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MOV100: ”Hey Korean Jesus”

It’s the 100th…yup, 100th…reel of COL Movies! The boys “celebrate” with an interesting variety of movies. On the pole, they start out with the Tom Cruise classic “Days of Thunder”. After burning some rubber, they head to the pit to check out the Jonah Hill remake of “21 Jump Street”. On the straight away to the checkered flag, the boys review the trailer for Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s reimagining of “Dark Shadows”. All of this and movie news about Captain America’s sequel, Hollywood’s need for speed, and Johnny 5’s staying alive! It’s the 100th reel of COL Movies…”Hey Korean Jesus!”

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News:

The Past: Days of Thunder (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 40% Rotten, 59% Audience

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Director: Tony Scott

Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, Fred Dalton Thompson, John C. Reilly

Trivia:

  • Many real-life NASCAR drivers (including Rusty Wallace) appear in the film.
  • NASCAR driver Greg Sacks did most of Tom Cruise’s stunt driving. Cruise wanted to do his own stunt driving, but wasn’t allowed to for insurance reasons. The Chevrolets were prepared by Rick Hendrick’s racing team, which later used some of the movie cars in real races. 35 cars were wrecked during filming.
  • Tom Cruise received a speeding ticket for doing 85 in a 55 mph zone while working on this movie.
  • The scene where Tim approaches Harry on a tractor was filmed on NASCAR legend Junior Johnson’s farm.
  • The scene where Cole and Rowdy race rental cars on the beach shows birds scattering out of the way. The birds were lured onto the beach by birdseed, and in the first take most of them were run over.
  • During the Darlington race in which the two movie cars appeared in, Neil Bonnett, one of the drivers interviewed at Daytona before the race, was nearly killed in a serious accident. Ironically, Bonnett was killed in a practice crash at Daytona in 1994. In the beginning of the film, the announcer introduces driver Aldo Bennedetti from Reading, Pennsylvania. This character is most likely a reference to real-life driver Mario Andretti. Both are of Italian descent, Mario’s brother is named Aldo, and Mario is from Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
  • Robin Wright was first suggested for the role of Claire Lewicki but was unavailable.
  • Production began without a finished script; scenes were often written the day of filming. During one driving sequence, Tom Cruise actually had to read his lines off cue cards attached to his windshield, which resulted in a minor car accident. For subsequent driving sequences, Cruise was fitted with a special earpiece to have lines fed to him.
  • Most of the cars used in this film were actually Chevrolets outfitted with special fiberglass bodies made to resemble stock cars. The vehicles routinely broke down from the strain of the racing or had their bodies greatly damaged. At one point, half the fleet was in the repair shop.
  • Producer Don Simpson originally intended to take a supporting role as a fellow driver in this film but his role was reduced to only one line.
  • City Chevrolet, a sponsor for Cole Trickle early in the movie, is a real-life Charlotte area dealership that is owned by Rick Hendrick, who prepared most of the cars in the movie.
  • Tom Cruise and ‘Robert Duvall (I)”s characters are (very) loosely based on former driver Tim Richmond and his crew chief Harry Hyde. Richmond was known as an overnight sensation, and Hyde was the veteran crew chief. The scene where Duvall’s character teaches Cruise about tire management is based on an actual incident between Hyde and Richmond, who died of AIDS complications the year before the film was released.
  • In an effort to give a more realistic atmosphere, professional racing broadcasters were brought in to play the broadcast reporters and track announcers. Key among these were members of ESPN’s racing crew, including booth announcer Bob Jenkins and pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch.
  • After the first days of the editorial crew looking for “Tony”, Director Tony Scott gave Apprentice Editor Tony Ciccone the nickname “TC” to avoid further confusion. He’s still known by it.
  • All cars used in the movie for the races had to pass inspection and qualify. Bobby Hamilton qualified one of the movie cars in the top ten; they removed the cameras and he was allowed to enter the race.
  • The scene where Cole Trickle leaves the pits after a race to hit Russ Wheeler is also based on ,an actual event during the 1987 all-star race at Charlotte, NC between drivers Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt.
  • Some footage for the movie was shot during the 1990 Daytona 500. Two additional cars, driven by Bobby Hamilton and Tommy Ellis, were added to the rear of the field for the express purpose of shooting them for this film. They were not officially scored and left the racetrack after 100 miles (40 laps) were completed. At one point in the race, leader Dale Earnhardt even lapped the movie cars.
  • Cars designed specifically for the movie officially raced at Phoenix and Darlington, with Greg Sacks driving Cole Trickle’s City Chevrolet in both races. Bobby Hamilton drove Rowdy Burns’ Exxon car at Phoenix, while Hut Stricklin drove it at Darlington. None of the cars finished their races, but Hamilton did lead his race for five laps before an engine failure.
  • According to an article in Car and Driver by Bob Zeller, Bobby Hamilton was paid $14,000-$15,000 by Rick Hendrick to drive the camera car. At the time Hamilton was making about $185 a week driving a wrecker (tow truck). He did so well that Hendrick hired him on for the next NASCAR race in Phoenix and the rest of the season.
  • When Cole wins at Darlington, the track announcer says third place goes to Geoffrey Bodine. Tim Daland, Cole’s car owner, is based on owner Rick Hendrick, whose first driver was Bodine.
  • First feature film of Margo Martindale.
  • Harold Faltermeyer turned down scoring duties on the film. FHe recommended fellow German composer Hans Zimmer to the producers. Zimmer was also recommended to director Tony Scott by his brother Ridley Scott and star Tom Cruise.
  • The movie was conceived by Tom Cruise when he and Paul Newman were allowed to test one of Rick Hendrick’s race cars. Tom’s first lap was in excess of 180mph.
  • The man who drove for Harry Hogge before Cole Trickle was called Buddy Bretherton. In the movie they mention he died hitting the wall at Daytona. Harry also mentions that Buddy heard voices while driving. Buddy Bretherton is probably based on the Nascar driver Bobby Isaac. Who drove for crew chief Harry Hyde. Issac claimed to have heard voices telling him to get out of the race car or he would die. So he pulled the car off the track and quit. Isaac died years later from a heart attack while driving in a 1977 Late Model Sportsman race at Hickory Motor Speedway with 25 laps left.
  • Reputedly Tom Cruise handpicked Nicole Kidman to be his love interest in the film after seeing her performance in Dead Calm.
  • When Cole tells Harry “when it comes to the car I’ll take your word,” he is referring to a line from a deleted scene where he states, “I’ll take your word for what a car can do but I’m not taking anybody’s word for what I can do.” The line can still be heard in the trailer.
  • Alison Doody, Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Ringwald, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Brooke Shields, Sharon Stone, Heather Locklear, Sandra Bullock, Jodie Foster and Ally Sheedy all turned down the role of Claire Lewicki.
  • In the “Making of…” documentary, Rowdy’s Winston Cup Championship trophy is for 1984. The real-life champion for that year was Terry Labonte.
  • Real-life Hendrick Motorsports pit crew member Mike Slattery served as an extra for Cole’s crew. After hearing what the stuntmen’s pay would be, he asked for the opportunity to do some of the stunts. However, when he saw how close the car came to the stuntmen, he changed his mind saying, “They can have it!”

Talking Points:

  • The Sound.
  • Top Gun in Race Cars?
  • What We Learned:
  • You can never build a driver like you can build a racecar
  • If you’re from California you’re not a Yankee, you’re not really anything
  • Despite what it says in the NASCAR rulebook there is nothing stock about a stockcar
  • The first thing you need to do to win a race, is finish.
  • Tires win a race
  • Drivers don’t go to doctors or funerals
  • Control is an illusion
  • Rubbin’ is racin’

Trailer

Recommendations:
Jeff: I had the radio controlled version of the Superflo car when I was a kid. This just brings back memories. And it’s a good movie to boot. Definitely worth the rental.
Ray: If only every NASCAR race was 5 minutes long, they might be as enjoyable as this movie. Making NASCAR as exciting as only Jerry Bruckhimer and Tom Cruise can it’s definitely worth a rental.
Steve: Top Gun in cars. Never really cared for this movie and it didn’t do much for me this time around. I do like the “new kid” becomes the “old guy” who gets owned by the “new kid” thing though.

The Present: 21 Jump Street
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Fresh; 90% Audience

Directors: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube

Trivia:

  • Jennifer Lawrence, Juno Temple, Julianne Hough and Gemma Ward auditioned for a role.
  • Emma Stone was considered for the lead female role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with her other movie, The Amazing Spider-Man.
  • Channing Tatum’s character is named Jenko after Captain Richard Jenko, played by actor Frederic Forrest, on the original 21 Jump Street TV series. Jenko was the original captain of the squad before being killed off and then replaced by Captain Adam Fuller, played by Steven Williams.
  • Channing Tatum passed on the movie twice before he was convinced by Jonah Hill to take the role.
  • At one point, Dave Franco’s character says that he doesn’t trust Channing Tatum’s character because he looks like he’s 40 years old. In reality, Tatum is only five years older than Franco.
  • Jonah Hill lost over 40 pounds for his role since he and Channing Tatum are required to do a number of physically demanding stunts.
  • In one scene the bad guys are actually watching the TV series 21 Jump Street on TV. While other original cast members show up in cameos in the film, Dustin Nguyen (Officer Harry Truman Ioki) does not. But he is worked into the film here as almost all the shots on the TV are of Ioki.
  • The understudy for Peter Pan is named French Samuels. Samuel French is the name of the publishing company that manages the rights to the musical “Peter Pan”.
  • While undercover, Jonah Hill’s character’s cover is almost blown by someone he knows personally, and he avoids this by pushing her away and saying that she tried to grab his private parts. This same exact thing happened to Johnny Depp’s character in Donnie Brasco while he was undercover.
  • The trivia items below may give away important plot points.
  • Hanson (Johnny Depp) is seen in disguise as a biker eating a jar of peanut butter, based on a suggestion by Depp during his last season on the show. Penhall (Peter DeLuise), was also seen in disguise as a biker based on one of the character’s attires in the original series. The disguised characters were written specifically for Depp and DeLuise by Jonah Hill.
  • Hanson and Penhall are shot multiple times and die in the climactic shootout, marking the deaths of the television series’ original characters.
  • At the end of the film it is revealed that one of the bad guys is actually Tom Hanson, played by Johnny Depp, from the original 21 Jump Street series. He has been undercover for years with the villains using the alias D.B. Following 21 Jump Street Johnny Depp played another cop who was long term undercover with criminals whose name was Donnie Brasco … D.B.
  • Johnny Depp ad-libbed most of his lines as Tom Hanson.
  • Footage of Dustin Nguyen from the original show are shown on television screens during the shootout at the prom. Whenever Nguyen is shown, a TV screen gets shot.
  • Talking Points:
  • Ok…When they made fun of themselves for rehashing old ideas..
  • Was it what you expected?
  • The Cameo’s
  • #2 is already listed with a writer on IMDB

What We Learned:

  • Korean Jesus ain’t got time for your problems, he busy dealing with Korean Shit.
  • Drugs are bad, but they can have their place in the life of a professional actor
  • You never won’t know what you can’t achieve before you don’t achieve it.
  • Artistic does not equal Autistic
  • A extra vagina can be used as a coin purse
  • You cant run in tights or skinny jeans
  • Chickens are highly explosive
  • Everyone is a stranger till you give em a chance

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: I saw half this movie and I’m surprised that I actually kinda liked it. I really think this movie was very well done but I just can’t stand embarrassing moments. If you like that humor, you’ll like it all. If not, you’ll like half the movie.
Ray: Well, I almost hate myself for it, but I enjoyed this movie a whole heck of a lot more than I was expecting. I thought it was funny, and I think they did a good Job with the twist on what it’s like to delve back into high school. Run out and see it? Maybe on a date.
Steve: I want to smack Jeff for making me watch this. However, there was some “fun” in it, but I found it extremely difficult to suspend the belief I know about law enforcement. So not 21 Jump Street…really should have been something else.

The Future: Dark Shadows (2012)
Release: May 11, 2012

Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green

Summary:

In 1752, the Collins family sails from Liverpool, England to North America. The son, Barnabas, grows up to be a wealthy playboy in Collinsport, Maine and is the master of Collinwood Manor. He breaks the heart of a witch, Angelique Bouchard, who turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. In 1972, Barnabas is accidentally freed from his coffin and returns to find his once-magnificent mansion in ruin. The manor is currently occupied by Barnabas’ dysfunctional descendants, all of whom are hiding dark and horrifying secrets and need his protection.

Talking Points

  • Turning a melodramatic soap into a comedy?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Okay, so I admit I really don’t know the original source for Dark Shadows but from what I seeing here, I think it’s going to be a complete disaster. If you want to see Johnny Depp, watch 21 Jump Street.
Ray: Now, this one makes me sad. I was never a big fan of the source material, but a lot of my family was. I don’t think any of them would have any interest in seeing this, and I can’t say I do either.
Steve: In the same vein as 21 Jump Street…taking a classic drama to comedy is strange. I don’t understand this trend in Hollywood. Comes off more Munsters or Addams Family than Dark Shadows source material. Not sure what I think at this point.

The Past:

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The Present:

The Future:

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Podcast

MOV056: “I Wish I Knew How To Quit You.”

This week the boys continue their celebration of pride month by traveling back to 2005 to watch 3 time Academy Award winner “Brokeback Mountain” Is it more than just that “Gay Cowboy Movie”? Or was Jeff’s dismissal of all the movie Hype warranted? In The Present we go back to the 1960’s to dissect X-Men: First Class, does the film jump to the head of the class or is it the first summer movie dud? Then Swing with us out of the trees and into the future as we talk about the upcoming Rise of The Planet of the apes do these damn dirty apes do the franchise reboot justice? All this and news about The Fighter 2, Romeo and Juliet, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, And a possible Tarantino / DiCaprio collaboration? All this and more on this 56th reel of COL Movies.

News:

The Past: Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Fresh; 77% Audience

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Director: Ang Lee

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid

Trivia:

  • According to reports, Heath Ledger nearly broke co-star Jake Gyllenhaal’s nose while filming a kissing scene.
  • According to an interview that Heath Ledger gave to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Steven Rea, there was a sequence that was filmed for the movie in which Jack and Ennis help some hippies get their car out of a river. According to Ledger, the scene took three days to shoot and was disliked almost immediately by everyone involved. The scene was written by James Schamus as an attempt to show Jack and Ennis in a heroic situation, but it does not appear in Annie Proulx’s original short story, the published screenplay, or the final cut of the movie.
  • There were 75 visual effects shots created for the film by the Canadian house Buzz Image Group. Of these, 15 were of CGI sheep. The film called for about 2,500 sheep, but only 700 were on-set, necessitating the additional woolly creations. Also created for the film were sky replacements, set additions, erasures and the hail in the hailstorm
  • Ang Lee struggled continually with the sheep during the shoot. Apparently sheep don’t drink from running water, only ponds and dams. Ang tried all day to get the sheep to drink from a stream, but they wouldn’t oblige. He had to give up on the shot. Also, American sheep carry a bacteria/virus that Canadian sheep don’t possess. The film’s scene where two herds of sheep become mixed up had some nightmarish real-life parallels, as the Canadian government had expressly warned them of dire consequences if they caused any disease to spread to the local animals from the south-of-the-border variety.
  • According to producer James Schamus, the movie cost so little to make that it recouped its cost during its first week of limited release.
  • Banned in China because homosexuality is considered a taboo subject there.
  • Over 90% of the footage was shot within 70 feet of a road
  • Among the actors considered for the male leads were Josh Hartnett, Colin Farrell, Matt Damon, Billy Crudup, and Ben Affleck.
  • Heath Ledger was only four years older than Kate Mara, who played his daughter Alma Jr. in the movie’s last scenes (for most of the movie, Alma Jr. was played by younger baby and child actresses; Mara only played her as an older teen once the Ledger character was supposed to be in his 40s).
  • The shirts worn by the 2 actors that feature prominently in the film were sold on eBay in February 2006 for $101,100. The buyer, film historian and collector Tom Gregory, called them “the ruby slippers of our time”. In 2009, Gregory lent the shirts to The Autry National Center of the American West, a Los Angeles museum that seeks “to explore the experiences and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West.” Their exhibition of the shirts is part of their larger attempt to examine representations of the Western LGBT experience in history and fiction.
  • The poster for the film was deliberately styled to resemble another romantic epic, James Cameron’s Titanic (1997).
  • In March 2006 Randy Quaid filed a lawsuit against Focus Features alleging that the company had misled him into thinking that Brokeback Mountain (2005) was a low budget, art-house film with no prospect of making money. He saw this as a ruse to get him to lower his salary. At the time of the lawsuit, the film had earned more than $160 million. Quaid dropped the lawsuit in May, seemingly after Focus agreed to pay him a bonus. Focus, however, denied that any such payment ever took place, and Focus spokeswoman Adriene Bowles was quoted as saying, “the circumstances of him dropping the suit are as mysterious as the circumstances under which he filed his claim.”
  • Universal made the rare decision to release the film on DVD when it was still playing in theaters. It was also the first film to be released as a DVD and a download on the same day.

Talking Points:

  • Snubbed at the Oscars?
  • Take on the ending – Was what happened to Jack real or just what Ennis imagined.
  • were they gay cowboy’s? or bi cowboys?
  • Anyone know a gay guy named Ennis?

What We’ve Learned:

  • If your gonna be a sheep Herder, best you develop a taste for beans
  • The only point of riding rodeo is the money
  • Rodeo cowboys are all fuckups
  • You dont have to know what the Pentecost is in order to believe in it
  • Spit works….

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I really don’t see what all the fuss was about. This movie was boring to me. I can’t really give it a recommendation either either good or bad. It was just boring.
Ray: Beautiful photography, and a heart breaking performance from Heath Ledger that can only be described as “Once in a generation” I think this is a beautifully told modern day western that makes me cry every time I watch it.
Steve: Despite being slow (like The Way Back slow), it’s an interesting take on people coming to terms with who they are in a society who teaches them they have to be something else. Makes you think.

The Present: X-Men: First Class (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Fresh; 88% Audience

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

Trivia:

  • A telepathic battle between Professor X and Emma Frost was going to be in the film, but upon the release of Inception (2010) the concept was scrapped.
  • To prepare for his role as Erik Lensherr, Michael Fassbender studied Sir Ian McKellen’s performance as Lensherr in the previous X-Films, but also looked through the comics as he decided to make his own version of Magneto: “You want to respect what someone else has done, especially because the fan base really liked what Ian has done with it. But while I could have gone and studied him as a young man and brought that to the performance, I don’t think Matthew is very interested in that. So I’m just going my own way and working with whatever is in the comic books and the script.”
  • The filmmakers had only two choices for the role of Sebastian Shaw: Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon. They decided to go with Bacon as he was American and seemed more menacing than Firth.
  • This is the second time that January Jones has been cast in 1962 opposite an actor with a pork based name. The first was in “Mad Men” (2007) opposite John Hamm and then this alongside Kevin Bacon

Talking Points:

  • Anyone ready for a X-Men film that doesn’t have Magneto in it?
  • Kevin Bacon – I had no Idea the man was in the movie until I saw it!

What We Learned:

  • Mutation Is groovy
  • Sexy Lingerie can get you in anywhere
  • True Focus Lies somewhere between Rage and Serenity
  • I’m a mutant and I’m proud – where’s my parade?

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: This was a very refreshing prequel for the X-Men Movies. I felt a very different style to this compared to the previous films which was . . . . well . . . refreshing. Go see it.
Ray: Pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film.. went in with LOW expectations and got my ass kicked. This is a promising start to the summer movie season!
Steve: I wasn’t sure about the film’s style, but I did enjoy the movie overall. I like origin stories like this – I don’t need a 2 hour one on a single character. Kept me interested.

The Future: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (8/5/2011)

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto

Trivia:

  • The film is not based on any specific plotline from the original series, but instead takes elements from the earlier movies to create an original origin story.
  • In a segment of a video blog post, director Rupert Wyatt commented on the originality of the plot: “This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It’s not a continuation of the other films; it’s an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Batman [Begins].”
  • Director Rupert Wyatt commented: “I think we’re ending with certain questions, which is quite exciting. To me, I can think of all sorts of sequels to this film, but this is just the beginning.”
  • Screenwriter and producer Rick Jaffa has also stated that Rise of the Planet of the Apes will feature several clues as to future sequels: “I hope that we’re building a platform for future films. We’re trying to plant a lot of the seeds for a lot of the things you are talking about in terms of the different apes and so forth.”
  • According to Rick Jaffa, a version of the spaceship from the 1968 Planet of the Apes will be featured under the name Icarus in Rise of the Planet of the Apes as a hint to a possible sequel.
  • Unlike previous films in the franchise, the apes in the film will be created digitally using CGI technology, by Weta Digital.
  • Filming began in July 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Filming also headed to San Francisco, California, and around O’ahu, Hawaii.

Talking Points:

  • Another reboot! After the abortion that was the last attempt at a reboot.. are you ready for this one?
  • CGI monkeys… good or bad?

Summary: An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: It’s looking good. Really don’t have any expectations for it, just would like to see it.
Ray: Feeling rather indifferent about this one, I’m a big fan of the Heston era apes movies…
Steve: Not sure about this one…I think I get the purpose, but where the hell do all the apes come from to be in the city? That was a big-ass zoo!

Coming Attractions

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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