Movie Trivias

In a futuristic world where humans are simply used as computer chips and power sources living in a seemingly natural virtual world along with the rest of humanity, with the exception of rebels who are fighting to restore order by revealing the truth. The computers/machines have taken over the world and they control humans (similar to the Terminator films with a twist) who live in capsules connected only to the reality they call their lives by the machines who control them. The film almost got cancelled when while shooting the helicopter scenes the pilots unknowingly flew into restricted Sydney Australia airspace. The laws were revised to give way to the film. The sidearm’s of the Agent was the Dessert Eagle .50 AE. The scene where Neo was flushed from the holding tank into a lake was the very last shot filmed. Keanu also did the wall climb sequence 34 floors in all. In the movie, Morpheus compares the human body to be a 120 Volt battery that produces 25,000BTU’s of body heat (ouch, does scorched give a hint?).

The vision of Cameron of the Terminator was an insignificant character which would allow it to blend in with the rest of us in the likes of Lance Henricksen. O.J. Simpson was scratched due to the fact that such a nice guy would be too much as a ruthless killer. Arnold was listed for the role of the human soldier and Michael Bien was listed as the Terminator which as we all know was switched. The filming was also delayed from the spring of 1983 till March of the next year, because Arnold was chosen by Dino De Laurentis for Conan the Destroyer. The film was released and treated as a low-budget film costing only $6.5 Million Dollars turned blockbuster when it earned almost $40 million domestically and a total of $78 Million worldwide.

This is due to the efforts of George Lucas who owns ILM one of the leading digital film makers around and Skywalker Sound who have been responsible for many an animated classics. The use of technology might not get actors and actresses out of their jobs but rather make their jobs safer and more pleasant with more dangerous sequences not even requiring live actors, but digitally created ones. Gone are the days of multi million dollar sets and in with digitally created ones where seemingly impossible creations can be brought to life on computers Some argue that would signify the end of the classic action film but I beg to differ. Technology is there to augment and not replace us on the movie set and it should always remain that way for this is the way it has been since film was developed and created.

The film industry is evolving into an industry that is totally dependent on technology, literally. The advent of digital editing and mastering technology couple with high powered computer graphics processors have allowed the film industry to achieve never before possible action sequences that are not created on sets but on the computers of graphics artists and the likes. True to this, remember the re-runs of the epic Star Wars Saga that keep on running over and over cable? These are digitally enhanced versions of the film that have been re-mastered (digitally of course and with certain aspects such as backdrops and sets totally re-done to give them a more realistic appearance) with characters that had twenty or so puppeteers working inside them in a static position moving around like never before.

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Anime fanatics gone “banzai!” as a new piece of Shojo anime masterpiece just reached Philippine T.V.’s shores and is currently a hit among otakus. It is a crazy mix of romance, comedy, friendship and pure hardcore silliness that will surely tickle the anime-lover kid in you.

The story revolves around Sunako Nakahara, a not-so-typical female protagonist that is actually a fan of the dark and creepy things instead of the usual sweet and fair stuff you see in most stories. That’s twist enough but there’s more: she actually has to live in a big mansion with four super handsome guys until she becomes a “real” lady.

Yes it sounds as if it’ll be super romantic and all, but believe me, it’s more of light, innocent fun than whatever you’re probably thinking of. Actually, it’s stress-relieving to watch, take me for my word.

It’s now airing at TV5 every Mondays to Thursdays at 6:30 pm and every Saturdays and Sundays at 5:00-6:00 pm. Try and watch it!

Western movies come out during staggered installments all throughout the year but movies in Asia come out several times a year and is where most of the technologies you have in the West are based. Hard to believe, the next time you watch a movie take a look at the credits and you will surely see Chinese or Chinese Americans in the stunt department and coordination areas. The best stunt coordinators are Chinese and they have the guts to prove it. Most of these coordinators were former stunt men themselves giving them the best understanding of the trade. They mostly come from the red trousers or a famous Asian stunt group that is very well known for their daring and very well coordinated action sequences. Even the extensive use of body harnesses and wires in complicated stunts is derived from and an improved form of Asian stunt technology. Today, cinema in the Asian theaters compete side by side in the markets outside the said geographic area and they are quite good to tell you frankly.

The movie is a spy thriller about a mission impossible theme we all know from the TV series which does seemingly impossible tasks for the government with the use of high-tech often impossible gadgets. In the movie, Ethan played by Tom Cruise was seen dangling from the cable as he infiltrates CIA headquarters kept on hitting his head on the floor that he decided to place coins in his show to improve the balance. Many would also fail to realize that the main character never fires a single shot in the film. Due to ratings, there was only a total body count of 8 in the whole film. It is also the first film to be shown in all 3,000 theaters in the US. The exploding water tank was actually shot in two locations, the exploding tank in Paramount studios and as he runs into the streets of Prague was shot on location. The film also had Prague lighted to bring about the character of old Europe which was to the delight of Prague photographers who capitalized on the effects and came in droves to capture their beloved city as never before.

The futuristic movie set in the time after the great war when the earth was almost totally submerged and the only areas of dry land were the tops of the Himalayas. One of the most expensive films of all time (before Titanic that is), with many script revisions that had rumors circulating saying the director left two weeks into filming leaving Kevin Costner to finish the film. The seas in waterworld had the whole earth flooded but actual icecap melting would give a rise of only a few feet. The picture on the bridge of the fictional Exxon Valdez is the picture of the captain of the ill-fated Exxon himself who is referred to by Dennis hopper’s character as “Old Saint Joe”. In the atoll assault where there was a four machinegun configuration was actually a defensive weapon’s design from WWII which had been reduced to two-guns till Vietnam. Kevin Costner was seen to have worked for 157 days on the film, working 6 days a week. Enola, the name of the lone child Costner rescues is alone spelled backwards. The lead lady role played by Tina Majorino was nick-named the Jellyfish Candy due to having been stung several times by the floating sea creatures. There are also a lot of inconsistencies in the film, like the Mariner eating the tomato leaves (they’re poisonous) without any ill effects to him.

Yep, even the utterly innocent films made by Disney has been subject to abuse and misuse by many. The home version of the movie “The Rescuers” which had two mice namely Bianca and Bernard ride a sardine can as they fly into the city has two frames with inserted nude pictures of a naked woman. The recall was part of Disney’s commitment to maintain their image as a wholesome and total entertainment producer of films and animated classics. The Movie Babe, in the city has a scene which has an animal hotel with views to many of the world’s most recognizable landmarks.

Jackie Chan has a career that spans many years and for all those years and movies he has managed to maintain a unique role in the making of his movies, no stand-in stuntmen. This is known but the extent is not very much publicized due to the dangers he goes through has critics running after him. Yes he uses safety equipment like harnesses and all the other standard stuff but he manages to do all of his stunts on his own as his contribution to the film and to give it his personal touch. It has come to the point that movies were filmed right after he has had time to recuperate from the last film�s injuries. We have seen the action packed sequences in his films and in some cases they escalate to very grave injuries indeed. He continues to make films that are enjoyable to people of all ages and his films are recognized all over the world for their fast action and quickly paced storylines that keep you at the edge of your seats during most of the duration of the films he makes.