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Podcast

MOV084: “It’s So Overt, It’s Covert!”

This reel of COL Movies starts off with walk down memory lane with that “don’t stick your tongue on the frozen flag pole” and “you’ll shoot your eye out” film, “A Christmas Story”. After surviving the holidays, the boys head to the theater to see if Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law retain their magic in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”. From there, they check out the trailer for the 2nd installment of the “Ghost Rider” franchise. Do we think we’ll get more out of Nick Cage in this movie? That’s still to be determined. In news, they discuss a prison sentence for pirating X-Men, Daniel Craig’s potential monopoly on the Bond franchise, and details on the BluRay for Jaws? It’s the 84th reel of COL Movies…”It’s so overt, it’s covert”

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News:

The Past: A Christmas Story (1983)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% Fresh, 82% Audience

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Director: Bob Clark

Starring: Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz, Peter Billingsly, Jean Shepherd (Voice)

Trivia:

  • To find an American city resembling an Indiana town of the 1940s, director Bob Clark sent his location scouts to twenty cities before selecting Cleveland, Ohio, as the site for filming.
  • The people of Cleveland were incredibly cooperative during filming, donating antique vehicles from every corner of the city. These vintage vehicles helped to enhance the authenticity of the production design.
  • Ralph’s school exteriors were filmed at Victoria School in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
  • Singer/Songwriter Pepper McGowan was an extra during the mall scene.
  • Jean Shepherd’s book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash”, which the film is partly based on, is a collection of short stories that Jean Shepherd wrote for “Playboy” magazine during the 1960s, including the stories about the tongue sticking to the flagpole, and eating Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The subplot of the mangy dogs constantly harassing The Old Man was taken from another of Mr. Shepherd’s short story collections, “Wanda Hickey’s Night Of Golden Memories and Other Disasters.” In that book, the character of Ralph is about 17 years old.
  • The film’s setting is a town in Indiana, but was actually filmed in Cleveland, Ohio. The street the “Parker’s” live in is called “Cleveland Street”.
  • The movie was set in Hammond Indiana. References were made throughout the film to support this claim. Examples: Harding school (on 165th St.) where Flick stuck his tongue to the flagpole, Goldblatt’s department store, the mention of Griffith (a city that borders Hammond), Cleveland Street, Hohman Ave, and other streets that are located in Hammond. Although the movie was not filmed in Hammond the houses and look of the film is very authentic. Jean Shepherd (Writer) grew up in Hammond.
  • Parts of the movie, including the Christmas tree shopping scene, were filmed in Toronto, Ontario. One of Toronto’s trademark red trolleys can be seen driving by the shot of the outside of the tree lot.
  • The St. Catharine’s Museum owns some props used in the film, including two pairs of Ralphie’s glasses including the pair that was smashed, and two scripts.
  • According to the Daisy Air Rifle manufacturers on the Special Edition DVD documentary on the history of the Red Ryder BB Gun, the gun did exist except for one error in the story: The gun did not have a compass and sundial as mentioned in the movie. According to the historians, writer Jean Shepard confused the Red Ryder gun with another rifle that did have those features. But because the story and screen play were scripted to have the compass and sundial, guns had to be specially made for the movie.
  • Inspired the creation of The Wonder Years.
  • The film was released just before Thanksgiving and became a surprise hit. By the time Christmas rolled around, the movie had already been pulled from most theaters because it had been “played out”. After complaints were lodged at the theater owners and the studio, the film played on select screens until after the first of the year 1984.
  • According to Director Bob Clark, Jack Nicholson was given the script and was very much interested in the role of Mr. Parker, “The Old Man”. However, Clark didn’t learn of this until later and the studio didn’t want to pay Nicholson’s fee anyway, which would have doubled the budget. Regardless, Clark says that Darren McGavin was still the better choice and was born to play the role.
  • The “major award” was based on a real lamp: an illuminated Nehi logo.
  • The Radio Orphan Annie decoder pin that Ralphie receives is the 1940 “Speedomatic” model, indicating that the movie takes place in December, 1940. Different decoder badges were made each year from 1935-1940. By 1941, the decoders were made of paper.
  • The Department Store featured in the Santa scene is really Higbee’s in Downtown Cleveland. There were no Higbee’s in Hammond.
  • During the filming in downtown Cleveland, the antique automobile club members, whose cars were used, were given a route to follow on Public Square. They were instructed to continue circling the square until otherwise instructed. Road salt was a major concern for the car owners and the cars were pressure-washed after each day’s filming and parked underground beneath the Terminal Tower.
  • When the character of Scut Farkas first appears, the “Wolf” music from Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” plays in the background. The name “Farkas” is derived from the Hungarian word for “wolf”.
  • The Parker’s Oldsmobile is a 1937 Model 6, four-door sedan with Indiana license plate 56 498.
  • Mrs. Parker’s memory is correct. The Lone Ranger’s nephew, Dan Reid, rode a horse named “Victor”. He was the son of the Lone Ranger’s horse, Silver.
  • While reading the newspaper at the kitchen table the “Old Man” angrily mentions that the “Sox traded Bullfrog”. This is a reference to long time Chicago White Sox pitcher Bill Dietrich, who’s nickname was Bullfrog. He pitched during the 1930s and 1940s. Dietrich was never traded from the Sox, he was released September 18, 1946.
  • Ralphie says that he wanted the “Red Ryder BB Gun” 28 times.
  • The character of Red Ryder, whose name bears the BB Gun Ralphie is desperately trying to acquire, is a real comic book (and radio) character that existed in the 1930’s-40’s, akin to popular western heroes like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and the Lone Ranger.
  • The piece of music that plays after Ralphie says “fudge”, and after the lamp breaks for the second time, is the opening of “Hamlet” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
  • White Sox player Bill “Bullfrog” Dietrich (Bill Dietrich) is mentioned as being traded. He was traded to the White Sox in 1936 and from the White Sox in 1946. Since the family drives a 1937 Olds, it would imply it was the 1946 trade. This would be consistent with the soldiers present at Higbee’s corner window in the movie opening, since the war may have just ended. However, war-era versions of the decoder badge were paper due to the shortage and Little Orphan Annie was off the air well before 1946.
  • Bob Clark’s success with the teen-sex comedy Porky’s allowed him the ability to make a movie he wanted to make. Without Porky’s there would have been no Christmas Story.
  • For the scene in which Flick’s tongue sticks to the flagpole, a hidden suction tube was used to safely create the illusion that his tongue had frozen to the metal.
  • An elaborate fantasy sequence – in which Ralphie joins Flash Gordon to fight Ming the Merciless – was filmed but dropped from the final cut.
  • In 2005, the original home used for the exterior shots of the family home was put up for auction on eBay and avid fan of the movie Brian Jones managed to purchase the home directly from the seller for $150,000.00 USD. Jones then spent the following year restoring the home to the way it looked on screen. The exterior of the home was completely restored and the interior was renovated to match the interior of the home shown in the movie. (Parts of the interior was actually filmed in a Toronto studio) On November 25th, 2006, the famous home finally opened its doors as a tourist attraction. Jones spent close to $500,000.00 USD in preparation for this grand opening. In addition, Jones also purchased the house next door and converted it to a gift shop and museum dedicated to the film and the house.
  • Director Bob Clark mentions in the commentary on the 2003 DVD that he worked with writer Jean Shepherd for nearly ten years on the concept of ‘A Christmas Story’ before the film was made.
  • According to Peter Billingsley (young Ralphie) in the DVD Commentary, the nonsensical ramblings that Ralphie exclaims while beating up Scott Farkus were scripted, word for word.
  • In the beginning credits, the actress portraying Mrs. Parker is listed correctly as Melinda Dillon. In the ending credits she is incorrectly listed as Melinda Dillion.
  • A behind-the-scenes documentary named ‘Road Trip for Ralphie’ follows two mega-fans on a two-year quest to locate and visit every location used in the movie. Along the way, they uncover Miss Shields’ chalk board from a dumpster, discover all the movie costumes hidden in a Toronto warehouse, track down the antique fire truck seen in the movie and visit the forgotten location of the actual Chop Suey Palace.
  • In early December of 2008, there was a contest to see who can portray the best Ralphie, whether if it’s him in a pink bunny suit, or in his winter apparel in celebration of the movie’s 25th anniversary. Plus they revealed the house in Cleveland where the movie was filmed.
  • Clarkworld is a heart-warming documentary on “A Christmas Story” director Bob Clark. The documentary’s director, Deren Abram, worked with Bob Clark for over a decade before Clark and his 22-year old son, Ariel, were killed by a drunk driver in April 2007.
  • According to Director Bob Clark’s commentary on the Christmas Story DVD, the first actor he had in mind to play Ralphie’s father was ‘Jack Nicholson’. Jack was very impressed with the script and was interested in doing the movie, but there was no way Clark could afford Jack Nicholson’s salary, and went instead with Darren McGavin as the father.
  • The real house used during filming can be found at 3159 W 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Pictures and a “Street View” of the house can be seen on Google Maps. A nearby street that intersects with W. 11th St is Clark Avenue.
  • ‘Don Geyer (I)’, who played the Scarecrow, was the head of Display and Fixtures at Higbee’s Department Store / Dillards. Santa’s throne in the movie is one of the actual chairs owned by Higbee’s and used annually for Santa. After his death in 1999, his co-workers reported seeing him on the loading dock, where he used to smoke and a few claim they heard his voice on the overhead paging system.
  • Although now the film is considered a Christmas classic, what’s interesting is that at the time, according to Peter Billingsley, not many major studios were interested in a Depression-era story about a little boy wanting a BB gun for Christmas. Billingsley also stated in an interview that director Bob Clark agreed to make a horror film for the studio in order to get A Christmas Story made.
  • The film is set in 1941, according to the reference made by Mrs Parker to Mr Parker about an upcoming game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. These two teams met in a playoff game on December 14, 1941, a Sunday. It was their only playoff game against each other until January 23, 2011. The only previous time these two teams met during a regular season game in December was December 10, 1933. Throughout the 1940’s the second game of the regular season between these two teams all occurred in November, the two latest being mid-November in 1942 and 1948.
  • The LOOK magazine used by Ralph Parker to insert his Red Ryder promotion for his mother’s observation, was a December 21, 1937 edition with a cover featuring Shirley Temple pouring tea for Santa Clause. Based upon the optics of this prop it is quite possible the use of a brass decoder pin instead of the paper decoder pin used by Ralph in 1941 was chosen for its optics.
  • Since Jean Shepherd is listed in the opening set of credits, but is not in the more comprehensive end credits, the opening credits are used first in the IMDb cast list, followed by those in the end credits not yet in, as required by IMDb policy on cast ordering. In addition to being credited as “Ralphie as an Adult,” Shepherd also is uncredited as the Narrator/The Man in Line for Santa/Santa.
  • The Chinese restaurant is named ‘Bo Ling’s’. There is a neon sign across the top of the storefront that reads ‘Bowling’, except the ‘W’ is not lit.
  • There is a debate about when the film takes place. Evidence seems to point to 1939 because of “the wizard of oz” references. The decoder ring points to 1940. However, if you look at the calender on the wall (during the first dinner sequence), you can clearly see the first of December falls on a Friday. December 1st fell on a Friday in 1939. Not 1940 as what was previously excepted.
  • Jean Shepherd: writer/narrator, is the irate man waiting in the Santa line at the department store. The woman standing behind Shepherd is his wife, Leigh Brown.

Talking Points:

  • Even though I’ve seen this a million times I still remember the first time.
  • Do you think there will ever be a time when this movie stops being played so many times during Christmas?

What We’ve Learned:

  • The Kid year revolves around Christmas
  • The Lone Rangers nephew’s horse was a great character in American literature
  • Grizzly bears like to stalk candy stores
  • There is a black cloud of obscenity floating somewhere over Lake Michigan
  • Nothing trumps the triple dog dare
  • Don’t stick your tongue (or anything else wet) to a metal light pole in winter
  • You’ll shoot your eye out kid
  • Be sure to drink your Ovaltine

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Okay, okay, the movies not that bad. But seriously, that Santa give me nightmares. I hate you A Christmas Story. Definitely a skippable movie for every year.
Ray: A movie plagued by it’s own popularity. Regardless of how good a movie it may or may not be.. it’s an overplayed joke at this point. Which is unfortunate. If you haven’t seen it, yes you should see it at least once..and then never turn your TV on during Christmas ever again.
Steve: Always worth a look, especially if you’ve never seen it. I don’t need to see it over and over every year, but it’s a little gem to find in your stocking every few years, if nothing but for nostalgia’s sake. It is very surprising to see how much this movie is in our popular culture though…images pop up everywhere if you look.

The Present: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% Fresh, 85% Audience

Director: Guy Richie

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry.

Trivia:

  • Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn and Javier Bardem were considered to play Moriarty.
  • Both Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) had acted in the Oliver Stone film Natural Born Killers.
  • Robert Morley and Stephen Fry have both played Oscar Wilde and Mycroft Holmes. In the Gyles Brandreth books where Oscar is a detective, his friend Conan Doyle states that Oscar was the inspiration for Mycroft.
  • Sophie Marceau, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Juliette Binoche, Virginie Ledoyen, Eva Green, Marion Cotillard and Cécile De France were considered to play Sim before Noomi Rapace was cast.
  • Leslie S. Klinger, author of “The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes” and a consultant on this film, said in an interview that he suggested “Sherlock Holmes: The Grand Game” as a title.
  • Stephen Fry (Mycroft) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) share the same birthday.
  • Robert Downey Jr. came up with the idea for the disguise as a cross-dresser, which was originally a priest.
  • The bagpipers at Dr. Watson’s wedding were from the Leicestershire Seaforth Highlanders. Guy Ritchie contacted them as his grandfather was in the Seaforth Highlanders.
  • Due to Warner Bros.’ fast-tracking of this sequel, director Guy Ritchie was forced to drop out of an adaptation of Lobo, while Robert Downey Jr. was forced to drop out of Cowboys & Aliens
  • Stephen Fry is also set to appear in The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Also appearing in that film is Christopher Lee; who has played both Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes; as well as Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, who also appear together as the modern-day Holmes and Watson inc Sherlock.
  • At the beginning when Watson is typing, the camera pans over typed excerpts from Doyle’s stories, including “The Blue Carbuncle” and “A Study in Scarlet.”
  • Both Jude Law (Watson) and Stephen Fry (Mycroft) starred together in the 1997 film Wilde.
  • ‘Wolf Khaler’, who plays Doctor Hoffmanstahl, also played the King of Bohemia (Irene Adler’s former lover) in the adaptation of “A Scandal In Bohemia” from “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” with Jeremy Brett.
  • The medals Watson wears during his stag party are the Afghan War Medal (red and green ribbon) and the Kandahar Bronze Star (multi-colored striped ribbon), which would make Watson a veteran of the Second Afghan War (1878-1880).
  • The movie is primarily based on the short story “The Final Problem” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but also shows aspects from other Sherlock Holmes stories: “The Sign of Four”; “The Greek Interpretor”; “Valley of Fear”; “The Speckled Band”; “The Dying Detective”; “Bruce Partington Plans”; and “The Second Stain”.
  • After Holmes refuses to ride the horse offered to him by the Gypsies, he is seen riding a mule. The music they play for that scene is the theme from Two Mules for Sister Sara from 1970.

Talking Points:

  • Again..does every action sequence have to be sloooowwweeeeedddd dooooooowwwnnnnnn (this movie would have been over a lot quicker)

What We Learned:

  • You can’t use the lavatory on a Victorian era train while its not moving.
  • Bagpipes make a most effective alarm clock
  • Horses are dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle.

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: On par with the first movie. Added a couple of new things. I just like the Sherlock Holmes movie so I’m good. Sherlock and Moriarty’s fight was one of my favorite parts.
Ray: Was a game of snoozes for me, even with this really being about as far away from an actual Sherlock Holmes story…and despite all the action sequences, it couldn’t keep me awake in my seat. ZzzZzzZzzZZz
Steve: I like the action, although the bullet time and slo-mo got REALLY annoying over time. Was definitely action-oriented and was non-stop. The story was “eh”, but at least the visuals and action were worth seeing in the theater.

The Future: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence

Release: February 2012

Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba

Summary:

As Johnny Blaze hides out in Eastern Europe, he is called upon to stop the devil, who is trying to take human form.

Trivia:

  • The Ghost Rider’s skull has been redesigned for this sequel. The new skull appears to be black and charred, indicating that the skull is actually on fire as apposed to the clean fleshless skull simply cloaked in fire in the previous film.
  • Eva Mendes turned down the option to reprise her role

Talking Points:
Trailer 2 gives much more about the plot

Trailers:

#1:

#2:

Excitement:
Jeff: BUUUUUUURRRRRRRNNNNNN!!!!!! He he, fire, fire.
Ray: I’ve always seen the Ghost Rider franchise as some sort of D-List comic penned to catch on to the Evel Knieval craze of the 1970’s thus my excitement for this movie, as was the first one..pretty non existent
Steve: If I was into motorcycles more, or if it weren’t Nicholas Cage, I would probably be more into this movie. Effects look cool…but I was not a big fan of the first one. He might need to use that chain to drag me to the theater.

Coming Attractions

The Past

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The Present

The Future

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MOV050: “The ones with Yodas and shit on ‘em”

The boys go back in time to revisit the Coen Brother’s classic “Raising Arizona”? Does the ensemble still hold up today? Then they spend…um, waste…their money and hour and a half of their lives watching “Your Highness”. Ooops…guess that review is already spoiled, so let’s just move on. They also review the teaser trailer for Kevin Smith’s “Red State”. Is the unique distribution model going to get this movie enough exposure so that we can all see it when it comes out in October? All of this and movie news about the Governator, post-apocolyptic Zorro, the re-release of LOTR at AMC, and ANOTHER Beiber movie?

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News:

The Past: Raising Arizona (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Fresh / 82% Audience

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Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand

Trivia:

  • Fifteen babies played the Arizona quintuplets in the film. One of the babies was fired during production when he learned to walk
  • Kevin Costner turned down the lead role
  • The Coen brothers wrote Holly Hunter’s character specifically for her.
  • Nathan, Jr. doesn’t cry at all throughout the entire movie. But all the other main characters do at some point.

Talking Points:

  • Was the biker H.I’s father?
  • Maricopa County Jail – check out Lock Up on MSNBC

What We’ve Learned:

  • If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his ass a’hoppin
  • With chairs you got a dinette set. No chairs, you got dick.
  • When preparing crawdads, be sure to add sand
  • When digging yourself out of prison, it’s always a good idea to scream really loud. Nobody will hear you.
  • It’s customary for the Tempe police department to shoot aimlessly into a residential neighborhood, even if their suspect is an unarmed diaper bandit wearing ‘hose over his head.
  • When robbing a bank, make sure to check the bag for exploding canisters of paint
  • Keep your grenades secure to avoid accidental pulling of the pin.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Classic Coen Brother’s movie, so good but not for everyone. Occasional rental for me but may be worth a buy to others.
Ray: Good movie if your into Coen Bro’s type of comedy… sometimes dark, almost always bizzare
Steve: Probably my favorite Coen Brothers movie. I’m a big Holly Hunter fan. Worth a rental!

The Present: Your Highness
Rotten Tomatoes: 24% Rotten / 49% Audience

Director: David Gordon Green

Starring: Danny McBride, James Franco, Rasmus Hardiker, Natalie Portman, Justin Theroux, Toby James, Zooey Deshanel

Trivia:

  • Although the film was written by writer Ben Best and actor Danny McBride, the dialogue is heavily improvised. Director David Gordon Green said there was never a script used on-set. Only the plot outline and written notes were used

Talking Points:

  • Would this have been a better movie if they didn’t try so hard to be funny?
  • Who the hell did Natalie Portman piss off to get stuck in this?
  • Stoner movie?
  • Will the Razzies even consider this one?

What We Learned:

  • You know a movie is going to be high class when it has boob jokes in the opening credits.
  • Beating off in front of a Pegasus is elementary
  • What the potentially worst movie ever made may look like
  • If you can’t take the horns, take the penis.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: While it had it’s funny moments, not a good movie. But that’s Danny McBride for you.
Ray: I don’t think its possible to smoke enough weed to make this movie funny.
Steve: Absolutely hated it. Enough said. Don’t waste your time or money.

The Future: Red State

Director: Kevin Smith

Starring: Michael Parks, John Goodman, Kevin Pollak, Melissa Leo, Stephen Root

Trivia:

  • The Westborough Baptist Church planned to protest Red State at its premier at the Sundance Film Festival. Kevin Smith in turn planned a counter protest which he and his fans took part in. At the premier the counter-protesters heavily outweighed the handful of Westborough protesters who showed up. This occurred 12 years after Smith’s first film to tackle religious controversy, Dogma (1999), drew protests from certain sects of the Catholic Church. One of which Smith jokingly took part in himself.
  • There is no score for this film. The entire soundtrack consists of songs sung within the film itself.
  • Smith has an quick off-camera cameo at the end of the film, as a prison inmate, yelling the last line in the film.
  • Kevin Smith’s lowest budget film since Chasing Amy (1997).
  • Kevin Smith wrote the role of Abin Cooper for Michael Parks after seeing his performance in From Dusk Till Dawn. Smith has said that if Parks had not agreed to be in the film he would have dropped the project entirely.

Talking Points:

Summary:

Three teenagers come across an online personal advertisement from an older woman looking for kinky group sex. But what begins as a fantasy takes a dark turn as they come face-to-face with a terrifying fundamentalist force with a fatal agenda.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: I want to see it, but still not sure if I’d like it.
Ray: I’m excited, simply because I want to see how Kevin does a horror flick.
Steve: Looks good to me…even though it’s just a teaser trailer, it packs some awesome images that really draw me in.

Coming Attractions

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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MOV035: “We’re going to need more holy water!”

Should “The Neverending Story” be put to bed?  Should we collectively dance in hopes of quickly ending “The Season of the Witch”?  Should we just let the aliens blow up LA in “Battle: Los Angeles”?  Are our childhood Atari wet dreams coming to life in a live-action Missile Command movie?  Also, Bond, Trent Reznor, and the Bible are all in movie news!  This and much, much more in this episode of COL Movies!!

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News:

  • Missile Command Movie?
  • Bond 23 on again! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/11/james-bond-23-new-007-film-announced_n_807556.html
  • Trent scores another movie http://www.slashfilm.com/trent-reznor-scoring-david-finchers-version-the-girl-dragon-tattoo/
  • Turning the Bible into soft core gay porn? http://www.cinemablend.com/new/New-David-And-Goliath-Movie-Will-Basically-Turn-The-Bible-Into-300-22506.html

The Past: The Neverending Story (1984)

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Director: Wolfgang Peterson

Starring: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver and Tami Stronach

Trivia:

  • Author Michael Ende decided that he was unhappy with the film’s version of his story, and refused to have his name placed in the opening credits. A small credit appears at the end with his name.
  • The nighthob says a profanity in the opening scene where the rockbiter appears running down all in its path. This profanity is often dubbed over by the grumble of the rockbiter’s scooter, so that it can be shown as a children’s film.
  • Most of the film was shot in Germany in the summer of 1983. It was Germany’s hottest summer in 25 years.
  • The original Auryn for this film now hangs in an enclosed glass display in Steven Spielberg’s office.
  • Was the most expensive film ever produced in Germany at the time it was made.
  • Noah Hathaway was hurt twice during the making of the movie. During his horse riding training he was thrown off a horse which then stepped on him. Then during the shooting of the drowning sequence in the “swamp of sadness” his leg got caught on the elevator and he was pulled under water. He was unconscious by the time he was brought to the surface.
  • “The Childlike Empress” wasn’t just child-“like”. She was portrayed by Iranian born dancer Tami Stronach who was only 11 years old when the production started.
  • The film itself actually “ends” about halfway through the book.
  • The name of the mystical land in (the English translation of) the original novel was Fantastica, not Fantasia, but the original German name Phantásien translates more accurately into English as Fantasia.
  • The theme song was sang by Limahl, who was the lead singer of the pop band Kajagoogoo.
  • The makeup team on the movie tried to paint Noah Hathaway green, just as Atreyu is in the book. “It wasn’t believable. I looked like fungi!” Hathaway said.
  • Noah Hathaway almost lost an eye during the fight-scene versus Gmork. One of the claws on his giant paws poked him in the face. The robot was also so heavy that he lost his breath as well when he was hit to the ground by it. They only made one shot due to the risk that he would get seriously wounded.
  • You can “ride” on Falcor’s back on location at the Bavaria Filmplatz Munich, Germany.
  • The name that Bastian screams almost indecipherable into the night is “Moonchild”.
  • During filming in Germany, because it was an unusually hot summer one of the statues of the Ivory Tower actually melted. On other days, the crew were forced to shut down production because the blue backgrounds for the matte work refused to operate properly.
  • Falkor is actually a 43-foot long motorized creature with 6,000 plastic scales and pink feather-fur. His head his three feet tall and long, and has a long tongue in the mouth.
  • Tami Stronach was attending theatre classes in San Francisco when she got the audition to be The Childlike Empress. Her acting teacher was friends with the production executive and talent scout Anna Gross. Tami initially believed she was auditioning for a little play and had no idea it was to be for a major motion picture.
  • Noah Hathaway was due to appear in the Broadway show “Chaplin” alongside Gene Kelly and Ann Margaret, but opted to do “The Neverending Story” instead. He had been cast in the film, then the original director was fired, and when Wolfgang Petersen was hired, Noah was immediately re-hired.
  • Only the scenes in the city and at Bastian’s home were not shot in the Bavaria Studios in Munich, Germany, but in Vancouver, Canada.
  • Noah Hathaway (Atreyu) now owns and operates a tattoo parlor in Los Angeles, California with his wife.
  • Tami lost both front teeth shortly before filming and they made her fake teeth which caused her to lisp until she learned to compensate for them.

Talking Points:

  • Could you consider this the “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” of the 1980s?
  • Is this a depressing movie for kids or what?
  • Which character left you with the biggest impression – and why?

What We’ve Learned:

  • It’s ok to steal books! (as long as you leave a note that you’ll return it)
  • Schools in the 80s didn’t take attendance
  • Oompa Loompa’s ride racing snails
  • Limestone Rocks have a delicious bouquet
  • Ancient Turtles are pretty Emo.. and allergic to youth
  • People who have no hope are easy to control.
  • Who wouldn’t want a luck dragon?

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Always a classic. Childhood flashback movie that is good for anyone of any age.
Ray: Its a favorite movie of mine, but can be a bit dark.. use your discretion before showing it to your kids
Steve: Definitely one of the most memorable movies from my childhood. It’s great to revisit as an adult, but you get a whole new perspective with adult eyes.

Intermission: Jeff’s Brief BearCity Review

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The Present: Season of The Witch

Director: Dominic Sena

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman and Claire Foy

Trivia:

  • Development on the film began in 2000 when the spec script by screenwriter Bragi F. Schut was purchased by MGM.
  • The film had a budget of approximately US$40 million, and much of the budget was covered by Relativity with pre-sales to distributors outside the United States.
  • Filming took place in Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. Most of the principal photography took place in practical locations, with several days committed to filming on greenscreen.
  • Principal photography was completed by April 2009, but the cast and crew re-gathered a few months later to film additional battle sequences, filming on greenscreen to save on travel.
  • The art directors researched woodcuts and other artwork for classic demonic appearances. The filmmakers requested an entity “lithe and feminine”, and the visual effects crew designed a demon that had “cloven feet, a dog ankle and a fawn leg”. Designing visual effects for the demon’s wings was the biggest challenge since wings tend to get in the way or do not move convincingly. The filmmakers also requested holes in the demon’s wings, so the crew designed holes that appeared worn instead of ripped since ripped holes would require an added billowing effect.
  • The crew’s final visual effects shot was the death of the demon, and they researched previous films and terminology for how demons’ deaths have been designed.
  • Lionsgate scheduled Season of the Witch to be released on March 19, 2010, but five weeks before the date, the studio decided to pull the film from release. Lionsgate originally had an output deal with Relativity Media, but Relativity formed its own marketing and distribution arm in 2010. Relativity chose to release the film itself and in October 2010 set the film’s new release date for January 7, 2011. Season of the Witch will be Relativity’s first in-house production.

Talking Points:

  • Did it deserve the 5% on Rotten Tomatoes?
  • Odd acting – did it seem like the leads were present day Americans in period clothes, while the supporting cast was in actually performing in period?
  • Was this movie intended to be a farce or serious?

What We Learned:

  • Ron Perlman sports a pretty epic moustache
  • It doesn’t matter if your movie is set in the 14th century, and one of your actors speaks with a new york accent
  • If you’re going to be holding a giant rope to support the weight of anything, wear gloves!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Not a bad movie, not great either, but not half bad.
Ray: Not Shakespeare but not as bad as airbender!
Steve: Enjoyed the visuals of the movie, but the writing and acting was “off”. Liked the concept, just didn’t come together well.

The Future: Battle : Los Angeles

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan

Trivia:

  • The film is inspired by the real life incident known as the Battle of Los Angeles, during World War II. On the night of 24-25 February 1942, unidentified aircraft were allegedly spotted in the airspace above Los Angeles. Suspecting it to be the Japanese, a blackout of the city was ordered and over 1,440 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition was fired. Upon finding no evidence of the existence of any enemy aircraft, the incident was declared to be a “false alarm”. The event has since been chalked up to as being a result of “war nerves”, likely triggered by a lost weather balloon and exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts from adjoining anti-aircraft batteries.
  • Very little of the film was actually shot in Los Angeles. Tax incentives brought the production to Louisiana where sets of Los Angeles streets were constructed.
  • The movie will be released on 03/11/11. 0311 is the Marine Corps Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) for Infantry Riflemen.
  • Don’t be fooled by the direct to DVD release “mockbuster”: Battle of Los Angeles – it’s not the same movie!

Talking Points:

  • Better than Skyline?
  • Is this just “V” in the movie theater? Original concept?
  • Use of Music in trailer

Summary:
A Marine platoon faces off against an alien invasion in Los Angeles.

Trailer 1:

Trailer 2:

Trailer 3:

Excitement:
Jeff: Yawn
Ray: Excited! Excited! Excited! Especially after seeing the newest trailer.
Steve: I really like how the trailer feeds on our fears. The music is great. I just really hope it holds up. I will see it, but don’t have any expectations.

Coming Attractions
The Past

The Present

The Future

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