Category: Trivia

John Woo’s “The Killer” Trivia!

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I remember the first time I saw John Woo’s The Killer.  My mind was blown.  I called my best bud, John Beatty to talk about the amazing action movie I had just seen.  This cat Chow Yun Fat was just too cool and the director John Woo?  Forget about it.  This dude had guys shooting with two guns while doing crazy stunts, gun to gun stand-offs from guys close enough to touch each other, and just all out over the top action.  I still have my The Killer poster (the same as the one above and a gift from Mr. Beatty) hanging in my fortress of solitude (right behind me).

Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects reminded me of all this with his post, 26 Things We Learned from ‘The Killer’ Commentary.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites…

Woo has previously acknowledged that the film was inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samurai (1967) which was in turn inspired by a novel titled The Ronin by Joan McLeod. Other inspirations mentioned include Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets (1973), Francois Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (1962), and the films of Sam Peckinpah.

(I haven’t seen Le Samurai, but it does show up on TCM, so I will.  Jules and Jim is another I’ll have to watch for.  I’ve seen Mean Streets and of course many of the films of Sam Peckinpah. – Craig)

The commentary was recorded in 2002, and even back then there’s mention of rumored US remakes of the film. He mentions supposed remakes with Denzel Washington & Richard Gere and Michelle Yeoh & Sharon Stone. A Hollywood redo is still currently listed on IMDB.

(Sly Stallone was also attached to a US remake — he was working on the screenplay and it was titled Maggie’s Eyes. – Craig)

Fat turned down offers to star in Alien: Resurrection (1997) and as Morpheus in The Matrix (1999). He chose The Replacement Killers (1998) and The Corruptor (1999) instead.

(I always thought that Chow Yun Fat should/could have been a much bigger star in the US.  I actually would have preferred him in Alien Resurrection (which I really liked) or The Matrix (the first one I loved). – Craig)

TV Western Stars – Which Role was Better?

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MeTV put together a piece on The Overlooked Second Roles of TV’s Greatest Western Stars and it’s a good one.  I actually liked some of the second roles better than the ones the stars are more famous for.

James Arness began world-famous for his role as Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke.  The show ran for 30 years and then spun-off into tv movies when the series ended. Yet, I prefer Arness as Zebulon “Zeb” Macahan in How the West was Won.  I used to make it a point to see each weekly episode.  Remember this was back in the pre-dvr, pre-vhs days.  I wonder if the show holds up.

Everyone knows Chuck Connors as The Rifleman, but I preferred him as Jason McCord, the only survivor of Custer’s Last Stand, and wrongly accused of being a coward and kicked out of the army.  Again, I haven’t seen Branded in years and wonder if it would still be as enjoyable.

Richard Boone’s most famous role was as the gentleman gunfighter, Paladin, on Have Gun Will Travel.  I liked him better as Hec Ramsey, an older cowboy in a world that has moved on to the early 20th century.

I also watched and enjoyed Nichols starring James Garner.  It’s another show I’d like to revisit.  I do remember being surprised and disappointed when they killed off the character and brought in his “twin brother” for the second season.

“Columbo” Trivia!

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My wife and I have been watching Columbo quite a bit lately.  Since the show is available on several networks throughout the week, we’ve been DVRing them all to watch at our convenience.

I watched Columbo pretty regularly when it first aired, but I was at the age where I missed more than a few due to other priorities.  My wife never really tuned in.  We’re both enjoying the show now.  It’s fun to see the number of stars appearing as the murderer (or murdered) and even more fun spotting future stars getting their first breaks as a background player.

The fine folks at MeTV posted 13 Little Details You Probably Missed in Columbo.  It’s a fun piece you’d probably enjoy even if you don’t watch Columbo.  Before you click over here are three of my favorites and my thoughts (but for the full details click over)!

Columbo does secretly reveal his first name, once.

(This was a surprise to me.  I didn’t think Columbo’s first name was ever revealed.  In fact we just watched an episode where Columbo was flat out asked his first name.  His response was something to the effect of only his wife uses it and everyone else calls him, “Columbo”. But thanks to MeTV, now we know! – Craig)

The author from the first episode has books in later mysteries.

(I love this.  It shows that the people who made the series were paying attention to what went on before, and it creates a universe for Columbo that feels real. – Craig)

Captain Kirk makes a cameo.

(Ha!  This is a great trivia item.  Captain Kirk makes a cameo. Not William Shatner – he guest stars, but Captain Kirk appears in the same show.  Eagle eyed viewers would catch that.  I’ll be on the lookout when I see the episode. – Craig) 

“John Wick” Trivia

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Jake Rosen at Mental Floss presents 8 Fully-Loaded Facts About John Wick. Before you click over, here are three of my favorites and my thoughts on each.

1. JOHN WICK WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED SCORN.
Screenwriter Derek Kolstad wrote a revenge thriller titled Scorn that first circulated back in 2012. Kolstad said he was inspired by films like 2008’s Taken and 2004’s Man on Fire, which both featured determined men with special skills out for revenge. By the time the movie was released in 2014, it had become John Wick. The reason, Kolstad explained, was that Keanu Reeves kept referring to the script by the character’s name and distributor Lionsgate believed it would be too much free publicity to lose.

(I did not know this.  Scorn is nowhere near as good a title as John Wick.  Thank you Keanu! – Craig)

7. JOHN WICK HAS A HOBBY THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE FINAL CUT.
While John Wick’s interests in life seem to be mostly restricted to killing people in creative ways, he’s apparently able to express himself through less violent means, too. According to Reeves, the script for John Wick included a scene in which Wick works on restoring old leather-bound books. It was filmed but didn’t make the final edit.

(I understand why the scene didn’t make the movie, but what a cool choice for a hobby for Wick.  – Craig)

8. A JOHN WICK TELEVISION SERIES—MINUS JOHN WICK—IS IN THE WORKS.
Each John Wick film reveals more about the professional code of conduct governing the assassin’s trade. Their common ground is the Continental, a hotel designed to cater to killers without fear of being attacked. (This sometimes doesn’t work, as people try to kill John Wick there anyway.) Lionsgate is pursuing a television series, The Continental, based on the hotel, that’s expected to premiere sometime following the release of John Wick 4, which is currently scheduled for May 2022.

(I love the idea of a tv series set in John Wick’s world as long as it doesn’t become “the hit <as in execution assignment> of the week.  – Craig)

“Deliverance” Trivia!

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Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects posted 31 Things We Learned from John Boorman’s ‘Deliverance’ Commentary.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites…

9. Dickey took Boorman aside, made him promise not to repeat this, and said, “I’m going to tell you something I never told a living soul, everything in that book happened to me.” The director later learned that he did the same with other members of the cast and crew. “When I got into a canoe with James Dickey and he capsized it, I realized that nothing in this book had happened to him.”

(Dickey was not well liked on the set — there’s another quote in the piece that talked about Dickey’s drinking and interfering with the movie and Burt Reynolds has a funny response. – Craig)

15. “I had no doubles, no stuntmen,” says Boorman. “I don’t like the idea of stuntmen because if a shot is dangerous enough that you need a stunt man then you shouldn’t be doing it.” He acknowledges that there are exceptions including one instance where Voight was doubled (while Reynolds insisted on doing his part himself), but in general he prefers doing the scenes with the actual actors.

(Reynolds, as most folks know always wanted to do his own stunts and respected the stunt crew.  But stunts were not the only differences between Voight and Reynolds are you’ll see in the next quote. – Craig)

26. While Reynolds preferred to move quickly through every scene, Voight challenged almost every decision in need of explanation and reason which dragged things out. Voight would also require three minutes before shooting scenes where he’s meant to seem exhausted because he would run around the area to tire himself out. Reynolds, by contrast, would spritz his face to simulate sweat and then breath hard. Boorman found the two to be good influences on each other.

(They have two different schools of thoughts in preparing for a scene.  Some like to prepare, research and stay in character and others are able to just do it.  I can’t remember the actor and I’m paraphrasing but when asked how he was able to just jump into a scene and take on whatever emotion without first preparing, his response was, “I act.” – Craig)

Remembering Burger Chef, Star Wars, Mike Kott and Me!

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If you’re of a particular age, it is almost a certainty that you dined ate at a Burger Chef.  If you’re younger, then you may not have ever heard of the one-time fast food giant. 

Back in the 1970s, Burger Chef was second only to McDonalds as far as fast food franchises went.  Burger Chef was a hit and as a result their investors were earning returns where 50% wasn’t unheard of. 

Burger Chef’s popularity was because they served a comparable (some would say even better) meal than other fast food joints and Burger Chef was making innovative moves.  Burger Chef was the first with…

  • Funmeals: geared towards kids.  Each Funmeal came with a sandwhich, small fries, small drink and a toy!  Five years later McDonalds started serving Happy Meals using the same concept.
  • Works Bar:  Burger King said you could have it “your way”.  Burger Chef took things a step further with the Works Bar.  Each Works Bar contained everything you might want to doctor up your sandwhich!
  • Salad Bar:  Burger Chef offered a fully stocked salad bar and this was waay before the health craze hit.
  • Media Tie-Ins:  Burger Chef saw the importance of media tie-ins and so they made deals linking their food to kid popular franchises like Star Wars and The Brady Bunch.

I worked at a Burger Chef when I was in college.  I’ve shared this story before but if you missed it or would just like to revisit it, check out Star Wars, Burger Chef, Mike Kott and Me.

I have good memories of the folks I worked with and the food we served at Burger Chef.  It’s too bad the chain didn’t survive.  MeTV posted What ever happened to the Burger Chef chain? that explains their rise and fall.  Since you’ve read this far, you’d probably enjoy it.  

“Airplane” Trivia

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I saw Airplane in a packed theater when it was initially released.  The laughter was non-stop.  Airplane is a film that benefits from a crowd.  I’ve watched it several times since and the bigger the crowd the bigger the laughs.   Airplane is still worth a watch either alone or with others.

Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 31 Things We Learned from the ‘Airplane!’ Commentary.   Before you click over, here are three of my favorite comments…

These early drafts (of the script) were initially titled The Late Show as they intended to include their commercial gags as well with the spoof movie itself being filler. They brought it to Lloyd Schwartz who suggested that the airplane story was “funnier and more interesting” than the commercial spoofs.

(I think that they were wise to drop the commercial gags.  Playing it straight made for a much funnier film. – Craig)

Lloyd Bridges had a lot of questions trying to understand his character, his motivation, and his dialogue, and Robert Stack pointed out that the visual gags were so frequent and nonsensical that no one in the audience was going to care. “Lloyd, we are the joke,” said Stack to Lloyd.

(Can you imagine you’re the director prepping the scene and Bridges wants to discuss background and motivation for his, “I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue” line? – Craig)

Stack was apparently offered a percentage of the film or an extra $20k, and he chose poorly.

($20K in the hand or a percentage on a risky film with Hollywood bookkeeping?  Not an easy choice. – Craig)

MetaCritics Rankings of Every “Rocky” Movie

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Mark Birrell at ScreenRant looked at Metacritic ratings for all eight Rocky movies.  I thought it would be interesting to compare Metacritics’ rankings with mine.  Your mileage may differ.

Metacritic

 Craig

8. Rocky IV (40)

 8. Rocky V (55)

7. Rocky V (55)

 7. Rocky IV (40)

6. Rocky III (57)

 6. Rocky II (61)

5. Rocky II (61)

 5. Creed II (66)

4. Rocky Balboa (63)

 4. Rocky III (57)

3. Creed II (66)

 3. Rocky Balboa (63)

2. Rocky (70)

2. Creed (82)

1. Creed (82)

1. Rocky (70)

“Jaws” Trivia!

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Dan Grant, at Top 10 Films, in honor of the 45th anniversary of the release of the first summer blockbuster presents: 45 Things About “Jaws” You Might Not Know.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorite Jaws facts as well as my thoughts on each…

4. Richard Dreyfuss’ casting – Richard Dreyfuss originally turned down the role of Hooper because he thought making the movie would be a pain in the ass. After he saw himself on big screen in the Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz he thought he was so awful that his career would be over and he immediately called Steven Spielberg to ask if he could have the role.

(Funny the difference a day or perceived poor performance can make. – Craig)

9. Percy Rodriguez’s iconic trailer voice-over – Percy Rodriguez did the voice-over in the trailer for Jaws. When the producers first came to him, they wanted an upbeat, happy-sounding and almost adventurous voice-over for the trailer. It was Percy’s idea to have a darker and brooding and ominous sounding tone. It worked a treat.

He eventually got his way and many people credit lines in the trailer like “there is a creature that is alive today which has survived millions of years of evolution” and “it was as if God created the devil and gave him (dramatic pause) Jaws”, as major reasons why people flocked to the theatre to see it.

(Watching the “Jaws” trailer attached to this fact at Grant’s post it reminded me of how, in the pre-internet days, important a trailer was to the success of a film.  The “Jaws” trailer made you want to see the film.  Much credit needs to go to Percy Rodriguez.  He was right to push for a darker, more ominous tone! – Craig)

14. Dreyfuss’ surprise – Richard Dreyfuss was so disillusioned with the movie that after his time on set was done, he proceeded to trash it on several different talk shows in the United States. But when he saw the film opening day, after he left the theatre, he jumped into Roy Scheider’s arms and exclaimed “He did it! He did it!” Roy asked him who he meant and he said “Spielberg, Spielberg actually did it!”

(Sounds like Dreyfuss was going through a period of seeing the glass half-full.  He only agreed to star in “Jaws” because he thought he was so terrible in his previous film that he wouldn’t be offered more roles.  Then filming wraps on “Jaws” and Dreyfess downplays how good it is… until he sees it with an audience. – Craig)

Sly Stallone’s All-Time 10 Best Movies!

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Colin McCormick at ScreenRant decided to do a little research and came up with the 10 Best Sylvester Stallone Films, According To IMDb.  Well, you know me and lists.  Below I’ve compared the IMDb rankings to mine followed by my thoughts…


Sylvester Stallone’s Best Films

IMD Rating

Craig

10. Rocky IV (1985:) 6.9

10. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 (2017)

9. Cop Land (1997): 6.9

9. Rocky IV (1985)

8. Rambo (2008): 7.0

8. Creed II (2018)

7. Rocky Balboa (2006): 7.1

7. Rocky II (1979)

6. Creed II (2018): 7.1

6. Creed (2015)

5. Rocky II (1979) 7.3

5. First Blood (1982)

4. Creed (2015): 7.6

4. Rocky Balboa (2006)

3. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 (2017): 7.6

3. Rambo (2008)

2. First Blood (1982): 7.7

2. Cop Land (1997)

1. Rocky (1976): 8.1

1. Rocky (1976)

The IMDb list is a good one.  For my rankings, I put a little more emphasis on the films that starred Sly than for one’s where he co-starred or had a cameo (GotG2).  Creed rated higher than Rocky 2 because of Sly’s performance.  He should have received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Had I made the Top Ten List I would have tried to find a way to include Nighthawks and Get Carter… Paradise Alley and FIST… but there are just too many Stallone favorites to list just ten.  Still, it was a fun exercise.  Your mileage may differ, but give it a shot!

Chuck Norris Trivia!

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Jake Rossen from Mental Floss is back and this time he brought Chuck Norris with him.  Check out 8 Surprising Facts About Chuck Norris.  Here are three of my favorite facts and my thoughts on each…

STEVE MCQUEEN GOT CHUCK NORRIS INTO ACTING.
(This one surprised me.  I would have thought Bruce Lee would have gotten credit for this since it was Lee who gave Chuck Norris his first big break.  Maybe it was McQueen who first suggested that Norris give acting a try. – Craig)

CHUCK NORRIS NEEDED TO OBEY A PRODUCER’S REQUEST IN ORDER TO FACE OFF AGAINST BRUCE LEE.
(Chuck Norris tells the story that when Bruce Lee contacted him about co-starring in Way of the Dragon, Norris jokingly asked who would win the climatic fight.  Lee replied that he would.  Norris said, “So you want to beat the World Karate Champion?”  Lee’s response: “No, I want to kill the World Karate Champion.” 🙂  – Craig)

CHUCK NORRIS HAD HIS OWN CARTOON SERIES.
(It’s easy to forget just how popular Chuck Norris was.  At one point he had his own line of jeans, a cartoon, a comic book series, a television series, made movies, created his own style of martial arts and more.  Oh, and let’s not forget the ever popular Chuck Norris jokes. – Craig)

If you’ve read this far, you’ll enjoy Rossen’s 8 Surprising Facts About Chuck Norris.

“Demolition Man” Trivia

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Chris Hayner, at Gamespot, came up with a piece called Demolition Man Easter Eggs: All The References And Things You Didn’t Know.  My guess, is our regular readers will know most of these, but then again, unless you click over, how can you be sure?  At any rate, here are three of my favorites and thoughts on them…

3. Modern-day LA almost looked very different:  When John Spartan goes in to capture Simon Phoenix, he’s brought to the scene by helicopter. Originally, director Marco Brambilla and his team planned to use a blimp in the scene. However, due to the fire effects used in the scene and the presence of heavy winds, it was decided that would be too dangerous.

(While I think blimps are cool, that helicopter scene with Stallone bunging jumping to the rooftop while under fire set the tone for a great action movie!  I wish Demolition Man had leaned harder into that than some of the comedy elements. – Craig)

5. Another Simon Phoenix:  According to many sources, including AMC, Snipes was not the first choice to play the villainous Simon Phoenix. Stallone actually wanted Jackie Chan in the role. However, Chan reportedly turned it down because he didn’t believe his fans wanted to see him play a bad guy.

(Jackie Chan would have made a great Simon Phoenix, but I’m glad the role went to Snipes.  My guess is if Chan had accepted the part, the comedy elements would have increased.  – Craig)

10. Sandra Bullock wasn’t the first choice for Huxley:  Originally, Lori Petty (Tank Girl, Point Break, A League of Their Own) was cast in the role and even shot a scene. “It just wasn’t working,” the director said.

(Bullock was perfectly cast, but I would love to see the scenes shot with Petty. – Craig)

“What We Do In the Shadows” Trivia!

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I hope you’re watching What We Do in the Shadows.  It is the best movie to tv adaption yet.  What We Do in the Shadows is funny and clever, but most folks I talk to haven’t checked it out.

Scott Beggs at Mental Floss has.  He came up with  12 Regular Human Facts About What We Do in the Shadows.  So without further delay, here are my top three facts and thoughts on ’em…

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS BEGAN AS A SHORT FILM, AND HAS TURNED INTO A FRANCHISE.
(I did know that What We Do in the Shadows is a television adaptation of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s What We Do In the Shadows movie.  I’ve seen and loved it!  What I didn’t know was the movie was an offshoot of their short film, What We Do in The Shadows: Interviews With Some Vampires.  I will have to look for the short film! – Craig)

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS HOSTED AN EPIC GATHERING OF POP CULTURE VAMPIRES.
(In addition to a perfect cast, What We Do In the Shadows features a variety of guest stars such as Mark Hamill, Wesley Snipes, Craig Robinson, Haley Joe Osment, Taika Waititi, Tilda Swinton, Danny Trejo, Paul Reubens and Dave Bautista. – Craig)

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS CONSTANTLY REMINDS US THAT VAMPIRES ARE HUMANS, TOO.
(THAT is it!  They are so relatable… except for the drinking human blood and turning into bats and stuff. – Craig)

If you haven’t checked out What We Do In the Shadows, please consider giving it a shot.

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