Issue Date: October 30, 2005
Things you didn't know about this season's pics
In Hollywood, summer stands for flash and winter means prestige. Here's a menu of morsels about the season's most anticipated releases, many of which no doubt will end up on everybody's must-see lists.
Chicken Little (Nov. 4) Think animators don't sweat the small stuff? Think again. The character Chicken Little alone has more than 76,000 individual feathers covering his body (55,000 on his head and about 9,000 on each arm). The feathers come in several types. Some are long, traditional feathers, and others are small, down-like feathers that lie beneath the longer ones.
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (Nov. 9) While filming in the Bronx this spring, rapper 50 Cent celebrated his 29th birthday. After the crew gave him a cake, 50 gave the neighborhood kids hanging around his trailer a present of his own -- he threw thousands of dollars into the crowd.
Walk the Line (Nov. 18) For this Johnny Cash biopic, verisimilitude was the order of the day. Not only did the actors undergo a "rock 'n' roll boot camp," which included lessons and hours of practice, but extra care was taken when recording the performances. Vintage guitars were used, because the way guitars were made in the 1950s and '60s gave them a different sound.
Rent (Nov. 23) This musical is about a group of struggling artists who are squatters in an abandoned building in Manhattan's East Village. As it happens, when star Rosario Dawson was a child, she and her mother were squatters in such a building. She remembers police clearing out homeless people and neighborhood protesters -- the kinds of events that inspired Jonathan Larson when he wrote the Broadway show.
Aeon Flux (Dec. 2) Because Sophie Okonedo's character modified her body by replacing her feet with hands, the actress had to find a new way of walking. For inspiration, Okonedo visited the Berlin Zoo and learned some steps from the spider monkeys and flamingos.
The Chronicles of Narnia (Dec. 9) When the four Pevensie siblings slip through their magical wardrobe into wintry Narnia, they discover a world where snow forms from four kinds of paper (including one used in the lining of diapers), insulating foam, Epsom salts, detergent and polystyrene. And although the snow looked incredibly real, none was good enough to make a proper snowball.
Memoirs of a Geisha (Dec. 9) Ziyi Zhang's dance solo is one of the most riveting moments in the film. Choreographer John DeLuca's initial inspiration for the dance came when he saw a picture of 8-inch black lacquered platform sandals a courtesan wore in a Kabuki play. The shoes were difficult to dance in, but they forced the wearer into movements simultaneously beautiful and dramatic.
King Kong (Dec. 14) Whether or not Peter Jackson makes a great movie remains to be seen, but the film certainly has a cool website (kongisking.net). In addition to data about the cast and other typical features, the site offers more than 80 video entries in production and post-production diaries. These are well-shot and well-edited films, each a couple of minutes long, explaining how the cast and crew created this epic spectacular.
The Producers (Dec. 16) Actor Nathan Lane paid a personal tribute to Zero Mostel, the original Max Bialystock, by re-creating Mostel's infamous comb-over, even though that required shaving a bald spot in the back of Lane's full head of hair. As soon as filming concluded, Lane completely shaved his head; at the wrap party the following night, he went virtually unrecognized.
The New World (Dec. 25) Director Terrence Malick's wife and one of the producers took a break from shooting this film about the settlement of Virginia to go for a hike. As they wandered by a fennel field, they heard shouting. Realizing they had blundered into the background of a shot, they fell to the ground, right into a mud puddle. They had no idea when the scene ended, so they stayed there for quite some time. "We became intimately familiar with the insect life of a fennel field," says producer Sarah Green.
Match Point (Dec. 25) Woody Allen's new movie is a dramatic thriller, but Scarlett Johansson's practical jokes provided a lot of levity on the set. According to leading man Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, one day she went up to Woody and said, "You know, Woody, I am thinking about giving you an end-of-shooting gift." The diminutive director's eyes lit up, and he told her how much he likes getting presents. At which point Johansson said, "Yeah, what are you, Woody, 40 big and tall?" Says Rhys-Meyers, "Only Scarlett could get away with talking like that to Woody."
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Nov. 18) More than the usual amount of preparation was required for this installment. Daniel Radcliffe and his co-stars had to take scuba lessons for their underwater scenes, which were shot in a tank (the deepest in Europe) created for the film. In addition, all the young people in the cast took ballroom dancing lessons for the Yule Ball scene.
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ZATHURA (Nov. 11) In this film, two boys playing a board game in their old house are transported into space. To simulate the effects of space travel, the house was built atop a huge gimbal that could tilt up to 44 degrees to mimic the gravitational pull of one of the planets in the film. The actors had to be harnessed and hanging from wires to create the effect -- so did the crew and camera equipment.
BEE SEASON (Nov. 11) The producers were delighted when Oscar winner Juliette Binoche agreed to star in the film. But they were shocked to find this presented an unanticipated problem: They had to get her into the Screen Actors Guild. In her distinguished career, Binoche had never worked in an American film shot on American soil, so she never had to join the union.
THE FAMILY STONE (Nov. 11) Director Diane Keaton knows how to keep the cast and crew happy: She buys them things! On one occasion she gave a bottle of wine and a corkscrew that had "You deserve it -- DK" engraved on it. At Easter she presented everyone with a basket containing an assortment of chocolates, as well as 10 California lottery tickets.
JUST FRIENDS (Nov. 23) The cast had a hard time turning on the heat in this romantic comedy. The film was shot in Saskatchewan when temperatures were at -58° F. The cast was actually looking forward to it "warming up" to -4° F.
THE ICE HARVEST (Nov. 23) Was this the least-stressed film set in movie history? In the evenings, director Harold Ramis would relax by doing a crossword puzzle, while Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack would play guitars and sing Beatles and Bob Dylan songs. If things got too sleepy, Thornton would start doing his Sling Blade character.
SYRIANA (Nov. 23) Who says Hollywood doesn't mount old-fashioned big productions anymore? This thriller involved a cast of 100 and crew shooting on three continents over five months.
IN THE MIX (Nov. 23) Usher was considering between eight and 10 actresses for the film's female lead, and Emmanuelle Chriqui was hardly the favorite. But after the two finished reading together, she reached up and kissed him -- even though the scene didn't call for a kiss. The move unnerved Usher "in a good way," and both he and the director thought it showed Chriqui had a spirit that was perfect for the part.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Dec. 9) Director Ang Lee kicked off the filming of this Western about two cowboys who fall in love with a traditional Chinese blessing ceremony complete with chants, food offerings and a gong.
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE (Dec. 21) Jim Carrey kept the set very loose by constantly cracking up his fellow actors. One of the biggest laughs came during a scene where he robs his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend (Jeff Garlin). Mid-heist, Carrey leaned over and gave Garlin a long, passionate kiss on the lips -- through the ski mask he was wearing.
THE RINGER (Dec. 23) The Farrelly brothers didn't want to produce this comedy about an unhandicapped person who enters the Special Olympics unless the organization was involved. The producers expected the organization to decline, but after some adjustments were made in the script, the Special Olympics saw the film as a vehicle for getting more people involved in the Games.
MATADOR (Christmastime) The scene in which Pierce Brosnan has to cross a hotel lobby wearing nothing but an eensy-weensy Speedo was filmed in one take in an actual working hotel. Four extras were hired for the scene; the rest of the people in the astonished crowd were real hotel guests.
-- compiled by Jamie Malanowski
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