Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[struth]

Dances with Wolves, 1990..

watching final third of this now. at 4hrs is quite long although it does capture your attention in such a way as you don't notice too much

[struth]

The Simpsons Movie, 2007...



In total, The Simpsons Movie (2007) took nine years to complete. This is because Fox greenlit the project back in 1997 but in the years up until release, they had to get the voice cast to sign deals, which they didn't do up until 2001. Producing a final script also took several years because almost 160 different versions were written before choosing the final one as plots were continuously being repurposed for the television episodes. Work on the script began in 2003 and included 158 drafts written. The script for the voice work was to be kept so secret that the producers personally shredded the script after every voicing session.

[struth]

Young Frankenstein, 1974...



Gene Hackman learned about the film through his frequent tennis partner Gene Wilder and requested a role, because he wanted to try comedy. He volunteered to play the Blind Hermit for free. It was four days of shooting for about four minutes of running time. Gene Hackman ad-libbed The Blind Man's parting line "I was gonna make espresso." The scene immediately fades to black because the crew erupted into fits of laughter. Hackman was unable to repeat the line without laughing with the rest of the crew, so the first take was used. Hackman was uncredited when the movie was originally released in theaters.

[Barry]

Young Frankenstein, 1974...



Gene Hackman learned about the film through his frequent tennis partner Gene Wilder and requested a role, because he wanted to try comedy. He volunteered to play the Blind Hermit for free. It was four days of shooting for about four minutes of running time. Gene Hackman ad-libbed The Blind Man's parting line "I was gonna make espresso." The scene immediately fades to black because the crew erupted into fits of laughter. Hackman was unable to repeat the line without laughing with the rest of the crew, so the first take was used. Hackman was uncredited when the movie was originally released in theaters.

"Walk this way." "Hump? What hump?"

[struth]

Happy Ever After, 1954...

AKA
Tonight's the Night..









This film was hugely popular in the UK when it was released. It was one of the most successful pictures ever made by Associated British Films.

Prologue: "Rathbarney Ireland, Population 507-1/2 (including one ghost, two oldest inhabitants, three leprechauns and a number of begorrahs). INDUSTRIES--Hunting, Shooting and Drinking. PLACES OF INTEREST---The Pub."

[struth]

Cowboys & Aliens, 2011...




Robert Downey Jr. was set to play Zeke Jackson (a "former Union army gunslinger"), but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Within a month, the character was re-named Jake Lonergan and re-written to be an outlaw, and Downey, Jr. was replaced with Daniel Craig.

[struth]

Breakheart Pass, 1975...




The fight on the top of the train was performed by stuntmen Howard Curtis, doubling Charles Bronson, and Tony Brubaker, doubling Archie Moore, and was directed by stunt coordinator Yakima Canutt, his last screen credit in a career that lasted 60 years and included directing the chariot race in Ben-Hur (1959).

The train seen was the Great Western Railway 2-8-0 Consolidated Steam Locomotive #75. This 19th-century locomotive was co-owned by Everett Rohrer, Dr. James R. Arneill and Phil Frish of Denver, CO, and was used in several other motion pictures.

[struth]

Three Days of the Condor, 1975...



Former CIA director Richard Helms acted as a personal consultant to Robert Redford for his role as The Condor.

Higgins' office is based at the World Trade Center. Cliff Robertson, who played Higgins, is a keen aviator, and was flying a private Beechcraft Baron over New York City on the morning of September 11, 2001. He was directly above the World Trade Center, climbing through 7,500 feet when the first Boeing 767 struck. Air traffic control instructed him to land immediately at the nearest airport, after a nationwide order to ground all civilian and commercial aircraft following the attacks.

When Turner tracks the phone number Joubert calls, he calls the phone company office and asks for a "CNA," which stands for Customer Name and Address. This service is only available to phone company employees, which is why Turner has to pretend to be one.

[Barry]

Not a bad little film. Will have to try to get a copy.

[struth]

Classic comedy with ... The Devil and Miss Jones, 1941...




Inspection of the interior set of Merrick's mansion reveals it to be the Xanadu set of the recently shot RKO picture Citizen Kane (1941). The fireplace behind the Merrick's desk with its unique herring-bone brick pattern is the tip-off.

The giant edifice in the background of the opening scene is Manhattan's famous Plaza Hotel, making Mr. Merrick's home part of the famous mansion row that once graced 5th Avenue.

The wine which John Merrick/Tom Higgins takes to the beach is a 1903 Romanée-Conti which has been called "one of the greatest wines of the world and the most perfect as well as the most expensive of Burgundy". The wine has been highly regarded for centuries. However, it's unlikely that the 1903 vintage yielded only 24 bottles, although Europe recorded particularly chilly weather that year.