Tag Archives: Joel Edgerton

MOV075: “Holy Jumping Christmas!”

The boys have a virtual horror-fest, as they begin in the past with 1932’s classic “Freaks”. Does Todd Browning’s masterpiece still hold up to horror of today’s standards? They then head to the theater to check out the prequel by the same name “The Thing”. Does it compare to John Carpenter’s 1982 version or should they have just left it frozen in the ice? Finally, they review the trailer for the 4th movie in the Underworld Series: Underworld Awakening. Will Kate Beckensale’s Selene draw them back to the theater in 2012? All this and they chat about John Lassater’s defense of Cars 2 and the possibility of River Phoenix’s posthumous return to the big screen. It’s the 75th reel of COL Movies – “Holy Jumping Christmas!”

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News:
John Lasseter defends Cars 2
River Pheonix to return to screen?

The Past: Freaks (1932)

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% Fresh, 87% Audience

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Director: Tod Browning

Starring: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams and Olga Baclanova

Trivia:

  • The electrical equipment on the set was so badly grounded that crew members were frequently shocked
  • The film’s original ending showed Hercules singing soprano in Madame Tetralini’s new sideshow because he has been castrated by the freaks. After intensely negative reaction by preview audiences, this scene was cut.
  • Prince Randian, the man with no arms or legs, developed a habit of lurking in dark corners and frightening passers-by with a blood-curdling yell.
  • During filming, director Tod Browning was plagued with dreams in which Johnny Eck and a pinhead would keep bringing a cow in backward through a doorway in the middle of shoots.
  • In the UK this film was banned for 30 years after it was first released.
  • The original casting had Victor McLaglen as Hercules, Myrna Loy as Cleopatra, and Jean Harlow as Venus. All balked at the prospect of co-starring with “sideshow exhibitions”.
  • The on-screen romance between Hans and Frieda was very subdued because the roles were being played by real life brother and sister Harry Earles and Daisy Earles.
  • After the film had been withdrawn and shelved by MGM, the distribution rights were acquired by notorious exploitation roadshow specialist Dwain Esper. Esper traveled the country showing the film under such lurid titles as “Forbidden Love” and “Nature’s Mistakes”.
  • During the 1920s and 1930s, photographer Edward J. Kelty took a succession of group photographs of members of the Barnum and Bailey freak show. What is interesting is how many cast members can be spotted in them (this film is the only movie credit for most of them). Familiar faces include Harry Earles (Hans), Daisy Earles (Frieda), Peter Robinson (human skeleton), Elvira Snow (pinhead), Jenny Lee Snow (pinhead), Elizabeth Green (bird girl) and Olga Roderick (bearded lady).
  • Cast member Olga Roderick, the bearded lady, later denounced the film and regretted her involvement in it.
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald was a member of the MGM writing department at the time the movie was in production. He never felt quite at home with all the movie stars and powerful moguls, and so he often dined in the commissary at the table of the sideshow attractions (freaks) during his lunch hour.
  • When uncredited producer Dwain Esper traveled the country with this film, he used some of the most lurid and suggestive promotions. For some engagements, if he was satisfied that it was safe, the feature would be followed by a square-up reel. This reel was basically nudist camp footage.
  • In the United States, this film was banned in a number of states and cities. Although no longer enforced, some of the laws were never officially repealed. Therefore, it is still technically illegal for this film to be shown some areas of the USA.
  • Myrna Loy, originally slated for the Olga Baclanova role, turned down the part because she felt the script was offensive.
  • During a publicity photo session with Olga Baclanova, midget actor Harry Earles kept making lewd remarks. Many of her surprised and disgusted visual expressions in the photos that the session yielded are authentic rather than posed.
  • Several variations on the ending are still in existence. However, the footage of Hercules singing soprano was not included in any of the foreign versions and is now regarded as lost.
  • Was originally banned in Australia.
  • When MGM production chief Irving Thalberg gave Willis Goldbeck the assignment to write a draft of a screenplay based on Clarence Aaron ‘Tod’ Robbins’s story “Spurs”, the only direction he gave Goldbeck was that the script had to be “horrible”. The writer completed his draft quickly and turned the script over to Thalberg. A few days later, Goldbeck was summoned to Thalberg’s office, where he found the producer slumped forward on his desk with his face buried in his arms, as if overwhelmed. After a moment, Thalberg sat up straight and looked at Goldbeck. “Well,” said Thalberg, “it’s horrible.”
  • Schlitze, the microcephalic member of the cast who appears to be female, was actually a male. The dress was worn for reasons of personal hygiene.
  • Premiere voted this movie as one of “The 25 Most Dangerous Movies”.
  • Dwarf actor Angelo Rossitto, who appeared as Angeleno, would go on to a successful career in TV and films including Little Moe in the Robert Blake TV series Baretta and as one half of the giant Master Blaster opposite Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
  • The film was rejected for UK cinema showing in 1932 and again in 1952. It was finally passed for cinema with an uncut X rating in May 1963, making it one of the longest bans in UK film history.
  • The tune that ‘Angeleno’ plays on his flute during the final confrontation between Cleopatra and the bedridden Hans is the “Mournful Tune” from Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde”, played in the opera while the dying Tristan waits for Isolde’s ship to appear on the horizon.
  • Dwarf John George – for reasons unknown – does not appear in “Freaks”, even though a role was specifically written for him in the screenplay.
  • One woman, after seeing “Freaks”, wrote a letter to Tod Browning at MGM, exclaiming that “You must have the mental equipment of a freak yourself to devise such a picture.” Another viewer complained, “To put such creatures in a picture and before the public is unthinkable.”
  • Although production chief Irving Thalberg decided to re-cut the picture immediately after the disastrous test screening, he could not cancel the world premiere on January 28, 1932 at the 3,000-seat Fox Theatre in San Diego. This is the only venue at which the uncut version of “Freaks” is known to have played. Ironically, the unexpurgated “Freaks” was a major box-office success. Crowds lined up around the block to see the picture, which broke the theatre’s house record. By the end of the run, word had spread that “Freaks” was about to be butchered, and the theatre advertised, “Your last opportunity to see ‘Freaks’ in its uncensored form!”
  • According to one source, director Tod Browning was introduced to the story by Cedric Gibbons, longtime head of MGM’s Art Department. He was supposedly boyhood friends with author Clarence Aaron ‘Tod’ Robbins and convinced the studio to purchase film rights for the sum of $8,000. Another source claims that the diminutive actor Harry Earles gave Browning a copy of the story during the production of The Unholy Three in hopes that he could star in the adaptation.
  • Samuel Marx, head of MGM’s Story Department, recalled with peculiar pride, “And so, Harry Rapf, who was a great moral figure, got a bunch of us together and we went in and complained to Irving Irving Thalberg about ‘Freaks’. And he laughed at that. He said, ‘You know, we’re making all kinds of movies. Forget it. I’m going to make the picture. Tod Browning’s a fine director. He knows what he’s doing.’ And the picture was made.” But the lunchroom protests didn’t end. As a result, a makeshift table was constructed and the cast of “Freaks” (with the exception of Harry Earles and Daisy Earles, Violet Hilton and Daisy Hilton, and the more “normal” cast-members) were forced to eat their meals outdoors.:
  • Olga Baclanova, later recalled the day when she was first introduced to the supporting cast, “Tod Browning shows me little by little and I could not look, I wanted to faint. I wanted to cry when I saw them. They have such nice faces… they are so poor, you know… Browning takes me and say, you know, ‘Be brave, and don’t faint like the first time I show you. You have to work with them.’… It was very, very difficult first time. Every night I felt that I am sick. Because I couldn’t look at them. And then I was so sorry for them. That I just couldn’t… it hurt me like a human being.”
  • Johnny Eck, the half-boy, remembered his screen test was taken by MGM’s scouting unit while he was on tour in Canada, and he shared the screen with the world’s largest rat. He recalled being treated well by the crew, “The technicians, the sound men, the electricians, and the prop department, and everybody… was my friend… We got along beautifully.”
  • According to the screenplay, the scene in which Madame Tetrallini introduces the wandering land-owner to the performers frolicking in the woods ran quite a bit longer. It included additional dialog that endeavored to humanize the so-called freaks. She tells him they are “always in hot, stuffy tents – strange eyes always staring at them – never allowed to forget what they are.” Duval responds sympathetically (clearly the stand-in for the viewing audience), “When I go to the circus again, Madame, I’ll remember,” to which she adds, “I know, M’sieu – you will remember seeing them playing – playing like children… Among all the thousands who come to stare – to laugh – to shudder – you will be one who understands.”
  • Numerous other bits of dialog were removed that depicted the “normal” humans as disgusting creatures and the “freaks” as gentle and sympathetic (destroying the social critique of intolerance Tod Browning was attempting to construct). While the circus awaits word on Hans’s declining health, one of the Rollo Brothers coldly remarks, “You’d think the world was coming to an end – just because a mangy freak’s got a hangover.” In another scene, Madame Tetrallini responds to the Rollos’ taunts by defending the humanity of her “children,” “Augh, you cochons – you beasts… They are better than you – all of them – you two dogs!”
  • Tod Browning’s only onscreen credit is on the title page: “Tod Browning’s Freaks,” which is interpreted as the director credit. He is not in studio records as a producer.
  • A woman who attended a 1932 test screening for the film claimed later that she suffered a miscarriage resulting from the film’s shocking nature, and threatened to sue MGM.
  • The reunion of Hans and Frieda, seen at the end of most prints, was not part of Tod Browning’s original cut. It was added during the re-editing to give the film a happier ending.

Talking Points:

  • The use of real “Freaks”
  • The sensibilities of a 1932 audience vs today.
  • Anyone watch the bonus material?

What We’ve Learned:

  • Don’t piss off the freaks!

Trailer:
.There isn’t a real one out there on YouTube, but this is a very good fan-made one!

Recommendations:
Jeff: A nice little tale of circus freaks. A little disturbing, probably more disturbing to people in the 1930s.
Ray: Feels more like a Soap Opera,but I did actually get into the movie. I like that they used real people instead of actors for this..something I can’t ever see them doing in today’s Hollywood.
Steve: Not a traditional horror movie from today’s standards necessarily, but still thought provoking. Not to mention, none of these characters were CGI – they were the real deal! Exploitive, um yeah…Was the acting amazing, no…but worth seeing if you’re a fan of horror.

The Present: The Thing

Rotten Tomatoes: 33% Rotten 60% Audience

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jørgen Langhelle

Trivia:

  • Dennis Storhøi was cast as Sander but pulled out of production due to personal reasons. He was replaced by Ulrich Thomsen.
  • The producers convinced Universal Studios to allow them to create a prequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing instead of a remake, as they felt Carpenter’s film was already perfect, so making a remake would be like “painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa”. However, the prequel still has the title of the original film, because they couldn’t think of a subtitle (for example, “The Thing: Begins”) that sounded good.
  • This is a prequel to a remake of an adaptation of the novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr., published in 1938.
  • The song Kate is listening to on her headphones is “Who Can It Be Now?”, a song by Australian band Men at Work from their 1981 debut album, “Business as Usual”. The lyrics tell of a paranoid man who hears knocking at his house door and wishes to be left in solitude. This foreshadows the paranoia of the scientists later in the film.
  • In order to not try to compete with Kurt Russell’s portrayal of the 1982 film’s protagonist, R.J. MacReady, the character of Kate Lloyd was designed to have traits in common with the character Ellen Ripley from the Alien film series.
  • When we first meet Kate Lloyd she is studying something that looks stunningly similar to the 1982 dog monster.
  • In the opening, one of the Norwegians actually says, “Stop!” in English-rather than their own tongue (as John Carpenter once called, “Schmergzdörf”).
  • Whenever a flashlight or lantern was flashed toward the camera, they would have the same blue camera flares coming off of them just as in the original John Carpenter version.
  • The red axe that ‘Joel Edgerton’ uses and eventually sticks into the wall can be seen still stuck in the wall when the Americans visit the Norwegian camp in the original John Carpenter version.

Talking Points:

  • What purpose did this serve?
  • CGI.. good or bad?
  • Did anyone watch the 1982 remake after this? The 1951 original?

What We Learned:

  • Watch where you park the snowcat!
  • Apparently the Cavaliers are a basketball team….barely
  • Lars, he doesn’t speak English, but he will work like a bear!
  • Never a good idea to shoot the guy with the flammable gas tanks strapped to him.
  • It is freaking cold in Antarctica.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Not that bad of a movie. Had it’s jumpy moments, but it was alright. Wait for DVD though.
Ray: There are some really stupid plot points (or lack of) in this movie, and if you have seen the 1982 remake… there’s really nothing to learn from this, that being said they did an excellent job tying the two movies together.
Steve: I’ll admit I didn’t realize it was a prequel…my bad. The creature effects were really, really good, although a large portion of it was predictable if you’ve seen the other versions. I enjoyed it just sitting back and watching. Was a fun ride.

The Future: Underworld Awakening

Director: Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy and India Eisley

Summary:

The vampire warrioress Selene escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

Trivia:

  • Filming began in March 2011 at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
  • Underworld: Awakening is the first movie to be shot using RED EPIC digital cameras in 3D.

Talking Points:

  • Are we glad to see the 4th installment or has the series jumped the shark?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Still interested in the series. Although only expecting another action movie featuring vampires and werewolves.
Ray: Interest in this series never made it past the first one for me, which I barely remember… I suppose I’d go see this as long as it doesn’t require watching all the others to understand it.
Steve: I’m a fan of of the character of Selene. Not to mention…vampires AND werewolves in the same movie – I’m typically SO there. The 3rd one kind of tarnished me on the series, so I hope this one will bring back back in. It’s a definite see for me.

Coming Attractions:

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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MOV071: “What we have here..is a Dead Shark”

Join Jeff Steve and Myself as we take a trip back to 1977 to watch “Annie Hall” the movie that put Woody Allen on the map as a film maker in the late 70’s early 80’s. Has the 4 time Oscar winning glow faded from this movie or does it still hold up to today’s society? Next up we jump to the present to see the knock down drag out dramatically charged brawler “Warrior” Did Steve enjoy it for more than just Tom Hardy? Or did this one suffer a one punch knockout in the first round? Finally we slide into the not so distant future and look at “Dream House” the upcoming thriller starring Daniel Craig. Is this one a must see? Join us for all that plus some quick thoughts on Siamese butt twins! Netflix and Qwikster on this reel of COL Movies! “What we have here is a dead shark”!

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The Past: Annie Hall 1977

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% Fresh 92% Audience
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Director: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

Trivia:

  • Alvy’s (Woody Allen’s) sneezing into the cocaine was an unscripted accident. When previewed, the audience laughed so loud that director Allen decided to leave it in, and had to add footage to compensate for people missing the next few jokes from laughing too much.
  • Woody Allen originally envisioned this movie as a murder mystery, with a subplot about a romance. During script revisions, Allen decided to drop the murder plot, which he and Marshall Brickman later revitalized in Manhattan Murder Mystery.
  • During the lobster-cooking scene Annie runs and retrieves a camera to take pictures of Alvy dealing with the crustaceans. Later, when Alvy runs over to Annie’s house to smash a spider, the series of photos Annie took is on the wall in the background.
  • Diane Keaton’s real name is Diane Hall and her nickname is Annie.
  • Sigourney Weaver’s screen debut, in a non-speaking part as Alvy’s date near the end of the movie.
  • The jokes that Woody Allen tells in front of the audience at the University of Wisconsin and on The Dick Cavett Show are from his stand-up comic days.
  • Annie’s outfits, which caused a brief fashion rage, were Diane Keaton’s own clothes.
  • In the scene where Alvy questions people on the street about what makes a relationship, a large crowd can be seen in the background watching the filming.
  • Ben Stiller comments how he likes the scene when Alvy has to meet Annie’s family in AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies: America’s Greatest Movies and how it relates to him personally because he always was very apprehensive meeting his girlfriends’ parents. Stiller starred in Meet the Parents, which revolved around that very idea.
  • The film’s working title was “Anhedonia” – the inability to feel pleasure. United Artists fought against it (among other things, they were unable to come up with an ad campaign that explained the meaning of the word) and Woody Allen compromised on naming the film after the central character three weeks before the film’s premiere. Other titles suggested were “It Had to Be Jew”, “A Rollercoaster Named Desire”, and “Me and My Goy”.
  • “That was the most fun I’ve ever had without laughing” is a reference to the quote by H.L. Mencken in 1942 (and later Humphrey Bogart).
  • The first rough cut ran 2 hours and 20 minutes. Among the scenes later eliminated were: segments showing Alvy’s former classmates in the present day; Alvy as a teenager; a scene in a junk-food restaurant (featuring Danny Aiello); extensive additional scenes featuring Carol Kane, Janet Margolin, Colleen Dewhurst and Shelley Duvall; and a fantasy segment at Madison Square Garden featuring the New York Knicks competing against a team of five great philosophers. Christopher Walken’s driving scene was also cut, but was restored a week before the film was completed. New material for the ending was filmed on three occasions, but most was discarded. The final montage was a late addition.
  • One scene cut from the film is a fantasy sequence of Annie and Alvy visiting hell. This scene was rewritten 20 years later for Allen’s Deconstructing Harry.
  • Marshall McLuhan was not Allen’s first choice. Federico Fellini and Luis Buñuel were asked first.
  • Alvy never says “I love you” to Annie. The closest he comes is when Alvy says love isn’t a strong enough word for how he feels.
  • During the classroom flashbacks, one of the teachers writes, “Tuesday, December 1” on the chalkboard. December 1 is Woody Allen’s birthday, and Tuesday December 1, 1942 was his seventh birthday, tying in with the school setting.
  • On Late Night with Conan O’Brien (28 February 1995), Harvey Fierstein revealed that both he and Danny Aiello had bit parts in this classic, but their scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.
  • Woody Allen originally filmed a scene in which a traffic advisory sign “urges” Alvy to go to Annie in California. Editor Ralph Rosenblum wrote that Allen was so disgusted by the scene’s cuteness that he took the footage and threw it into the East River. The traffic-sign motif was later used in Steve Martin’s L.A. Story.
  • The passerby Alvy refers to as “the winner of the Truman Capote look-alike contest” is in fact Truman Capote, who appears uncredited.
  • June 2008 Ranked #2 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Romantic Comedy”.
  • The movie’s line “Hey, don’t knock masturbation – it’s sex with someone I love!” was voted as the #78 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007.
  • Premiere voted this movie as one of “The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time” in 2006.
  • An early appearance by Jeff Goldblum playing the party guest who “forgot his mantra”.
  • At 93 minutes, it is the second shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar is Marty at 91 minutes.
  • The house under the rollercoaster where Alvy grew up is actually the Kensington Hotel in Coney Island, Brooklyn which was located underneath the Thunderbolt rollercoaster. Allen discovered it while searching locations during filming. The hotel and rollercoaster were demolished in 2000.
  • Average shot length: 14.5 seconds
  • Kay Lenz was offered the title role but her boyfriend David Cassidy made the offer turned down.
  • Shelley Hack’s film debut.
  • Shelley Duvall filmed her scenes in two days.
  • Alvy makes a joke about the political magazines Dissent and Commentary merging to form “Dysentery.” Dissent is a famous liberal magazine and Commentary is a famous conservative magazine.
  • The phrase “La Dee Dah” used often by Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), who grew up in the 1950s, was the title of a 1958 R n R standard – #9 US Pop, by Billy and Lillie and popular on “the oldie’s circuit” at the time of this film’s release.
  • The scene where Alvey and Annie are making up stories about people in the park is reminiscent of the Paul Simon song “America”. “Laughing on the bus/Playing games with the faces/She said the man in the gabardine suite was a spy/I said his bow tie is really a camera”. Paul Simon plays Tony Lacey in the film.
  • In the lobster scene in the kitchen, the door to the oven in the corner cannot possibly be opened.
  • The movie theater line-up scene is done on a long take. The shot starts when the man behind Alvy starts speaking.
  • Though based primarily on Woody Allen’s real-life relationship with Diane Keaton, the fact that Annie Hall comes from Chippewa Falls, Wisc. likely was inspired by Allen’s past relationship with folk singer Judy Henske, who was born in Chippea Falls, while Keaton was born in Los Angeles.

Talking Points:

  • Won Best Picture, Best Actress,Best Director, Best Writing at the 1978 Oscars.
  • Did you feel the movie still speaks true about some relationships? i.e. does it hold up to today?
  • Techniques used in filming/storytelling…breaking the fourth wall…omniscient extras..animation use of extremely long shots

What We’ve Learned:

  • The universe is expanding, One day it will break apart and that will be the end of everything
  • It’s ok to be a bigot..as long as your on the left
  • Politicians are a notch below child molester
  • Life is divided into the two categories the horrible and the miserable.
  • Don’t take any college course that makes you read Beowulf
  • A relationship is like a shark.. it has to constantly move forward or it dies.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I think this movie was too clever for me. I didn’t really laugh at all, maybe a heh, here or there but just didn’t get me. Brilliantly put together and acted and everything, it just came off as meh to me. I probably won’t ever watch this movie again.
Ray: I think this is a still relevant, witty look at relationships and how they can evolve or devolve. Mostly holds up to the test of time. If your a Woody fan… and haven’t seen this one you should be ashamed.
Steve: I’m not totally a fan of Woody Allen’s comedy…sometimes he says his punchlines too quickly for me, so I lose focus. However, it is a cute movie…I like the “dreams” he has – they added a lot. And my favorite quote from the movie was “I’m into leather” by the little girl. HEE HEE!

The Present: Warrior
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Fresh, 93% Audience

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Starring: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton

Trivia:

  • When the announcer is quoting Koba’s credentials, he states that he is an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling. Kurt Angle, the actor playing Koba, won two gold medals in the 1996 Olympics in wrestling.
  • Co-writers Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O’Connor were introduced by comedian Bryan Callen, who plays himself in the movie alongside writer Sam Sheridan. Callen dated director Patty Jenkins for 9 years. She is now married to Sheridan.
  • The role of the promoter, played by director Gavin O’Connor, was originally written for TapouT founder Charles “Mask” Lewis. Lewis was killed by a drunk driver just before shooting began. O’Connor spoke at Lewis’ memorial service on April 14, 2009, six days before principal photography began. The film is dedicated to him.
  • The role of Paddy was written for Nick Nolte by Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O’Connor, who is neighbors with the actor in Malibu. The studio was resistant to casting Nolte, but the writers held firm and Nolte’s portrayal has won him universal critical praise.
  • Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O’Connor selected The National song “About Today” to close the movie before writing the final scene. The scene was written with the song playing on a continual loop at O’Connor’s house while the writers worked.
  • Joel Edgerton tore his MCL in the cage during production, halting fight scenes for six weeks. Tom Hardy suffered a broken toe, broken ribs, and a broken finger.
  • Frank Grillo based his character on famed MMA trainer Greg Jackson. Grillo and Joel Edgerton trained and lived with Jackson at his New Mexico gym during pre-production. All of Grillo’s fight scene dialogue while “cornering” Edgerton was suggested by Jackson.
  • The original script location for the Conlon family was Long Beach, CA. It was moved to Pittsburgh due to Pennsylvania tax breaks. The scenes set at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City were originally written for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Gavin O’Connor moved the action to New Jersey to fit with the gritty east coast aesthetic of the film.
  • Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle played the Russian fighter “Koba,” whose nickname was taken from the moniker given to ‘Josef Stalin’. In the original script, “Koba” was named “King Kong,” but it was changed for legal reasons. The brother of Gavin O’Connor’s assistant, Samantha Ellison, suggested the name “Koba.”
  • The location for the scenes in Iraq was actually an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, dressed to look like the desert by Production Designer Dan Leigh.
  • Instead of going to his hotel after his flight from England, Tom Hardy appeared at director Gavin O’Connor’s door at midnight the evening before his audition. The pair ended up living together for five days.
  • While filming in Pittsburgh, Gavin O’Connor, Anthony Tambakis, Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, and Frank Grillo all lived together at the Cork Factory Lofts.
  • On the first day of shooting, the crew gave Nick Nolte a standing ovation after the first take of a scene shot at a local diner. The scene was later cut but appears as a DVD extra.
  • Writer Anthony Tambakis portrays a fight official in the film, and Gavin O’Connor plays the fight promoter. O’Connor agreed to play J.J. Riley only after his friend and co-writer Tambakis agreed to make a cameo himself.
  • An alternate opening shot at Moundsville State Prison in West Virginia and featuring Tom Hardy’s character cage-fighting in jail, was cut from the film.
  • One of the commentator’s references Kurt Angle’s character, Koba, as being a World Sambo Champion. Sambo is a martial art known for leg locks – Angle employed an ankle lock as a signature move during his wrestling career.

Talking Points:

  • Some people say this movie was a total cliche? agree?
  • Why is it not doing better in the box office?
  • Was this what you expected it to be? Comparison to “The Fighter”
  • MMA / Newscasts feel too commercial like?
  • Performances.
  • Who were you rooting for?

What We Learned:

  • It’s hard to find a girl who can take a punch these days
  • The Dude has 3 Laws
  • If you don’t move..you die.
  • The Tank don’t hit back

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: “Hello? Oh, Hi Tom. What? Your performance? Okay, yeah, thanks. I appreciate it. Wish you could be here.” Wait for the DVD.
Ray: I really liked this movie, a lot! I thought the story was engaging.. and the performances were top notch! Go see this one!
Steve: I liked it a lot more than I thought I would…and not just for Tom Hardy’s traps! Although he seemed to be channeling Sylvester Stallone, I felt the other performances were solid. Is it the best movie ever, no…but I was pulled in an just enjoyed it. Even found myself really getting into the fights because they were filmed so realistically, just like watching UFC. Still confused about Kurt Angle being the big bad Russian though.

The Future: Dream House

Director: Jim Sheridan

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts

Summary:

Daniel Craig is set to play a successful publishing executive who quits his job in New York City to relocate his family and two daughters to a beautiful house in a small New England town. They soon learn their home was once the murder scene of a mother and her children, believed to be at the hands of the husband who survived.

Trivia:

  • Christian Bale and Brad Pitt were considered for the role of Will.
  • Erik Van Looy was originally set to direct.
  • Jim Sheridan (the director) supposedly lost control over the movie by the studio and was not pleased with the final result. Stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz were not pleased either, threatening to not make press rounds for it.

Talking Points:

  • Above Trivia Item..
  • Did they give too much away in the trailer?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Meh, it’s just another one of those Paranormal Activity/Insidious Movies with it’s own little twist but I’ve seen this before. Love you Daniel Craig, but I think I’d like to pass.
Ray: Somewhat Intrigued.. but feel the trailer is showing me everything in the movie.
Steve: Seems like just another haunted house/Grudge/People Under The Stairs/Sixth Sense kinda movie with high production value. I feel like we’re going to find out they’re already dead and Naomi Watts is a psychic telling them to move on. I would like to think it will be something unique. I’d go see.

Coming Attractions:

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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MOV054: “I Support The Missionary’s Position.”

The boys head briefly back in time to resurrect Ryan Reynolds’ performance in 2010’s “Buried”, then head off to the high seas with Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz to find out if “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” lives up to the hype.  They wind up the show with a review of “Warrior”, a September release starring – the dreamy – Tom Hardy.  All of this, along with more news about Akira, Star Trek, and more.  There’s no need to start a mutiny…this 54th Reel of COL Movies is gonna entertain the heck out of you.

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News:

  • More woes for Akira, Director leaves – no replacement as of yet
  • Albert Hughes no longer directing – no replacement so far
  • Split was friendly – Warner brothers deciding how to proceed
  • Impatiently waiting for more Star Trek? Be prepared to wait some more
  • recent interview in which Bob Orci revealed franchise mastermind J.J. Abrams had not yet approved the 70-page outline Orci co-wrote
  • Bruce Greenwood indicated last July that the plan was to start shooting in January 2011, which made perfect sense given the June 2012 release date. February 2011 came and went without any “Trek” casting news
  • World War Z to start its worldwide shooting schedule in June
  • directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), is gearing up for a June production start.
  • shooting will begin in Malta. Production will then relocate to the UK and, later, Hungary. Principal photography will last well into the fall.
  • Brad Pitt is still set to star as a UN researcher gathering stories of the great zombie war. The actor is also producing.
  • J. Michael Straczynski and Matthew Michael Carnahan penned the script.
  • Tom Hardy’s Bane

The Past: Buried (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% Fresh; 63% Audience

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Director: Rodrigo Cortés

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Robert Paterson, Jose Luis Garcia Perez, Stephen Tobolowsky, Samantha Mathis

Trivia:

  • Samantha Mathis, who plays Paul Conroy’s wife, previously starred in a film where she is buried alive, called 83 Hours ‘Til Dawn (1990) (TV).
  • Shot in 17 days in a Barcelona studio.
  • Seven coffins were used in the movie.
  • The phone number of the Chicago FBI field office mentioned in the movie is the number of the office in real life.:
  • Ryan Reynolds states that he suffered from claustrophobia towards the end of filming (much like the character he is playing). This was mainly due to the fact the coffin he was in was gradually filled with more and more sand as filming went on. He describes the last day of shooting as “unlike anything I experienced in my life, and I never ever want to experience that again.”
  • When Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) opens up the note his kidnapper wants him to read on video, the first line says “The date is 23 October.” This is Ryan Reynolds’ actual birthday.
  • Ryan Reynolds is the only person we see in the flesh. All of the other performances are either voiceovers or recorded on his cell phone. The whole film is shot from the interior of the coffin. We never see the outside world. The film never repeats a single shot. These all make Buried (2010) one of the most minimalist films ever made.
  • Ryan Reynolds was the first and only choice to play Paul Conroy.
  • Shot in sequence.
  • Alfred Hitchcock films Rope (1948) and Lifeboat (1944) were an inspiration on Rodrigo Cortés when making Buried (2010).

Talking Points:

  • If anything makes me more excited to see Green Lantern.. its this.
  • Movie magic.

What We’ve Learned:

  • Don’t drive a truck in Iraq
  • If you do drive a truck in Iraq, keep your cell phone charged as much as possible
  • Remember your safety number
  • HR Departments SUCK

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: It was alright. Did keep my attention.
Ray: I thought it was a little slow going at first, but it kept my attention and the ending ROCKED.
Steve: I really liked it. I was surprised by Ryan Reynolds’ dramatic chops, as well as how few people were actually in the movie. Good movie magic, too.

The Present: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes: 32% Rotten; 68% Audience

Director: Rob Marshall

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Sam Claflin

Trivia:

  • Nothing new since the trailer.

Talking Points:

  • What was the average age of your audience, mine was about 60 (Ray)
  • I felt this film was very lazy, and just a setup up for more films.
  • Film length.
  • The mermaids (or harpie/vampire/siren/mermaids)

What We Learned:

  • Don’t lay your sword on the table while chasing a known criminal
  • A gentleman allows a lady to maintain her fiction
  • You can tell how long you have been at sea by the smell of your crew
  • Mermaids like singing
  • Tears of Joy are more potent than tears of sorrow.
  • Flags don’t shield you from musket balls

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: So fun. Was it a great movie? No, but fun. Skip the 3D though.
Ray: If your a fan of the series, I would say go for it. 3D is probably unnecessary. I could go my whole life without seeing another PotC movie.
Steve: Did not find the 3D necessary at all, but overall enjoyed it. Drug along in some places, but walked away feeling like it was the best since number 1.

The Future: Warrior

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Starring: Tom Hardy, Jennifer Morrison, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Noah Emmerich

Trivia:

  • Filming took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Mogul Minds Studios, located in Pittsburgh, was used during the filming, as well as the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center and the Twin Hi-Way Drive-In. North Hills High School was also used for some interior scenes.
  • Hardy went through a demanding training routine for gaining muscle during the film’s pre-production, gaining around 28 pounds of muscle and raising his overall weight to 205 pounds.
  • Additional filming was shot at the former West Virginia State Penitentiary, located in Moundsville, West Virginia.
  • Additional scenes were shot around the historic Pitt Hotel and Restaurant in McDonald, Pennsylvania.

Talking Points:

  • Seems like The Fighter + MMA + Iraq

Summary:

An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for a mixed martial arts tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father. But when Brendan’s unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Looks like a Fighter imitator. Unless I hear otherwise, not interested.
Ray: The Fighter part two?
Steve: The Fighter with some more up-to-date issues. Tom Hardy looks awesome, though!

Coming Attractions

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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