One of my favorite things about movies is discovering the stories behind them. Knowledge of movie trivia is a much underrated skill to possess. Not only is it fun, but it's always a great conversation starter - women in bars can't get enough behind-the-scenes Star Wars"" stories.
Luckily for you, dear reader, 95 percent of my brain contains useless bits of movie factoids (the other five is how to tie shoes and drive). So, here are some movie facts and trivial anecdotes for when you need a really great conversation starter for that girl right before bar time or when you want to annoy your friends. Thank me later:
Did you know that...
...Despite setting previous films on tropical islands, in rainforests and in London, 2007's ""Casino Royale"" was the first James Bond movie where it rained?
...Indiana Jones' last name was originally supposed to be ""Smith?""
...Alvin and the Chipmunks and Alfred Hitchcock have something in common? The piano player that Jimmy Stewart's character spies on from his window in ""Rear Window"" was played by a songwriter named Ross Bagdasarian, whose stage name was David Seville. He later went on to compose songs like ""Witch Doctor"" and create the musical chipmunks.
...Buddy Holly wrote his song ""That'll Be the Day,"" inspired by John Wayne's character's saying from ""The Searchers?""
...""The 40-Year-Old Virgin"" was based on a comedy routine in which Steve Carell performed while at Chicago's Second City comedy club? The entire conversation where Carell's character compares a breast to ""a bag of sand"" is taken almost directly from the sketch.
...The Guinness Book of World Records said that ""South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut"" contains the most swear words ever in an animated film with 399 total swears, including 146 f-bombs? It also contains 199 offensive gestures and 221 acts of violence.
...Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are arguably the cheapest hires in all of Hollywood? Rodriguez, director of movies like ""Sin City,"" wrote the score for Tarantino's ""Kill Bill, Vol. 2"" for only $1. Tarantino repaid him by directing a scene of ""Sin City"" for the same fee.
...A trademark of Sam Raimi's films is an Oldsmobile Delta '88? The car appears in every ""Evil Dead"" movie and ""The Gift,"" and is Uncle Ben's car in ""Spider-Man.""
...Many of the extras in ""One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"" were actual mental patients?
...Cillian Murphy, who eventually won the role of the Scarecrow in ""Batman Begins,"" was originally up for the role of Batman in the same movie?
...""Annie Hall"" was originally written as a murder mystery?
...The ""Scarface"" anti-hero Tony Montana and ""The Lion King"" villain Scar have a scar on the exact same spot on their face? ... Well, they would if they were the same species.
Now that I've given you the facts, it's time you went out and used them. And when you impress your friends with your crazy amount of movie knowledge, feel free to tell them that you found it all on your own.
You're welcome.
If you scored a second date with ""that girl,"" remember to thank Brad at boron@wisc.edu.
