wear them while giving lectures at Oxford in the 1930s. His antipathy apparently stemmed from a childhood realization: “When I was young I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in a sock,” Einstein reportedly said. “So I stopped wearing socks.” As an adult, he typically wore an undershirt, baggy trousers held by rope, and a pair of (occasionally women’s) sandals.

18. EINSTEIN WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YODA.
Yoda’s face was partly modeled after Einstein’s. According to Star Wars special-effects artist Nick Maley, “A picture of Einstein ended up on the wall behind the Yoda sculptures and the wrinkles around Einstein’s eyes somehow got worked into the Yoda design. Over the course of this evolutionary process Yoda slowly changed from a comparatively spritely [sic], tall, skinny, grasshopper kind of character into the old wise spirited gnome that we all know today.”

The 100 Best Horror Books of All Time

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Reedsydiscovery recently posted their choices for The 100 Best Horror Books of All Time.  Although I’ve a few more on my To-Be-Read Bookcases, I was surprised I had only read ten on the list:

6. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

12. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1954)

21. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (1971)

22. Carrie by Stephen King (1974)

23. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976)

24. The Shining by Stephen King (1977)

33. It: A Novel by Stephen King (1986)

36. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988)

46. 30 Days Of Night by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith (2002)

52. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)

“Year of the Dragon” Trivia

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 28 Things We Learned from Michael Cimino’s Year of the Dragon Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites…

8. While set primarily in New York City, much of the film was shot in North Carolina including the sequences on the streets of Chinatown. They recreated streets with attention to detail up to and including the angled grade of their Mott Street — the “main” street in NYC’s Chinatown — which is not actually flat. They took plaster casts of curbstones and recreated the grade for authenticity, something he says most NYC reproductions on film don’t achieve. “If you look at Ragtime, it’s flat, and that’s why it doesn’t look like New York [City]. It’s a very rocky little island.” He’s proud of their accomplishment as it even fooled Stanley Kubrick. The legendary director was given a screening in London where he told Cimino that “Chinatown looks so great.” Cimino told him the truth, and after a little bit of back and forth Kubrick realized he’d been duped. “If you can fool Kubrick, who had the best eye in the world, you can fool anyone.” The sets have been reused in dozens of films in the years since.

12. He feels Lone and Mickey Rourke compliment each other well and achieve his goal of confusing “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” He says the bad guy is attractive and likable, the good guy is neither of those things, and viewers are ultimately forced to like the good guy because of what he does.

18. He credits Clint Eastwood with his career. Cimino’s debut as writer/director, 1974’s Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, only got made thanks to Eastwood’s belief in him. The contract gave Eastwood the right to fire him after the first three days of shooting, and thankfully he never felt compelled to do so.

10 Ridiculous Gentleman’s Duels Fought Over Nothing

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Ward Hazell and Listverse present 10 Ridiculous Gentleman’s Duels Fought Over Nothing.  It’s hard to imagine a time where dueling was legal and even crazier when you consider some of the rules (Check out what rule was broken in the duel between Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson).  At any rate, here are three of my favorites and my summaries of why (check out the Listverse article for full details)…

Alexander Hamilton And Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were two of our Nation’s Founding Fathers. They were both patriots having  fought in the American Revolution. Burr was Vice President and Hamilton the first Secretary of the Treasury. The two men disliked each other so when Hamilton was to have said something unflattering about Burr and refused to apologize a duel with pistols was arranged.

Hamilton fired first and missed.  Some believe that Hamilton, “as was customary for a gentleman, deliberately missed. Burr, on the other hand, whether by accident or design, shot Hamilton in the stomach, tearing through his internal organs and paralyzing him. Hamilton died 36 hours later.”

Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson
In 1806, Andrew Jackson challenged Charles Dickinson to a duel after Dickinson insulted Jackson’s wife and called Jackson a “poltroon and a coward.”

Dickinson was no stranger to duels and chose pistols.  Dickinson fired first striking Jackson and breaking two of his ribs.  Jackson’s gun misfired, so he recocked it and shot Dickinson dead.

Here’s where it gets crazy.  Dueling rules required each man to fure ar the same time.  If one man fired first the second man should fire in the air and not take time for a deliberate shot! “Though there was some unpleasantness over the issue, Jackson was never charged with murder. He was troubled with pain from the injury for the rest of his life, but it did his career no harm, as he went on to become the seventh president of the United States.”

Monsieur Granpree And Monsieur Le Pique
In 1808 Monsieur Granpree discovered his mistress having an affair with Monsieur Le Pique.  The men agreed to a duel to settle the issue… they would fight from balloons in the air.

After a month of training, each man entered his balloon with a blunderbuss and a second.  A crowd had gathered to watch this most unusual duel.  The balloons lifted into the air and the restraining cords cut.  The duel was on.

Le Pique fired first but missed. Granpree’s shot struck the balloon and as you can imagine, things went downhill quickly for Le Pique.  “Le Pique and his second were “dashed to pieces”…  when his balloon shredded and fell to the ground.

45 Amazing Facts About All 44 American Presidents

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Corrine Cummings and Mental Floss present 45 Amazing Facts About All 44 American Presidents.  Here are three of my favorites…

3. THOMAS JEFFERSON
Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library when the Library of Congress was burned by the British during the War of 1812. He sold them 6487 books from his own collection, the largest in America at the time.

35. JOHN F. KENNEDY
JFK lived off of his family’s considerable trusts, so he donated all of his congressional and presidential salaries to charities like the United Negro College Fund and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.

18. ULYSSES S. GRANT
In an attempt to unite the North and South, Ulysses S. Grant made Christmas a national holiday in 1870.

The Impact of The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show”

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On February 9, 1964, The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.  In this age of hundreds of channels, the internet and celebrities having personal access to multiple social media outlets, it may be difficult to understand the impact that the Beatles performing on Ed Sullivan’s show had for those not alive during that time.

I was five.  My mother got me out of bed to watch.  We weren’t alone, as nearly 40% of the US population had tuned in.

Stacy Conradt presents 10 Facts About The Beatles’s ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ Debut,  Here are three of my favorites…

THE BAND DIDN’T COME CHEAP …
Much like The Tonight Show today, being asked to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s was a huge honor for up-and-coming (and established) artists in the 1960s. The publicity generated from an appearance on the show was enough for most talent to say yes. But The Beatles would only agree to appear if the show covered their travel expenses and paid them a $10,000 fee (which would be just over $80,000 in 2019 dollars). Sullivan and his producers agreed, but only if The Beatles would commit to making three appearances. They had a deal.

BUT THEY ENDED UP BEING A RELATIVE BARGAIN.
Though forking over travel expenses and an appearance fee wasn’t the norm for The Ed Sullivan Show, it ended up being a great deal for the program, and proof that Beatlemania was just as thriving in America as it was in the UK. It’s been estimated that close to 74 million people—40 percent of the country’s population at that time—tuned in to watch The Beatles play.

ONE OF THE MONKEES WAS ON THAT NIGHT, TOO.
Davy Jones was also on The Ed Sullivan Show that night, but not as part of The Monkees. Jones was performing with the cast of Broadway’s Oliver! Jones played the Artful Dodger, first in London then in New York, and ended up being nominated for a Tony for the role.

18 Things We Learned from the New “Waterworld” Blu-Ray

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Max Evry and ComingSoon present 18 Things We Learned from the New Waterworld Blu-Ray.  Here are three of my favorites…

Jack Black is in this movie.
In one of his earliest film roles, comedy superstar Jack Black portrayed the soot-faced Smoker airplane pilot who attacks The Mariner only to get his plane caught on the trimarand’s mast. He’s only in a few scene and is barely recognizable due to the heavy amount of dirt make-up he wears.

Kevin Reynolds did the big explosion stunt himself
One of the major stunts in the film is when Kevin Costner shoots down a wire using a hook as a massive explosion erupts behind him. At first production would not allow Costner to do the stunt, fearing for the actor’s life. To demonstrate that it was perfectly safe for Costner, Reynolds performed the stunt himself.

The Waterworld stunt show at Universal is still going!
Originally opening at the same time as the film in 1995, Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular is a live stunt show featuring the Atollers being attacked by Smokers. It is still active to this day at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Singapore.

When Jim Steranko Re-Cast Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.LD.

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Brian Cronin’s When Jim Steranko Re-Cast Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. at CBR.com is well worth a read. 

But before you click over, let’s have a little fun. 

Cronin contends that Steranko based his version of Nick Fury on an actor famous for his athleticism and rugged good looks.  After reading the article, I agree!

As a bonus, Cronin also suggests that the blonde guy with the big smile in the lower right on the cover above is another famous actor from the same time period.  And, again I think that he’s right.

Do you have any ideas who those two actors could be?

 

10 Shocking Facts About The Black Dahlia, Hollywood’s Most Famous Unsolved Murder

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Kristin Hunt and Mental Floss present 10 Shocking Facts About The Black Dahlia, Hollywood’s Most Famous Unsolved Murder.  Here are the three I found most disturbing…

THERE WAS NO BLOOD FOUND AT THE SCENE.
The naked body Bersinger discovered was in horrifying condition. In addition to being cut completely in half at the waist, and having her intestines removed, Short’s mouth had been slashed from ear-to-ear, giving her face a ghastly, semi-smiling appearance known as a Glasgow Smile. Her body had also been washed clean before it was left to be found. Despite the severe mutilation, there was no blood at the scene, leading police to conclude that the young woman had been murdered somewhere else, drained of blood, then cleaned before the killer dumped her body.

SOME LINKED THE CASE TO THE CLEVELAND TORSO MURDERS.
When Short’s death became national news, police officers in Cleveland felt an awful sense of déjà vu. Between 1934 and 1938, a serial killer had terrorized their city, claiming 12 victims—all of whom were grotesquely dismembered. Some theorized that the Ohio serial killer and Short’s murderer could be the same person, especially since—like Short’s killer—the perpetrator of what came to be known as the Cleveland Torso Murders was never caught.

GEORGE HODEL IS ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS SUSPECTS.
One of those names is George Hodel, a physician who ran a venereal disease clinic in Los Angeles in the 1940s. According to The Guardian, Hodel was on a list of six primary suspects in the Black Dahlia case, and the LAPD even bugged his home during the investigation. But Hodel—who died in 1999—gained more recent notoriety when his son, Steve Hodel, accused him of killing Short in the 2003 bestselling book Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story.

Steve claims his father’s handwriting matches strange letters the police received, supposedly from the killer. He also uncovered photos of a woman who resembles Short in his father’s personal photo album, and believes Hodel’s medical background would explain the precise, clinical cuts on the body. But some have discounted Steve’s claims since he started linking his father to other infamous unsolved murders, including the Zodiac killings.

The 17 Best Director Cameos in Movie History

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Josh Spiegel at Syfy.com ranks his choices for The 17 Best Director Cameos in Movie History.  Using just Spiegel’s list here are my top three…

  • Roman Polanski, Chinatown (1974)

  • Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles (1974)

  • Alfred Hitchcock, North By Northwest (1959)

…followed by 3 that didn’t make the list.

  • Sylvester Stallone, Staying Alive (1983)

  • Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now (1979)

  • Alfred Hitchock, Lifeboat (1944)

Martin Scorsese’s 131 Essential Films

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Martin Scorsese is as much a film lover as a film director.  Colin Ainsworth at Mental Floss has compiled 131 Essential Movies According to Martin Scorsese.   

Of the 131 films on Scorsese’s list, I’ve seen the following 35:

1. Nosferatu (1922)
2. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) 
3. Metropolis (1927)
4. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
5. Stagecoach (1939)
6. Citizen Kane (1941)
7. Cat People (1942)
8. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
9. Gilda (1946)
10. Beauty & The Beast (1946)
11. The Lady From Shanghai (1947)
12. T-Men (1947)
13. Raw Deal (1948)
14. The Third Man (1949)
15. Gun Crazy (1950)
16. Night and the City (1950)
17. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
18. House of Wax (1953)
19. Pickup on South Street (1953)
20. Dial M for Murder (1954)
21. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
22. The Searchers (1956)
23. Touch of Evil (1958)
24. Vertigo (1958)
25. The Hustler (1961)
26. Cape Fear (1962)
27. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
28. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
29. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
30. Klute (1971)
31. The Godfather (1972)
32. Apocalypse Now (1979)
33. Heaven’s Gate (1980)
34. Do the Right Thing (1989)
35. The Player (1992)

Obviously, everyone’s mileage will vary but I found it interesting that there are as many films that I loved on the list (Stagecoach, The Searchers, Godfather) as there are films I felt were over-rated (2001: A Space Odyssey, Midnight Cowboy, Klute).