20th Century Fox
The weather may be starting to get cooler in some places, but the movies are just beginning to heat up. Several notable films made their debuts this week over the last 100 years including the film that brought Lucy and Desi together, the introduction of Carmen Miranda to American moviegoers, one of the greatest Westerns ever made, a Doris Day thriller, David Lynch’s most commercial film, a classic Goldie Hawn comedy, several Oscar winners, and both the worst and greatest films ever made. Let’s talk a walk down the red carpet and check out the films, and please click on a highlighted link for information on purchasing or renting the film or associated books, which helps support our work at Hotchka.com.
1920
October 10 – Behold My Wife!
- Cast: Mabel Julienne Scott, Milton Sills, Winter Hall, Elliott Dexter, Helen Dunbar, Ann Forrest, Maude Wayne, Fred Huntley, Frank Butler, Templar Powell, Mark Fenton, Jane Wolfe
- Director: George Melford
- Studio: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on Sir Gilbert Parker’s novel, The Translation of a Savage. The film was remade in 1934 with Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond. The 1920 version is considered lost.
October 10 – Deep Waters
- Cast: Rudolph Christians, Barbara Bedford, John Gilbert, Florence Deshon, Jack McDonald, Henry Woodward, George Nichols, Lydia Yeamans Titus, Marie Van Tassell
- Director: Maurice Tourneur
- Studio: Maurice Tourneur Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
October 10 – The Jailbird
- Cast: Douglas MacLean, Doris May, Louis Morrison, William Courtright, Wilbur Higby, Otto Hoffman, Monte Collins, Bert Woodruff, Edith Yorke, Joseph Hazelton
- Director: Lloyd Ingraham
- Studio: Thomas H. Ince Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.
October 10 – The Round Up
- Cast: Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, Mabel Julienne Scott, Irving Cummings, Tom Forman, Wallace Beery, Jean Acker, Guy Oliver, Jane Wolfe, Fred Huntley, George Kuwa, Lucien Littlefield, Chief Red Fox, Molly Malone
- Director: George Melford
- Studio: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
- Trivia: Buster Keaton has an uncredited role. Based on the 1907 play by Edmund Day, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The movie was screened in April and May 2006 as part of a 56-film Arbuckle retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
October 11 – Nomads of the North
- Cast: Betty Blythe, Lon Chaney, Lewis Stone, Francis McDonald, Spottiswoode Aitken, Melbourne MacDowell
- Director: David Hartford
- Studio: James Oliver Curwood Productions Inc., distributed by Associated First National Pictures, Inc.
- Trivia: Based on the 1919 novel by James Oliver Curwood. Blythe and Chaney were burned while filming the forest fire scene when a blaze blocked their escape. They were rescued through a tunnel that was previously built for just such an occurrence, and production was shut down for ten days while they recovered in a local hospital. A fake forest was built on the Universal lot, and the fire was filmed with six cameras.
1930
- No films were released during this week in 1930.
1940
October 8 – The Long Voyage Home
- Cast: John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond, Arthur Shields, Joseph Sawyer, J. M. Kerrigan, Rafaela Ottiano
- Director: John Ford
- Studio: Argosy Pictures, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: Adapted from the plays The Moon of the Caribbees, In the Zone, Bound East for Cardiff, and The Long Voyage Home by Eugene O’Neill. The plays were written around the time of World War I but Ford set the film during World War II. The cinematographer was Gregg Toland, who would go on to work with Orson Welles on Citizen Kane. Both Ford and Welles shared their title card with Toland. Producer Walter Wanger hired nine American artists to document dramatic scenes during the film’s production, resulting in 11 paintings that toured the country’s museum circuit. Though a box office failure and one of Ford’s lesser-known films, it did receive six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.
October 8 – Too Many Girls
- Cast: Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, Ann Miller, Eddie Bracken, Frances Langford, Desi Arnaz, Hal Le Roy, Libby Bennett, Harry Shannon, Douglas Walton, Chester Clute, Tiny Person, Ivy Scott, Byron Shores, Van Johnson, Grady Sutton
- Director: George Abbott
- Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the Broadway musical of the same name that ran for 249 performances. Desi Arnaz, Eddie Bracken, Hal LeRoy, Libby Bennett, Ivy Scott, Byron Shores and Van Johnson all also appeared in the Broadway musical. It was the Broadway debut for all but LeRoy. This is the film that introduced Lucille Ball to Desi Arnaz. They were married on November 20, 1940, less than two months after the film’s release.
October 11 – Down Argentine Way
- Cast: Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, J. Carrol Naish, Henry Stephenson, Kay Aldridge, Leonid Kinskey, Chris-Pin Martin, Robert Conway, Gregory Gaye, Bobby Stone, Charles Judels, Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas
- Director: Irving Cummings
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film’s working title was The South American Way. The film is considered the first to implement FDR’s ‘good neighbor policy’ toward Latin America during World War II due to growing German influence in the region. Although she had appeared in 31 previous films, this marked Grable’s debut as a leading lady. Grable was a replacement for Alice Faye, who became ill before production. Faye appeared in the follow-up films That Night in Rio and Week-End in Havana. The film also introduced American audiences to Carmen Miranda. Shooting lasted for 10 months with the crew traveling about 35,000 miles. All of Miranda’s scene were filmed in New York where she was performing in The Streets of Paris on Broadway. She never set foot in Hollywood during production and her numbers were just ‘cut and pasted’ into the film. Actress Elena Verdugo had a small part at age 14, and this may have been her first role. The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Cinematography, Best Original Song and for Best Art Direction. The film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2014.
1950
October 12 – Two Flags West
- Cast: Joseph Cotten, Linda Darnell, Jeff Chandler, Cornel Wilde, Dale Robertson, Jay C. Flippen, Noah Beery Jr., Harry von Zell, Johnny Sands, Arthur Hunnicutt
- Director: Robert Wise
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film’s original title was Trumpet to the Morn. The role of Col. Clay Tucker was intended for Victor Mature or Richard Basehart, but Cotten was cast at the last minute after being loaned out to Fox from Selznick International Pictures. The role of Major Kenniston was intended for Lee J. Cobb who owed Fox one picture under his contract, but he was replaced by Jeff Chandler.
October 13 – All About Eve
- Cast: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, Gregory Ratoff, Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Bates, Walter Hampden
- Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Based on the short story ‘The Wisdom of Eve’ by Mary Orr, but no screen credit was given. At the time, the film received a record 14 Oscar nominations, winning six including Best Picture. It is the only film in Oscar history to receive four female acting nominations. It was one of the first 50 films selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. The Margo Channing character name was originally Margola Cranston. Many actresses were considered for the role of Margo: Susan Hayward was the first choice (‘too young’), then Marlene Dietrich (‘too German’), Barbara Stanwyck (unavailable), Tallulah Bankhead and Joan Crawford. Gertrude Lawrence was rejected because her lawyer insist the character not drink or smoke, and she would sing a torch song. Claudette Colbert was cast but withdrew due to an injury. Ingrid Bergman was considered but the role was offered to Davis, who had just left Warner Brothers after a string of unsuccessful films. Jeanne Crain was the first choice for Eve Harrington, who was at the height of her popularity but became pregnant and the role went to Anne Baxter. Producer Darryl Zanuck also didn’t think Crain, who made a career of playing nice characters, would be believable or accepted by audiences as a villain. Marilyn Monroe, in an early role, was so nervous acting against Davis that it took 11 takes to get through one scene. When Davis barked at her, Monroe left the set to vomit.
October 13 – To Please a Lady
- Cast: Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, Will Geer, Roland Winters, William C. McGaw, Lela Bliss, Emory Parnell, Frank Jenks, Helen Spring, Bill Hickman, Lew Smith, ‘Bullet’ Joe Garson
- Director: Clarence Brown
- Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The film’s climactic race scene was filmed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1960
October 12 – The Magnificent Seven
- Cast: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn Horst Buchholz, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Eli Wallach, Whit Bissell
- Director: John Sturges
- Studio: The Mirisch Company, Alpha Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: The film is an Old West remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai. The film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2013. Yul Brynner brought the idea for the film to producer Walter Mirisch, and after the rights were acquired from Toho Studios, Brynner was sued by Anthony Quinn who claimed he and Brynner had come up with the idea before having a falling out. Quinn lost the claim because there was nothing in writing. Director Sturges wanted McQueen in the picture but he was under contract for the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive. McQueen was a race car driver and his agent suggested he stage an accident claiming an injury would keep him from shooting the show until he recovered. During his ‘recovery’, McQueen worked on the film. Coburn was a fan of the original and was cast after Sterling Hayden and John Ireland turned down the role of Britt the knifethrower. Robert Vaughn was the last surviving member of the main cast until his death in 2016. Rosenda Monteros was the last surviving cast member until her death in 2018. Brynner and McQueen had considerable tension on set because McQueen was displeased with having only seven lines of dialog in the film, so he’d do all he could to upstage Brynner.
October 13 – Midnight Lace
- Cast: Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall, Herbert Marshall, Natasha Parry, Hermione Baddeley, John Williams, Richard Ney, Anthony Dawson, Rhys Williams, Richard Lupino, Hayden Rorke
- Director: David Miller
- Studio: Arwin Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the play Matilda Shouted Fire by Janet Green. The film was remade as a TV movie in 1981. Day was nominated for the Best Actress — Motion Picture Drama Golden Globe.
1970
October 7 – Monte Walsh
- Cast: Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitchell Ryan, Jim Davis, G.D. Spradlin, John Hudkins, Raymond Guth, John McKee, Michael Conrad, Tom Heaton, Ted Gehring, Bo Hopkins, John McLiam, Allyn Ann McLerie, Matt Clark, Charles Tyner, Jack Colvin
- Director: William A. Fraker
- Studio: Cinema Center Films, distributed by National General Pictures
- Trivia: This was Fraker’s directorial debut. The title comes from the title of a 1963 Western novel by Jack Schaefer, but has little to do with the plot of the book. A 2003 TV movie remake starred Tom Selleck and Isabella Rossellini.
October 11 – The Great White Hope
- Cast: James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards, Moses Gunn, Lou Gilbert, Robert Webber, Jim Beattie
- Director: Martin Ritt
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1967 Broadway play of the same name which also starred Jones and Alexander. The pair were also nominated for Academy Awards. Both had already won Tony Awards for their roles. This was Alexander’s film debut. The play and the film were based on the true story of Jack Johnson and his first wife Etta Terry Duryea.
1980
October 10 – The Elephant Man
- Cast: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Hannah Gordon, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, Dexter Fletcher, Helen Ryan, John Standing, Lesley Dunlop, Phoebe Nicholls, Lydia Lisle, Morgan Sheppard, Kenny Baker
- Director: David Lynch
- Studio: Brooksfilms, distributed by Columbia–EMI–Warner (UK), Paramount Pictures (USA)
- Trivia: The film had its New York City premiere on October 3, 1980. The film was based on the real-life story of Joseph Merrick (called John in the film), detailed in the books The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences (1923) by Frederick Treves, and The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity (1971) by Ashley Montagu. The film was co-produced by Mel Brooks, who was intentionally uncredited so audiences wouldn’t expect a comedy. The film earned eight Oscar nominations, but the Academy was scorned for not recognizing the efforts of the film’s makeup effects which lead to the creation of the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category the following year. The film won BAFTAs for Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Production Design. When Lynch was suggested to direct, Brooks was not familiar with his work so a screening of Eraserhead was set up, and Brooks was enthusiastic to let Lynch direct. The makeup was cast directly from Merrick’s body which was kept in the museum of the Royal London Hospital. It took nearly eight hours to apply each day and after having to perform in it, Hurt said they finally managed to make him hate acting. Lynch originally wanted Eraserhead star Jack Nance for the role. After completing the film, Brooks suggested a few minor cuts but told Lynch the film would be released as he’d made it. A play about Merrick called The Elephant Man was having a successful Broadway run and the producers sued Brooksfilm over the use of the title. The film inspired Bradley Cooper to become an actor and he played the role of Merrick in a 2013 Broadway revival. The movie is also referenced in a Season 3 episode of The Simpsons where Lisa daydreams her Aunt Selma’s new boyfriend is the Elephant Man.
October 10 – Kagemusha
- Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu, Hideji Ōtaki Daisuke Ryu
- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- Studio: Kurosawa Production, Toho, distributed by Toho (Japan), 20th Century Fox (International)
- Trivia: The film was first released in Japan on April 26, 1980. Kagemusha is the Japanese term for a political decoy or ‘shadow warrior’. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated in the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards. George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola receive executive producer credit because they persuaded Fox to make up the difference in the film’s budget when Toho was unable to complete the film. Fox then received international distribution rights. Kurosawa wrote a part from his longtime regular actor Takashi Shimura, but his role was cut from the international versions. The scenes along with another 18 minutes of film were restored for the Criterion Collection DVD release. According to Lucas, 5,000 extras were used for a battle scene that took an entire day to film; only 90 seconds were used in the final release. Lucas said many special effects and a number of scenes that filled holes in the story ended up on the cutting room floor. Kurosawa won the BAFTA for Best Director.
Warner Bros. Pictures
October 10 – Private Benjamin
- Cast: Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan Armand Assante, Robert Webber, Richard Herd Sam Wanamaker, Barbara Barrie, Gretchen Wyler, Mary Kay Place, Harry Dean Stanton, Hal Williams, P. J. Soles, Craig T. Nelson, Albert Brooks, Alan Oppenheimer
- Director: Howard Zieff
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Hawn and Brennan were nominated for Oscars, as was the screenplay. The film was spun off into a 1981-83 TV series which starred Lorna Patterson, Wendie Jo Sperber and Joel Brooks. Hal Williams and Eileen Brennan reprised their film roles and Brennan earned an Emmy nomination as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Variety Series for each of its three season, winning once for the first season (which consisted of just four episodes). She was also nominated for the Best Actress – Television Series, Musical or Comedy Golden Globe twice, winning in 1982. A remake with Anna Faris was announced in 2010, but Rebel Wilson was confirmed for the role in 2014. To date that remake has not happened.
1990
October 12 – The Hot Spot
- Cast: Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, Debra Cole, Jerry Hardin, William Sadler, Charles Martin Smith, Barry Corbin, Leon Rippy, Jack Nance, Virgil Frye
- Director: Dennis Hopper
- Studio: Orion Pictures
- Trivia: The film premiered September 8, 1990 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Based on the 1952 book Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Williams had written a screenplay in 1962 intended for Robert Mitchum.
October 12 – Memphis Belle
- Cast: Matthew Modine, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, Reed Diamond, Sean Astin, Courtney Gains, Neil Giuntoli, Harry Connick, Jr., David Strathairn, John Lithgow, Jane Horrocks, Mac McDonald
- Director: Michael Caton-Jones
- Studio: Enigma Productions, Fujisankei Communications, British Satellite Broadcasting, County NatWest Ventures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film is a dramatization of the 1944 documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress by director William Wyler. The film was co-produced by Wyler’s daughter and was dedicated to him and all the airmen who fought in the skies about Europe during World War II. Five of eight airworthy B-17s were used during filming. The actual Memphis Belle was a B-17F, so all of the B-17Gs had to be modified to look like the F model. Extras for the film included former and current members of the Royal Air Force. Ground sequences were filmed at the non-operational RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire, England. With the exception of the aircraft names, the film is based very loosely on fact with incidents and character names fictionalized.
October 12 – Mr. Destiny
- Cast: James Belushi, Linda Hamilton, Michael Caine, Jon Lovitz, Hart Bochner, Bill McCutcheon, Rene Russo, Jay O. Sanders, Maury Chaykin, Pat Corley, Douglas Seale, Courteney Cox, Doug Barron, Jeff Weiss, Jeff Pillars, Tony Longo, Kathy Ireland
- Director: James Orr
- Studio: Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, Laurence Mark Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
- Trivia: Portions of the film were shot in Winston-Salem, NC using the Richard J. Reynolds High School baseball team. The office building is the former headquarters of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
October 12 – To Sleep with Anger
- Cast: Danny Glover, Paul Butler, DeVaughn Nixon, Mary Alice, Reina King, Cory Curtis, Richard Brooks, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Carl Lumbly, Paula Bellamy, Vonetta McGee, Wonderful Smith, Ethel Ayler, Beverly Mickins, Jimmy Witherspoon, Julius Harris
- Director: Charles Burnett
- Studio: The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: The film opened in limited release on October 12, 1990 before expanding on January 11, 1991. The film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2017. A remastered version of the film was released to home video by the Criterion Collection in 2019.
October 12 – Troll 2
- Cast: Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Margo Prey, Connie McFarland, Robert Ormsby, Deborah Reed, Jason Wright
- Director: Claudio Fragasso
- Studio: Filmirage, MGM
- Trivia: Fragasso was credited under the pseudonym Drake Floyd. The film was produced under the title Goblins, but distributors were skeptical of its chance of success so it was marketed as a sequel to 1986’s Troll, despite the two films having no connection whatsoever. Difficulties arose during production between the Italian-speaking crew and the English-speaking cast resulting in what has been dubbed one of the worst movies ever made. In 2009, Stephenson directed the acclaimed documentary about the making of the film and its later cult popularity, Best Worst Movie. None of the cast had any acting experience, but were locals responding to an ad hoping for an extra part. One actor was a patient at a mental hospital out on a day trip who claims to have smoked a massive amount of marijuana, had no idea what was going on, and his disturbed performance was not acting. The script was written by the director’s wife as a reaction to her friends who had become vegetarians, which ‘pissed her off’. They claim the script has been misunderstood and was intentionally comedic. Cast members claim the script was translated from Italian to a form of broken English, and when they offered to correct the grammar in their lines, Fragasso demanded they speak the lines as written. Fragasso has denied all of the cast members’ recollections of the film — which all line up with each others’ accounts — and has called them bad actors, accusing them of lying about the production.
October 12 – Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
- Cast: Winona Ryder, Jeff Daniels, Laila Robins, Thomas Wilson Brown, Dinah Manoff, Joan McMurtrey, Frances Fisher, Graham Beckel, Sachi Parker, Robby Kiger, Stephen Tobolowsky, Micole Mercurio
- Director: Jim Abrahams
- Studio: TC Entertainment, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The town in the film is Clyde, Ohio, a real town where parts of the movie was filmed. Other filming took place in Sandusky, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie.
2000
October 12 – Subconscious Cruelty
- Cast: Sophie Lauzière, Brea Asher, Ivaylo Founev, Christopher Piggins, Eric Pettigrew, Martine Viale
- Director: Karim Hussain
- Studio: Distributed by Albatros Film (Japan), New Select (Japan), Cinema Novo (Portugal), Infliction Films (Canada)
- Trivia: The film premiered at the Festival de Cine de Sitges in Sitges, Spain. The film opened in Montreal on April 13, 2001 and played for two weeks. It played again for a weekend in November 2001, and one last time in June 2003. It was released to home video on April 18, 2005. The film was produced between February 1994 and December 1999. At one point the film negatives ‘disappeared’ in a financial dispute forcing Hussain to hand-cut the positive of the film, not knowing if he’d ever get the negative back. Another setback occurred when Hussain was stopped at the US-Canadian border and Canadian customs officials inspected the film. They were appalled by the content and confiscated it as illegally obscene material. The original film stock had to be hidden for a long period of time. The film was never released in the US. Fangoria magazine said the film had images that ‘would be considered unhealthy in any artistic medium’, and another indie critic called it ‘the most amateurish cinematic junk I have ever seen.’
October 13 – The Contender
- Cast: Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater, Sam Elliott, William Petersen, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Mike Binder, Robin Thomas, Kathryn Morris
- Director: Rod Lurie
- Studio: Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, Cinecontender Productions, Battleground Productions, SE8 Group, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
- Trivia: The film was a response to the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The part of Laine Hanson was written for Joan Allen, and she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Jeff Bridges was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The part of the president was originally offered to Paul Newman, as the character was intended to be older than he is in the final film. Newman turned it down because he had retired from acting. Jeff Bridges was cast and sings the song featured at the beginning of the film. Lurie insisted on Elliott for the role of Kermit despite producers’ concerns that he was best known for playing cowboys. A scene with Laine being interviewed by Larry King was shot before principal photography began. False gravestones were made for a scene set in Arlington National Cemetery, many with the same names on them. The Washington Post granted permission for one scene to be shot in their offices. After the film was nearly complete, Steven Spielberg called Lurie and expressed interest in distribution, the first time DreamWorks had adopted a film it hadn’t produced. The film was screened at TIFF in September 2000 and premiered in Los Angeles on October 6.
October 13 – Dr. T & the Women
- Cast: Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Farrah Fawcett, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Tara Reid, Robert Hays, Matt Malloy, Andy Richter, Lee Grant, Janine Turner, Sarah Shahi
- Director: Robert Altman
- Studio: Artisan Entertainment
- Trivia: The movie was filmed primarily in Dallas, Texas.
2010
October 7 – Dirty Girl
- Cast: Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Maeve Quinlan, Tim McGraw, Nicholas D’Agosto, Elsie Fisher, Brian Baumgartner, Nate Hartley, Reiley McClendon, Jonathan Slavin, Brent Briscoe, Jack Kehler, Gary Grubbs
- Director: Abe Sylvia
- Studio: iDeal Partners, Hart-Lunsford Pictures, Cherry Sky Films, The Salt Company, Paris Films, distributed by The Weinstein Company
- Trivia: The film premiered at TIFF on September 12, 2010. Sally Hawkins and Lisa Kudrow were originally cast in 2009 for the roles of Sue-Ann and Peggy, respectively. Jovovich replaced Hawkins and Steenbergen replaced Kudrow.
October 8 – It’s Kind of a Funny Story
- Cast: Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianakis, Viola Davis, Zoë Kravitz, Thomas Mann, Aasif Mandvi, Bernard White, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, Jeremy Davies, Laverne Cox
- Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
- Studio: Misher Films, Wayfare Entertainment, distributed by Focus Features
- Trivia: The film premiered in Milwaukee on September 26, 2010. The film is adapted from the 2006 novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini. The rights to the novel were originally purchased by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films with Boden and Fleck hired to write the screenplay. The project was placed into turnaround and picked up by Focus Features. Principal photography took about six weeks in New York City. Scenes at the fictional Executive Pre-Professional High School were shot at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn. Woodhull Medical Center stood in for the film’s Argenon Hospital. A new edition of the novel was issued to coincide with the film’s release featuring photos from the film on the cover.
October 8 – Life as We Know It
- Cast: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas, Christina Hendricks, Hayes MacArthur, DeRay Davis, Sarah Burns, Rob Huebel, Bill Brochtrup, Andy Buckley, Andrew Daly, Majandra Delfino, Reggie Lee, Melissa McCarthy, Will Sasso, Jessica St. Clair, Kumail Nanjiani
- Director: Greg Berlanti
- Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, Gold Circle Films, Josephson Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film had a sneak preview in 811 theaters on October 2, 2010. Filming took place on location in Atlanta, GA in the wealthy Buckhead area. Scenes from Eric’s (Duhamel) workplace were filmed at Turner Broadcasting System. Filming also took place at Philips Arena. The film received mostly negative critical reviews but earned over $105 million worldwide against a $38 million budget.
October 8 – Marwencol
- Cast: Mark Hogancamp
- Director: Jeff Malmberg
- Studio: Open Face, distributed by The Cinema Guild
October 8 – My Soul To Take
- Cast: Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Denzel Whitaker, Zena Grey, Nick Lashaway, Paulina Olszynski, Jeremy Emily Meade, Raul Esparza, Jessica Hecht, Frank Grillo, Danai Gurira, Harris Yulin, Shareeka Epps, Dennis Boutsikaris
- Director: Wes Craven
- Studio: Corvus Corax, Relativity Media, Rogue, distributed by Rogue Pictures
- Trivia: Wes Craven’s first film since 1994’s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Dennis Hopper’s son Henry was originally cast but was replaced by Thieriot after Hopper contracted mononucleosis. The film’s working title was 25/8. The film was post-converted to 3D because of the rising popularity of the format at the time.
October 8 – Secretariat
- Cast:Diane Lane. John Malkovich, Otto Thorwarth, Margo Martindale, Amanda Michalka, Graham McTavish, Kevin Connolly, Carissa Capobianco, Drew Roy, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Nelsan Ellis, Dylan Walsh, Fred Dalton Thompson, Eric Lange, Dylan Baker
- Director: Randall Wallace
- Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Mayhem Pictures, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- Trivia: The film premiered in Hollywood on September 30, 2010. Based on William Nack’s 1975 book Secretariat: The Making of a Champion. Nack was a consultant on the film and made a cameo appearance. Part of the film was shot on location in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky for three months, then moved to Louisiana to reproduce the Triple Crown infields at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas. Several horses were used to depict Secretariat including Trolley Boy, the great-great-grandsire of Secretariat.
October 8 – Stone
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Edward Norton Milla Jovovich, Frances Conroy
- Director: John Curran
- Studio: Mimran Schur Pictures, distributed by Overture Films, Relativity Media
- Trivia: The film premiered at TIFF on September 10, 2010, followed by a screening at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 24. Most of the film was shot on location in Washtenaw County, Michigan. It was the last film released by Overture Films. The script had originally been written as a play in 2000 and was performed once in 2003. Jovovich received the Hollywood Spotlight Award for her work at the 14th Annual Hollywood Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton.
Share this post
