Fun Film Fact 10/19/12

BAMBI (1942)

To be certain that the animators could draw the woodland animals perfectly, Disney created an on-site zoo at the animation studio where the animators could study the real-life movements of deer, rabbits, birds and other animals featured in the film. 

 

Fun Film Fact 9/29/12

THE NOTEBOOK (2004)

Gena Rowlands, who plays the older version of Allie, is the mother of the film's director Nick Cassevetes.

Mother and son on the set of The Notebook:

Mother and son together in New York in 2009:

Fun Film Fact 9/19/12

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

All the moth cocoons that are removed from victims' mouths in the film were made of Tootsie Rolls and gummy bears, so they were edible.

Fun Film Fact 9/18/12

Today's fact is about television, not film, but it's so good that I had to share. 

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
The show shoots on the same Warner Brothers lot where Gilmore Girls was filmed and very few changes were made to the exterior set. If you look closely, Rosewood's streets and buildings are exactly the same as Stars Hollow's.

Notice the same church and row of buildings in both shows:

GILMORE GIRLS

Stars Hollow, CT

 

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

Rosewood, PA

Fun Film Fact 9/17/12

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

To avoid leaks, the crazy surprise ending (if you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about) was explained to the actors verbally rather than having it written into the script.

Fun Film Fact 9/16/12

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)

In the French version of the film, Cogsworth's name is Big Ben, after the famous clock tower in London.
Cogsworth was written with actor John Cleese in mind to voice the character, but he turned down the role.

Fun Film Fact 2/4/12

THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012)

Misha Handley, the little boy who plays Daniel Radcliffe's son in the film, is Radcliffe's godson in real life. Daniel Radcliffe suggested to the director that he audition Handley because they already had great chemistry that would translate to the on-screen relationship.

Fun Film Fact 1/31/12

Adrian Rawlins, the actor who plays James Potter (Harry's father), in the Harry Potter film series has the same birthday as the character James Potter in the books- March 27th. Clearly the casting was meant to be!

Fun Film Fact 1/30/12

Happy 82nd Birthday to the great Gene Hackman!!

Here's a fun fact about him:

Hackman studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse where he and a classmate were voted "Least Likely to Succeed." The other classmate was Dustin Hoffman.

Hackman and Hoffman in Runaway Jury (2003):

Fun Film Fact 1/18/12

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006)

Many high-end designers allowed their clothing and accessories to be used in the movie, making it the most expensively-costumed film in history. After the film, Meryl Streep donated her wardrobe to a charity auction.

 

 

Fun Film Fact 1/17/12

BRIDESMAIDS (2011)

Melissa McCarthy, who plays Megan, and Ben Falcone, who plays Air Marshall Jon, are married in real life.

 

Fun Film Fact 1/13/12

The return of the Fun Film Fact!!!

Today is Orlando Bloom's 35th birthday, so here's a fun fact about him:

Orlando Bloom originally auditioned for the part of Faramir in The Lord of Rings trilogy. The part went to David Wenham, but Bloom was asked to audition for Legolas instead. He found out he won the part of Legolas two days before he graduated from drama school and thus began his film career.

 

Fun Film Fact 10/26/11

CINDERELLA MAN (2005)
Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays Sara, a friend of the Braddock family, is the granddaughter of the real-life Jimmy Braddock (played by Russell Crowe in the film). Her mother is Rosemarie Braddock, Jimmy's daughter.

Rosemarie Dewitt as Sara:

 

Rosemarie Braddock is played by Ariel Waller in the film:

Fun Film Fact 10/23/11

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
"Sixteen Going On Seventeen" was one of the last scenes shot because during the first attempt to film it Charmian Carr (Liesl) slipped on one of the benches and fell through a pane of glass in the gazebo. She wasn't hurt badly, but the scene was pushed towards the end of the production schedule so she had time to heal.

Fun Film Fact 10/22/11

STAR TREK (2009)

At the end of the final scene between Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Old Spock (Leonard Nimoy) when they salute each other, Zachary Quinto's fingers had to be glued together because he couldn't do the Vulcan salute properly.

Fun Film Fact 10/17/11

IN AND OUT (1997)
The film was inspired by Tom Hanks' acceptance speech at the 1994 Academy Awards when he won for Philadelphia. In his speech Hanks thanked his gay drama teacher, which lead to this film in which a former student outs his gay teacher in his Oscar speech.

Tom Hanks' Oscar speeches are two of my all-time favorite acceptance speeches. They're just down right beautiful. Click here to watch his speech for Philadelphia

 

Fun Film Fact 10/16/11

Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is completely self-taught. He has said that everything he knows about music he learned through experimentation and collaboration. According to IMDb, Zimmer has composed music for 141 different projects. He has composed some of my favorite movie scores: The Lion King, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Gladiator, and The Prince of Egypt. 

Fun Film Fact 09/27/11

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)
In order to produce the desired drugged-out effect for his role as the drug addict in the police station, Charlie Sheen stayed awake for more than 48 hours before the scene was shot.

Fun Film Fact 09/26/11

FROST/NIXON (2008)
Frank Langella (Richard Nixon) and Michael Sheen (David Frost) performed the play Frost/Nixon in the West End in London and on Broadway for months, so they knew it perfectly. When the filming of the movie was over, director Ron Howard said that during the entire shoot, Langella and Sheen only ruined one take each for messing up a line.

Fun Film Fact 09/25/11

THE PARENT TRAP (1998)
In the original 1961 version of The Parent Trap Joanna Barnes played the evil step-mother-to-be, Vicky. In the remake Joanna Barnes plays the mother of the evil step-mother-to-be.