Tag Archives: Tina Fey

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MOV123: “He’s Almost Too Gay To Function”

It’s all about girl power in this in this reel of COL Movies, where the boys start off by going back in time to review the Tina Fey written gem, “Mean Girls”. After getting schooled (get it?), they catch back up with Alice for some more ass-kicking as she tries to take down the Umbrella Corporation for the 5th time in “Resident Evil: Retribution”. From there, we’re off somewhere over the rainbow with James Franco and a triumvirate of extremely talented female actors as the witches in Sam Raimi’s “Oz: The Great and Powerful”. In news, “The Hobbit” trilogy goes real time, Joss Whedon talks about why he isn’t exactly thrilled about “Avengers 2”, and the Looney Tunes are coming back to the big screen. It’s the 123rd reel of COL Movies…”He’s almost too gay to function”

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The Past: Mean Girls (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes 83% Fresh; 66% Audience

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Director: Mark Waters

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey

Trivia:

  • Nearly earned an R rating for explicit, risqué gags and jokes which were subsequently cut.
  • In the book upon which the movie is based, the most popular girl in a school is given the title “Queen Bee”. In the movie, the character who fits that description is named Regina – “queen” in Latin.
  • Amy Poehler who plays Mrs. George is only seven years older than her on screen daughter Rachel McAdams (Regina George).
  • Although the movie was not filmed in the rich north suburbs of Chicago known as the ‘North Shore’ (where it is said to take place), several real places in the area are mentioned. These include Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, Illinois (although the scene was filmed at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke, Ontario), Walker Brothers Pancake House (the gift certificates at the end have the restaurant’s real logo), and Northwestern University. In addition, a deleted scene featured on the DVD mentions Hecky’s, a real barbecue restaurant in Evanston, Illinois. School scenes were filmed at Lincoln Park High School, Chicago. Exterior shots of the school were of Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke, as well as hallway scenes. Some scenes also filmed at a lake front park in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
  • Though set on the North Shore of Chicago, the film was mostly shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Notable landmarks include the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall and Sherway Gardens.
  • Kevin Gnapoor’s phone number on his business card uses the North Shore’s real area code, 847.
  • Amanda Seyfried, who plays Karen in the film, was initially supposed to play Cady, but producer Lorne Michaels thought she would be better as the “dumb girl”.
  • Initially, Lindsay Lohan was cast as Regina, but decided to play the “nice girl” so the public wouldn’t base her real personality on Regina’s. Rachel McAdams was chosen to play the “mean girl” because “only nice girls can play mean girls” according to the producer.
  • Tim Meadows broke his hand before shooting and had to wear a cast, so the explanation that his character Mr. Duvall had carpal tunnel was added.
  • Lacey Chabert was the first and only choice for the role of Gretchen.
  • In the scene where Cady was asked if her “muffin was buttered”, the line was originally going to be, “Is your cherry popped?” The same goes for the girl who “made out with a hot dog” this was going to be “masturbated with a hot dog”. These were omitted in order for the film to gain a PG 13+ rating instead of a R
  • This movie is based upon the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence” by Rosalind Wiseman, even though it is a non-fiction parental self-help guide with no narrative at all.
  • In the scene where Christmas candy canes are being distributed in the classroom Damien, dressed in a Santa suit, reads out the name Glenn Cocco, a good friend of Tina Fey.
  • Tina Fey and Amy Poehler coached Rajiv Surendra on how to rap for his on-screen performance in the school’s Winter Talent Show.
  • Cady’s mom gets tenure at Northwestern, which is Ana Gasteyer’s alma mater in real life.
  • Producer Tina Fey confessed that, when casting the film, she liked Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels) because “he looked like Jimmy Fallon”.
  • The skirts for the Christmas talent show are made of plastic; the costume designer says they were made of that fabric to “represent the Plastics”.
  • The character Mrs. Norbury was named after a German teacher at Upper Darby High School, where Tina Fey attended.
  • The scene in which Cady walks in on Jason and Gretchen kissing at her party is much different in the first draft of the script. Originally, she walks in on Gretchen performing oral sex on Jason (no nudity, nothing graphic), but this was subsequently cut from the final print in order to achieve a PG-13 rating
  • Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams play characters who attend the same school and are in the same grade, in spite of the 8 year age difference between the two actresses.
  • In the math class Kevin gives Cady his card. It says, KEVIN GNAPOOR MATH ENTHUSIAST/BAD-ASS M.C. 847-555-2148
  • Ashley Tisdale auditioned for Karen Smith.
  • Lizzy Caplan’s character was named Janis Ian as an homage to musician Janis Ian, the first Saturday Night Live musical guest (alongside Billy Preston). Ian’s song “At Seventeen” which can be heard playing in the background when the girls are fighting at Regina’s house. Other characters bullying Caplan’s character persistently call her a lesbian throughout the movie; the real Janis Ian is an out lesbian.
  • Lizzy Caplan was at first considered too pretty for Janis, to which Fey felt a “Kelly Osbourne-like actress” was necessary, but Caplan was picked for being the “most energetic”.
  • Rachel McAdams wore a blonde wig while filming the movie.
  • Cady gets very excited at the dance when she “actually recognizes” one of the songs being played. That song is “Built This Way,” which was performed and co-written by London-born singer-songwriter and DJ Samantha Ronson. About four years after the release of this movie, and after several years of press speculation, Lindsay Lohan and Ronson acknowledged they were in a romantic relationship.
  • The main character, played by Lindsay Lohan, is named “Cady”, which has a common pronunciation (“Katie”) but an uncommon spelling for an American girl’s first name. In keeping with the film’s theme of female empowerment, it is the same spelling as the birth last name of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an 18th-century pioneer in the American Women’s Rights movement.
  • When Tina Fey planned to adapt Queen Bees and Wannabes into a film, she didn’t realize it was a guidebook with no fictional narrative. She feared she’d backed herself into a corner after finalizing the deal with Paramount.
  • Tina Fey envisioned backgrounds for all of the characters. If any of the actors had questions about their characters she could fill in the blanks for them.
  • The casting department searched through four cities to find the right actor to play Damien.
  • Unusual among Mark Waters-directed films in that there are no supernatural elements in the plot.
  • In her autobiography, ‘Bossypants’, Tina Fey says that she named the character Damian after “TV Guide” writer Damian Holbrook, who has been her friend since they met as teens in a summer theater workshop in their Pennsylvania hometown.
  • Cady’s friend Janis Ian is likely related to Janis Ian, the singer of “At Seventeen,” a song about realizing at age 17 the beautiful are favored. “I learned the truth at seventeen that love was meant for beauty queens … and those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces, desperately remained at home, inventing lovers on the phone.” The song is also playing in the scene when Karen tells Cady that she has a “fifth sense … It’s like ESPN or something.”
  • In its opening weekend, the film grossed $24,432,195 in 2,839 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office. It was the best Lohan film debut at number one. By the end of its run, Mean Girls grossed $86,058,055 domestically and $42,984,816 internationally, totaling $129,042,871 worldwide.

Talking Points:

  • Inevitable comparison to Heathers
  • The use of the internal thoughts
  • The bus
  • The Burn Book
  • The backhanded compliments during the intervention

What We Learned:

  • Foot cream smells like peppermint
  • Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it
  • Everyone in Africa knows Swedish
  • Friends who secretly hate you are called “fraitors”
  • Homeschoolers are freaks
  • Jumbo tampons are helpful when you have a heavy flow and wide-set vagina
  • Don’t have sex because you’ll get pregnant and die
  • That is so fetch!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I was surprised by how much I didn’t run and hide for this movie. The quotient was so low and the writing so clever, how can you not like it? I loved it, watch it now.
Ray: Can you believe I’ve never seen this before? I really thought it was funny, and of course it’s set in the North Shore of Chicago, so what’s not to like? It’s definitely reminiscent of Heathers, just not as dark.
Steve: A great update of Heathers, with Tina Fey intelligence. Great characters, smart writing, and solid acting from a young cast, as well as some memorable cameos from SNL greats. Definitely worth watching and reminiscing about the good…um…maybe just days of high school.

The Present: Resident Evil: Retribution
Rotten Tomatoes 29% Rotten; 60% Audience

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li, Boris Kudjoe

Trivia:

  • Jensen Ackles was considered for the role of Leon S. Kennedy, but the role later went to Johann Urb.
  • The first movie of the series not to feature undead dogs.
  • The role of Becky was not considered to be hearing-impaired, but after an outstanding audition, the role was later given to Aryana Engineer.
  • During the car chase scene from the Las Plagas/Zombie infected Russian army the music playing during this scene is titled ‘Phantom Chase’ by tomandandy. This song particularly references music from the original Resident Evil (1996) video game. The name of the song that is referenced is ‘Second Floor Mansion’.
  • After the release of Resident Evil: Afterlife, director Paul W. S. Anderson was in discussion with Screen Gems of filming a fifth and sixth film back to back. But Anderson later decided to just focus on Retribution. Anderson explains that a sixth film will only be made based on the success of Retribution and will most likely be the finale of the series.
  • An element from Resident Evil 4, a parasite called Las Plagas plays a part in the film and allows the undead to “run around, ride motorbikes, and shoot machine guns.”
  • An action scene inspired by Resident Evil 5 where the characters are driving a Hummer while being chased by zombies is featured, but for the film the Hummer was changed to a Rolls Royce Phantom.
  • The film’s fight sequences were influenced by Asian cinema. “We watched a lot of Thai movies this time around because of the movies (Powell) has done” says Anderson. “He did The Last Samurai as well. He has worked with a lot of Japanese stuntmen and he has worked with a lot of Hong Kong stuntmen. But we felt the area that hadn’t been mined by western cinema much was that whole kind of high impact Thai style of fighting. So we just watched a lot of action sequences from a lot of Thai movies. There were moves and just a general feel that we thought we could infuse the movie with. You know, that kind of bone crunch where you really feel the impact. We tried to bring that into the movie, which is also good for 3D because obviously 3D makes it harder to sell those kind of fake phony punches because you see the distance between the fist and the face. So that kind of Thai style of fighting where you actually make contact is a lot stronger.”
  • Filming locations included Toronto at Cinespace’s Kipling studio facility,[5] Times Square in New York City, Tokyo, and Red Square in Moscow.
  • On October 11, a platform collapsed during the second day of filming and injured 16 people on the set. According to Toronto police, ten people were taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Injuries included bruises and broken bones. Emergency workers had a difficult time determining which injuries were real since the people were dressed in zombie costumes with fake blood.
  • The streets of Red Square were cleared for a day and background filming was done in the Russian subway after it was cleared for five hours. Most of the streets were built into sets. The car chase scene was filmed in late November in Moscow.
  • The music group Tomandandy, who performed the Afterlife score, returned to score Retribution. Anderson explains that the score for this film will be a progression of Afterlife, stating that he “wants to kind of mesh their more electronic stuff with an orchestra this time. It still has that cool tomandandy feel, but it has a more epic scope to it.”
  • The first teaser trailer of the film, was attached to Underworld Awakening and released in January 2012, featuring product placement promoting Sony products such as the Xperia phone, the PlayStation Vita and the Tablet S before transitioning into a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., with Alice standing on the roof of the White House.
  • A viral website umbrellacorporation.net supposedly informed about Umbrella’s on a recruitment tour all over the world searching for “great minds to help them advance”. On several occasions, a video of Alice (Milla Jovovich) shows up, telling you not to trust Umbrella.
  • On August 10, 2012, a group of 27 people dressed as zombies “invaded” the Shibuya shopping district and handed out leaflets to promote the film.
  • Resident Evil: Retribution had its world premiere in Japan (where it’s retitled Biohazard V: Retribution) on September 3 and had its release worldwide on September 14th.

Talking Points:

  • Felt like a clip show right before the end of a reality series

Critic Notes:

  • Positives: While the director explains all at the end, it’s clear the big full blown nutty days are still to come; Anderson knows how to do a great fight sequence
  • Negatives: Same old, same old; got tired of the slo-mo; flimsy plot structure; “apparently zombie hordes have taken over the world, but there is an endless supply of black leather unitards”; At last, we thought Alice might say “we survived”, but alas no.

What We Learned:

  • This is Alice…and it’s her world
  • When trying to escape a zombie menace, go into the dark subway tunnels
  • Rain’s sister is not very nice
  • Clones wear leather unitards

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: Well this is a first, Usually I’m pretty good with an RE movie. It does something interesting and I enjoy myself. . . . this . . . didn’t. For the first time I’m just tired of Resident Evil Movies and they are going to do another one. Thanks, Paul WS Anderson but you need to stop. Right now. No more cliffhangers at the end of movies. This is enough.
Ray: This just confirms me suspicions that every single one of these movies since the first one has been made for the sole purpose of masturbating Japanese fans. The dialogue was delivered horribly, the acting was..not even passable, but it you take this and watch the dialogue from the very first resident evil games.. it’s almost exactly the same… I’d stay away unless you are a crazy die hard fan.. oh and everyone tells me skip the 3D
Steve: Kind of a best of the best moments from the previous films, so it had a “clip show” feel. While it isn’t Shakespeare, it’s good for what it is and the fight scenes were fricken awesome! Michelle Rodriguez ‘roiding up to right two guys and the fight between Alice and Jill were both pretty damn epic. Honestly, I was really hoping they would end it…but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if there will actually be a 6th installment.

The Future: Oz: The Great and Powerful

Release: March 8, 2013

Director: Sam Raimi

Starring: Mila Kunis, James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz

Summary:

Sam Raimi’s film is set before the events of the 1939 film and the original book. When Oscar Diggs a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking… that is until he meets the witches Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity, and even a bit of wizardry, Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Talking Points:

  • Robert Downey, Jr. was Raimi’s first choice for the part of Oz. When Downey declined, Johnny Depp was linked to the role. By the end of February 2011, James Franco was in final negotiations to star in this film. This is the first time that Franco and Raimi have worked together following the conclusion of the Spider-Man trilogy.
  • Principal photography with 3D cameras for Oz: The Great and Powerful began July 2011 in Pontiac, Michigan.
  • The script was written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire with Joe Roth serving as a producer. In an interview, director Sam Raimi stated that Kapner used information about the Wizard from L. Frank Baum’s books, but the film will also “nod lovingly” to the 1939 classic film.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this. It’s a Prequel to The Wiz but for some reason they decided not to get another Richard Prior, I really don’t see why? In any case, looks fun, but it’s looking so different than The Wiz.
Ray: I’m super excited to see this… I’ve always thought that even though it would be sacrilege to do it, one movie I’ve always thought would be worthy of a modern remake was Wizard of Oz, glad they went the prequel route so they don’t really have to commit to messing with that until this proves to be a success… I’m excited to see it. Franco is riding high in my head since Planet of the Apes.
Steve: Comes off way more “fantastical” than the original movie. It will be interesting to see how they interplay the original mythology in the prequel. The female cast of witches seems like a solid group of actors, so I hope that Franco holds his own and doesn’t just act like he’s high the whole time.

The Past: Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo

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The Present: Dredd

The Future: Gayby

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MOV026: “Girls, You’re Both Pretty”

Did the boys of COL Movies enjoy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Why does Jeff hate Steven when it comes to Megamind? Is Priest something to be excited for? This and more in Reel 26 of COL Movies.

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The Past: Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

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Director: John Hughes

Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy

Trivia:

  • Shooting Locations Include Braidwood,IL (Motel), Coal City,IL and Wilmington, IL (Bus station) all of which are about 20 miles away from Fuzz!
  • Future Borg 38 of Double D Jeri Ryan was cast in the movie but her parts were cut out.
  • The Exterior of their aircraft is a reuse of the 707 flying through the storm from the movie Airplane!
  • The scenes shot at Lambert airport in St.Louis were shot during the winter, but it was unseasonably warm (80 deg F) so the snow had to be trucked in.
  • The interior of Neils house was a set built from scratch, including Seven rooms.. it took 5 months to build and cost $100k which angered the paramount execs and caused a lot of tension on the set.
  • All 250 cars used in the rent-a-car sequence were rented for the movie, since no company would agree to be on film for fear of appearing inept.

Talking Points:

  • Holiday Travel Horror Stories?
  • This movie was a big departure for John Hughes typical “Teen” movie.

What We’ve Learned:

  • Those aren’t Pillows!
  • She’s short and skinny, but Strong!
  • Swearing 18 times in 60 seconds doesn’t get you good customer service
  • Lit cigarettes and vinyl seats don’t go well together.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Meh, It’s alright. I didn’t like it that much but think other people would.
Ray: In my mind, A true modern Holiday classic.
Steve: I’m just not a Steve Martin fan, which made watching this a chore.

The Present: Megamind (2010)

Director: Tom McGrath

Starring: Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Will Farrel, Jonah Hill, David Cross

Trivia:

  • Guillermo del Toro, who directed the “Hellboy” series, assisted in editing the film to make it more exciting.
  • To promote the film, Will Ferrell assembled 1580 of his friends and their acquaintances at a superhero costume function. This party set a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of superheroes
  • The film was originally titled “Master Mind.” However, the name had already been trademarked by the makers of the 1970s board game and TV show, so it could not be used.
  • The film was then going to be titled “Oobermind”, which was a misspelling of the term “über-mind.” The word “über” refers to something that is large or great; in this case, the title character’s over-swollen skull/brain. But it didn’t sound right, so it was revised to become “Megamind”

Talking Points:

  • I know we found out the whole “Death of Metroman” when we talked about the trailer, did anything else surprise you in this?
  • Use of rock music, did it work?
  • Visually, looked great – right down to water on the ground and hair.

What We Learned:

  • Always check your pockets before throwing your costume in the wash machine.
  • Always remember where you park your invisible car.
  • The Difference between villainy and supervillainy? Presentation!
  • Super Speed, Super Strength and other various super powers doesnt translate into a music career
  • Sometimes the best plan is simply Not Dying.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Fan-Freakin-Tastic
Ray: I was really surprised with how entertaining this movie was, it went places I didn’t expect.
Steve: Thoroughly enjoyed! Found myself laughing out loud several times, which I didn’t expect. Not being a big Will Ferrell fan, I liked this performance (maybe because it was jut his voice and I didn’t have to see him).

The Future: Priest (3-9-2011)

Starring: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie O, Karl Urban, Stephen Moyer, Christopher Plummer

Trivia:

  • Based on a Korean Manhwa(Comic)
  • Sam Raimi and Gerard Butler were originally attached to this project, but dropped out.

Talking Points:

  • Fans of the comic are up in arms because this movie has almost nothing to do with the actual story set forth in the books. In the comics Priest tells the story of humanity’s battle against 12 fallen angels, in which vampires exist but are very rarely even mentioned.
  • Visually, the vampires seem to depart greatly from today’s crop…will that help or hurt the movie?

Summary:
A legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on an obsessive quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: The fight scenes are going to be great! That’s all I’m expecting to be great. Hoping it will be kinda Fifth Element-ish.
Ray:Reminds me of Judge Dredd with vampires… visually it looks “interesting”
Steve: Definitely the kind of movie I seek out. Will definitely see it.

Coming Attractions

The Past

The Present

The Future

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MOV009: “Fuck me gently with a chainsaw!”

Jeff shows his deep disinterest in Megamind, we all love Heather, and Predators just get a “meh” from us all.  Also, New about the Hulk, Wicked coming to the big screen?, the Rock in Fast 5, The Wachowskis Gay Iraq Romance gets a title, and Jeff has an orgasm over Optimus Prime.

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  • Via blog: From Sean B: I had to listen to your bit on 3D conversions. I’ve never seen any, but I’ve been kind of fascinated by them because the process is so insane– they take the 2D video and meticulously reverse-engineer it into a CG scene where a second, displaced camera (for the other eye) can be added. It’s a highly manual process involving farms of artists and several million dollars (for the ‘good’ conversions anyway). I’m amazed that they do it at all– http://3dcinecast.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-three-on-workflow-behind-3d.html

The Past: Heathers

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Director: Michael Lehmann

Staring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, & Kim Walker

Trivia:

  • Friends Veronica Sawyer and Betty Finn are named after other fictional friends Veronica and Betty from the comic strip “Archie”, and Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
  • The high school is named “Westerburg High”. Winona Ryder’s favorite band at the time was “The Replacements”, whose lead singer is named Paul Westerberg.
  • Westerburg High in reality is John Adams Middle School.
  • The police officers are named Milner and McCord, after ‘Kent McCord’ and Martin Milner, who played police officers in “Adam-12” (1968).
  • Originally, the book that suicidal students supposedly underline “meaningful” passages from was “The Catcher in the Rye”. The producers could not get clearance to use this book and it was changed to “Moby Dick” instead.
  • When Heather Duke gathers signatures for the Big Fun petition, one of the students stamps his name: Dennis Di Novi. This is a reference to the film’s producer, Denise Di Novi.
  • Filmed in 32 days
  • The radio call-in show “Hot Probs” featured in the movie is a version of the now nationally famous KROQ radio show “Loveline”, and the radio DJ in the movie is James ‘Poorman’ Trenton, the creator and original host of “Loveline”.
  • Veronica’s bedroom was built in the gym of the school they used in the film.
  • Heather Duke’s kitchen in the dream sequence was also the kitchen used for Heather Chandler’s house. They just switched the colors and lit it differently.
  • Lying on top of the glass table through which Heather Chandler fell were a copy of the Cliff’s Notes for “The Bell Jar” (which was written by Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide) and a magazine with a cover story “The Fall of the American Teenager.”
  • The role of Heather McNamara, the cheerleader, was originally offered to 17 year old actress Heather Graham. Heather’s parents decided against letting her do the role because of the dark subject matter.
  • The hotel imploded on TV in the movie is the Hotel King Cotton in Memphis, Tennessee which was destroyed 29 April 1984.
  • The role of Veronica was intended for Jennifer Connelly who turned it down.
  • Brad Pitt auditioned for the role of J.D., but was rejected because he was considered “too nice” for the part.
  • Ranked at #5 on Entertainment Weekly’s 50 Best High School Movies (2006)
  • At the beginning of the film Heather Chandler asks Heather Duke “did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?” The actress who played Heather Chandler, Kim Walker later died of a brain tumor.
  • The first day of filming took place on Ash Wednesday and the first scene filmed was the croquet game that took place after J.D. fires his gun in the cafeteria.
  • The film’s first scene was actually the last one to be shot. By that time, Lisanne Falk had cut her hair and had to wear a wig.
  • Justine Bateman was considered for the lead.
  • The name Heather is said 90 times throughout the film.
  • The closeups of Veronica’s legs was filmed with a body double.
  • Christian Slater has stated that his performance was heavily inspired by Jack Nicholson. He claims that he wrote a letter to Nicholson asking him to watch the film but did not receive an answer.
  • Mid-1990’s-era ska/punk band Edna’s Goldfish named their song “Veronica Sawyer” after the main character in Heathers. The song’s theme of alienation among suburban teenagers reflects the themes of the movie. Reel Big Fish covered the song on their 2009 album “Fame, Fortune and Fornication.”
  • Two stars of the movie died at an early age: Jeremy Applegate (Peter Dawson, whose character prays he will never commit suicide) committed suicide with a shotgun on March 23, 2000, and Kim Walker (Heather Chandler, who had the line “Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?”) died of a brain tumor on March 6, 2001.
  • The original screenplay had a different ending in which Veronica kills J.D. by shooting him and then straps the bomb (a much larger and more complicated piece of equipment, described as being “a cylinder as large as a television set”) to herself, blowing up as J.D. does in the final ending. What is placed in the final ending as JD’s boiler-room speech about “imagine I blew up the school, imagine I blew up all the schools” is contained in a suicide note found in Veronica’s locker by Heather McNamara and Betty Finn. The movie ends with an eerie prom sequence set in Heaven, tying into JD’s assertion that the only place everyone will truly get along is in Heaven. The prom begins with students dancing within their social cliques, then switching partners in odd pairings like metalheads dancing with Heathers and one of the murdered jocks getting his prom picture taken with a tipped cow; the punch being served is the drain cleaner used in the first murder scene, and “Dumptruck” is singing onstage as the entertainment for the evening. This was intended to be shot but the studio thought it was too dark for the target teenage crowd and opted for a lighter ending.
  • J.D. tricks Veronica into killing the jocks by claiming to use “ich luge” bullets, which he claims only pierce the skin. “Ich lüge” is German for “I’m lying”.
  • Daniel Waters wanted his screenplay to go to director Stanley Kubrick,[6] not only out of profound admiration for Kubrick but also from a perception that “Kubrick was the only person that could get away with a three-hour film”. (The cafeteria scene opening Heathers was written as an homage to the barracks scene opening Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.) After a number of failed attempts to get the script to Kubrick made Waters realize the apparent futility of the enterprise, he decided to give the script to Michael Lehmann, who then took it on with Denise Di Novi.

Talking Points:

  • Pretty Dark for a Teen movie… seen as an “anti” John Hughes film?
  • What is this movie about, in your opinion?

What We’ve Learned:

  • It’s so Very.
  • When dying after drinking draino, you must say what the last thing you ate was.
  • Gay people all drink Mineral Water.
  • Damage is a problem
  • When your ex-boyfriend is about to blow himself up, make sure you have a cigarette ready to be lit by the explosion.
  • Teenage suicide – don’t do it!

Trailer:

Recommendations:

Jeff: What? You don’t have this yet?
Ray: Its Very
Steve: See it! Own it!!

The Present: Predators

Director: Nimrod Antal

Staring: Adrian Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne & Danny Trejo

Trivia:

  • Robert Rodriguez was originally thought to be attached as director, however within days of this rumor coming out he confirmed he would only write and produce the film.
  • Neil Marshall, Michael J. Bassett, Bill Duke, Marcus Nispel, Peter Berg and Darren Lynn Bousman were considered to direct the film. In the end, Nimród Antal was hired because Robert Rodriguez enjoyed Antal’s earlier films Control (2003) and Vacancy (2007).
  • While often erroneously referred to as being a reboot or remake of the Predator series, the film is instead meant to be a sequel to Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990) while ignoring the events of the Alien vs Predator films.
  • The film’s basic plot was conceived in 1994, when Robert Rodriguez was working on Desperado (1995). He presented a draft of the script to 20th Century Fox, but they turned it down because the budget required was too large. 15 years later, the studio decided to follow through with his script; in the end, an updated version of his script.
  • Milo Ventimiglia, Freddy Rodríguez and Josh Brolin were considered for the role of Royce.
  • The film was shot in 53 days.
  • The original script contained cameo appearances by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Michael Harrigan (Danny Glover), the protagonists of the previous Predator films. However, these appearances were ultimately cut out.
  • Danny Trejo’s character is named Cuchillo. “Cuchillo” is Spanish for “knife”. Many of Trejo’s characters in Robert Rodriguez movies have been named after knives or sharp instruments: Machete in Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002), and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003); Razor Charlie and Razor Eddie in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) (V), and From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter (1999) (V), Navajas (Spanish for “blades”) in Desperado (1995), and he also plays another character called Machete in Machete (2010), a feature length version based on a fake trailer featured in the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino collaboration Grindhouse (2007).
  • Nimród Antal specifically chose Adrien Brody for the main protagonist: “It was a challenge in finding a balance. When we cast Adrien, there were a lot of people going, What? But at the same time, if we cast a Vin Diesel in that role or anyone who is Arnold-esque, we would have been attacked for doing that. So we decided early on to go in a very different direction as far as the casting process, but it turned out fantastic.” He also felt the soldiers should be portrayed as wiry tough guys, not burly men like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  • Alice Braga continues the “Predator” tradition of casting a Latin actress in the film, following Elpidia Carrillo in Predator (1987), and Maria Conchita Alonso in Predator 2 (1990).
  • Robert Rodriguez intends this film to be part of the “Predators” series and NOT the “Alien Vs Predator” series.
  • According to Robert Rodriguez, the title of “Predators” serves as a double-entendre, describing the alien hunters as well as the ensemble human characters they target: “They could very well kill each other off even if there were no Predators!”
  • The average height of the actors who play the Predator creatures in this film are around 6’6-7″, while the actors in the previous films, Kevin Peter Hall Ian Whyte, were 7’2½” and 7’1″ tall, respectively.
  • When asked where he drew his inspiration for how to make a Predator film, Robert Rodriguez responded he was inspired what to do from the original Predator (1987), and what not to do by Predator 2 (1990), AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), and AVPR: Aliens vs Predator – Requiem (2007). Furthermore he added he drew no inspiration whatsoever from the Predator comics.
  • The classic Predator from the original Predator (1987) will be seen for the first time in over 20 years.
  • Alan Silvestri, who composed the score for the original film Predator (1987), was asked to write this score to this film. He could not due to scheduling conflicts with The A-Team (2010). John Debney, who Robert Rodriguez had worked with previously on Sin City (2005) and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005) received the assignment. Debney was quoted as saying that his score will be influenced by Silvestri’s original score for the 1987 film.

Talking Points:

  • Did anyone else feel the soundtrack was odd? Seemed overly upbeat at times during tense scenes
  • What did you think of Adrian Brody as the lead?
  • Are the Predator movies even scary any more since we know what it looks like and what it’s capable of?

What We’ve Learned:

  • Don’t be a predator, otherwise you might end up on a game preserve planet being hunted!
  • Sniper rifles are apparently more efficient than Gatling guns when fighting Predators. Make sure you have one lying around.
  • If you wake up finding yourself falling from the sky in a parachute, assume you’re on an alien planet and be ready to fight for your life!
  • Conserve Ammo!

Trailer:

Recommendations:

Jeff: Buying potential. Not as actiony as I was hoping it would be but personally think good to see in the theaters.
Ray: Did you like the first one? Would you like to see the first movie all over again with more predators? Then go see it.
Steve: Good rental. Unnecessary to see in the theater.

The Future: Megamind

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Will Ferrell, & Tina Fey

Trivia:

  • The film was originally titled “Master Mind.” However, since the name had already been trademarked by the makers of the 1970s board game and TV show, the title was changed.
  • The film was going to be titled “Oobermind”, which was a misspelling of the term “über-mind.” The word “über” refers to something that is large or great; in this case, the title character’s over-swollen skull/brain. But this was rejected because it didn’t sound right.
  • Ben Stiller was originally cast as MegaMind, and later Robert Downey, Jr., but Will Ferrell was given the role, due to “scheduling conflicts” for Downey.

Talking Points:

  • Will a cartoon with adult themes (see summary) make it in the same season of Toy Story?

Summary:
After super-villain Megamind (Ferrell) kills his good-guy nemesis, Metro Man (Pitt), he becomes bored since there is no one left to fight. He creates a new foe, Titan (Hill), who, instead of using his powers for good, sets out to destroy the world, positioning Megamind to save the day for the first time in his life.

Trailer:

Excitement:

Jeff: *blink, blink, blink blink* Pass
Ray: Farrell normally drives me up a wall, but i found the trailer funny.. lets hope theres more than just the trailer.
Steve: Looks cute! I’m looking forward to an adult cartoon! Only drawback for me is Ferrell.

Coming Attractions:

The Past: Mighty Morphing Power Rangers: The Movie
The Present: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
The Future: Alpha & Omega

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