Category: Crime

Abraham Lincoln Autopsy’s Handwritten Notes

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Although the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln took place more than 150 years ago it still captures the imagination of most Americans.

The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY just opened a new installation, “Autopsy for a Nation: The Death of Abraham Lincoln,” marking the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination. The exhibit’s key items include handwritten notes by the physicians who conducted the President’s autopsy.

If you’d like to see the handwritten notes and transcriptions, you can at i09: True Crime.

17 Things You Might Not Know About “Scarface”

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Sean Hutchinson and Mental_Floss have posted 17 Things You Might Not Know About Scarface.  Here are three of my favorites…

5. A budding screenwriting star brought De Palma back.
Producer Bregman offered relative newcomer Oliver Stone a chance to overhaul the screenplay, and Stone agreed to do the movie for two reasons. First, his 1981 film The Hand had bombed at the box office, so he needed the work. He also wanted to work with Lumet, who eventually dropped out of the project because he felt Stone’s screenplay became too over the top and too violent. De Palma, who had moved on to potentially direct Flashdance, then read Stone’s script and loved how exaggerated it was, so he dropped Flashdance and rejoined Scarface.

10. Tony is only referred to as “Scarface” once, and it’s in Spanish.
Hector, the Colombian gangster who threatens Tony with the chainsaw, refers to him as “cara cicatriz,” meaning “scar face” in Spanish.

14. Steven Spielberg directed a single shot.
De Palma and Spielberg had been friends since the two began making studio movies in the mid ‘70s, and they made a habit of visiting each other’s sets. Spielberg was on hand for one of the days of shooting the Colombians’ initial attack on Tony Montana’s house at the end of the movie, so De Palma let Spielberg direct the low angle shot where the attackers first enter the house.

21 Facts About the Movie “Goodfellas” You Never Knew

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Corey Mahoney and Hollywood.com present 21 Facts About the Movie Goodfellas You Never Knew.  Here are three of my favorites…

5. When Joe Pesci was younger, he told a mobster that he was funny. The gangster’s ensuing anger was never forgotten and ended up inspiring Pesci to ask Scorsese to include it.
The director allowed Pesci and Liotta to improvise the now iconic “funny how?” scene. The other actors weren’t aware of the plan, so their reactions are genuine.

6. The now legendary Steadicam shot through the kitchen of the nightclub was unplanned.
Scorsese was denied permission to use the front entrance, and the alternative is now film history.

9. And while filming Spider’s death scene, actor Michael Imperioli had to be rushed to the hospital for breaking a glass in his hand; the doctors, however, attempted to treat what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his chest. 
When they learned the real reason behind his hospital visit, he was forced to wait three hours before he was treated. Scorsese told Imperioli that he would one day share the story on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and, ten years after the film’s release, in 2000, Imperioli did just that.

14 Things You Might Not Know About “Se7en”

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Jake Rosen lists 14 Things You Might Not Know About Se7en.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. From the Mind of a Record Store Employee

Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was a graduate of Penn State’s film program. Several years later, however, he was no closer to achieving his goal of working in the industry. Making ends meet at a New York City Tower Records store, Walker was so depressed that he wrote a bleak and oppressive script about the hunt for a killer who uses the seven deadly sins as inspiration for his crimes.

Satisfied with the outcome, he sent it to professional writer David Koepp, and then followed up with a phone call. Koepp agreed to send it to his agent, who found a buyer in New Line Cinema. (After reading it, Koepp also advised Walker that he “needed professional help.”)

3. Brad Pitt Worked Himself to the Bone

During a scene in which Pitt’s character, Detective David Mills, is chasing the killer through a perpetually rainy backdrop, Pitt slipped and drove his arm through a windshield. The resulting injury (a severed tendon) was so deep it went down to the bone. Pitt had to wear a cast for the rest of filming, which was written into the script; for scenes that had to be shot that took place earlier than the chase, the actor had to conceal his arm as best he could.

4. Kevin Spacey Got No Credit

When Fincher hired Kevin Spacey to portray killer John Doe, Spacey thought it would be more interesting to keep his involvement a secret, figuring that if he were to be billed then it would be obvious who the “mysterious” antagonist was. As a result, Spacey—who had just become a hot commodity for his work in The Usual Suspects—did not appear in any advertising, nor was his name included in the opening credits. While the studio disliked the idea, the part was late to be cast and, in Spacey’s words, “I was either going to be on a plane to shoot the movie or I wasn’t.” He got his wish.

Source: Mental_Floss.