Trivia Round-Up: July 2016

Well, July sure has been a month of ups and downs in terms of movies! We've had a huge movie we were hoping would be good which turned out terrible, and a reboot we expected to be awful which we ended up loving - with all sorts of hits and stinkers in between. Here's our usual round up of reviews for this month and some fun trivia we found for them.

Sicario (2015)

The word "Sicario" derives from the Latin word "Sicarius", meaning "dagger man". The term was used by Romans to describe Jewish Zealots who killed Roman citizens using a "sica" or small dagger hidden in their cloaks. It is possible that the second name of Judas Iscariot comes from the same root. 

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Fans were surprised to hear about the return of Dr. Okun in this movie. Most viewers thought he died in the first film when the alien ensnares him with its tentacle to communicate to President Whitmore with telepathy. However, Major Mitchell offers no reaction when he checks Dr. Okun's pulse, leaving the character's fate ambiguous. In an interview with Brent Spiner, he revealed that Major Mitchell was supposed to say "He's dead," but the filmmakers removed that line to keep the possibility open of using Dr. Okun in a sequel. Spiner also joked that Major Mitchell was only a soldier and not qualified as a physician to determine if Dr. Okun was alive or not.

I remember you were questioning this one, Jenna!

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

In an interview included on the DVD, Ethan Coen said, "The cat was a nightmare. The trainer warned us and she was right, she said, uh, 'Dogs like to please you. The cat only likes to please itself.' A cat basically is impossible to train. We have a lot of footage of cats doing things we don't want them to do, if anyone's interested; I don't know if there's a market for that."

I would watch the hell out of that footage, just for the record.

Carol (2015)

Although Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara weren't required to be on the other end of the line whenever they talk on the phone, they offered to do so to help each other out. Thus whenever Carol and Therese talk to each other on the phone, Blanchett and Mara are really on the other end of the line.

Frank (2014)

All of the music performed by the band is played live by the actors on screen.

45 Years (2015)

Seasons seem to change during the sequential days in the movie. On Tuesday, it appears to be late winter; all trees are bare and the oaks have brown leaves. While on Wednesday, on the paddle boat, it appears to be early Spring; the shrubs in the field wear fresh leaves. Similar to Thursday, where the fruit tree at the entrance of the factory is blooming. On Saturday, it appears to be winter again, the trees are bare and the oaks have brown leaves.

Ahh, I didn't notice this! That's beautiful.

While We're Young (2014)

Amanda Seyfried remarked that at age 28 when she filmed the role she actually found it a challenge to play Darby and that she related more to the older characters.

I'm 26 and I feel like an old person...ha!

Airplane! (1980)

For the famous scene of the 747 crashing through the large windows inside the terminal, producer Jon Davison mentions (in the DVD extras) that after the movie, he received numerous letters from various pilots telling him that they have come very close to re-enacting that very scene in real life, with some pilots admitting that they had come so close as to touch the glass with the noses of their airplanes.

I love this!

Stand By Me (1986)

Kiefer Sutherland claimed in an interview that in one of the locations of the film, a Renaissance Fair was being held and the cast and crew attended and bought some cookies. Unfortunately, the cookies turned out to be pot cookies and two hours later, the crew found Jerry O'Connell crying and high on the cookies somewhere in the park.

Ghostbusters (2016)
In some of the posters featuring Holtzman (Kate McKinnon), on her proton pack is the number 2206. This is the same number as Dana Barrett's apartment in the original Ghostbusters.
Just one of many nods to the original, I recommend any fans check the rest out!

Anomalisa (2016)
BJ Novak was one of this film's Kickstarter backers.

The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
According to Carrie Fisher, Lucas gave her a copy of the special as a gift for recording the DVD commentary for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). She claims that she plays it at parties when she wants her guests to leave.
Just when I thought I couldn't love Carrie Fisher more...

Hail, Caesar! (2016)
George Clooney was actually slapped by Josh Brolin several times. His reaction shown in the film was genuine.
If ever there was a reason to rewatch this!

Warcraft (2016)
Bill Westenhofer, the lead visual effects supervisor for the film, is a long time World of Warcraft player and has mentioned getting up at 2 AM to raid with his guild while on film sets. Robert Kazinsky is also a die hard Warcraft player and recalls producers telling him to turn the game off while on the set of Pacific Rim (2013).