Great Scott! Millions of moviegoers consider Back to the Future to be one of the most entertaining film trilogies of all time. With that many fans yearning for hoverboards and flux capacitors, it’s a given that more than a few bizarre fan theories are bound to pop up—like the one that claims Doc Brown was suicidal. But one intricate idea, known as “The Lockard Theory,” suggests that the Back to the Future trilogy is actually an extremely complex story, and one that’s told in perfect symmetry.
Netflix released a YouTube video that gives a brief overview of the theory, which originated with writer Robert Lockard. The basic idea is that the trilogy is presented as a chiasmus, a literary device that emphasizes the symmetrical structure of a narrative, which is told and then repeated in reverse order—like the narrative version of a palindrome. (See: John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” quote for one of the most famous examples of a chiasmus.)
For example: The original Back to the Future starts with Marty McFly getting blown away by a giant guitar amp and then talking to Doc on the phone, while Back to the FuturePart III ends with Marty and Jennifer getting blown away by Doc’s new time machine, then speaking with Doc for the last time.
The entire trilogy plays out until the turning point of the story—which is in the middle of the alternate timeline in Part II, when Marty gets kicked out of his old house and is nearly killed in a gun fight—and then mirrors itself. He then meets with Doc, who explains the alternate 1985 timeline. (See, we told you it was elaborate.)
The Netflix video below gives an overview of the “Lockard Theory.” For a more in-depth explanation, visit Lockard’s website, where he actually breaks down the trilogy to match up each scene with its perfect counterpart. This is heavy!
Political journalist/author Elizabeth Drew reportedly once accepted a chopped liver hors d’oeuvre at a Washington D.C. cocktail party and pronounced it “delicious.” “Why do people derogate it so?” she wondered.
The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slangpinpoints comedian Jimmy Durante as the first person to use this meaty metaphor to describe something trivial or to be scoffed at; he was known to give praise on his CBS-TV series by noting, “Now that ain’t chopped liver.”
Even earlier than that, however, Joey Adams included this bit of dialogue in his 1949 novel The Curtain Never Falls in a conversation between a (supposedly fictional) comedian named Jackie Mason and a smitten showgirl who was hurt by his inattention:
“You’ve been nice enough, but what am I, chopped liver or something?”
“Are you kiddin’? You’re the sexiest-looking thing up here. But you always seemed interested in all the shmoes.”
According to Ohr Somayach’s “Ask the Rabbi” column, chopped liver suffers from “always a bridesmaid, never the bride” syndrome. On any traditional Jewish dinner or buffet table, chopped liver is either an appetizer or a side dish, meant to be a complement to the entrée, but never taking center stage. To break it down into elementary school playground terms: When it comes to choosing folks to be on a team, the first person chosen is the brisket, and everyone else is chopped liver.
After its fearless second season, which tackled everything from racial slurs to police brutality, black-ish isn’t just a critically-adored comedy. It’s now been branded a socially important sitcom, echoing the work of Good Times, A Different World, and other groundbreaking series before it. So how did black-ish land in this spot after just two years on the air? It’s all thanks to one highly personal showrunner, Larry Wilmore, and cast members who are and are not related to the former lead singer of The Supremes. Find out more about the show—which will debut its third season on September 21, just a few days after making a run at three Emmy Awards—below.
1. THE TITLE REFERS TO RACIAL IDENTITIES … AND JUSTIN BIEBER.
When black-ish debuted in 2014, there was a big discussion about its title and what it meant. Show creator Kenya Barris told NPR that it’s a reflection of his anxieties about raising his children in a more privileged world than he knew as a kid. “I wanted to be honest with what it’s like sort of raising your kids in a different environment than you were accustomed to being raised in,” he explained. “My kids are nothing like I remember black kids being when I was a kid.”
When Laurence Fishburne was asked about the show’s title on The View, his explanation was more blunt: “For some people, it means when black folks kind of act white. For some people, it means when white folks kind of act black. I think of it this way. Two words: Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber acts blackish but he doesn’t get shot by the police; he gets a police escort home.”
2. NORMAN LEAR IS A MAJOR INFLUENCE.
Barris has repeatedly cited Norman Lear as a primary influence on the show. Lear developed and created groundbreaking sitcoms like All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, and Good Times. Barris is such a fan of Good Times in particular that he turned the black-ish season two finale into a homage. “He’s beyond an influence for me,” Barris told Variety. “I feel like I am so derivative of Norman Lear and what he was doing and what he was about. It’s hard to even think about being a writer without him having been there.”
Lear clearly admires Barris’s work, too. He stopped by the black-ishwriters room earlier this year to pitch a few ideas, one of which ended up in the season two episode “The Johnson Show.”
3. MUCH OF THE SERIES IS SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.
Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Peabody
Barris has always described the show as semi-autobiographical, but some of the parallels between the Johnsons and Barris’s own family are much more direct. For instance, the black-ish matriarch Rainbow Johnson is an anesthesiologist with a black mother and a white father. Barris’s real-life wife is also a biracial anesthesiologist named Rainbow.
Many episodes are based on real conversations with Barris’s kids, too. The series received wide critical praise for the season two episode “Hope,” which discussed police brutality. It opens with one of the youngest Johnsons, Jack, staring at news footage and asking his parents, “Why are all these people so mad?” Barris’s then seven-year-old son asked him the exact same question when his family watched the Ferguson grand jury decline to indict a police officer for shooting a black teenager in 2014. Barris got the idea for the black-ish season two premiere after seeing some of his daughter’s texts.
4. BARRIS GOT HIS BREAK ON AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL.
After graduating from Clark Atlanta University with a film degree, Barris picked up a few writing credits on the Showtime series Soul Food and WB sitcom Like Family. But he was hungry to develop his own show, so he worked with his childhood friend Tyra Banks on a reality competition pitch. That series was America’s Next Top Model, and Barris got a handsome cut of the profits as a co-creator of the series.
5. LARRY WILMORE WAS A CO-SHOWRUNNER.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
The star of the recently-departed Nightly Show was originally set to run black-ish with Barris. ABC had proposed Larry Wilmore as a co-showrunner in 2014 and, given Wilmore’s work on In Living Color and The Bernie Mac Show, Barris was eager to partner with him. But then Comedy Central offered Wilmore his own talk show, and he had to exit. He still stayed on for the first 12 episodes of black-ish, but Barris called in TV veteran Jonathan Groff (the producer, not the Glee and Hamilton actor) as back-up. Groff has been an executive producer ever since.
6. YES, JACK AND DIANE ARE NAMED FOR THE JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP SONG.
Yes, the Johnson twins—Jack and Diane—are actually named for John Cougar Mellencamp’s 1982 ditty about “two American kids doing the best they can.” The song is apparently one of Barris’s favorites.
7. ANTHONY ANDERSON REALLY THREW HIS SON A BRO MITZVAH.
As a star and executive producer onblack-ish, Anthony Anderson has contributed some of his own real-life experiences to the show. One of them? The “bro mitzvah” that Dre throws for his eldest son in the pilot. Anderson hosted a similar bash for his own son.
8. DRE’S DISASTROUS BACKFLIP IN THE PILOT WAS NOT SCRIPTED.
You might’ve noticed a moment in the middle of all that bro mitzvah revelry when Dre goes for a backflip on the dance floor … and lands flat on his back. According to Marcus Scribner, who plays Andre Jr., that move was not scripted—Anderson actually wiped out. “I think that everybody in the entire room thought Anthony died,” Scribner said in an interview with J-14. “We all rushed over to Anthony like, ‘Are you okay? Are you okay?’ He just kept it moving and it made it … into the show.”
9. TRACEE ELLIS ROSS HAS A MEGA-FAMOUS (AND MEGA-SUPPORTIVE) MOM.
Tracee Ellis Ross is the second oldest child of Diana Ross, which means she grew up in a household where Michael Jackson called frequently and Andy Warhol painted her portrait. (She recaps both of those stories in the clip above.) Diana is also incredibly proud of her comedienne daughter. When Tracee was nominated for an Emmy this year, Diana took out a full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter congratulating her daughter on the success.
But Ross isn’t the only black-ish cast member with celebrity kin. Yara Shahidi, who plays Zoey, boasts Nas as a second cousin. She was even the flower girl at his wedding.
10. THE CAST HAS SOME SERIOUSLY TALENTED DANCERS.
When pressed for some behind-the-scenes stories, Shahidi told Essence that the black-ish actors frequently challenge each other to dance-offs. “Anthony can break it down,” she said. “He can do salsa, he can do the worm, he knows ballet. It’s pretty trippy.” But he presumably has some stiff competition from his youngest onscreen son. Miles Brown, who plays Jack, made a name for himself when he was just four years old as the dance sensation Baby Boogaloo. Here he is on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Ernő Rubik was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944. You probably recognize his name, and that’s because in 1974 he created the Rubik’s Cube, the handheld puzzle that would go on to become a global obsession through the 1980s and beyond. (It’s estimated that more than 350 million have been sold, in addition to thousands of variants and alternate versions.)
Though Rubik never managed that level of success again, that didn’t stop him from inventing. Here are six more of Rubik’s puzzles.
1. RUBIK’S DOMINO
Following the success of his eponymous cube, Rubik invented several more twisting-based mechanical puzzles. The Rubik’s Domino looked similar to a cube, but had one layer removed so that it was composed of just 18 smaller cubes rather than 27. The goal was to rearrange the numbers one through nine (presented using domino-style dots) on both sides—black on white and white on black—so that they were in the correct order. Although it had 406,425,600 potential positions, it could be solved in just 19 moves—if you knew how, of course.
2. RUBIK’S CHEESE
Another mechanical puzzle based around twisting, the Rubik’s Cheese was invented shortly after the Cube’s release, then patented (under the name “Shiftable Element Puzzle“) in 1983. To solve the Cheese you had to group two layers of colored pieces together so that all 12 were matched correctly, twisting it in half to move groups of six pieces around at a time.
The Cheese was later replaced by the Rubik’s UFO, which worked in a similar way but resembled a flying saucer and had two layers of pieces which could be twisted around the center as well as folded over.
The Rubik’s Magic consists of eight tiles which are linked by wires, which allow them to be folded and manipulated into a variety of shapes. Initially depicting three unlinked rings, the goal is to fold the Magic into a heart shape, which shows three linked rings. Although far from simple, it can be solved in less than one second by the fastest experts. In 1987, a Master Edition was released which had 12 tiles and showed five different rings.
4. RUBIK’S SNAKE
Less obviously a puzzle, the Rubik’s Snake (also known as the Rubik’s Twist) consists of 24 linked triangular prisms which can be twisted and folded but not pulled apart. The intention is for the player to recreate a number of shapes (i.e. animals, or a sphere) by twisting the snake, as well as coming up with his or her own creations.
Mathematician Peter Aylett computed that there were 6,770,518,220,623 distinct and valid ways to fold the snake—although obviously not all of them resemble anything interesting.
5. RUBIK’S TANGLE
In the 1990s, Rubik came up with the Rubik’s Tangle—a 25-piece tile puzzle depicting lengths of string in four different colors. Each puzzle piece is identically sized and can be rotated through four different orientations. Two pieces are actually identical, meaning there are two “correct” solutions to the Tangle—a unique feature amongst Rubik’s puzzles.
After over a decade pursuing other ventures, Rubik returned to the world of mechanical puzzles in 2009 with the Rubik’s 360. The puzzle involves manipulating a clear plastic sphere so that the six balls inside it are positioned into the color-coded compartments. Unlike the Rubik’s Cube, it appears to be impossible to solve the puzzle using simple algorithms. As a result, the fastest recorded time for solving the Rubik’s 360 is 37.02 seconds—far longer than the sub-10 seconds it takes the fastest players to solve a Rubik’s Cube.
And while that’s it for toys, it’s worth pointing out that Rubik also tried his hand at other inventions. Our favorites? The light aircraft frame designed to allow pilots to take off and land on their own feet, and these nifty clamp-style clothespins. We’re still waiting for both of these to turn up in stores.
Anything can happen at the Emmys: Impromptu make-outs. Presenter fraud. Near-death experiences for Bob Newhart. Before the 2016 broadcast begins on Sunday, September 18, read up on the weirdest and most fascinating facts from the award ceremony’s near-70-year history. Sure, host Jimmy Kimmel is likely to bring the comedy heat, but can he match the insanity of the 1974 Super Emmys?
1. THE WORD “EMMY” COMES FROM A CAMERA TUBE.
When the Television Academy was brainstorming a name for its new awards back in late 1940s, founder Syd Cassyd first suggested “Ike,” a.k.a. the nickname for a television iconoscope tube. But the other members worried that term was too closely linked to World War II hero (and future POTUS) Dwight Eisenhower, and therefore might seem too political. So instead, Henry Lubcke (who would go on to become the Academy’s third president) floated “Immy.” It would reference another piece of TV tech, the image-orthicon tube. The rest of the team decided to feminize it into “Emmy,” so that it matched the statuette they had selected. That statuette, which resembles the one you know today, included a winged woman holding an atom. And it was based on a real person …
2. DOROTHY MCMANUS WAS THE MODEL FOR THE STATUETTE.
Cassyd and his friends considered 47 design proposals for their award statuette, and promptly rejected all of them. But the 48th time was the charm. Television engineer Louis McManus’s design of a woman with wings (representing the arts) holding an atom (representing science) was the last one the team reviewed, but it turned out to be the winning pitch. McManus had modeled the woman on his wife, Dorothy—leading at least one art curator to wonder why the awards aren’t called “Dorothies.”
3. ONLY SIX AWARDS WERE HANDED OUT AT THE FIRST CEREMONY, AND ONE WENT TO A VENTRILOQUIST.
The very first Emmy Awards ceremony was held on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. Unlike the current iteration, it was a fairly cheap affair (tickets cost just $5) and the run time was a lot shorter. Only six awards were handed out that evening. The first one, for Most Outstanding Television Personality, went to 20-year-old Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet, Judy Splinters, for The Judy Splinters Show. Other winners included a program called Pantomime Quiz and Louis McManus, who got a special Emmy for designing the thing.
4. “BEST CONTINUING PERFORMANCE IN A SERIES BY A PERSON WHO ESSENTIALLY PLAYS HERSELF” USED TO BE A CATEGORY.
In the early years of the awards, the Emmys tested out a number of categories, some of them more logical than others. By far the most nonsensical pair came in 1958, when the Television Academy decided to honor the “Best Continuing Performance in a Series by a Comedienne, Singer, Hostess, Dancer, M.C., Announcer, Narrator, Panelist, or Any Person Who Essentially Plays Herself” along with an identical male category. Rumor has it the categories were mostly designed to honor Lucille Ball for I Love Lucy, but if that was the intention, it failed miserably. Dinah Shore won instead for The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, while Jack Benny took the male category for The Jack Benny Show. These categories were seemingly axed by 1959, much to the relief of tongue-tied presenters.
5. JACKIE KENNEDY IS THE ONLY FIRST LADY TO WIN AN EMMY.
To date, only one First Lady of the United States has won an Emmy. That distinction goes to Jackie Kennedy, who received a special Trustees Award for her famous televised tour of The White House in 1962. (Lady Bird Johnson accepted the statuette on Kennedy’s behalf.) No First Lady has matched her Emmy count since, although Michelle Obama came somewhat close: The current FLOTUS received Emmy attention when her Billy on the Street segment earned a 2015 nomination. But alas, it lost to Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.
6. THE “SUPER EMMYS” WERE A HUGE FLOP.
In 1974, the Emmys decided to get experimental with a so-called “Super Emmy” ceremony. The show pitted the winning performers from the drama and comedy categories against each other—think Best Lead Actor in a Drama vs. Best Lead Actor in a Comedy, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama vs. Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, etc. The ultimate champions would be crowned the actor or actress “of the year” in their respective categories, and the big winners included Alan Alda, Mary Tyler Moore, and Cecily Tyson. The next day, The New York Timeswrote that the broadcast was “more confusing than ever” and that “the new ‘super awards’ are pointless”; things went back to normal for the next year’s ceremony.
7. ALAN ALDA CARTWHEELED DOWN THE AISLE FOR HIS 1979 WIN.
Speaking of Alan Alda: he made a bigger splash at the Emmys just five years later. During the 1979 ceremony, he picked up a prize for his writing on M*A*S*H. Although he’d previously won acting and directing awards for the show, he’d never been recognized for his writing before—and he was excited. So he cartwheeled down the aisle in what is now an iconic Emmy moment. “The writing one meant so much,” he later told Variety. “I wanted to be a writer and a good writer since I was eight years old. To get an Emmy for writing meant so much that that was really spontaneous when I did the cartwheel on the way to the stage … I’m 80 now, but a couple of months after my 80th birthday, I was on the beach in the Virgin Islands and I said, ‘I’m gonna see if I can still do a cartwheel.'”
When Betty Thomas won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Hill Street Blues in 1985, a man came up to accept the Emmy on her behalf. This was strange for two reasons: Thomas was actually in the audience, and she had no idea who this guy was. The mystery man turned out to be Barry Bremen, a.k.a. “The Great Imposter.” He was known to pull similar pranks at large sporting events, including the Super Bowl. The Emmys were just his latest target, and it cost him; he walked away from that stunt with a $175 fine and six months’ probation.
9. CABLE SHOWS WEREN’T ELIGIBLE FOR EMMY AWARDS UNTIL 1988.
Up until the late 1980s, only network shows were eligible for Emmy consideration. Cable series competed for prizes at their own awards show, the CableACE Awards. But the Emmys modified their rules in 1988 to allow cable programming in. The last CableACE Awards ceremony took place in 1997.
10. HECTOR RAMIREZ AND SHEILA NEVINS SHARE THE RECORD FOR MOST EMMY NOMINATIONS.
Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for HBO
The most Emmy-nominated individuals of all time are Hector Ramirez and Sheila Nevins, each of whom has a whopping 74 nominations. So who are these insanely talented individuals? Ramirez is a camera operator who has filmed everything from Richard Nixon’s resignation to Dancing with the Stars. Nevins is the president of HBO Documentary Films, who has overseen such critical hits as Going Clear and The Jinx.
But when it comes to Emmy wins, Nevins comes out on top: As of 2015, she has clinched the statuette 31 times, making her the most decorated person in Emmy history. This year, she received four nominations—with three of them in a single category, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special—which means she could very likely add to her haul.
11. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE IS THE MOST CELEBRATED SERIES.
Over its 41-year history, Saturday Night Live has racked up 209 nominations and 47 wins. That makes it the most awarded show in Emmy history. Frasier previously held the record, until SNL blew past that show’s 37 wins in 2013.
12. THE TELEVISION ACADEMY REALLY LOVE COPS.
If you’re serious about winning that statuette, it’s best to pick up a badge and gun. In 2015, Rolling Stonecrunched the numbers and discovered that characters in law enforcement receive the most Emmy love. It adds up when you look at past acting winners: Dennis Franz picked up four for his run on NYPD Blue, Tony Shalhoub won three for Monk, and Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless collectively earned six as the stars of Cagney & Lacey. Current nominees Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Idris Elba (Luther) could continue the streak.
13. SOME WINNERS HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR STATUETTES.
No, Peter Dinklage doesn’t have to fork over cash for his Emmy backstage. But for categories where the winners can include 15 to 20 people (think writing teams), the Television Academy imposes some fees. In the interview above, Mo Rocca recounted how he paid for his own Emmy as part of The Daily Show writing staff.
14. IT COSTS $400 AND TAKES OVER FIVE HOURS TO MAKE ONE EMMY.
Charging winners to collect their prize might seem outrageous, but then again, an Emmy isn’t cheap. Each statuette costs about $400 and requires five-and-a-half hours of labor to create. They’re all made at Chicago’s R.S. Owens, where employees mold and then coat the figures in copper, nickel, silver, and gold. Watch them in action above.
15. THE EMMYS OVERCAME A DIVERSITY HURDLE JUST LAST YEAR.
When Isabel Sanford won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The Jeffersons in 1981, she was the first black woman to receive that honor. The corresponding drama category remained all-white for over six decades, until 2015. Last year, Viola Davis won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away With Murder. She used her acceptance speech to talk about race and opportunity, provoking tears from several audience members and wild applause from her fellow nominee, Taraji P. Henson.
Anything can happen at the Emmys: Impromptu make-outs. Presenter fraud. Near-death experiences for Bob Newhart. Before the 2016 broadcast begins on Sunday, September 18, read up on the weirdest and most fascinating facts from the award ceremony’s near-70-year history. Sure, host Jimmy Kimmel is likely to bring the comedy heat, but can he match the insanity of the 1974 Super Emmys?
1. THE WORD “EMMY” COMES FROM A CAMERA TUBE.
When the Television Academy was brainstorming a name for its new awards back in late 1940s, founder Syd Cassyd first suggested “Ike,” a.k.a. the nickname for a television iconoscope tube. But the other members worried that term was too closely linked to World War II hero (and future POTUS) Dwight Eisenhower, and therefore might seem too political. So instead, Henry Lubcke (who would go on to become the Academy’s third president) floated “Immy.” It would reference another piece of TV tech, the image-orthicon tube. The rest of the team decided to feminize it into “Emmy,” so that it matched the statuette they had selected. That statuette, which resembles the one you know today, included a winged woman holding an atom. And it was based on a real person …
2. DOROTHY MCMANUS WAS THE MODEL FOR THE STATUETTE.
Cassyd and his friends considered 47 design proposals for their award statuette, and promptly rejected all of them. But the 48th time was the charm. Television engineer Louis McManus’s design of a woman with wings (representing the arts) holding an atom (representing science) was the last one the team reviewed, but it turned out to be the winning pitch. McManus had modeled the woman on his wife, Dorothy—leading at least one art curator to wonder why the awards aren’t called “Dorothies.”
3. ONLY SIX AWARDS WERE HANDED OUT AT THE FIRST CEREMONY, AND ONE WENT TO A VENTRILOQUIST.
The very first Emmy Awards ceremony was held on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. Unlike the current iteration, it was a fairly cheap affair (tickets cost just $5) and the run time was a lot shorter. Only six awards were handed out that evening. The first one, for Most Outstanding Television Personality, went to 20-year-old Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet, Judy Splinters, for The Judy Splinters Show. Other winners included a program called Pantomime Quiz and Louis McManus, who got a special Emmy for designing the thing.
4. “BEST CONTINUING PERFORMANCE IN A SERIES BY A PERSON WHO ESSENTIALLY PLAYS HERSELF” USED TO BE A CATEGORY.
In the early years of the awards, the Emmys tested out a number of categories, some of them more logical than others. By far the most nonsensical pair came in 1958, when the Television Academy decided to honor the “Best Continuing Performance in a Series by a Comedienne, Singer, Hostess, Dancer, M.C., Announcer, Narrator, Panelist, or Any Person Who Essentially Plays Herself” along with an identical male category. Rumor has it the categories were mostly designed to honor Lucille Ball for I Love Lucy, but if that was the intention, it failed miserably. Dinah Shore won instead for The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, while Jack Benny took the male category for The Jack Benny Show. These categories were seemingly axed by 1959, much to the relief of tongue-tied presenters.
5. JACKIE KENNEDY IS THE ONLY FIRST LADY TO WIN AN EMMY.
To date, only one First Lady of the United States has won an Emmy. That distinction goes to Jackie Kennedy, who received a special Trustees Award for her famous televised tour of The White House in 1962. (Lady Bird Johnson accepted the statuette on Kennedy’s behalf.) No First Lady has matched her Emmy count since, although Michelle Obama came somewhat close: The current FLOTUS received Emmy attention when her Billy on the Street segment earned a 2015 nomination. But alas, it lost to Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.
6. THE “SUPER EMMYS” WERE A HUGE FLOP.
In 1974, the Emmys decided to get experimental with a so-called “Super Emmy” ceremony. The show pitted the winning performers from the drama and comedy categories against each other—think Best Lead Actor in a Drama vs. Best Lead Actor in a Comedy, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama vs. Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, etc. The ultimate champions would be crowned the actor or actress “of the year” in their respective categories, and the big winners included Alan Alda, Mary Tyler Moore, and Cecily Tyson. The next day, The New York Timeswrote that the broadcast was “more confusing than ever” and that “the new ‘super awards’ are pointless”; things went back to normal for the next year’s ceremony.
7. ALAN ALDA CARTWHEELED DOWN THE AISLE FOR HIS 1979 WIN.
Speaking of Alan Alda: he made a bigger splash at the Emmys just five years later. During the 1979 ceremony, he picked up a prize for his writing on M*A*S*H. Although he’d previously won acting and directing awards for the show, he’d never been recognized for his writing before—and he was excited. So he cartwheeled down the aisle in what is now an iconic Emmy moment. “The writing one meant so much,” he later told Variety. “I wanted to be a writer and a good writer since I was eight years old. To get an Emmy for writing meant so much that that was really spontaneous when I did the cartwheel on the way to the stage … I’m 80 now, but a couple of months after my 80th birthday, I was on the beach in the Virgin Islands and I said, ‘I’m gonna see if I can still do a cartwheel.'”
When Betty Thomas won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Hill Street Blues in 1985, a man came up to accept the Emmy on her behalf. This was strange for two reasons: Thomas was actually in the audience, and she had no idea who this guy was. The mystery man turned out to be Barry Bremen, a.k.a. “The Great Imposter.” He was known to pull similar pranks at large sporting events, including the Super Bowl. The Emmys were just his latest target, and it cost him; he walked away from that stunt with a $175 fine and six months’ probation.
9. CABLE SHOWS WEREN’T ELIGIBLE FOR EMMY AWARDS UNTIL 1988.
Up until the late 1980s, only network shows were eligible for Emmy consideration. Cable series competed for prizes at their own awards show, the CableACE Awards. But the Emmys modified their rules in 1988 to allow cable programming in. The last CableACE Awards ceremony took place in 1997.
10. HECTOR RAMIREZ AND SHEILA NEVINS SHARE THE RECORD FOR MOST EMMY NOMINATIONS.
Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for HBO
The most Emmy-nominated individuals of all time are Hector Ramirez and Sheila Nevins, each of whom has a whopping 74 nominations. So who are these insanely talented individuals? Ramirez is a camera operator who has filmed everything from Richard Nixon’s resignation to Dancing with the Stars. Nevins is the president of HBO Documentary Films, who has overseen such critical hits as Going Clear and The Jinx.
But when it comes to Emmy wins, Nevins comes out on top: As of 2015, she has clinched the statuette 31 times, making her the most decorated person in Emmy history. This year, she received four nominations—with three of them in a single category, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special—which means she could very likely add to her haul.
11. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE IS THE MOST CELEBRATED SERIES.
Over its 41-year history, Saturday Night Live has racked up 209 nominations and 47 wins. That makes it the most awarded show in Emmy history. Frasier previously held the record, until SNL blew past that show’s 37 wins in 2013.
12. THE TELEVISION ACADEMY REALLY LOVE COPS.
If you’re serious about winning that statuette, it’s best to pick up a badge and gun. In 2015, Rolling Stonecrunched the numbers and discovered that characters in law enforcement receive the most Emmy love. It adds up when you look at past acting winners: Dennis Franz picked up four for his run on NYPD Blue, Tony Shalhoub won three for Monk, and Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless collectively earned six as the stars of Cagney & Lacey. Current nominees Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Idris Elba (Luther) could continue the streak.
13. SOME WINNERS HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR STATUETTES.
No, Peter Dinklage doesn’t have to fork over cash for his Emmy backstage. But for categories where the winners can include 15 to 20 people (think writing teams), the Television Academy imposes some fees. In the interview above, Mo Rocca recounted how he paid for his own Emmy as part of The Daily Show writing staff.
14. IT COSTS $400 AND TAKES OVER FIVE HOURS TO MAKE ONE EMMY.
Charging winners to collect their prize might seem outrageous, but then again, an Emmy isn’t cheap. Each statuette costs about $400 and requires five-and-a-half hours of labor to create. They’re all made at Chicago’s R.S. Owens, where employees mold and then coat the figures in copper, nickel, silver, and gold. Watch them in action above.
15. THE EMMYS OVERCAME A DIVERSITY HURDLE JUST LAST YEAR.
When Isabel Sanford won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The Jeffersons in 1981, she was the first black woman to receive that honor. The corresponding drama category remained all-white for over six decades, until 2015. Last year, Viola Davis won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away With Murder. She used her acceptance speech to talk about race and opportunity, provoking tears from several audience members and wild applause from her fellow nominee, Taraji P. Henson.
Grab the popcorn and put on your dancing shoes, because Dancing With the Stars is back for a 23rd season. Before you see whether Ryan Lochte can out-dance Marcia Brady, here are 15 facts about the beloved reality series.
1. IT’S BASED ON A BRITISH REALITY SERIES.
Though Dancing With the Stars is an American obsession, its roots are based in England. It’s based on the British series Strictly Come Dancing (known simply as Strictly to its fans), which has been airing on BBC One since 2004—a year before the U.S. version made its dancing debut.
2. ITS POPULARITY WAS A SURPRISE TO EVERYONE.
Since its debut, DWTS has been a ratings juggernaut—much to the surprise of those involved. “The thing I will always take away from this experience is how unpredictable it was,” host Tom Bergeron toldBoston Magazine earlier this year. “Even those of us in the midst of getting it ready to go on the air in 2005, while we all believed we had an entertaining show, that in and of itself is no guarantee. A lot of people have entertaining shows and they get canceled. The fact that we have a celebrity ballroom competition that is now in its 11th year is something none of us could have predicted.”
3. GYMNAST SHAWN JOHNSON IS THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO TAKE HOME THE MIRROR BALL TROPHY.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
In the spring of 2009, 17-year-old Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson became DWTS‘s youngest ever winner when she and partner Mark Ballas took home the competition’s Mirror Ball trophy. Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno was just 25 years old when he and Julianne Hough won in the spring of 2007 (he won the trophy on his birthday).
In terms of non-winning competitors: At 14 years old, Hunger Games star Willow Shields was the youngest competitor, while fan favorite Cloris Leachman was the oldest; she was 82 years old when she competed in 2008.
4. DONNY OSMOND IS THE OLDEST CELEBRITY TO TAKE HOME THE TOP PRIZE.
Legendary entertainer Donny Osmond was two weeks shy of his 52nd birthday when he and Kym Johnson won the competition in the fall of 2009, making him the show’s oldest champion. Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey was 50 years old when she and Derek Hough took home the top prize in the fall of 2010.
5. KATE GOSSELIN CREATED A BIT OF CONTROVERSY IN 2010.
Former reality star Kate Gosselin created some drama behind the scenes when she competed on DWTS in 2010. Though the audience was only allowed to vote a maximum five times per performance, she allegedly sent out emails asking friends and family to forward her email to another 10 people, and asked that everyone vote for her 10 times (which is a no-no).
6. GOSSELIN’S DANCING PARTNER CLAIMED HE NEEDED THERAPY AFTER THEIR PAIRING.
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While appearing on Anderson in 2012, Anderson Cooper told Gosselin’s dancing partner, Tony Dovolani, that he had always felt bad for him “because you got stuck with Kate Gosselin. I remember watching her dance. I’m still traumatized by that experience.” To which Dovolani responded, “Wait, wait—Anderson, did you just call it ‘dance?’ We didn’t dance!” Dovolani also joked that there was “a lot of therapy was involved” in the wake of their pairing. Gosselin was not amused.
7. FOOTBALL PLAYERS HAVE PROVEN TO BE STIFF COMPETITION.
“We’ve had great success with NFL players on the show over the years, several of whom have won,” Bergeron toldBoston Magazine. In 2013, the NFL ranked their favorite athletes-turned-dancers.
8. THE CELEBRITIES ARE WELL COMPENSATED.
Win or lose, celebrities have much to gain by appearing on the show, at least in terms of their bank account balances. More than one contestant has cited $125,000 as the base salary for appearing on the show—even if you don’t make it past episode one. The longer a contestant sticks around, the more cash he or she stands to earn.
9. BINDI IRWIN’S CONTRACT AND PAYCHECK GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE COURTS.
Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Caruso Affiliated
Because she was just 17 years old when she competed—and won—in 2015, Bindi Irwin was considered a minor, and therefore needed her parents to sign off on her contract, which stipulates they will not touch her money. While Bindi’s mom, Terri Irwin, was quick to sign on the dotted line, a court ended up rejecting Bindi’s contract because it did not have her father’s signature—even though her father, “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, had passed away in 2006. In order to get both her contract settled and her estimated $360,000 paycheck from the show, Bindi had to go to court to prove that her father was dead.
For the show’s 200th episode, the hosts presented the Dancing With the Stars Awards. ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne was honored with the title of Worst Dancer; his competition included Master P, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kate Gosselin, and Steve Wozniak.
In 2006, rapper Master P earned the show’s lowest score ever when he and partner Ashly DelGrosso earned an eight (out of 30) for their Paso Doble. In Master P’s defense, he wasn’t even supposed to be there; he was a last-minute replacement for his son, Lil Romeo, who was scheduled to compete but had to drop out because of an injury. In 2011, Lil Romeo finally joined the cast.
12. THE SHOW HAS SPARKED SOME LOVE CONNECTIONS.
Over the years, the show has sparked a number of romances—some rumored, some confirmed. Karina Smirnoff dated Mario Lopez, her partner in season three, for two years and later became engaged to fellow dancer Makism Chmerkovsky (though they eventually called it off). Chmerkovsky is now engaged to fellow DWTS dancer Peta Murgatroyd. In July, Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec married his DWTS partner Kym Johnson.
13. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF INJURIES, TOO.
From torn tendons to rib injuries, the contestants on DWTS have proven—time and again—that dancing can be dangerous. Among the most memorable injuries to occur (not all of them dance-related) are Misty May-Treanor’s torn Achilles tendon, Jackass star Steve-O’s back injury, stress fractures in both of former House Majority Leader’s Tom DeLay’s feet, and Bill Nye’s quad injury.
14. IT BROUGHT BACK “THE CARLTON.”
Alfonso Ribeiro won DWTS’s 19th season, with a little help from his The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character when he and his partner, Witney Carson, broke into “The Carlton.”
Since its debut in the spring of 2015, Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has become a bona fide pop culture obsession. The brainchild of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, who worked together on Saturday Night Liveand 30 Rock, the comedy series has also scored major accolades from critics, as evidenced by the four Emmy nominations it received for its second season, including a nod for Outstanding Comedy Series. Here are 15 things you might not know about the streaming series.
1. IT WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED TOOKEN.
Inspired by her two daughters—ages four and 10—Tina Fey originally intended for the series to be called Tooken. NBC, the original network behind the show, however, rejected the title.
2. HAD THE TITLE STUCK, THE THEME SONG WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.
While fans of the series will undoubtedly recognize “Unbreakable! They alive, damnit! It’s a miracle!”as the catchy chorus behind Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s theme song, Tooken would have had a slightly different tune. As gathered from an October 22, 2013 draft of the Tooken pilot script, Mr. Bankston would have sung something to the auto-tuned likes of:
Them girls got tooken / I was cutting up bike tires with my grandson when outta nowhere/ forty hundred police vehicles came bookin’ / they went busting in that weird old white dude’s house / we call him “Spiral Eyes” / my wife says he’s just a nerd / I say cult! / I knew somethin’ was up ‘cuz I seen him in town at Publix buying feminine napkins. Who that for?!
3. WHEN THE TITLE CHANGED, SO DID THE SHOW’S DIRECTION.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Veering away from the darker side of Kimmy’s past, Fey and Carlock decided to focus on Kimmy moving forward with her life. “Once we agreed upon this [title], it ended up informing the episodes. They did end up leaning more towards the positive and the future as opposed to what had happened in the past,” Fey told BuzzFeed. Because of this, the darker humor was toned down, as demonstrated by the removal of a scene in the early draft in which Kimmy, after discovering a rat in the bunker, is locked inside a metal box by the Reverend.
4. THERE WAS A FIFTH MOLE WOMAN.
Another element removed from Tooken was the story of a fifth mole woman. In the early draft, an FBI agent named Clarisse finds herself as the fifth member of the bunker. She explains her capture to Matt Lauer in the beginning of the episode: While following a tip, she finds the Reverend at his farmhouse in Indiana. He, however, quickly disarms her and throws her in an old refrigerator, keeping her there until she is willing to join the others in the bunker.
5. KIMMY WAS WRITTEN WITH ELLIE KEMPER IN MIND.
“I still am not sure what in my face screams ‘bunker-cult victim’ to [show creators Robert Carlock and Tina Fey], but something did, so they went with that,” star Ellie Kemper told NPR about the title role being written specifically for her.
6. AUDIENCES ALMOST MISSED OUT ON MEETING KIMMY ALTOGETHER.
Netflix
Even with its new title and more positive spin, NBC feared that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt wouldn’t be a good fit with their drama-heavy spring TV lineup. If it failed to generate positive ratings, the network would have no choice but to cancel the show in which they had already invested 13 episodes. Because of this, in November of 2014, NBC happily agreed to sell the series to Netflix, who made a two-season commitment.
7. THE MOVE TO NETFLIX GAVE THE CREATORS MORE FREEDOM.
While the first six episodes of the series were originally edited with the thinking that they would air on NBC, the creators were allowed to reedit the episodes once Netflix purchased the series. Jokes that were deemed unfit for broadcast were allowed to be edited back in, breaks in the story for commercials were removed, and the episodes were no longer constrained to fit the network’s 22-minute time slot.
8. EVEN THOUGH TITUS ANDROMEDON WAS NAMED AFTER ACTOR TITUSS BURGESS, HE STILL HAD TO AUDITION FOR THE PART.
Impressed with his appearances on 30 Rock, Carlock and Fey found themselves developing the character of Titus for Burgess. But they weren’t sure whether Burgess had the singing prowess the character needed. “We thought, okay, he can hit one-liners, and he has presence and style, but we started to mold the character without really knowing how deep the chest was,” Carlock told Entertainment Weekly. “I mean, he had to audition for a part named after him!”
9. “PEENO NOIR” WAS A LAST-MINUTE ADDITION.
Jeff Richmond, Fey’s husband and composer/executive producer for both Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and 30 Rock, admitted that Titus’s tune, “Peeno Noir,” was thought up on the spot. Behind schedule on that particular day of shooting, Richmond played the ringtone beat while the writers shouted out rhymes for Burgess to perform. It wasn’t until after the footage was shot that Richmond began layering in the different elements of the song, turning it into the viral hit we know today.
And as for the beat? Richmond confessed that the beat behind “Peeno Noir” comes from the 30 Rock segment “La Piscine,” in which Denise Richards sings about her love for the pool. “We needed something,” Richmond told The Hollywood Reporter. “We were shooting in 10 minutes, so Giancarlo [Vulcano, Richmond’s music associate] said, ‘What about ‘La Piscine’?” and we said, ‘OK, perfect.’”
10. BURGESS NOW HAS HIS OWN BRAND OF PINOT NOIR.
Thanks to the immense popularity of “Peeno Noir,” Burgess decided to create his own brand of Pinot Noir. Pinot By Tituss was first announced via Burgess’s Instagram and became available to consumers on March 14, 2016. A 2014 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, Pinot by Tituss is described as possessing “aromas of dried fruits, slate, subtle rosemary, coriander and roses lead to flavors of plum and black cherry cola.” Selling for $24.99 a bottle, Pinot by Tituss is available at select retailers in New York and New Jersey and for order online.
11. FEY AND CARLOCK HAD ALWAYS INTENDED FOR JANE KRAKOWSKI TO PLAY JACQUELINE VOORHEES.
Netflix
However, when it came time to film the pilot, Krakowski was unavailable as she was committed to Fox’s comedy Dead Boss. So actress Megan Dodds was cast in the role. After it was announced that Krakowski’s Dead Boss had been canceled, she was quickly brought in to replace Dodds as Jacqueline Voorhees. Trusting Fey and Carlock from their 30 Rock days together, Krakowski agreed to the part without having read the scripts.
With Dodds out, Krakowski reshot the few scenes in which Jacqueline appears in the pilot. “There were no actors there, but I read the scene with a stand in and script supervisor,” Krakowski told The Hollywood Reporter. “They just pasted me in, and I started filming a few weeks later. I really didn’t even know who I was playing. It was that quick. We filmed it properly again once I knew where everything was going.”
12. SEASON TWO WAS JAM-PACKED WITH CAMEOS.
As the adventures of Kimmy Schmidt continued, season two brought a slew of new characters to the table. Adding to the mix of talent were cameos by Anna Camp, Jeff Goldblum, Fred Armisen, Zosia Mamet, and David Cross.
13. THE CREATORS FOUND EVEN GREATER FREEDOM WITH SEASON TWO.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Unlike the first season, season two’s writing began with the knowledge that all 13 episodes would stream directly on Netflix. Because of this, a whole new world opened up for the show, one full of jokes, themes, and storylines that would otherwise be unimaginable for network television. But Fey and Carlock had to fight the many temptations of this newfound freedom, and instead they focused on what had brought them success in season one. “We definitely have the freedom to kind of explore these ideas, but we also became aware just anecdotally after season one premiered that we have, in a lot of ways, a very young audience,” Fey said.
14. EVEN MORE KIMMY SCHMIDT IS ON THE WAY.
On January 17, 2016, almost three months ahead of season two’s debut, Netflix demonstrated its faith in the newest episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt by renewing the show for a third season.
15. IT COULD TAKE A LITTLE WHILE FOR THE NEXT SEASON TO BEGIN FILMING.
While a third season is confirmed, it could take a little to reach audiences. In order to debut its second season in the spring, season two filmed throughout last summer. But filming of season three had to be delayed due to a couple of timing issues—both of them happy ones: Tina Fey is working on adapting Mean Girls into a musical and Ellie Kemper is pregnant with her first child.
Since the time you were a kid, adults have been telling you that when it comes to choosing a career, you should “love what you do.” And if what you love to do is lie on the couch and relive The Magic School Bus, well, you’re in luck. Because, according to Thrillist, Netflix is currently in the market for a Kids Content Tagger.
Just what does being a Kids Content Tagger for Netflix entail? Fair question. According to the job listing, the tagger’s three main duties are as follows:
Tag Kids Content. You will help categorize kids content for different ages and for hundreds of themes, including tone, storyline, character attributes, positive messages, cautionary material, etc. You will participate in weekly Kids Tagging Meetings and monthly Tagging Workshops designed to ensure consistency across tagging.
Complete Backtagging Projects. When new tags are added or removed, we will ask you to do broad back-tagging projects that look across hundreds of titles to ensure that tags are applied appropriately.
Contribute to Kids Innovation Projects. On occasion, the Kids Content Tagger will be asked to assist with special projects. This includes, but is not limited to 1) vetting titles to determine how or if they are suitable for kids, and 2) testing and providing feedback on experimental tagging processes.
The requirements are pretty simple, too. The ideal candidate should have a pretty extensive knowledge of (plus the requisite “passion for”) kids’ movies and television shows, be comfortable mastering Netflix’s categorization system, and be able to play well with others. Applicants who have a background in kids’ entertainment are even more welcome.
The job, which is a remote position (read: can be done in your sweatpants), will fill up about 15 hours of your time per week. While there’s no indication of how much the gig pays, if you’re going to spend all day watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, you may as well get paid for it. (But, for the love of Twitter, just make sure you know the difference between a kids’ movie and a slasher flick.)
Arguably one of the most popular horror sequels ever made, The Bride of Frankenstein has been cited as James Whale’s masterpiece, Boris Karloff’s finest hour, and the crown jewel of Universal’s monster series. Here’s what every movie buff should know about the 1935 classic.
1. AT FIRST, JAMES WHALE DIDN’T WANT TO DO THE MOVIE.
In 1931, Universal released what’s often viewed as the definitive film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff in a breakout performance, the movie was a colossal success. Critics at The New York Times praised it as one of the year’s greatest films. At the box office, Frankenstein exceeded all expectations—grossing an astounding $12 million against a $262,000 budget.
Naturally, Universal wasted no time in planning a sequel. Before 1931 came to a close, Robert Florey—who’d direct The Wolf Man 10 years later—submitted a seven-page story outline for a follow-up movie called The New Adventures of Frankenstein: The Monster Lives. Although Florey’s ideas were flatly dismissed, Universal was determined to churn out a second film.
For his part, Whale believed that he was done with the franchise. “I squeezed the idea dry with the original picture and never want to work on it again,” he told a friend. Eventually, though, the auteur agreed to direct The Bride of Frankenstein on the condition that he be given a greater degree of creative control this time around. The studio agreed.
2. REJECTED PLOT CONCEPTS INVOLVED EVERYTHING FROM DEATH-RAYS TO CIRCUS LIONS.
During pre-production, numerous story outlines were entertained. One scriptwriter came up with a bizarre plot in which Dr. and Mrs. Frankenstein change their names and go into hiding as circus performers. When the monster finds them, he angrily petitions the doctor for a mate, but ends up getting eaten by some trained lions instead. Another idea called for Dr. Frankenstein to murder his own creation with a death-ray—at the League of Nations headquarters, no less!
3. ERNEST THESIGER BEAT OUT TWO HORROR LEGENDS FOR THE ROLE OF DR. PRETORIUS.
The true villain in The Bride of Frankenstein isn’t the monster, nor is it his would-be wife or Dr. Henry Frankenstein himself. Rather, it’s another crazed scientist who goes by the name of Dr. Pretorius. Universal A-listers Claude Rains and Bela Lugosi were both considered for the role. But in the end, Whale cast Ernest Thesiger, a brilliant character actor who’d previously worked with the director on such films as The Old Dark House (1932) and The Ghoul (1933).
4. LOOK CLOSELY AND YOU’LL NOTICE THAT THE MONSTER’S WOUNDS APPEAR TO HEAL.
In the original Frankenstein’s thrilling climax, the monster seems to meet its demise inside of a windmill that’s caught fire. So when we first see the creature in Bride, the big brute is riddled with obvious burns. Also, a lot of his hair has obviously been singed off. For subsequent scenes, however, makeup artist Jack Pierce incrementally toned down the burns and replaced some of the hair. This created the illusion that the monster was slowly recovering from its injuries over the course of the film.
5. PRETORIUS’S MINIATURE MERMAID WAS AN OLYMPIC MEDALIST.
While trying to enlist Henry’s aid, the twisted doctor shows off some of his own creations—namely, a quintet of tiny people that are kept in glass bottles. There’s a miniature queen; a gluttonous king, clearly modeled after Henry VIII; a ballerina; a drowsy archbishop; and even a bearded figure whom Pretorius introduces as “the very devil” himself. Finally, he unveils a Lilliputian mermaid, as portrayed by Josephine McKim. In real life, McKim was an accomplished swimmer who competed at the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. Overall, she won three medals for the U.S., including two golds.
6. BORIS KARLOFF OBJECTED TO GIVING THE MONSTER ANY DIALOGUE.
Although the creature had been a mute in the first movie, Whale decided that the reanimated corpse ought to pick up some basic language skills during the sequel. Both Karloff and the studio disagreed quite strongly, but in the end, Whale got his way. Sara Karloff—the actor’s daughter—explained her father’s reservations in the DVD documentary She’s Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein. “He felt it would take away from [his performance in the original film] and I think he was wrong,” she said. “History, cinema history, has proven him wrong.”
7. AT ONE POINT, THE BLIND MAN PLAYS “AVE MARIA” ON HIS VIOLIN.
In a scene that Mel Brooks would lovingly spoof almost 40 years later, the monster befriends a sage-like violinist who lives alone in the woods and happens to be blind. Classical music fans will no doubt recognize the tune that the character is playing when Karloff’s creature first makes his acquaintance. The melody comes from “Ave Maria,” a famous prayer composed by Franz Schubert in 1825. Later on, when the monster and his only friend tearfully join hands, the theme can again be heard in the background.
8. MARILYN HARRIS (THE “DROWNED GIRL” FROM THE FIRST MOVIE) MAKES A BRIEF APPEARANCE.
Marilyn Harris’s character in the original Frankenstein was a little girl with a tragically short lifespan. In that film, the sweet-tempered child invited the monster to play with her by a lakeside. Failing to predict the consequences of his actions, the creature unintentionally killed his new pal by tossing her into the water. Universal horror fans hadn’t seen the last of Harris, however. As TheBride of Frankenstein DVD commentary points out, she briefly shows up in the sequel. Forty-five minutes in, the actress can be seen leading a group of rural school kids who run away in terror when the monster approaches.
9. THE BRIDE’S FAMOUS HAIRDO WAS SUPPORTED BY A WIRE CAGE.
Elsa Lanchester was double-cast in this movie. During the prologue, she portrays a young Mary Shelley. Then, toward the climax, she makes an electrifying entrance as the intended bride of Frankenstein’s monster. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the creature is her wild, streaky coiffure. The look—which was inspired by the Egyptian queen Nefertiti—has become every bit as iconic as the widow’s peak that Bela Lugosi so confidently rocked as Count Dracula. Over the years, it’s been duplicated in several horror-comedies, from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Hotel Transylvania.
Lanchester’s unusual ‘do wasn’t a wig, by the way—her actual hair was used to create the look. “I had it lifted up from my face, all the way around; then they placed a cage on my head and combed my own hair over that cage. Then they put the gray-streak hairpieces in afterwards,” she explained in an interview.
10. THE BRIDE’S VOCALIZATIONS WERE PARTLY INSPIRED BY SOME ANGRY BIRDS.
In London, Lanchester used to take frequent strolls through The Regent’s Park with her husband. Here, the young couple would regularly encounter some ill-tempered swans. “They’re really very nasty creatures, always hissing at you,” Lanchester later recalled. While portraying the female monster in Bride, she imitated those threatening birdcalls onscreen. “I used the memory of that hiss,” Lanchester said. “The sound men, in one or two cases, ran the hisses and screams backwards to add to the strangeness.”
11. PART OF THE ENDING WAS HASTILY RE-SHOT.
Originally, Henry Frankenstein (played by Colin Clive) was going to die in the climactic explosion along with the monster, its hissing mate, and Pretorius. However, after the sequence had already been filmed, Universal insisted that Whale go back and change it. Feeling that Bride should end on a somewhat happy note, the studio wanted Henry to survive the blast, and Whale grudgingly agreed.
Just a few days before the movie opened on April 22, 1935, some additional shots of Henry and his wife, Elizabeth, dashing away from the castle were filmed. This created a blooper in the final cut: If you pause the above clip at 2:15, you can clearly see Henry hugging the inside wall—after he’s already left the premises—just a few seconds before the whole building collapses.
12. THE MOVIE WAS BANNED IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES.
With its high body count, religious imagery, and sexual undertones, The Bride of Frankenstein did not endear itself to certain viewers—or to certain governments, for that matter. The film was banned outright in Trinidad, Hungary, and Palestine. In China, censors insisted that four key scenes be cut from the movie before it could be legally shown within the country’s borders. Not to be outdone, the Swedish censorship board implemented a staggering 25 cuts, dramatically reducing Bride’s runtime.
13. THIS WAS THE ONLY ENTRY IN UNIVERSAL’S FRANKENSTEIN SERIES TO RECEIVE AN OSCAR NOD.
The Bride of Frankenstein received an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Recording, although it lost the award to Naughty Marietta, an MGM movie musical starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
14. IT’S NEIL GAIMAN’S FAVORITE HORROR MOVIE.
“It’s a lot of people’s favorite horror film,” said bestselling author Neil Gaiman of The Bride of Frankenstein. “Dammit, it’s my favorite horror film.” In the above clip, Gaiman recalls staying up late as a boy to catch both Frankenstein and its 1935 sequel in a televised double-feature. What did he think? “Frankenstein was a huge disappointment to me,” Gaiman admitted, but he fell in love with the atmospheric Bride and remains a fan to this day. He is especially fond of the climax, which he cites as his favorite “two to three minutes of film, ever.” Another celebrity admirer is Guillermo del Toro, who, in a 2008 conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, ranked The Bride of Frankenstein as one of his top five films.
