1. Aaron Sorkin wrote the 164-page screenplay for The Social Network in a Starbucks on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica in the time it took him to drink a Venti Caramel Macchiatto. What makes this fact even more amazing is that he actually resisted the siren call of the raspberry scones.
2. That scene in Inception where the street rolls up and everything gets all kaflooey–– done with bulldozers. And very skilled magicians.
3. While Natalie Portman did a magnificent job learning to dance ballet in Black Swan, she almost killed herself with a misstep while dancing the hokey-pokey at a cast party. “Natalie is a natural athlete,” said a choreographer on the picture. “While she’s quite gifted and graceful putting her left foot in and putting her left foot out, she is a total klutz in the shaking it all about department. Please don’t tell her I said that– I can’t survive another one of her beatings!”
4. The original title for The Kids Are All Right was Baba O’Reily.
5. Being a dedicated method actor, Jeff Bridges gouged his left eye out of his skull and had it replaced with a glass eyeball for the filming of True Grit. But before shooting began, directors Joel and Ethan Coen decided they preferred Rooster Cogburn’s right eye to be covered with the eyepatch. Bridges went to his trailer and stumbled back to the set wearing the eyepatch over his right eye.
6. James Franco did not really saw his arm off in 127 Hours, but his stunt double, now called Lefty, is pretty bitter about the entire filming experience.
7. Colin Firth not only faked his stammer in The King’s Speech, he also sewed all the costumes for the wardrobe department. “I’m quite good with a needle and thread,” said the handsome actor. “It helps to calm my nerves. I have a collection of thimbles that is quite modestly second to none. I say, would you like some cuffs on your trousers, guvnor?”
8. All the actors in Winter’s Bone had distinguished British accents and performed on horseback. The horses were removed in post production.
9. In Toy Story 3, Woody and Buzz got into a huge fight at the craft services table. Woody was hospitalized for two days and Buzz required six stitches and heavy make-up to cover his bruises. The two did not speak off camera at all after the incident.
10. The entire film The Fighter–– done in one take. All the sweat? Fake.
Now you know…
Other facts:
1. Aaron Sorkin was a MySpace devotee before writing “The Social Network.” You can now find him on Facebook. Don’t try to friend him, though, unless your name is Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty or Mark Zuckerberg.
2. Jeff Bridges went AWOL during the filming of “True Grit.” The Coen brothers finally found him in a dark audio studio where he was doing voiceover work for Hyundai. “It’s a high-paying gig, guys, and I get free cars and maintenance,” he told them.
3. In “Black Swan,” Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis weren’t faking it.
4. Paul Giamatti, who played Barney Panofsky in “Barney’s Version,” wasn’t nominated for an Oscar and, In protest, has been holding his breath ever since. Before he began his protest, his last words were, “But I won a Golden Globe! Isn’t an Oscar nomination next?”
5. In “The Kids Are Alright,” Annette Benning and Julianne Moore also weren’t faking it. Was Warren Beatty worried about his wife playing a lesbian? Not really. He’s a stud.
6. The entire Oscar night presentation was videotaped last Tuesday night in a secret Hollywood location so the stars could stay home and admire themselves this Sunday night on TV.
7. Viewer alert: During last Tuesday’s videotaping, James Franco and Anne Hathaway flopped as co-hosts of the night’s festivities. Fortunately, David Letterman was standing in the wings. When he flopped, Billy Crystal and Steve Martin come on stage from their seats in the audience.
8. For a nominal fee, PricewaterhouseCoopers will put your name on an Oscar ballot and get dead people in Chicago to vote for you.
9. This year’s “True Grit” starring Jeff Bridges and others is a remake of the original “True Grit” starring John Wayne and others. Both movies are based on the novel “True Grit” by Charles Portis. The title “True Grit” comes from a little-known do-it-yourself book about the art of sandpapering.
Thank you for confirming my suspicions about yet ANOTHER movie inspired by the art of sandpapering.
Will Hollywood ever have an original idea?! Why not a good Wood Putty tale?
Enough already!
Wood Putty? Brilliant!
Lest we forget, there is a little something called spackling paste, also.