February 2009

  • Barry Lyndon: Kubrick Does Period Right

    By msarko on 2/25/09 12:20am
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    Of all the top-shelf auteur directors in cinema history, perhaps none have acquired a bigger reputation for being fussy and over-ambitious than Stanley Kubrick, and certainly none more deservingly. The man only made pictures on a grand scale and was always more than willing to do a take a hundred times over to get it right. Actors who worked with him have stories of Kubrick's odd proclivities regardless of the project. Adam Baldwin has been known to tell the tale of Kubrick's decision to double the shooting time for Full Metal Jacket because it started in a rainy season and he couldn't get the kind of natural light he wanted.

    But if we're going to talk about Kubrick and insane but brilliant production decisions, there's only one movie that can capture the scope of the director's eccentricities.

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  • Troubled Productions: The Exorcist

    By roskopp on 2/21/09 2:32am
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    The Exorcist posterThe Exorcist is one of the greatest horror films ever made and it was amazingly successful with the home rental market raking in well over $400 million worldwide. It also earned ten Oscar nominations and provoked a great deal of controversy. In the UK it was banned during the moral crusade of the 1980’s over so called “video nasties”. Reviews from the critics were mixed but nothing could prevent it from being the must see movie of the year and it has never really fallen from grace amongst horror fans.

    The film is based on the book of the same name which was written by William Peter Blatty in 1971. The author worked as Producer despite having no experience of the movie business and he also penned the screenplay.

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  • Troubled Productions: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    By roskopp on 2/19/09 7:43am
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    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest posterOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was released in 1975 and it was universally praised as evidenced by the fact it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It was based on the 1962 novel by Ken Kesey which he wrote after working in a mental institution in California.

    The film is about a small time criminal called McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) who decides to fake madness so he can be transferred to the supposedly cushy mental institution. Unfortunately for him the institution is run by the terrifying Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) and she doesn’t take kindly to McMurphy encouraging the patients under her charge. The two of them clash in one of the most epic battles of cinematic history. This is a beautifully made and deeply poignant film with amazing performances from Nicholson and Fletcher.

    The rights to the film were actually owned by Kirk Douglas and originally he intended to star in the film himself.

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  • Casting Decisions: The Shawshank Redemption

    By roskopp on 2/17/09 8:10am
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    The Shawshank Redemption posterThe Shawshank Redemption is one of the most popular films ever made and it occupies the top spot on the Internet Movie Database. It is an enchanting tale based on a Stephen King short story and adapted for the screen by the talented Frank Darabont who also directs. It is about two friends, Andy and Red, trapped in prison for long term sentences. They find solace and redemption by helping others and end up as respected symbols of hope with spirits which cannot be crushed.

    The film is now a much loved classic but it could have been a very different movie and there were various alternative casting plans. For a start Rob Reiner was desperate to get his hands on the project and offered $2.5 million for it, his plan was to cast Tom Cruise as Andy and Harrison Ford as Red. He also wanted to direct it himself but thankfully Darabont decided he wanted to do the project and rejected the offer. Stephen King actually sold the rights to the film version of the story to Darabont cheaply because of their friendship.

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  • Troubled Productions: The Godfather

    By roskopp on 2/13/09 4:36am
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    The Godfather PosterThe Godfather is one of the most popular and successful films of all time. It charts the rise of a mafia clan in the United States as they extend their criminal empire and pass the mantle down through the generations like a ruling dynasty of old. It was first released in 1972 and smashed box office records. The film was based on the best selling Mario Puzo novel of the same name and director Francis Ford Coppola managed to assemble one of the best casts ever to bring the film to the screen.

    It could have been a very different film and in this article we are going to take a look at some of the actors who auditioned and the problems which cropped up during production.

    First let’s take a look at the actors who were considered for perhaps the most famous role in cinema history, Vito Corleone, the Godfather himself. The first batch to be considered and rejected included Edward G. Robinson, Orson Welles and George C. Scott. Reportedly both Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra wanted the role but neither was a serious contender.

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  • Star Wars References in Indiana Jones

    By roskopp on 2/11/09 4:36am
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    Directors frequently like to reference other films in their movies. Sometime they pay tribute to a great film that influenced them; sometimes they pay tribute to their own favourite work. These references can be artistic, they can be familiar lines of dialogue and they can even be character names. George Lucas is particularly fond of the practice and in the Indiana Jones movies he makes several references to his Star Wars films. They are often subtle so in case you’ve never spotted them here are some of the best Star Wars references to appear in Indiana Jones movies.

    Han Solo from Star WarsThere are also a few links in terms of personnel and the most obvious is leading man Harrison Ford. In fact Lucas didn’t want to use Ford for Indiana Jones because he thought he would become “that guy I put in all my movies” luckily he was persuaded to change his mind. Lawrence Kasdan was the scriptwriter for Raiders of the Lost Ark and he also wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

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  • Visual Mistakes in Historical Movies

    By roskopp on 2/9/09 7:04am
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    Mistakes in historical movies are all too common and they can provide some great laughs. I’m not talking about obscure mistakes like guns being the wrong model or a breed of horse being used which wouldn’t really have been found in that part of the world; I’m talking about visual blunders. The carefully created illusion that the actors or actresses are bringing history to life is so easily ruined by a stray wrist watch or an aircraft overhead. Here are a few of my favourite historical movie mistakes.

    The Vikings is an epic film where Kirk Douglas plays a vicious Viking ruler opposite hero Tony Curtis. In one scene Douglas is returning to his home town and as the longboat sails into the bay you can actually see a road in the background through the trees with cars driving along it.

    Pearl Harbor is a thoroughly terrible film and it is absolutely packed with historical inaccuracies and mistakes. One of the best mistakes is the scene featuring Evelyn as she enters the harbor area and you can clearly see a building behind her with a sign which says “Est. 1953” on it.

    In Gladiator Russell Crowe took on the role of Maximus and went up against the corrupt Emperor.

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  • Troubled Productions: Blade Runner

    By roskopp on 2/6/09 3:42am
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    Blade Runner poster copyright The Blade Runner Partnership and The Ladd CompanyThe 1982 sci-fi flick Blade Runner is one of my favourite films and despite a lukewarm reception on release it has become a cult classic. Based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The film is set in a dilapidated futuristic Los Angeles with flying cars and humanoid robots almost completely indistinguishable from the real thing. Biologically engineered they are known as Replicants and used for hard labour on far away planets or as sex slaves. The problem is they have developed consciousness and they don’t want to follow orders anymore. Our hero Deckard, played by Harrison Ford is called out of retirement in order to hunt them down.

    The film has been released in at least seven different versions over the years and it suffered from a troubled production to say the least.

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  • Welcome to Film Industry Trivia

    By roskopp on 2/5/09 4:17am
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    Welcome to Film Industry Trivia a blog dedicated to digging up interesting nuggets of trivia about the film industry. You can find out how movies were put together, who the first choice directors, actors and actresses were and read stories about the actual production of some of your favourite films.

    Just imagine for a moment how different some of the most celebrated films in history may have been if the first choice actor or director had gotten the gig. You can expect more in depth articles over the next few weeks but to whet your appetite here are a few of my favourite close calls in casting.

    First up is Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, of course it is now impossible to imagine anyone other than Harrison Ford as Indy but Tom Selleck was actually cast in the role and had to decline it because of his commitment to Magnum P.I.

    Mel Gibson turned down the role of Maximus in the smash hit Gladiator.

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