Tag Archives: Jodi Foster

Podcast

MOV034: “Ain’t That A Little Honey?”

Can DeNiro really drive a taxi? What was your favorite DeNiro movie? Did Marky Mark send out Good Vibrations in The Fighter, or should he taken a dive? Can James Cameron save the people trapped in the Sanctum? And what do these three movies have in common? All these questions will be answered plus the boys discuss whether you really need a Netflix button on your remote on this “very special” 100th review episode of COL Movies.

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The Past: Taxi Driver (1976)

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Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Jodi Foster, Cybill Shepherd

Trivia:

  • De Niro worked as a cab driver for a month, pulling 12 hour shifts to prepare for the role.
  • Connie Foster, Jodi’s 19 year old sister had to play as Body Double for the then 12 year old Jodi for scenes that were too “Explicit” for her to be on set.
  • The Restaurant used in the movie is a real life cabbie hangout. The Belmore Cafeteria is on 28th and Part Ave South
  • The Girl Scorsese studied to prepare for the role of Iris played her friend on the street
  • The line “You talking to me?” was voted as the #10 movie quote by the American Film Institute, and as as the #8 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007.
  • Robert De Niro has claimed that the “You talkin’ to me?” scene was inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s banter with his audience at a mid-’70s gig
  • When Brian De Palma was attached to the project, he wanted Melanie Griffith to play Iris, but after two weeks of casting, both Griffth and De Palma were fired. Martin Scorsese replaced Griffith with Linda Blair. However, Blair also withdrew, and Scorsese later replaced Blair with Jodie Foster, but there were more than 200 applicants for the role. Scorsese said that Jodie had the ability to play a 12-year-old prostitute.
  • The story was partially autobiographical for Paul Schrader, who suffered a nervous breakdown while living in Los Angeles. He was fired from the AFI, basically friendless, in the midst of a divorce and was rejected by a girlfriend. Squatting in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment while she was away for a couple of months, Schrader literally didn’t talk to anyone for many weeks, went to porno theaters and developed an obsession with guns. He also shared with Bickle the sense of isolation from being a mid-Westerner in an urban center. Schrader decided to switch the action to New York City only because taxi drivers are far more common there. Schrader’s script clicked with both Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro when they read it.

Talking Points:

  • Anyone think that Rorschach from The Watchman might have been influenced by this character?
  • This movie was really “wet” was there a reason?
  • Do you think this movie is more social commentary for the times when it was made or just an interesting story?
  • Did anyone else think the music at the end of the movie.. the crane shot of the crime scene outside the hotel.. was a little over dramatic?

What We’ve Learned:

  • All the animals come out at night
  • In California, when two fags break up, one’s “got to pay” the other one alimony.
  • WE are the people is not the same as we ARE the people.
  • If a mob kills a stool pigeon they leave a canary on the body.
  • Porn Theatre is probably not the best place to take a date… well depending on the date..
  • women are like a union
  • Cybill Sheperd was really cute when she was younger.
  • OMG….Harvey Keitel was jacked in the 70s!
  • Only in NY can a cabbie almost kill a Presidential candidate, whack a bunch of mobsters, save a child prostitute and recover from a coma…then go right back to driving his cab!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Classic, this should be in your DVD Library.
Ray: If your into gritty modern film noir, its a must see. especially for De Niro’s performance.
Steve: Intriguing look into mid-70s New York and the issues faced by Vets returning from Vietnam. Well acted and very interesting characters. Definitely worth a look.

Intermission: Top De Niro movies
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The Present: The Fighter

Director: David O. Russel

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams

Trivia:

  • Mickey O’ Keefe is a Sergeant for the Lowell police department in massachusetts and was the mentor of “Irish” Mickey Ward
  • Art Ramalho’s gym is the actual Lowell West End Gym and not a set. This is in fact where Micky trained and is still a functioning boxing gym to this day.
  • Mark Wahlberg sent the script to Martin Scorsese in hopes he would direct, but he turned it down.
  • Wahlberg started training for the role back in 2005
  • Darren Aronofsky was attached to direct, but left to work on Black Swan

Talking Points:

  • Who do you think gave the best acting performance?
  • Was it just me.. or were there a lot of UGLY people in this movie?
  • The sisters…good, bad, or (and) ugly?
  • The different style of shooting.. out of the ring was more cinematic.. in the ring was very documentary style

What We Learned:

  • Mtv Girls are into 3 ways
  • Dude, its just easier to use the front door, mom knows your in there.
  • The fancy art film, isn’t always the best place to take your date.
  • If you’re a drug addict and someone calls you to do a movie about you…say no!
  • Witness the power of denial….

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Great movie. Unexpectedly enjoyable, must see in my opinion.
Ray: I went into this movie expecting to Hate it.. and I was really entertained.
Steve: Typically do not like this type of film, but I found myself really into it. It was engaging, almost like watching documentary. Definitely enjoyed and recommend it.

The Future: Sanctum

Starring: Rhys Wakefield, Allison Cratchley, Christopher Baker

Trivia:

  • Based on the true story of co-writer Andrew Wight. He once went cave diving and became trapped with fourteen other people in a cave for two days. Their entrance collapsed and they had to look for another way out.

Talking Points:

  • Does James Cameron being attached to this film provide any draw or excitement for you?
  • Based on the trailer, do you think 3D will be good for it?

Summary:

The 3-D action-thriller Sanctum follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Freaks me out.
Ray: Not very excited to see this movie.
Steve: Doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Sets look really good, though…and I like the Australian accents!

Coming Attractions

The Past

The Present

The Future

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Podcast

MOV017: “All Bones, No Bullshit”

The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys, Machete, and Devil. Also it’s a slow news week. Yeah, that’s about it. But the show was good.

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The Past: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)

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Director: Peter Care

Starring: Jodi Foster, Emile Hirsch, Keiran Culkin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jena Malone

Trivia:

Chris Fuhrman died of cancer before completing the final draft of the book. The movie is dedicated to him at the beginning of the final credits.

  • The final shot in the scene where the boys find an injured dog was actually just footage shot of the actors “resetting” after a blown take. It was kept in since it so clearly shows their fatigue and frustration.
  • In order to adapt the book in an effective way, Director Peter Care and Producer Jay Shapiro decided to use segments of animation throughout the film. Since most of the book is from Francis’ perspective and takes place in his mind, they needed to find a way to stay true to this “internal narrative”. “Animation seemed like a natural way to go in and out of this interior world and use that as the thread that ties everything together,” says Shapiro
  • Neither filmmakers nor Jodie Foster had planned on Foster also playing the part of the stern Catholic school teacher and headmistress, Sister Assumpta, as well as being producer. Foster was somehow attracted to the role, and called producing partner Meg Lefauve up with the offer to play this role, who graciously accepted, saying that it’s not “traditional casting to see a young beautiful woman in that kind of a role.”
  • Although the novel by Chris Fuhrman was set in 1970’s Savannah, Georgia, the filmmakers wanted a more “universal look” and decided not to specify a place. Most of the filming for the movie took place in Charleston, South Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina. There was also a lot of debate about whether the characters should have Southern accents, but to keep with this “universal feeling,” the producers decided against any strong accents.
  • In 2002, the film and Director Peter Care won the award for Best New Filmmaker from the Boston Society of Film Critics.
  • In 2003, the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.

Talking Points:

  • Does Keiran Culken seem to play the same character over and over?
  • Did the animation enhance the movie?

What We’ve Learned:

  • 3 full servings of distilled and reduced nyquil has no effect on the average house cat
  • Statues of Saints are much heavier than they appear, but magically get lighter once they reach the ground.
  • Nuns make excellent comic book villains
  • That’s a really thoughtful question
  • Always better to wait a few dates before dropping the incest bomb on someone

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: It’s a cute movie, the animated scenes were integrated well, recommendable but couldn’t keep my attention outside the animated scenes.
Ray: A very unique and interesting coming of age story, I highly recommend.
Steve: Stand By Me in the 80s, in a Catholic school…but liked the unique twists.

The Present: Machete

Director: Ethan Maniquis & Robert Rodriguez

Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan

Trivia:

  • The film was based on the fake trailer featured before Robert Rodriguez’s double feature for Grindhouse (2007), Planet Terror (2007), which was co-produced by Quentin Tarantino and is also the producer on this film.
  • Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey and Cheech Marin who are featured in the fake trailer featured in Grindhouse (2007), reprise their roles for this film as well. Tito Larriva, one of Robert Rodriguez’s closest friends and who’s acted in several films was featured in the trailer but at this point not confirmed to be in this film. Fahey was also featured in Planet Terror (2007) which was written, produced and directed by Rodriguez.
  • This film marks the second time that Robert De Niro and Quentin Tarantino have worked together. They previously worked together on Jackie Brown (1997), which De Niro was part of the ensemble like this film and Tarantino wrote, directed and produced that film.
  • Cheech Marin and Don Johnson both co-starred in the hit CBS series “Nash Bridges” (1996), as well as the Kevin Costner golf film Tin Cup (1996). This is the first time they have been in a film together in 10 years, with the end of “Nash Bridges” wrapping in 2000/2001.
  • This film is being made because of the fake trailer’s popularity after being featured in the theatrical version of Grindhouse (2007) along with the other fake trailers and advertisements featured in the film. “Thanksgiving” is the other popular fake trailer included in the film and was directed by Eli Roth and is now in development to be made into a full length film.
  • According to some reports, Robert Rodriguez claims to have filmed half this movie while making the fake trailer to be included for the theatrical version of Grindhouse (2007). These have yet to be confirmed by Rodriguez himself.
  • Robert Rodriguez wrote the script back in 1993 after he wrote Desperado (1995).
    Actor Chris Cooper reportedly turned down a role in the movie saying “it’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever read” after getting the script.
  • Lindsay Lohan filmed her role in three days.
  • Steven Seagal’s first theatrically released film since Half Past Dead (2002).
  • This marks the third time Steven Seagal and Danny Trejo have appeared together in a movie. First, briefly, in Marked for Death (1990), and again in Urban Justice (2007).
  • While Steven Seagal has played an anti-hero on more than one occasion, this film will mark the first time he’s ever played a full-out villain.
  • A fake trailer for the film was released on May 5, 2010, through Ain’t It Cool News. The trailer opened with Danny Trejo saying, “This is Machete with a special Cinco de Mayo message to Arizona,” followed by scenes of gun fire, blood shed, and highlights of the cast. The fake trailer combined elements of the Machete trailer that appeared in Grindhouse with footage from the actual film, and implied that the film would be about Machete leading a revolt against anti-immigration politicians and border vigilantes. According to Fox News, critics of illegal immigration were offended by the contents of the movie trailer. Production of the film predates the legislation, however. Rodriguez later revealed the trailer to be a joke, explaining “it was Cinco de Mayo and I had too much tequila.” The official theatrical trailer was released on July 8, 2010.
  • Fake Trailer

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Talking Points:

  • Do you think the “Grind house” aspect of this is lost on typical audiences?
  • Why the hell would anyone bring kids to this movie?
  • Cheech Marin as a “serious” actor?

What We Learned:

  • How to steer a car with a machete through someones back
  • Intestines are 60 feet long and incredibly rope like
  • Weed Whackers make awesome weapons
  • Machete don’t text
  • DeNiro makes a more convincing Mexican than Seagal

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: It was confusing on what this movie wanted to be. Had good laughs and some good action scenes but was just too inconsistent, meh.
Ray: Loved it, cant wait to see the next “Grindhouse” movie, I will definitely own this one!
Steve: Enjoyed it. I realized I laughed out loud several times during tense moments.

The Future: Devil

Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Bojana Novakovic, Geoffrey Arend, Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Jacob Vargas, Bokeem Woodbine, Matt Craven, Jenny O’Hara

Trivia:

  • In October 2008, Shyamalan announced, with the partnership of Media Rights Capital, that Devil will be made with the Dowdle brothers as the directors and Brian Nelson as the screenwriter. A year later, filming started on October 26 in Toronto. There was additional shooting for the film several months later in Los Angeles.
  • The film was set to have a release date on February 11, 2011 but was bumped up to September 17, 2010. The film’s trailer debuted online on July 13, 2010. The trailer is also attached with Inception, The Expendables, Salt, The Other Guys, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
  • On June 23, 2010, Shyamalan announced the second film in The Night Chronicles, currently titled Fourteen Seconds. The film is about a jury discussing a case dealing with the supernatural. Chris Sparling is set to write the script but there is no director presently attached.

Talking Points: The Night Chronicles- Movies Written but not Directed by M.Night… at this point is his name hurting these films?

Summary:
Set in an office building, five strangers are riding in an elevator when they suddenly find themselves trapped. After several terrifying and inexplicable events occur, such as the local fire department unable to open the elevator, the people begin to turn against each other when they begin to suspect that one of them is in fact, the Devil.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Meh, Might be good but not that interested.
Ray: The first of the Night Chronicles… anything with M.Nights name on it makes me cringe, but the trailer does look interesting.
Steve: Trailer actually looks good to me. I like these “close quarters” kind of movies where everyone is a suspect. As long as I’m not able to figure it out right away, I’ll be happy.

Coming Attractions

The Past:  Indian Summer
The Present:  Resident Evil: Afterlife
The Future:  Gulliver’s Travels

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