“American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson” Trailer is Here!
I’m looking forward to American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson. You see, I’m holding out hope that they’ll get it right this time.
Eric Beetner Interview!
Eric Beetner was the recent subject of a Q&A with MysteryPeople. Beetner talks about writing, editing, Rumrunners and the forthcoming prequel Leadfoot. If that doesn’t convince ya to click over, you’ve never read any of Beetner’s crime stories. [For shame.]
11 Far Out Facts About “Lost in Space”
Bryan Reesman and Mental_Floss present 11 Far Out Facts About Lost in Space. Here are three of my favorites…
1. THE ORIGINAL UNAIRED PILOT SET A DARKER TONE. IT ALSO COST $600,000.
The original pilot “No Place To Hide”—which cost $600,000, or $4.5 million in today’s dollars—was a more straight up sci-fi tale that did not include either Dr. Smith or the Robot in the cast. The Space Family Robinson saga—inspired by a comic book with that title from Gold Key Comics that began in 1962—started with their 1997 mission going awry thanks to a meteor shower, and the Jupiter 2 crash landing on a seemingly barren planet with harsh weather conditions and inhabited by dangerous cyclops giants. It was pretty impressive for the day and hinted at a more intense show than the one that ultimately aired. We still love the series, but this episode—unseen until early last decade—promised many more dramatic possibilities.2. THE JUPITER 2 COST MORE THAN THE ENTERPRISE.
The cost of the Robinson family’s Jupiter 2 spacecraft was $350,000 ($2.6 million today), more than the Enterprise on Star Trek, which began airing when Lost In Space started its second season. Of course, a major difference is that the Jupiter 2 was a smaller ship, so we saw every chamber in it, whereas the Enterprise was a larger wessel (as Pavel Chekov would say) with many unseen nooks and crannies. It was all about scale.7. GUY WILLIAMS RETIRED FROM ACTING AFTER LOST IN SPACE.
The man who was famed for playing Zorro on TV between 1957 and 1961 and Dr. John Robinson from 1965 to 1968 decided to retire from the spotlight at the young age of 44 following the cancellation of Lost In Space. He later moved to Argentina, where he was reportedly beloved and where he lived until his death in 1989.
Buster Keaton: The Art of the Gag
Buster Keaton: The Art of the Gag is well worth a look for anyone interested in comedy or movie history.
Source: Mark Evanier.
16 Sure Facts About “Mrs. Doubtfire”
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 16 Sure Facts About Mrs. Doubtfire. Here are three of my favorites…
3. THEY WENT THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD WOMEN.
Director Chris Columbus claimed that he and his fellow filmmakers looked through “hundreds and hundreds” of photographs until finding a 1940s-era English woman to base Mrs. Doubtfire’s look on.7. CHUCK JONES SUPERVISED THE OPENING ANIMATION.
Jones was the iconic animator of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Bros. The full five minutes of Pudgy Parakeet and Grunge the Cat was released as a DVD feature.8. COLUMBUS USED MULTIPLE CAMERAS SIMULTANEOUSLY TO CAPTURE THE CAST WHEN WILLIAMS IMPROVISED.
The director mostly shot one or two takes of each scene as it was written in the script before shooting something Williams made up. Columbus said the resulting footage gave him the option of cutting a PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17 version of the movie. (He ended up going with the PG-13 version.)
18 Epic Facts About “Dances with Wolves”
Jeff Wells and Mental_Floss present 18 Epic Facts About Dances with Wolves. Here are three of my favorites…
1. IT STARTED AS A NOVEL THAT NOBODY WANTED TO PUBLISH.
Inspired by books he’d read about the Plains Indians, screenwriter Michael Blake (who died earlier this year) pitched Costner on the idea for Dances with Wolves. Costner told Blake, whom he’d met in a Los Angeles acting class, to write a novel instead of a screenplay, reasoning that a novel could generate studio interest more effectively than a cold script. So Blake spent months writing and sleeping on friends’s couches (including Costner’s). “I wrote the entire book in my car, really,” Blake said in a behind-the-scenes feature. Once finished, Blake submitted Dances with Wolves, to numerous publishers, all of whom passed on his manuscript. Finally, after more than 30 rejections, a small publisher called Fawcett accepted it.2. IT BECAME THE FILM THAT NO STUDIO WANTED TO FINANCE.
Turned down by American studios, Costner looked abroad for help, eventually securing startup funds from a handful of foreign investors. With only a fraction of the movie’s $15 million budget secured, he began filming. Orion Pictures eventually stepped in with $10 million, but Dances with Wolves ended up going more than $3 million over budget. Costner covered the overage out of his own pocket.18. THERE’S A SEQUEL.
A sequel to the book, that is. In 2001, Blake published The Holy Road, which continues the story of John Dunbar, now a full-fledged Sioux warrior, as he tries to protect his tribe from encroachment by white settlers. Critics praised the novel for the ways it portrayed westward expansion and the plight of Native Americans without coming off heavy-handed. There have been rumblings about a possible miniseries, but nothing is confirmed at this time.
7 Ways Frank Miller Changed Batman
Jesse Schedeen and IGN.com present 7 Ways Frank Miller Changed Batman. Here are three of my favorites [Alert — some profanity]…
2. He Grounded the DCU in Reality.
With aliens, giant robots, talking animals and people who can fly, the DC Universe is a pretty strange and wonderful place. But before The Dark Knight Returns, it was a place several steps removed from the real world.. Miller grounded his alternate DCU in reality. His dilapidated Gotham City was much more like the New York City of the time – dirty, crime-ridden and harsh. Miller also drew heavily on the politics of the time. The Dark Knight Returns presented a world where Ronald Reagan was US President and Superman was the country’s first line of defense in their ongoing conflict with the Soviet Union. Not every Batman story since has taken the same approach, but DKR renewed the emphasis on Gotham being as much a character as the people who inhabit her streets.4. He Made Commissioner Gordon Important.
Miller followed up The Dark Knight Returns with Batman: Year One, a story that offered a more grounded and realistic look at Batman’s first year on the job. However, the most revolutionary element of this story didn’t involve Batman at all, but rather Jim Gordon. Year One focused as much attention on Gordon’s troubled first year in Gotham City. It portrayed him as a character with the same burning desire to save his city as Batman, and it made him a more integral player in Batman’s world than ever before. In DC’s current comics, Gordon himself has taken up the mantle of Batman. Would that have been possible without the influence of Year One?5. He Made Batman and Superman Frenemies.
Before Frank Miller, Batman and Superman were always the best of friends. The comic series World’s Finest chronicled their many team-up adventures, which always seemed to culminate with the two heroes smiling and shaking hands after a job well done. Miller offered a very different view of their relationship in The Dark Knight Returns. In that comic, the two heroes were less friends than former allies turned bitter enemies. The climax of the series featured an armored Batman fighting a bloody battle against the Man of Steel in the streets of Gotham. That rivalry only grew more heated in Miller’s later work like The Dark Knight Strikes Again and All-Star Batman & Robin. Not only has Miller’s depiction of the Batman/Superman relationship influenced countless other comics, it’s pretty much the basis of next year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
“Fangs of the Gorilla God!” by R. E. Howard, Roy Thomas, and Howard Chaykin
Diversions of the Groovy Kind is a regular stop on my daily website visits. You’ll always find something cool like this post of Marvel Premiere #34 which featured Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin’s adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane story Red Shadows.
10 Movies That Stole Their Sets From Other Films
This morning we take a look at 10 Movies That Stole Their Sets From Other Films.
12 Intense Facts About “Platoon”
Eric D. Snider and Mental_Floss present 12 Intense Facts About Platoon. Here are three of my favorites…
6. IT TOOK MORE THAN A DECADE TO GET THE FILM PRODUCED.
Stone wrote a screenplay based on his experiences in Vietnam as soon as he got back from the war, in 1969. (He sent a copy of it to Jim Morrison, hoping the Doors frontman would star in it.) By 1976, that draft morphed into what he was then calling The Platoon. Stone couldn’t find anyone willing to make the movie, though. The war was still too fresh in people’s minds; it would be another few years before films like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter addressed it. And after that, studios had another excuse not to make Platoon: why bother, when Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter had already covered it?8. IT CHANGED THE WAY HOLLYWOOD LOOKED AT WAR.
A much-decorated retired Marine named Dale Dye, who loved war movies but was disappointed by their failure to convey the mental and emotional realities of combat, offered Stone his services as an advisor. Dye had been turned down by other filmmakers, who felt the way Hollywood had been doing it—you hire a consultant to make sure the medals, guns, and uniforms are accurate, and you don’t worry about the less tangible details—seemed to be working just fine. (Dye said: “They had been making zillions of dollars making war films for decades, and here was some clown coming in to tell them they had a better mousetrap? Go away.”) But Dye’s vision matched Stone’s, and the psychological authenticity they created together was a major factor in Platoon’s success. For the first time, Vietnam veterans were seeing their experiences portrayed realistically. Dye has since become the foremost military consultant in Hollywood, advising (and occasionally acting in) everything from Saving Private Ryan to the Medal of Honor video games.11. CHARLIE SHEEN ALMOST LOST THE LEAD ROLE TO HIS OWN BROTHER.
Sheen auditioned during one of Stone’s earlier, unsuccessful attempts to get the movie made, and didn’t impress him. The guy Stone really liked was Sheen’s older brother, Emilio Estevez. But financing fell through and the film was shelved. By the time Sheen auditioned again a few years later, he had grown into the role. “This time I knew in 10 minutes he was right,” said Stone.
“Into the Badlands” Free Web Comic!
Did you know that AMC’s Into the Badlands [which is one of my favorite shows now] has a free on-line comic that provides background stories on the Into the Badlands characters and universe?
25 Facts You Didn’t Know About “Grease”
Hollywood.com presents 25 Facts You Didn’t Know About Grease. Here are three of my favorites…
1. Elvis was initially offered a role in the film.
It is believed he would play the Guardian Angel role, but he did not accept.3. In “Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee” they changed the reference and it has a freaky coincidence.
In the stage play, the song had a reference to Sal Mineo, who was murdered in 1976. For the movie, they changed the lyric to “Elvis, Elvis, let me be! Keep that pelvis far from me!” In reference to Elvis Presley, who died the same day the scene was filmed. The day was August 16, 1977.10. Lucille Ball is the reason her daughter was not cast as Rizzo and the part went to Stockard Channing.
Lucie Arnaz was dropped from consideration after Lucille Ball called and said “I used to own that studio; my daughter’s not doing a screen test!” But actually, she owned the studio Desilu which was bought by Paramount.
15 Elevated Facts About “White Men Can’t Jump”
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 15 Elevated Facts About White Men Can’t Jump. Here are three of my favorites…
2. DENZEL WASHINGTON WAS THE ORIGINAL CHOICE FOR SIDNEY.
Denzel Washington was dead set on playing Malcolm X next and turned them down. Shelton considered Cylk Cozart for the lead role, too. Ultimately, Cozart was cast in the role of Robert.3. KEANU REEVES, CHARLIE SHEEN, AND DAVID DUCHOVNY WERE CONSIDERED FOR BILLY.
Part of the audition involved shooting hoops at a basketball court at a Culver City casting office. Reeves just didn’t cut it, and Woody Harrelson acknowledged that Reeves’ lack of talent in the sport helped change his career. “I probably would’ve just been Woody Boyd but for the fact that Keanu Reeves didn’t play great basketball,” Harrelson told the Daily Express. Sheen was offered the part after Reeves’ failed audition but passed. Duchovny said he auditioned and really wanted the role.
10. HARRELSON HUSTLED SNIPES OUT OF MONEY.
There was constant gambling on set. Cozart threatened to take all of Woody’s Cheers money and estimated he won $5000 off of him. Harrelson won money off of Snipes though when he successfully dunked. Snipes never realized that the crew lowered the rim before Harrelson’s attempt.
The “Second Chance” Poster and Trailer Are Here!
Second Chance which premieres January 13th on FOX looks interesting enough that I’ll tune in. I just wonder if it will be able to hold an audience if it becomes a lesser version of The Six Million Dollar Man.
12 Smooth Facts About “The Hustler”
Eric D. Snider and Mental_Floss present 12 Smooth Facts About The Hustler. Here are three of my favorites…
2. JACKIE GLEASON DID HIS OWN TRICK SHOTS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
The comedian, best known for playing working-class loudmouth Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners (which he created), had grown up in Brooklyn. Like Rossen, Gleason mixed it up with neighborhood toughs and got to be a pretty good pool hustler. He required no assistance for his trick shots in the film, and Rossen always positioned the camera so we’d be able to see that for ourselves.4. THERE WAS A REAL MINNESOTA FATS … BUT ONLY BECAUSE A GUY STARTED CALLING HIMSELF THAT AFTER THE MOVIE.
When the movie came out, Rudolf Wanderone was up there with Willie Mosconi as one of America’s best pool players. A hefty gentleman, Wanderone had several nicknames, including Double-Smart, New York Fats, and Chicago Fats. There was no Minnesota Fats; The Hustlernovelist Walter Tevis had made the character up. But in a promotional interview for the movie, Mosconi said Wanderone had been Tevis’s inspiration (which Tevis denied for the rest of his life, adamantly and with great annoyance). Wanderone seized the opportunity, perhaps flattering himself into thinking Tevis really had had him in mind. He embraced the nickname and declared himself the real Minnesota Fats for the rest of his career.7. THE MOVIE ISN’T VERY LONG, BUT IT WAS WIDER THAN USUAL.
The Hustler was shot in Cinemascope, the widescreen technique that had been in use since 1953. But it was mainly used for lavish epics and colorful musicals, not black-and-white dramas set in dingy pool halls. Yet as film critic Michael Wood pointed out, Rossen used Cinemascope “to create an oppressive, elongated world in which ceilings always seem terribly low; and people terribly separate from each other; in one shot Newman is even separated from his own image in a mirror by the whole width of a very wide screen. It is a world in which the pool table seems the one natural shape, while human beings seem untidy intruders.” Neat, huh?
