Renowned for his acting prowess, Robert De Niro has crafted a Hollywood legacy as compelling as the roles he’s breathed life into. Let’s delve into five captivating facets of De Niro’s personal journey and illustrious career that might surprise you. 1. Holding Records and Navigating Controversies: De Niro shares an impressive record with fellow thespian … Continue reading Unraveling the Intricacies of Robert De Niro: Five Fascinating Facts
Unveiling the Unconventional: 6 Fascinating Tidbits about Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger, an embodiment of the American Dream and an emblem of versatility, is more than just a superstar. As intriguing as his multifaceted life is, here are six captivating facts about the Austrian Oak that go beyond the silver screen.
1. From AWOL to America: In 1965, young Arnold daringly defied the mandatory year of military service in Austria to pursue his passion for bodybuilding. This bold decision landed him in military prison for a week, but it also paved his path to success. He won the bodybuilding contest he had deserted the army to participate in, which propelled him towards larger contests and ultimately a one-way ticket to America. Displaying a hint of nostalgia, Schwarzenegger even purchased the tank he had driven during his military service.
2. Self-Made Millionaire before Stardom: Schwarzenegger’s entrepreneurial spirit shone early on. Upon his arrival in America, he founded a bricklaying business. His acumen did not stop there; he invested wisely in real estate and a mail-order bodybuilding equipment company. By the age of 22, before he had even made his first movie, Schwarzenegger had become a self-made millionaire.
3. A Difficult Childhood: Arnold’s childhood was marred by the harsh realities of his father’s Nazi affiliations during World War II. A misunderstanding about his passion for bodybuilding led his parents to mistakenly believe he was gay, which resulted in mistreatment at home. Schwarzenegger chose to prioritize his career over personal relationships, a choice starkly highlighted when he skipped his father’s funeral due to a bodybuilding competition scheduled two months later.
4. A Real-Life Terminator Moment: On an amusing afternoon during the filming of The Terminator, Arnold stepped into a downtown L.A. restaurant for lunch, still wearing his gory Terminator makeup. Oblivious to his transformation, he requested a table in character. The unsuspecting host and restaurant patrons were sent into a frenzy at the sight of the terrifying figure from an as-yet-unknown movie.
5. The Voice That Wasn’t Enough: Despite his recognizable voice, Schwarzenegger was denied the opportunity to voice his character in the German dub of “The Terminator”. The producers felt his Austrian accent lacked the toughness befitting the Terminator, leading to an odd fact: Schwarzenegger has never dubbed his own voice in any of his movies.
6. Catchphrase King: Schwarzenegger’s iconic line “I’ll be back” from the Terminator series isn’t restricted to the dystopian franchise. This catchphrase has made its way into 11 other movies, including Commando, The Running Man, and Total Recall, establishing Arnold’s knack for leaving a memorable impression on his audience.
Behind the Scenes of ‘The Shining’: 5 Intriguing Film Facts
Delve into the mysterious world of ‘The Shining,’ one of the most iconic horror films of all time, with these five fascinating behind-the-scenes facts.
1. The iconic “Here’s Johnny” line from The Shining actually originated from The Johnny Carson Show. When Jack Nicholson spontaneously delivered the line during filming, director Stanley Kubrick almost chose another take, as he didn’t catch the reference since he had been residing in England.
2. During the filming of the well-known scene in ‘The Shining’, the production team initially used a fake door for Jack Nicholson to break through. However, they were forced to switch to a real door because Jack, who had previous experience as a Fire Marshall, broke through the fake one too effortlessly.
3. In the making of ‘The Shining’, director Stanley Kubrick deliberately distanced himself from Shelley Duvall and frequently engaged in arguments with her. Duvall had to endure 127 takes of the intense and draining baseball bat scene. As a result of the immense stress she experienced during filming, she even showed Kubrick clumps of her hair that had fallen out.
4. While Stephen King was inspired to create “The Shining” in a Colorado hotel that was slated for demolition, and the 1980 Kubrick adaptation took place in the same state, the movie’s exterior shots of the Overlook Hotel were actually captured at the historic Timberline Lodge in Oregon, situated near Mt. Hood. The lodge management asked Stanley Kubrick to avoid using room #217 from the book in the film, fearing it might discourage potential guests from staying there. As a result, Kubrick opted to use a made-up room number, #237, in the movie.
5. Danny Lloyd, the young actor who portrayed Danny in ‘The Shining,’ was carefully shielded by director Stanley Kubrick throughout the filming process. As a result, he remained unaware that he was part of a horror film until several years later. Since then, Danny has left acting behind and pursued a career as a science teacher.
Bonus fact: Stanley Kubrick received a nomination for “Worst Director” for ‘The Shining’ at the inaugural Golden Raspberry Awards, also known as the Razzies. The “honor” ultimately went to the director of ‘Xanadu.’ On two occasions, the Golden Raspberry Awards have made retractions. Bruce Willis’s Raspberry nomination was withdrawn upon discovering he was battling aphasia, while Shelley Duvall’s nomination was retracted in light of Kubrick’s mistreatment of her during the filming of ‘The Shining.’
Inspired by Cinema: The Birth of Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI)
In the 1998 film “Enemy of the State,” the National Security Agency (NSA) pursues Will Smith utilizing real-time satellite feeds, a surveillance technology that was not available at the time. However, the movie’s portrayal of this advanced system inspired a government research engineer to spearhead the development of Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI).
WAMI is a cutting-edge surveillance technology that allows for the continuous monitoring and tracking of a vast area using high-resolution imagery. This innovative system can be mounted on various platforms, including drones and aircraft, to provide real-time information on the ground.
Bruceploitation: The Search for Bruce Lee’s Successor
Following the untimely death of Bruce Lee in 1973, the film industries of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea embarked on a quest to find a suitable successor to capitalize on his immense legacy. This era, later coined as “Bruceploitation,” saw a slew of actors adopting screen names reminiscent of the martial arts legend, such as Bruce Li, Bruce Lai, and Brute Lee, among others.
The Bruceploitation subgenre eventually lost momentum with the rise of another Hong Kong martial artist, Jackie Chan, whose films like Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master helped solidify his position as the new face of martial arts cinema. This shift marked the end of the search for a Bruce Lee replacement and the beginning of a new era in the world of martial arts films.
Lost Masterpiece Found in Movie: The Stuart Little Painting Saga
In 2009, Hungarian art historian Gergely Barki recognized a long-lost painting by Róbert Berény while watching the movie Stuart Little. The artwork, titled “Sleeping Lady with Black Vase,” had been missing for 90 years and was used as a prop in the film. The painting had been sold for $40 at a charity auction in […]
Tom Cruise’s 1988 Film Dichotomy: Oscars and Razzies
In 1988, Tom Cruise starred in two films that achieved contrasting accolades: “Rain Man” won the Oscar for Best Picture, while “Cocktail” earned the Razzie for Worst Picture. Cruise is the sole actor to have accomplished this unique feat within the same year. In addition to these contrasting honors, “Rain Man” earned Dustin Hoffman an […]
Shelley Duvall was nominated in…
Shelley Duvall was nominated in the first Razzies for worst actress for her role in The Shining.
The 2005 film ‘Hostel’ damaged Slovakia’s…
The 2005 film ‘Hostel’ damaged Slovakia’s representation and tourism economy so badly that director Eli Roth was invited to an all expenses paid trip to clear false allegations the film made about the country, such as it being a ‘crime riddled, corrupt, lawless, poor and dangerous’ place.
The post The 2005 film ‘Hostel’ damaged Slovakia’s… appeared first on Crazy Facts.
People Break Down The Most Overrated Films Of All Time
We love movies and it’s that time of year again—the time when movies are extra special.
It’s awards season!
The one thing that’s always examined in awards season, is seasons past.
Everyone loves to discuss the movies that failed to live up to the hype.
Redditor hootyowlscissors wanted to discuss all movies where the hype just didn’t add up.
They asked:
“What is the most massively overrated film of all time and why?”
Reddit was quick to respond…
Reese couldn’t make it work…
“Water for elephants. The book was really good but the movie barely told the story.” ~ Icy_Gap6980
“I LOVE Reese Witherspoon but I find she often doesn’t have chemistry with men in her movies.”
“She plays characters where it works anyways, but I can’t think of anything where she really amazing chemistry with a costar.” ~ ingenfara
“I loved the movie, but heard that people who read the book (which I still haven’t) wouldn’t have liked it.”
“The same thing was true about ‘The Firm.’”
“I had read the book and saw it in the theater with a friend who hadn’t.”
“She thought it was one of the best movies she’d ever seen, and I said ‘That’s not in the book!’”
“So many times, the man in front of me turned around and told me to shut up.” ~ notthesedays
The Oscar Upset!!
“Shakespeare in Love. And it beat Saving Private Ryan for best picture FFS…” ~ Millerzeit
“I used to think the same but the real winner should have been life is beautiful.”
“Saving Private Ryan is a masterpiece but life is beautiful is cinema perfection.”
The character is amazing and the things he did for his son.”
“Ugh i cry every time i see it because through all that nonsense his son never got to see the brutality of it and he got his tank.” ~ crazymo121
“Yes Shakespeare in love was operated.”
“But for comedy I think it good.”
“Geoffrey Rush’s role he played was just great.”
“I think if some one besides Gweneth was cast, it might have been much better.”
“Could not stand Saving Private Ryan, but one of my husband’s favorites.” ~ happyhappy2986
press stop…
“Crash. Pure pandering, shi**y script, one-dimensional characters, the whole shebang that should not have even been nominated for crap.” ~freebird12g
The Blue People…
“HOLY S**T NO ONE STILL LIKES AVATAR STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!!”
“Now it’s overHATED.” ~ devilthedankdawg
“Seriously, it’s an ok movie.”
“It has good but not crazy good reviews, and that’s totally fair.”
“But Saying it’s ferngully/Pocahontas/Dances with Wolves doesn’t make you smart, you are just repeating the same thing said by every person ever.”
“It just got an insane amount of money because of the spectacle of it and how much word of mouth it had to.”
“And, yeah, to give credit to Avatar, it looks FANTASTIC. It still looks a lot better than a lot of CGI today!” ~ Lucienofthelight
But it has Sandra…
“Bird box.” ~ Loooooooooppp
“The book was very good in my opinion.”
“I watched the movie and it made me so mad. Horrible movie.” ~ FrenchMushr00m
“This movie always annoyed me, the ending was so convenient and there was no catharsis or lessons learned, as well the monsters ability was never shown.”
“I thought the movie would have been much better it had ended with her after accepting responsibility and love for the adopted child and taking the boat down the rapids.”
“She would elect not to wear a mask to protect the children.”
“She would inadvertently see a monster and then ‘witness’ her child and adopted child die in the rapids, and she is so ridden with grief she kills herself.”
“The children would not actually have died and they would find the sanctuary.”
“I feel like that would have given the movie a meaning and an edge that was missing.” ~ OHFUGGYEAHBUDS
Poor Arnold…
“I digress, the most underrated film of all time is Conan the Barbarian circa 1981.” ~ FinancialArtichoke75
“I liked that film but got mocked by my classmates for having it on DVD, so I lied, and I said it was a porno and the label read Conan as a diversion.”
“And then I didn’t get mocked.”
“Anyway, what I really came to say was that the question was about overrated films, and you replied about underrated films.” ~ Kriskao
Nonsense…
“I have two:”
“The Purge movies.”
“Not only is the premise mind numbingly illogical with so so many ramifications, but I find it really hard to believe that the entire country would go on killing sprees instead of stealing s**t and doing drugs.”
“Paranormal Activity. Oh no, the chair suddenly moved after a half hour of nothing else happening!” ~ Yuiopy78
“It was a way to ‘stir up the hornets nest’ if that makes sense.”
“They wanted to justify the first purge so they could repeat it annually.”
“They wouldn’t have been able to do so if crime was low on that specific night so they used mercs instigate some violence.”
“The ‘concept’ of the purge is that overall it would decrease crime and homelessness since everyone would be releasing their anger on purge night and ultimately targeting homeless people.”
“Great movie concept, illogical as f**k though.”
“Later in the series we find out the purge does nothing towards crime and poverty and I just an excuse for rich people to go bats**t crazy.” ~ inframeWS
“Let it Go… Let it Go…”
“Frozen. I liked the idea of two female leads for a Disney Princess movie, but I feel the execution was off the mark.”
“The Hans twist was predictable and the way Elsa freezes Anna’s heart to trigger an ‘impending death’ was just stupid.”
“Olaf was also annoying and I did not find his love of Summer endearing.” ~ TelemachusTheYoung
Not THAT movie!
“The English Patient. I almost got thrown out of the theater at one point for screaming ‘just f**king die already!’” ~ 12altoids34
“I used to ask people what movie they hated that everyone else seems to love.”
“It was one of my favorite questions to get to know someone.”
“I eventually had to modify it to say ‘what movie do you hate that everyone you know loves, but it can’t be The English Patient’ because literally everyone hated it.” ~ crankyweasels
Lost in Space…
“Gravity. Everyone raved on it and how amazing it was.”
“I once described the entire film to someone in 10 seconds.” ~ sfkf8486
“If you watched it in theatres, it was amazing.”
“If you watched it at home it sucked.”
“Everything amazing about it was atmosphere and immersion.” ~ Ardentpause
In the end art is subjective.
There are a few movies on this list I really liked.
Except for The English Patient.
When I think about the six hours I wasted… sorry three hours, it just felt like six.
Anybody feel the need to add to the list?