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Issue Date: May 7, 2006
2006 Summer movie preview
Check out these fun facts you didn't know about the newest films headed your way. From spy thrillers to comic-book blockbusters to off-kilter comedies, this is your ticket.
By Jamie Malanowski
Summer's almost here, and while Martha Reeves may think the time is right for dancing in the street, all that moving around will just leave you sweaty and thirsty. Far better to catch a movie. Hollywood's creative community has gone to great lengths to make sure you are entertained. Here are a few making-of tidbits to pique your interest. Think of them as multiplex hors d'oeuvres.
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Mission: Impossible III (May 5)
Tom Cruise has become so famous for doing his own stunts that he generated a certain anxiety in director J.J. Abrams -- an anxiety about being too relaxed. "I found myself talking to someone else between takes," Abrams says. "I had become complacent about having Tom dangling from a crane, dropping at breakneck speed, stopping just above the ground. I remember thinking, 'I have to get back to being terrified.' "
Goal! (May 12)
The cast members in this film about a poor Mexican boy who plays soccer in England could be forgiven if they thought they'd turned up in a sequel to "The Day After Tomorrow." Filming took place in snow, sleet, rain and hail, with the actors in their soccer shorts the whole while.
Just My Luck (May 12)
Everyone in the production thought someone was playing a joke when Lindsay Lohan took a spill in a Manhattan street scene. The star had just uttered the line, "I can't afford to get injured right now," when she stepped into a pothole and dropped to the pavement. But it was no joke. Turns out, the actress had sprained her ankle and was sidelined for several days.
Poseidon (May 12)
In seeking inspiration for some of the interiors for the luxury ship, set designers turned to ... a basketball arena? The Poseidon's disco set is a carbon copy of a private party room at the Staples Center. Production filmed an early scene (one before the boat flips) at the arena, then duplicated it upside-down on a soundstage for later scenes.
Over the Hedge (May 19)
Movie buffs will be entertained trying to figure out which famous movie characters influenced the animated personalities in this DreamWorks film. Fred Astaire, Bugs Bunny and Harold Hill from "The Music Man" influenced RJ (the raccoon), and "The Apartment's" Jack Lemmon influenced Verne (the turtle). The personality of Stella (the skunk) was a composite of Sandra Bullock in "Miss Congeniality" and Jane Russell in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
X-Men: The Last Stand (May 26)
It's going to be difficult for the other mutants to upstage Halle Berry this time around. Not only did the film's design team conspire to give Storm a new haircut (described as "more modern and sexier"), but for the first time in the series, Storm gets to fly.
The Omen (June 6)
Visual effects expert Matt Johnson was measuring an especially ominous shot featuring very scary crows, when his light meter read -- you guessed it -- 666. He swore the device had never before come up with that reading.
Cars (June 9)
Auto buffs watching this Pixar comedy will have a blast identifying the various makes and models. For the record: Doc Hudson is a 1951 Hudson Hornet, Sally is a 2002 Porsche 911, Ramone is a 1959 Impala lowrider, and The King is a 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
Nacho Libre (June 16)
To play an altruistic luchador in the comedy, Jack Black put his signature comedic spin on several classic Mexican wrestling moves. He invented the "Anaconda Squeeze" and the "Wind of a Lion," in which the actor sits on his opponent's face.
Click (June 23)
Think of this Adam Sandler-Kate Beckinsale comedy as Movie Star 2.0: It features appearances by Jake Hoffman (Dustin Hoffman's son), Lorraine Nicholson (Jack Nicholson's daughter) and Katie Cassidy (David Cassidy's daughter).
The Devil Wears Prada (June 30)
The fashion industry fell all over itself to participate in this movie. Prada, Galliano, Donna Karan and Bill Blass contributed outfits. Chanel loaned its entire spring 2005 couture collection, and Valentino not only made a cameo, but he created a special dress that Meryl Streep's boss character wears to a benefit.
Little Man (July 5)
In this comedy, Shawn Wayans plays a man so anxious to become a father that he mistakes a short-statured, baby-faced criminal on the run (Marlon Wayans) for his newly adopted son. To make this conceit work, the filmmakers are developing almost 1,000 visual-effects shots that add Marlon's head to the body of a 2-foot-6 man.
The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (July 7)
Key scenes in the film were shot on White Cay, an island south of Great Exuma in the Bahamas. The island is so remote -- its only inhabitant is a rare iguana -- that a base camp for the crew had to be established on three large ships that were lashed together offshore.
Pulse (July 14)
This thriller features phantoms, played by actors in heavy makeup, that travel within electronic pulses. During filming in an old building, the crew spied several "phantoms" hanging around basement tunnels. Later they were surprised to find out the actor-phantoms weren't even on set that day!
Pathfinder (July 14)
Before star Karl Urban performed an important scene with two mountain lions, he was told the animals could be more temperamental than your typical Hollywood diva: They had an intense distaste for leather and fur, either of which could trigger an attack. The bad news was the actor's wardrobe consisted entirely of those two natural skins. Fortunately for Urban, the lions seemed to like him.
Lady in the Water (July 21)
The primary set for this M. Night Shyamalan thriller was a five-story apartment building, which was built from scratch. The structure was so realistic that a memo had to be sent to the cast and crew: "Please do not use the sinks and/or bathrooms in the apartment set. They may look real, but they are NOT."
Monster House (July 21)
In this thrill-ride tale about three kids who must do battle with a mysterious house, filmmakers created the scary, overpowering sounds of the home by converting an old barn into a giant, monster-sized speaker.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (July 21)
The thing that most amused director Ivan Reitman while filming this romantic comedy in New York was the real-life paparazzi who wanted a shot of Uma Thurman in her superhero costume. They soon realized her whole wardrobe was out of this world. "Every day, more photographers came to try to get a shot of Uma in her latest outfit," Reitman says. "Her character has one of the greatest closets ever."
John Tucker Must Die (July 28)
The actors in this film have names like Jesse (Metcalfe), Brittany (Snow), Ashanti (Douglas) and Sophia (Bush). But comedy director Betty Thomas rarely used their given names, opting instead for nicknames like "Poopie," "Bippy" and "Boopie." Typical on-set instructions from Thomas might sound like, "OK, Bippy, put the jippy japing on the bippy!" Somehow the cast figured out what to do.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Aug. 4)
One of the highlights of this Will Ferrell NASCAR comedy involves a scene in which the car is driven backward. Thinking that actually doing this might be unsafe, the production team built a car that had its body turned backward. The driver, who was lying down on the passenger side, drove around the track peering through the taillight.
Zoom (Aug. 11)
Nostalgic hockey fans, take note: This film about a superhero academy for kids was the last film shot in the now-abandoned Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
How to Eat Fried Worms (Aug. 25) Although the hero of this popular children's book adaptation eats 10 worms over the course of a day, no actual worms were harmed during the making of the film. The stunt worms were made from an array of ingredients, including gelatin, tuna and marshmallows.
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9 more things you didn't know about summer movies!
By Jamie Malanowski
The Da Vinci Code (May 19)
OK, figure out the code in this: 1984, 1995, 2006. Answer: It turns out that Ron Howard and Tom Hanks collaborate as director and actor once every 11 years ("Splash," "Apollo 13" and "The Da Vinci Code").
A Prairie Home Companion (June 9)
One of the more memorable moments that occurred during the shooting of this fictionalized version of Garrison Keillor's radio show never will make it to screen. During a lighting delay, singing cowboys Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly sat on the stage and waited for the crew to finish. The urge to perform for the live audience waiting there proved irresistible. Harrelson sang a lights-out version of "Heartbreak Hotel," followed by Reilly's soaring version of "Blue Bayou."
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (June 16)
To acquaint the cast with the fast cars and furious driving featured in the film, the actors were taken to the Irwindale Speedway and set loose behind the wheel. Star Lucas Black started doing donuts pretty quickly, and after that, says Picture Car Coordinator Dennis McCarthy, "we had to hide the keys." On a few occasions when their vigilance slipped, a few dents and pings showed up on cars that the cast had taken out for a spin.
The Ant Bully (Aug. 4)
One might think that animators looking to re-create the sound that wasps make might just go out and record some wasps. Apparently they're not convincing enough: In this film, the wasp sounds were made by combination of recordings of WWII era planes, dragonfly wings and model airplanes.
The Reaping (Aug. 11)
In the film, a small Louisiana town is beset with Biblical plagues, including swarms of locusts. As it happened, the production was besieged during filming by the annual "love bug" infestation. The insects swarmed, and though they don't bite, sting or destroy things, it can be difficult to remove their dried carcasses from windshields and bumpers, which can be damaged by their high acidic content.
World Trade Center (Aug. 9)
This film is about the rescue of two Port Authority policemen who were trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11. Many of the real officers and firefighters who were involved in the rescue effort were on the set of the film, and some of the real heroes appear in the film.
Clerks II (Aug. 18)
Actor Jason Mewes (Jay) threw himself into character and moved into his dressing room a week before he was needed. He decorated it with beach chairs and a grill, and he hung around the set (a closed-down fast-food joint) amusing the crew and becoming, in the words of director Kevin Smith, "our de facto Julie the Cruise Director."
Snakes on a Plane (Aug. 18)
The film's two stars, Samuel L. Jackson and Julianna Margulies, actually met for the first time while onboard an airplane, when they were seated across from each other on the way from Los Angeles to the Vancouver filming location.
Beerfest (Aug. 25)
The five members of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard claim to have gained a total of 123 pounds during the production of this film.
Cover photograph of Anne Hathaway and Michelle Monaghan by George Lange for USA WEEKEND
Hathaway: hair by Ted Gibson, Artists By Timothy Priano; makeup by Ayako Yoshimura, Jed Root; dress (cover and inside) by Ludo at Searle
Monaghan: hair by Daniel Erdman, Exclusive Artists; makeup by Matin, Artists By Timothy Priano; dress (cover) by Pink Tartan at Searle;dress (inside) by Castle Stars; stylist: Anda & Masha, The Wall Group
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