Lake Placid (1999)
1. Betty White's character is told that PETA
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) would be interested to learn of
her alleged mistreatment of her cows. In reality, Betty White is a major on-air
spokesperson for PETA.
2. In the hospital, someone can be heard paging Mr. Miner in the background.
Lake Placid was directed by Steve Miner.
Lara Croft : Tomb Raider (2001)
1. The item up for auction
while Laura is talking to Alex at the auction house is the dagger of Xian. You
can just hear the auctioneer announce that at the beginning of the conversation.
The artefact that Laura was searching for in Tomb Raider II, the video game.
2. Many of Lara's action sequence moves will be known and loved by any
aficionados of the video game series. Drawing weapons mid-summersault, swallow
dives into water, forward rolls to reverse direction - signature moves of the
experienced player.
3. Martin Clunes was originally asked to play Lara's butler, but filming dates
clashed with his wedding anniversary (he makes a special point of never working
on his anniversary), so he turned it down. The part was eventually taken by
Chris Barrie.
Last
Action Hero (1993)
1. Contains intentional continuity errors.
2. Many of the "props" in the film are made by "Acme".
3. The schoolteacher who praises Laurence Olivier's performance was played by
Joan Plowright, who is Olivier's widow.
4. After Slater plays Chicken in New York City, Danny makes reference to the
movie Die Hard. Suddenly the theme from Die Hard
(1988) can be heard faintly in the background; both Last Action Hero
and Die Hard being John McTiernan films.
5.All of McTiernan's films can be seen in one row in the video store.
Last Boy Scout, The (1991)
1. The movie that Darien is watching on TV is Lethal Weapon (1987), which was
also written by Shane Black.
Last
Samurai, The (2003)
1. Tom Cruise took no "up front" salary for this film.
2. Tom Cruise narrowly escaped potentially fatal injuries after a sword was
swung within one inch of his neck while filming. He and his co-star Hiroyuki
Sanada was acting out a sword fight scene when the incident happened. Sanada
swung a sword at Cruise who was on an off-camera mechanical horse at the time.
But the machine reportedly malfunctioned and failed to duck at the right moment.
Sanada stopped the blade just one inch from his neck.
3. This movie marks the 100th score for composer Hans Zimmer
4. The Chinese character that the Taka's younger son paints and gives to Algren
is the character for "samurai".
5. Learning how to use the sword, speak Japanese, among many other things, Tom
Cruise spent two years preparing for this movie
6. The kanji characters that appear on the posters, often beneath the title, do
not say "The Last Samurai." They say "bushido" ("the Knight's Way," i.e.,
Japanese chivalry).
League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen, The (2003)
1. This is the second movie based on a comic book created by Moore, Alan, the
first being From Hell (2001). Jason Flemyng has starred in both.
2. Filming was delayed due to the summer 2002 floods in Prague, Czech Republic
which destroyed more than $7 million worth of sets.
3. Due to rights issues, the name of the Invisible Man has been changed from Dr.
Hawley Griffin in the original H.G. Wells novel.
4. With this film, Richard Roxburgh becomes the second actor ever to play both
Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft, after Christopher Lee. In both cases,
the actor played Sherlock first.
Lemony Snicket's
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
1. "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
is the name of the series of books (numbering 11 as of October 2004; the series
is projected to run to thirteen volumes).
2. The bizarre car seen in the previews is a late model Tatra 603. Built in what
was Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) it was designed as a limousine for
Communist Party officials and VIPs. Although it was first designed in 1955, this
particular model was built between 1968 and 1975.
3. This movie is the first three books of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate
Events combined into one movie.
4. The movie has elements from the first three books, "The Bad Beginning", "The
Reptile Room", and "The Wide Window".
5. Early in pre-production, Scott Rudin was attached to produce this movie, with
Barry Sonnenfeld as director. Rudin later left the project over "budgetary
conflicts", and Sonnenfeld left soon after. However, both are still credited as
executive producers.
6. Christy Carlson Romano was originally supposed to play the role of Violet.
7. During production, Liam Aiken grew four and a half inches (11.4 cm),
requiring adjustments to his costume throughout. By the end of the movie, he is
visibly taller than the actress portraying his sister.
8. Jim Carrey's make-up and hair took three hours to finish.
Leon (1994)
1. Mathilda registers herself and Leon at the hotel as ‘Mr. McGuffin and
daughter’; a reference to a term that Alfred Hitchcock used to describe a plot
element that is of paramount importance to the characters in the film, but
merely incidental to the viewers of the film.
2.
During the
filming involving all of the police cars on the street, a man ran from a store
he had just robbed. When he encountered the movie set by accident, he saw all of
the "police" and gave himself up to a bunch of uniformed extras.
3. Stansfield says he and his goons
will show up at noon. At León's house we see a clock that shows 11:58. The
following sequence takes exactly two minutes, and they show up exactly at noon.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
1. The house
that got firebombed had previously served as the family home in The
Partridge Family (1970) and the Kravitzes' home in Bewitched
(1964).
2. Legendary stuntman Dar Robinson was killed in a
motorcycle accident shortly after principle photograph was finished on Lethal
Weapon. Richard Donner dedicated "Lethal Weapon" to Robinson
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
1. In the
scene were Leo is cleaning Martins house, you can hear the song I'm not scared,
by the short lived British pop group Eight Wonder, of which Patsy Kensit was the
lead singer.
2. While the Murtaugh family waits for the commercial,
they watch Tales from the Crypt (1989), specifically the psycho
Santa episode starring Mary Ellen Trainor, who plays the Police Psychiatrist.
3. Rika Van Den Haas (Patsy Kensit) was originally scripted to survive. It was
actually filmed, but scrapped.
4. Leo's "okay-okay-okay" schtick was based on Disneyland employees giving
directions to Fantasyland.
5. On the side of Riggs' refrigerator is a U.S. Army Military Police School
diploma.
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
1. The mayor
of the City of
Orlando,
Bill Frederick, was the policeman who said "Bravo," to Murtaugh and Riggs
after the explosion of the building in the opening scene which was the old
Orlando City Hall.
2. Marble slabs that were once part of the old city
hall destroyed for the film are now used as tabletops at a local outdoor cafe in
Orlando, Florida.
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
1. Kim Chan
plays a crime lord nicknamed Uncle Benny. He also played a crime lord nicknamed
Uncle Benny in The Corruptor(1999).
2.
Murtaugh's children are played by the same actors and actresses in all four
Lethal Weapons.
3. Paul
Tuerpe appears in all four Lethal Weapon movies, but always in slightly
different roles. He played 'Mercenary' in the first, 'Hitman' in
the second, 'Henchman #3' in the third, and 'Helicopter Co-pilot'
in the fourth.
4. In one scene, Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh
congratulate one another on their promotions by rapidly alternating between
handshakes and salutes. This is similar to scenes in Forever Young
(1992) between Mel Gibson and George Wendt.
5. The Wah Sing Ku character (played by Jet Li) was originally to be played by
Jackie Chan However Jackie Chan declined the role because he chooses never to
play the villain in a movie.
6. The car chase seen and fight between Riggs and the Chinese man in the house
trailer was actually filmed on the 215 freeway in Las Vegas. Local radio
stations put out a message for Las Vegas locals to take part in the freeway
chase. Most of the cars on the freeway were the private cars of Las Vegas
locals.
On the Beretta 92 (the semi-automatic pistol that Riggs carries) and all of its
calibre variants, there is a small tab on the left-hand side of the front of the
gun, between the slide and body, that allows the weapon to be 'stripped' and
cleaned. It is possible to grab the gun, push the tab down, and pull the slide
off to disarm the weapon, but in the scene where Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li) pulls the
slide off of Riggs' Beretta 92, the tab has already been pushed down, to assist
Jet Li in performing the feat.
Liar Liar (1997)
1. During the final scene with Jim Carrey on the stretcher, the fireman in the
background directing the action is Jim himself, making a cameo appearance as "Fire
Marshall Bill", which is one of his characters from TV show In Living
Colour.
Life (1999)
1. In the scene where Eddie Murphy gets into a fight with Goldmouth, he makes a
comment saying "I know a bitch named Della that hits harder than you". He
is referring to his fight scene with Della Reese in Harlem Nights
(1989).
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
1. Disney promoted this movie with a series of trailers inserting Stitch into
some of its "classic" titles. Examples: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Stitch surfs a wave that crashes down on Ariel. Beauty and the Beast
(1991) causes the chandelier to fall into the ballroom scene. Aladdin
(1992), steals Princess Jasmine from their "Whole New World" magic carpet ride.
The Lion King (1994) takes Simba's place on Pride Rock during the
"Circle of Life" opening.
2. A Dumbo doll appears in the easel in Lilo's bedroom. This is a nod to the
inspiration of watercolour backgrounds that were used in the film.
3. The movie features more Elvis Presley songs than any of Presley's own films.
4. There are several "hidden Mickeys" in the movie (as in most Disney films) -
one can be seen in the Grand Council scene, on Jumba's platform. Another can be
seen as a logo on the shorts of one of Lilo's photographic subjects on the wall
of her room.
5. According to Stitch's dog license at the shelter, the adoption official is
"Susan Hegarty", the name of the actress who voiced the character. Also,
according to the license, Lilo and Nani's last name is "Pelekai".
6. The A113 on the license plates can be found in almost every Disney movie. It
is a reference to a room number at California Institute of the Arts.
Lion King, The (1994)
1. One of the bugs that Timon pulls out of a knothole during ‘Hakuna Matada’ is
wearing Mickey Mouse ears.
Little Mermaid, The (1989)
1. Some versions of the videotape had the likeness of a penis on the cover. It's
the highest tower in the middle of the castle in the background
Little Nicky (2000)
1. In the scene where Nicky meets his mother in heaven, Carl Weathers appears as
Chubbs, the character he played in Happy Gilmore (which also
starred Adam Sandler).
Live and Let Die (1973)
1. Sean Connery turned down the then astronomical sum of $5.5 million to play
James Bond.
2. UA wanted an American to play Bond: Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman and Robert
Redford were all considered. Producer Albert R. Broccoli, however, insisted that
the part should be played by a Briton and put forward Moore.
3. The Tarot card deck used by Solitaire features contemporary paintings by
Fergus Hall, "Courtesy of the Portal Gallery Limited, London, England." A
duplicate set was published by in Switzerland by Agmueller & Cie, distributed
worldwide by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. New York. The cards in the film had a red,
patterned background featuring the "007" emblem, but the commercial set is blue
instead (same pattern).
4. Moore should not have been available for the part since at the time he was
committed to The Persuaders! (1971), but when the show flopped in
the U.S. he was prematurely released from his contract. Moore was author Ian
Fleming's original choice for Bond, but he was committed to The Saint
(1962) when the earlier films were in production.
5. All of Moore's contracts include an unlimited supply of hand-rolled Monte
Cristo cigars (in one 007 movie the final bill comes to 3176.50 pounds).
6. Live and Let Die is the first 007 score not to involve John Barry (I); former
Beatles producer George Martin does the job instead.
7. The power-boat jump over the causeway set the world record for distance: 110
feet. The second boat was not scripted to collide with the police car, but after
this happened while shooting the stunt, the script was changed to accommodate
it.
8. The only Bond film since his first appearance in From Russia with Love (1963)
not to feature Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Fans demanded his return in the next film,
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
9. In an attempt to shift the focus away from Bond's gadgetry, Q does not
appear.
10. Ross Kananga (credited as "stunt co-ordinator") was the owner of the
crocodile farm in which Bond escapes some hungry reptiles. Kananga did this
stunt by himself wearing Roger Moore's clothes and shoes made of crocodile skin.
It took five attempts to complete the stunt. During the fourth attempt, one of
the crocodiles snapped at one of the shoes as it went by, grabbing Kananga who
had to wrestle himself free. The producers liked Ross Kananga so much that the
movie's villain was named after him.
11. Roger Moore becomes the first actor to perform the gun-barrel sequence
without a hat.
12. Roger Moore had been in the running to play Bond as early as 1962, but was
considered too young looking, even though he was older than Sean Connery.
13. We see Bond's apartment for the second and (to date) final time in the
series. Among the fixtures is a machine for making coffee that is treated as a
gadget. Today's audiences will easily recognize it as either an espresso or
cappuccino machine, which were uncommon in 1973.
14. Gayle Hunnicutt was signed to play Solitaire, but had to pull out when she
became pregnant.
15. The character of Baron Samedi was rumoured to make a return in a future Bond
film, which explains his appearance on the front of the train at the end of the
film.
Living
Daylights, The (1987)
1. The casting of Frederick Warder and Glyn Baker as 004 and 002 at the
beginning of the movie was intentional. One bears a resemblance to Roger Moore,
the other is a near-lookalike for George Lazenby. The writers wanted to toy with
the audience's expectations of which of the 00 agents was Bond.
2. Timothy Dalton's first appearance as James Bond. Pierce Brosnan was the hot
favourite to replace Roger Moore but was ruled out because of his contractual
obligations to "Remington Steele" (1982). Sean Bean tested for the role of James
Bond too. Sam Neill was also considered and did extensive screen tests.
3. Timothy Dalton was originally considered for the role of James Bond in the
early 1970s, after Sean Connery left the role following Diamonds Are
Forever (1971). He turned down the part as he thought he was too young.
4. Maryam d'Abo was originally hired only to appear in screen tests opposite
potential new James Bonds.
5. Joe Don Baker, who plays the evil Brad Whitaker in this film, went on to play
CIA Agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never
Dies (1997).
6. A deleted scene can be viewed on the UK region 2 DVD special edition showing
James Bond (Dalton) using a carpet suspended on cables to escape across the
rooftops in Tangiers. The scene gives the impression that it is a magic or
flying carpet ride. The scene was cut prior to release to reduce the running
time of the movie.
7. Contrary to popular belief, the strange looking rifle Bond uses to shoot Kara
is an actual rifle and not some prop designed for the movie. The rifle is a
WA2000 sniper rifle, perfect for Bond since it's designed by Walther Firearms,
maker of his classic PPK.
8. Final Bond film to date to use one of Ian Fleming's original story titles.
From here on, the titles will be original, though the series would go for one
more film (Licence to Kill) before exhausting available Fleming story elements.
9. The term used in this movie "Smert Shpionam", meaning "death to spies", was
taken from Ian Fleming's novel "Casino Royale", as Fleming describes it as where
his organization SMERSH derives its name.
10. The DVD was pulled out of worldwide circulation in early 2002 as it featured
a rare clip of Sam Neill screen testing for James Bond. Neill had not given
permission for this clip to be used.
Loaded
Weapon 1 (1993)
1. Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox appear in their CHiPs roles
during a shootout scene. Yet in the entire six-year run of CHiPs,
they never once drew their weapons.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
1. For
high-tech tasks, a computer program called MASSIVE made armies of CGI
orcs, elves, and humans. These digital creations could 'think' and battle
independently - identifying friend or foe - thanks to individual fields of
vision.
Jackson's team could click on one creature
in a crowd scene of 20,000 and see through his "eyes". Different species even
boast unique fighting styles.
2. It is
reported that on the first run of the fight sequences using the MASSIVE
Artificial Intelligence program, the intelligent fighters - programmed to fight
in the most efficient manner possible - all turned and ran away.
3. Ian Holm, who plays Bilbo Baggins, was the
voice of 'Frodo Baggins' in the classic BBC Radio adaptation of "The Lord of The
Rings" in the 1970s.
4. Although David Bowie was said to be keen
on playing Elf Lord Elrond, the part went instead to Hugo Weaving.
5. Daniel Day-Lewis turned down the role of Aragorn.
6. New Zealand's army was cast as extras for large battle scenes in the film,
but was forced to back out due to having to serve as peacekeepers in East Timor.
7. Sean Astin gained 30 pounds for his role as Samwise.
8. The map Gandalf picks up in Bilbo's study is a reproduction of the map
Tolkien drew for the book "The Hobbit".
9. Christopher Lee reads "The Lord of the Rings" once a year and is the
only member of the cast and crew ever to have met Tolkien.
10. As well as being the only member of the cast and crew to have met Tolkien
face to face, Christopher Lee was also the first person to be cast in the
trilogy because of his extensive knowledge of the books. He frequently visited
the makeup department and often gave tips about the facial design of the
monsters.
11. The three trolls which were turned to stone in "The Hobbit" are in the
background during the scene where Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Strider/Aragorn
are resting after fleeing from Weathertop/Amon Sul.
12. The original plan was to film "The Hobbit" starring Warwick Davis. But when
Miramax balked at the $75 million dollar price tag Peter Jackson took it to New
Line which gave him nearly $300 million to make the trilogy
13. When Frodo falls on the snow and loses
the ring, a close-up of the ring with Frodo in the background is shown. In order
to keep both the subjects focused, a giant ring (6 inches of diameter) was used.
14. Stuart Townsend. was originally cast as Aragorn,
but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen after four days of shooting due to creative
differences.
15. Orlando Bloom originally auditioned for the part of Faramir. He was called
back and subsequently cast, instead, as Legolas.
16. When the trailer was released on Internet on 7 April 2001, it was downloaded
1.6 million times in the first 24 hours.
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers, The (2002), and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The
(2003) were filmed simultaneously. The back-to-back shoot lasted a record-equaling
274 days, in 16 months - exactly the same time as taken for the principal
photography of Apocalypse Now (1979).
18. Hobbiton was filmed in the Hinuera Valley near Matamata, New Zealand. The
village was constructed and plants and trees were planted a year before filming
so the set had an aged look as though Hobbits had lived there for hundreds of
years.
19. The hobbits needed to appear about three to four feet tall - tiny compared
with the seven-foot Gandalf. This was often accomplished using forced
perspective, placing Ian McKellen (Gandalf) consistently closer to the camera
than Elijah Wood in order to trick the eye into thinking McKellen is towering.
In order to make "forced perspective" a bit more interesting, the filmmakers
devised a totally new system consisting of a pulley and a platform. When the
camera moved (which is normally impossible as the forced perspective would
become obvious) the actor(s) also moved, and the perspective (7-foot Gandalf -
4-foot hobbits) would always be okay. They also used three differently sized
props (large, medium, small) to interact with the different sized characters
20. More than 1,600 pairs of latex ears and feet were used during the shoot,
each "cooked" in a special oven running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There
was no way of removing the feet at the end of the day without damaging them and
so each pair could only be used once. The used feet were shredded to prevent a
black market in stolen hobbit feet but apparently Dominic Monaghan (Merry) kept
a pair.
21. Eight of the nine members of the Fellowship got a small tattoo, the Elvish
symbol for "9" at a tattoo parlour in Wellington, New Zealand, to commemorate
the experience of the movie. The ninth member, John Rhys-Davies, declined and
sent his stunt double in his place. Elijah Wood's tattoo is on his lower
stomach. Two of the other hobbits have the tattoo on their ankles (to
commemorate all those hours in the hobbit feet). Orlando Bloom, who plays the
archer elf Legolas, has his on his forearm. Ian McKellen's is on his shoulder.
After the New Zealand premiere, director Peter Jackson joined the actors who
played the nine members of the Fellowship by getting a commemorative tattoo of
his own. While their tattoos were the Elvish symbol for "9", Jackson received an
Elvish "10".
22. Peter Jackson gave the ring used in the movies to Elijah Wood as gift when
the shoot was finished.
23. Peter Jackson's two children are listed in the end credits as "Cute Hobbit
Children".
24. Peter Jackson appears as the belching peasant, outside the Prancing Pony Inn
in Bree.
25. Ian McKellen based Gandalf's accent on that of Tolkien himself.
26. Gandalf's painful encounter with a ceiling beam in Bilbo's hobbit-hole was
not in the script--Ian McKellen banged his forehead against the beam
accidentally, not on purpose. But Jackson thought McKellen did a great job
"acting through" the mistake, and so kept it in.
27. On the film's first theatrical release, a story circulated (and was reported
in the goofs section) that when Sam tells Frodo that he is now the farthest he
has ever been from home, a car is visible driving by in the background
(top-right corner of the screen). Arguments ensued. Some said it was smoke from
a chimney, others said they saw the glint of sunlight reflected from the
windscreen of a fast moving vehicle. In the version of the film released on DVD
there is definitely *no* car, only chimney smoke and a one-frame flash of light
which *could* conceivably be a car, but not in any sense that could be
considered a goof. Jackson says (in the commentary track on the Extended DVD)
that he looked at every frame on a computer and has never seen anything
resembling a car and claims that it's nonsense. In the documentary of extended
DVD version, John Gilbert, the editor, says that there was a car in the
background, but they thought no-one would notice it. They got rid of it in the
DVD version.
28. Viggo Mortensen kept his sword with him at all times off set so that he
could remain in character. He was questioned several times by police after
reviewing his training sessions with the sword and being spotted by members of
the public.
29. One of the indistinct words that Gandalf whispers to the moth when he is
trapped by Saruman is "Gwaihir", the name of the eagle that later rescues him
from the tower.
30. There is a hidden extra in the 4-disc version of the Region 1 DVD. It is a
spoof of the Council of Elrond, prepared by MTV and starring Jack Black and
Sarah Michelle Gellar. You can find it by going to the chapter index of the
first disc, going to the last chapter "The Council of Elrond" and use the down
arrow to go a gold ring immediately under that chapter. The gold ring only
appears when the cursor is there. Press play and you'll see Peter Jackson
presenting this feature. The MTV Council of Elrond spoof easter egg does not
appear on the UK version of the 4-disc set. This is because the BBFC would have
required a "12" certificate for the set had it been included, instead of a "PG"
certificate. For the same reason one of the documentaries has had some swearing
cut out.
31. Sometimes when there is a close-up of the ring you can hear a gruff voice
chanting. This is the voice of Sauron and the words he is chanting are, "One
ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in
the darkness bind them," in the language of Mordor.
32. During filming, most of the members of the Fellowship took up surfing in New
Zealand in their spare time. Among them was Viggo Mortenson, who wiped out
terribly one day, and bruised one whole side of his face. The next day, makeup
tried to mask the bruising and swelling, but were unsuccessful. Instead, Peter
Jackson opted to film Mortenson from one side for the entire scene. In the scene
in the Mines of Moria when they find the grave of Gimli's relative, Aragorn is
only seen from one side in the whole scene.
33. John Rhys-Davies, who plays Gimli the dwarf, is the tallest of the actors
who play members of the Fellowship. He is 6' 1".
34. When the hobbits are on screen, they always walk from the left of the screen
to the right, never the other way around (because of the movie convention that
West-East travel is represented by left-right movement)
35. Then twenty-six year old Stuart Townsend was set
to play Aragorn, but was let go after the six weeks of training and rehearsal
and one day into filming because director Peter Jackson felt the character
should be played by someone older. He was replaced by forty-one year old Viggo
Mortensen
Lord of the
Rings: The
Two
Towers, The
(2002)
1. Following
the attack on the
World
Trade Centre on 11 September 2001, and because of the similarity between the buildings'
nickname, "The Twin Towers", and the movie's title, "The Two Towers",
the director and producers briefly considered renaming the second movie in the
trilogy. They eventually decided against it, Peter Jackson's main reason being
that, "fans would kill me".
2.
The Orc battle cries for the Helm's Deep battle
sequence were provided by a stadium of 25,000 cricket fans, who screamed the war
chants, spelled out on the Diamond Vision screen, with Jackson himself leading
the crowd.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring (2000), The Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers (2001), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,
(2001) were filmed simultaneously.
4. The map that Faramir and his aide look at
is the map featured in the books, drawn by Tolkien's son, Christopher.
5. The battle at Helm's Deep was edited down
from twenty hours of footage, shot over a three month period with the rain
machine battering down on the cast.
6. Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan spent so
much time up the tree (TreeBeard) during the making of the the film that they
spent their time between takes writing a screenplay. Additionally, it was so
difficult to get up and down to their "perches" that they were left there during
breaks while the rest of the crew went off to eat, though someone was kind
enough to pass theirs up to them.
7. Viggo Mortensen broke a toe while kicking
the steel helmet by the orc pyre.
8. In the wide shots of Legolas, Aragorn & Gimli
running after the Orcs, all three performers are running injured. Orlando Bloom
had a couple of broken ribs (from a fall off a horse); Aragorn had a broken toe
(from kicking the helmet in the Orcs funeral pyre scene); and Brett Beattie (Gimli's
scale double) had a knee injury. Peter Jackson said that all three were very
dedicated and continued to film the scene, often yelling "ouch" or "ow" after
"Cut" was called.
9. A stuntman broke his back playing the soldier who is hit by the "bolt" from
the ballista type device used to hoist the ladders.
10. The first sequel to be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture when
the original film did not win the award itself.
11. There were so many extras used in the sequences at Helms Deep, and the
filming went for so many months that almost all the extras and principle actors
got tee-shirts reading "I survived Helms Deep". There were so many of these
shirts that extras would often meet other extras in New Zealand's main cities
because they would recognize the shirts.
12. Viggo Mortensen was so impressed with the horse his character rides that he
purchased him from the owners. The horse was shipped back to New Zealand for the
additional shots that were filmed in 2002.
13. We almost never see Legolas blink. The one exception is when he sets eyes on
Galdalf's white horse, Shadowfax: he blinks five times in surprise.
14. Peter Jackson appears wearing chain mail at Helm's
Deep throwing a spear.
15. On the wall of Helm's Deep during the battle, a one-eyed warrior turns to
the camera, revealing his scarred empty socket. The performer who played him
showed up as an extra, wearing an eyepatch; director Peter Jackson politely
asked to see what was under the patch, and then inquired if the gentleman would
be interested in appearing in the film sans eyepatch. The gentleman was
reluctant at first and quite self-conscious, but afterward said the experience
had made him more comfortable with his condition.
16. John Rhys-Davies, also provided the voice for Treebeard.
18. Peter Jackson's children appear as "cute Rohan refugee children".
19. Andy Serkis (Gollum) was ruled ineligible for a Best Supporting Actor
nomination at the 2003 Academy Awards because his character onscreen was
computer generated.
20. In the extended DVD version on the first movie disc, go to the very bottom
of the menu next to "New Scene" and a gold ring will appear. It's a hidden extra
of the MTV awards for Andy Serkis receiving best virtual performance.
21. One frame of Gollum would take around eight minutes to render, while one
frame of Treebeard could take up to 48 hours to render.
22. The Deeping Wall blowing up and the boulder smashing into a tower in
Osgiliath weren't created digitally, but by destroying the miniatures
23. The scene with the Orcs before the Battle for Helms Deep starts, where they
stomp their spears into the ground, was inspired by the same act the stuntmen
would do between takes to pass time. After seeing it, Jackson liked it, and put
it in the movie.
Lord of the Rings: The Return
of the King, The (2003)
1. Sean Astin's (Sam Gamgee) daughter, Alexandra Astin, plays his daughter,
Elanor.
2. There are reportedly five different death scenes filmed for the character of
Saruman. Christopher Lee has said that he had no idea which one would be used in
the final cut.
3. Rumours in early 2003 have it that the first cut is six hours long because of
the amount of material from Tolkien's original story that remains to be covered.
4. The first film in the trilogy had 560
computer-generated effect. "The Two Towers" had 800 and "Return of the King" has
1500.
5. Peter Jackson's children appear twice in the film: in Gondor, when the
horsemen leave the city, and in Sam's wedding.
6. Peter Jackson appears as one of the mercenaries on the boats headed for Minas
Tirtith.
7. Sean Astin's daughter, Alexandra Astin, plays Sam Gamgee's daughter, Elanor.
Sarah McLeod 's daughter, Maisie McLeod-Riera, plays Sam and Rosie's younger
daughter.
8. The battle scenes, which reportedly contain over 200,000 digital
participants, are so huge that an extra room had to be built onto Weta Digital's
effects facility to house all the computer equipment needed to render the
scenes.
9. Viggo Mortensen estimates that, during the course of filming the entire
trilogy and including all takes, he killed every stuntman on the production at
least fifty times.
10. Cameo: [Royd Tolkien] (the author's great-grandson) as a Gondorian Ranger
handing weapons to his fellow soldiers when the orcs are invading Osgiliath.
11. Made $34.1 million in its first day, setting a new Wednesday record.
12. The opening scene which tells the origin of Gollum was originally shot for
The Two Towers, to be shown after Gollum remembers his real name (Smeagol) for
the first time.
13. Facts and numbers about the trilogy 3 Million feet of film shot during
production; 48,000 swords, axes, shields, and other weaponry used; 20,602
background actors cast; 15,000 costumes made by the wardrobe department; 10,000
crowd participants at New Zealand cricket game who made orc army grunts; 2,400
behind-the-scenes crew members at height of production; 1,600 pairs or
prosthetic hobbit feet created; 250 horses used in one scene; 180 computer
special-effects artists employed; 114 total speaking roles; 100 real locations
in New Zealand used for backdrops; 42 tailors, cobblers, designers and others in
wardrobe department; 30 actors trained to speak fictional dialects and
languages; 7 total years of development for all three movies.
14. Broke the international box office record for an opening weekend, bringing
in nearly $250 million.
15. Pippin's song in Denethor's hall was composed and sung for the film by Billy
Boyd.
16. Andy Serkis plays the hobbit carrying the pumpkin in the inn where Sam goes
after Rosie.
17. The movie marks the second time in
history that the third movie in a trilogy was nominated for Best Picture, by the
Academy Awards and Golden Globes, after
The Godfather: Part III(1990). It is also
the only time that a third movie has won the Best Picture Oscar, and only the
second sequel in history to win (after The Godfather: Part II
(1974)).
18. One of the longest movies to win the
Oscar for Best Picture, at 201 minutes, exceeded only by Lawrence of
Arabia (1962) at 222m, and Gone with the Wind (1939) at
238m.
19. When Frodo is writing the book, the
top of the page notes that Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbiton.
20. In February 2004, became second film
to break the $1 billion mark in worldwide box-office revenue (Titanic
(1997) was the first).
21. The Lord of the Rings trilogy became
the most nominated film series in Academy Award history with 30 nominations,
surpassing both the Godfather trilogy (28) and the Star Wars
franchise (21).
22. In every instalment of the trilogy, one character
says the subtitle of the film. In Fellowship during the council scene Elrond
refers to the nine as the "Fellowship of the Ring"; in the Two Towers it's
Saurman who says "The Two Towers" during a voiceover; and finally in this film,
Gandalf tells the steward of Gondor and he can't refuse the Return of the King.
23. Gollum is missing his left ear lobe. This is due
to an air trap in the casting that was made for Peter Jackson's approval of the
figure. When looking at the casting, the design team concluded that it should
stay that way since it looked like a battle wound that might have occurred
during Gollum's past adventures.
24. Scenes were re-shot with the Witch King because
his helmet was too similar to Sauron's in The Fellowship Of The Ring and Peter
Jackson was concerned that audiences would confuse the two.
25. Peter Jackson is arachnophobia.
26. According to a magazine article, Peter Jackson
hated the Army of the Dead; he thought it was too unbelievable. He kept it in
the script because he did not wish to disappoint diehard fans of the book
trilogy.
27. The deformed orc leader Gothmog is based on the
alien leader from Peter Jackson's earlier movie Bad Taste (1987).
28. The deformed Orc leader Gothmog is only mentioned
once in the original novel of "The Lord of the Rings" - identified only as by
name and as the Lieutenant of Morgul. His race is not given; it was the
filmmakers choice to make him an Orc. The name Gothmog is shared with the leader
of the Balrogs in Morgoth's army in "The Silmarillion", Tolkien's history of
Middle-Earth centuries before the events in "The Lord of the Rings".
29. The scene of the Rohirrim charging the Pelennor
had to be filmed 52 times before the crew were satisfied with the take. During
this process, about 60 of the 280 horses participating had to drop out for
various reasons.
30. Originally, Aragorn was to have fought the
physical embodiment of Sauron during the climactic battle at the Black Gate, but
was not used in the final film. Aragorn's fight with a troll at the Black Gate
uses footage from the Aragorn/Sauron battle.
31. Special care was taken to make sure that the
destruction of Sauron's tower of Barad-dur did not resemble the destruction of
the World Trade Centre. For this reason, it disintegrates from the ground up,
and the sound was made from breaking glass, so that it would not sound or look
as if it were exploding.
32. The runes on the helmet worn by the Mouth of
Sauron, when transliterated, say "Lammen Gorthaur". Lammen means voice, and
Gorthaur, which is mentioned in the Silmarillion, means Dread Abomination,
another title by which Sauron was known. The complete phrase, "Voice of the
Dread Abomination", identifies the speaker as the Mouth of Sauron.
Lost Boys, The (1987)
1. The title
of the film is a reference to the companions of Peter Pan, who remained forever
young.
2. David is
impaled on a pair of antlers and doesn't disintegrate like the other vampires.
Despite what Max later says, he is not really dead. This was intended to be
picked up in the sequel, which was scripted but never made.
Lost in Translation (2003)
1. The voice of Bob's wife is provided by
Nancy Steiner, the film's costume designer.
2. Sofia Coppola designed many of the
shots for the film by taking a series of photographs throughout Tokyo and then
recreating them with the cast and crew, using the photos as references.
3. Filmed in 27 days.
4. Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia's father,
urged her to shoot the movie in High Definition Video because "it's the future",
but she chose film because "film feels more romantic".
5. Sofia Coppola wrote the lead role
specifically for Bill Murray , and later said that if Murray turned it down, she
wouldn't have done the movie.
6. Sofia Coppola wrote a lot of the film
based on her life. The character of John (Giovanni Ribisi) was loosely based on
her ex-husband Spike Jonze. Anna Faris' character, Kelly, was supposed to be
Cameron Diaz with whom Spike Jonze worked with on Being John Malkovich
(1999)
7. The kiss between Bill Murray and
Scarlett Johansson at the end of the movie was not in the script, but was an "in
the moment" ad-lib between the performers.
8. Many parts were improvised, including
Bill Murray's lines in the photo shoot and his conversation with Scarlett
Johansson about his Shiatsu massage.
9. The painting in Charlotte's hotel room
in Tokyo was done by John Kacere called "Jutta" (1973). He's a famous
photorealist who specialized in women in lingerie.
10. The inspiration for having Bob Harris
do a Suntory whiskey commercial was partially inspired by the fact that Sofia
Coppola's father, Francis Ford Coppola, made a real Suntory commercial with
Akira Kurosawa in the 1970s.
11. Certain views of Tokyo were filmed
from the window of a Starbucks.
12. The hotel where Kelly and Bob are
staying is Park Hyatt Tokyo.
13. Bob and Charlotte never introduce
themselves to each other.
14. Bob was asked to channel Roger Moore
when shooting the Suntory commercial, but he said he liked Sean Connery better.
In the real world, Sean Connery actually did commercials for Suntory.
15. When Charlotte goes to the arcade she
sees the games Taiko no Tatsujin, (the game with the big drum) by Namco,
GuitarFreaks by Konami, and Pop'n Music by Konami. The latter two are part of
Konami's Bemani music game series which is very popular in Japan.
16. Sofia Coppola wasn't sure if Bill
Murray was actually going to show up for the film, going by only, according to
Coppola, a verbal confirmation. It was on the first day of filming, that Murray
showed up.
17. The film's Spanish title in South
America, "Perdido en Tokio", and its Hebrew title in Israel, "Avudim be-Tokio",
both mean "Lost in Tokyo", meaning that the titles themselves were literally
lost in translation.
18. The ring tone on Bob's cell phone is
Chopin's "Fantaisie Impromptu" in C sharp minor, Opus 66.
19. The movie Bob and Charlotte watch
together at the hotel when neither one of them can sleep is La Dolce vita
(1960)
20. Charlie Brown, the singer of God Save
the Queen in the Karaoke scene, is Sofia Coppola's long-time friend and guide in
Japan. His real name is Fumihiro Hayashi.
21. The host of the show Bob Harris attended
is the real host of a variety show in Japan. His name is Matthew Minami.
22. The crew faced threat of arrest while
filming in the subway of Tokyo and at Shibuya Crossing.
23. In the hospital, the question that the
elderly man with the cane tries to ask Bob (in Japanese) is: "How many years
have you been in Japan?" Meanwhile, the diagnosis that Charlotte receives from
the doctor (in Japanese) is that her toe is fractured, but taping is enough.
Love Actually (2003)
1. For her one-minute cameo, Claudia Schiffer received a reported £200,000
sterling
2. Portuguese actress Lúcia Moniz, who plays the maid Aurelia, got the part as a
result of a joke by a friend of hers who is a casting director and sent her
photos the movie's casting director. Lúcia went to do the casting and ended up
being chosen.
3. Cameo (director Richard Curtis): one of the trombone players at the wedding.
4. The scene where Colin (accidentally) insults the caterer's food to her face,
was originally written as a scene for Hugh Grant's character in Four
Weddings and a Funeral (1994), but was cut from that film.
5. "Christmas is All Around", the tacky joke theme song sung by Bill Nighy was
actually released in Britain in hopes that it would be "Number 1 for Christmas
2003".
6. The lake where Lucia Moniz and Colin Firth are "swimming" in was actually
only 18 inches deep and they had to kneel around and pretend to be in deeper
water. It was also over-run by mosquitoes and Colin Firth was badly bitten and
his elbow swelled up to the size of an avocado, requiring medical attention.
7. When David arrives at No. 10 Downing, his tie changes 11 times between shots
when meeting Natalie. Apparently, Hugh Grant had changed his tie after a
post-lunch nap and no one noticed at first. They decided to "play with it" and
went all out and changed the tie 11 times just for the heck of it.
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