Movie Trivias

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.

Do you remember the shots of Sylvester Stallone as “Rocky” running up the stairs that seemed to never end? Do you remember the steadiness of the shots even though the actor was moving up and down running while climbing the stairs? Or the action sequences of the movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”? All of these along with many other seemingly impossible shots would be impossible without the steady cam. The steady cam is a rig that can be mounted onto a car, the camera man�s body or a boom rig that gives steady shots thought the use of springs, shocks and servos that allow the camera to remain focused without the excessive movement from either the camera or the placement of the camera. This has been under development for quite some time and has been perfected through years of refinement and improvements made to the system. The oldest versions or prototypes had springs and weights to balance the camera making it effortlessly move across all plains. So the next time you see an action sequence that seems utterly still and focused, remember the steady-cam and its contribution to film and the industry as a whole.

The last installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise will be split into two, and shown a year apart. The people behind the movie came to this decision after talks with JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter novels, in order to give more justice to the story of the Boy Who Lived. Filming though, will be continuous, and will be shot as if everything were one film, in order to achieve better continuity for the story.

In casting news, Rhys Ifans is a confirmed member of the cast, but there is no news yet on who he will be playing, although numerous rumors are pointing to him playing Xenophilus Lovegood, the father of Luna Lovegood. The role of Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore’s brother will not be played by Jim McManus anymore, but by Ciaran Hinds. Emma Thompson will also not be returning as Professor Trelawney.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON: Movie Trailer – Click here for funny video clips
The movie is a very enticing one due to the utter complexity of the needed special effects, with Benjamin growing younger as opposed to older as with the rest of the cast. Some trivia’s that may have not been known, the film was initially considered for Tom Cruise as the lead instead of Brad. The producers of the film also kept in close communication with Levi’s for authentic clothes that were period authentic for the character played by Brad. The film was also the second to film in the flood-ravaged lands of New Orleans which was also for one very obvious reason, tax discounts from the state. The movie had been planned and prepared for as early as 1994. The aging process took four hours for Pitt for the early scenes and four hours for Cate Blanchett for her aging scenes as the film was ending.
The story also had a very colorful past for it was initially bought by Ray Stark in the late 70’s, and then by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall for Amblin. The later two eventually detached from Spielberg taking the rights with them as they formed their own production firms, with the film’s rights finally being brought by Erick Roth who vowed to commit to the film upon his father’s death in 2002.

Hailed as one of the most memorable and accurate epic war movies of all time, the gory and accurate opening scenes of the invasion was so accurate veterans broke in tears prompting the Defense Department’s office of Veterans Affairs to put up a toll-free 800 number for counseling. The movie was hailed as too violent and gory that many countries wanted the film’s graphic scenes cut. Spielberg stood firm opting not to release the film in countries that wanted editing. He also insisted that the film be released uncut even if review boards issue cuts and revisions in accordance with ratings.
There are many unknowns about the film, one of the best is that it was the last (very last) film edited using traditional cut and pasting of the film negatives. Known as linear editing, the scenes are viewed, literally cut and taped together which results in a master negative from which the actual film rolls are made from. The actors all received a few weeks of boot camp except Matt Damon so their resentment of him not getting battered and bruised would show in the film. The opening invasion scene also showed two actual landing crafts that were used on D-Day. The two German Tiger tanks seen in the final battle were actually Russian T-34 tanks made to look like them.

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• Brad Pitt was originally slated to play the role of Tommy Williams.
• The exteriors of the prison were shot at the Mansfield State Reformatory, located in Ohio.
• Renovation was needed to be done before the filming because the penitentiary was in such poor condition. But they had to shoot the interiors on a sound stage because it was way a lot cheaper than renovating the prison’s interiors.
• The movie was voted No.1 Must See Movie of all time by Capital FM, London
• The movie also ranked 1st as the top Movie of All Time, this time by Empire Magazine.
• A dedication to Allen Greene can be seen at the end of the movie, Allen Greene was Frank Darabont’s close friend. Greene died just before the movie’s completion because of complications from AIDS.
• Stephen King wrote the original novella citing that the film was the culmination of his childhood memories from prison movies that he watched back then.
• Tom Hanks was slated to play Andy Dufresne but could not make it because he was having schedule conflicts with Forrest Gump.
• Kevin Costner turned down the role , which in the end, was a big regret for him.

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• Star Rob Brown auditioned as an extra for this movie. Citing he needed the money to pay for his $300 mobile phone bill. Gus Van Sant got to look at him and invited him to play the role of Jamal and eventually handed the role to him having seen his natural ability in acting.
• The character of Robert Crawford is actually based on a real life Robert Crawford. He teaches history at a private school outside Boston.
• The movie that Forrester was watching when Jamal came to the apartment was The Big Heat, a film in 1953, starring Glenn Ford.
• While Jamal was checking out Forrester’s data at a school’s computer, the data he was actually reading was Sean Connery’s real life data.
• Cameo: Matt Damon appears as a lawyer. He starred Gus Van Sant’s hit film, Good Will Hunting in 1997.

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Did you know that Harrison Ford who is famously known as Indiana or Henry Jones Jr., was not the first choice of Lucas in casting the film? Originally, Spielberg suggested Ford but Lucas resisted the idea since he had already cast the actor in three of his movies.

During the intensive process of casting, Lucas and Spielberg auditioned many actors, and finally cast then little-known Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. However, shortly after pre-production CBS refused to release Selleck from his contractual commitment, forcing him to turn down the role. Less than three weeks before principal photography began Spielberg suggested Ford again and Lucas finally gave in to cast him in the role.

Indiana Jones is among the most popular film ever made. This have become a legendary part of film history along with it, is Harris Ford who portrayed the role.

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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!