Touchstone Pictures
We’re in the thick of October and this week over the last 100 years yielded a lot of new films but only a handful are really memorable. This week through the decades, Chaplin made a splash with his first real talkie, a movie about a December holiday taking place in the summer was released in the Fall — that’s not confusing, right? — a novel adaptation fizzled at the author’s hometown premiere, two horror-comedies gained cult status while a remake of a classic fell short, a true life story gets awards glory, the Coen Brothers have another success, and the Jackass crew enters the third dimension. Can you guess what films we’re referring to? Read on to find out more about these and the other new released this week, and be sure to click on any of the red links to get more info about the film and books for rent or purchase to help support Hotchka.com!
1920
October 17 – Bonnie May
- Cast: Bessie Love, Charles Gordon, William Herbert Bainbridge, Lon Poff, Miss DuPont
- Director: Ida May Park, Joseph De Grasse
- Studio: Andrew J. Callaghan Productions, Inc., distributed by Federated Film Exchanges of America, Inc
- Trivia: Based on the 1916 novel by Louis Dodge. This was Bessie Love’s first film for Federated and was heavily promoted with a 38 page press book and souvenir mirrors. The novel’s author praised Love’s performance.
October 17 – A City Sparrow
- Cast: Ethel Clayton, Walter Hiers, Clyde Fillmore, Lillian Leighton, William Boyd, Rose Cade, Robert Brower, Helen Jerome Eddy, Sylvia Ashton
- Director: Sam Wood
- Studio: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film is considered lost.
October 17 – The Greatest Love
- Cast: Vera Gordon, Bertram Marburgh, Yvonne Shelton, Hugh Huntley, William H. Tooker, Raye Dean, Donald Hall, Sally Crute, Jessie Simpson, Bobby Connelly
- Director: Henry Kolker
- Studio: Select Pictures Corporation
- Trivia: The film’s preservation status is unknown.
October 17 – Something to Think About
- Cast: Elliott Dexter, Gloria Swanson, Monte Blue, Theodore Roberts, Claire McDowell, Michael D. Moore, Julia Faye, Jim Mason, Togo Yamamoto, Theodore Kosloff, William Boyd
- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
- Studio: Famous Players-Lasky / Artcraft, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Prints of the film are preserved at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, and at the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.
October 18 – The Saphead
- Cast: Buster Keaton, Beulah Booker, Edward Connelly, Edward Jobson, Edward Alexander, Odette Taylor, Carol Holloway, Irving Cummings, Jack Livingston, William H. Crane
- Director: Herbert Blaché, Winchell Smith
- Studio: Metro Pictures
- Trivia: Keaton’s first starring role in a full-length feature that launched his career as a leading man. The plot combined two stories: the 1913 play The Henrietta, by Bronson Howard, and the novel The New Henrietta by Victor Mapes and Winchell Smith, which was an adaptation of the play. Douglas Fairbanks had appeared in the play but was committed to another project when approached for the film adaptation so he suggested Keaton for the lead.
October 20 – The Dangerous Paradise
- Cast: Louise Huff, Harry Benham, Ida Darling, John Raymond, Nora Reed, Templar Saxe, William Brille, Maude Hill
- Director: William P.S. Earle
- Studio: Selznick Pictures
October 20 – Red Foam
- Cast: Zena Keefe, Harry Tighe, Huntley Gordon, Danny Hayes, Peggy Worth, John Butler, Nora Cecil
- Director: Ralph Ince
- Studio: Selznick Pictures, distributed by Select Pictures
October 20 – So Long Letty
- Cast: T. Roy Barnes, Colleen Moore, Walter Hiers, Grace Darmond
- Director: Al Christie
- Studio: Christie Film Company, distributed by Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation
- Trivia: Adapted from the 1916 stage musical that starred Charlotte Greenwood. The film was remade under the same title by Warner Bros. in 1929, which also starred Greenwood.
1930
- No films were released during this week in 1930.
1940
United Artists
October 15 – The Great Dictator
- Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Maurice Moscovich, Emma Dunn, Bernard Gorcey, Paul Weigel, Chester Conklin, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert, Grace Hayle, Carter DeHaven, Stanley ‘Tiny’ Sandford, Joe Bordeaux, Hank Mann, Esther Michelson, Florence Wright, Eddie Gribbon, Robert O. Davis, Eddie Dunn, Nita Pike, Peter Lynn
- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- Studio: Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: The film opened in London on December 11, 1940. Chaplin also wrote, produced and scored the film. The film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1997. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture (then called Best Production), Best Actor, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Oakie) and Best Music (Original Score). The film was made at a time when the United States was still at peace with Nazi Germany in the early days of World War II, and Chaplin later said he could have never made the movie if he’d known the true extent of the horrors of Nazi concentration camps at that time. Chaplin used Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will as inspiration. Repeated viewings of the film allowed Chaplin to closely mimic Hitler’s oratory style. The film was shot in Los Angeles with Laurel Canyon standing in for scenes set in World War I. Chaplin has been mobbed by fans during a 1931 visit to Berlin which annoyed the Nazis, who published a book called The Jews Are Looking At You which described Chaplin as ‘a disgusting Jewish actor’. Ivor Montagu sent Chaplin a copy of the book and believed Chaplin made The Great Dictator as a way to retaliate. Chaplin and Hitler were born four days apart in 1889 and Chaplin was always haunted by the similarities in their backgrounds. The Great Dictator was Chaplin’s first true all-talking picture following Modern Times which, even coming long after the silent era had ended, was mostly dialogue-free. Meredith Willson, known for The Music Man, got credited for the film’s score but he credits Chaplin for most of what was heard.
October 16 – Arise My Love
- Cast: Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Dennis O’Keefe, Walter Abel, Dick Purcell, George Zucco
- Director: Mitchell Leisen
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Colbert called this the favorite of all the movies she’d made. Based on the true story of Harold Edward Dahl, a pilot for the Spanish Republican Air Force who was shot down and taken as a prisoner of war. The film’s script was continuously rewritten during production to incorporate actual events such as the sinking of the SS Athenia and the armistice between France and Germany. Colbert sang and hummed the song ‘Dream Lover’ which was introduced in the 1929 film The Love Parade. The film was adapted as a radio play for Lux Radio Theater on June 8, 1942 with Ray Milland and Loretta Young, and again on June 1, 1946 with Milland reprising his role once again. Oscar nominated for Best Music, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction, and winning for Best Story.
October 18 – Christmas in July
- Cast: Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, Alexander Carr, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn, Harry Hayden, Rod Cameron
- Director: Preston Sturges
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1931 play A Cup of Coffee by Preston Sturges. It was Sturges’ second film as writer & director after The Great McGinty. Sturges makes a cameo appearance as a man at a shoeshine stand. It was the fourth of ten Sturges films in which William Demarest appeared. Working titles for the film were The New Yorkers, Something To Shout About, and A Cup of Coffee. The play had not been produced again until 1988. William Holden and Betty Fields were to have been the original leads. A radio adaptation was presented by Lux Radio Theater on June 26, 1944 with Dick Powell and Linda Darnell. A television version of Lux Radio Theater aired September 9, 1954 on NBC with Nancy Gates, Alex Nichol and Raymond Walburn starring.
October 18 – Laddie
- Cast: Tim Holt, Virginia Gilmore, Joan Carroll, Spring Byington, Robert Barrat, Miles Mander, Esther Dale, Sammy McKim, Joan Leslie, Peter Cushing
- Director: Jack Hively
- Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The third film adaptation of the 1913 novel Laddie, A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter. The previous versions were released in 1926 and 1935. The story is based on Stratton-Porter’s early life experience when her brother Leander drowned in the Wabash River in 1872. Laddie was his nickname.
October 19 – A Dispatch from Reuters
- Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Edna Best, Eddie Albert, Albert Bassermann, Gene Lockhart, Otto Kruger, Nigel Bruce, Montagu Love
- Director: William Dieterle
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
1950
October 16 – The Sleeping City
- Cast: Richard Conte, Coleen Gray, Richard Taber, John Alexander, Peggy Dow, Alex Nicol
- Director: George Sherman
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Trivia: The movie was set in and shot at New York’s Bellevue Hospital, one of the few motion pictures of the era to be filmed entirely on location. A prologue was added to the film at the insistence of NYC mayor William O’Dwyer to ensure audiences knew it was a purely fictional story. O’Dwyer had objected to the script and felt it besmirched the reputation of the city-run hospital.
October 17 – Dark City
- Cast: Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Viveca Lindfors, Dean Jagger, Don DeFore, Jack Webb, Ed Begley, Harry Morgan, Walter Sande, Mark Keuning, Mike Mazurki
- Director: William Dieterle
- Studio: Hal Wallis Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s working title was No Escape. This was Charlton Heston’s Hollywood debut. Heston got good reviews; the film did not. Webb and Morgan went to to star in TV series Dragnet.
October 20 – Three Secrets
- Cast: Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, Ruth Roman, Frank Lovejoy, Leif Erickson
- Director: Robert Wise
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
1960
October 18 – The Millionairess
- Cast: Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Vittorio De Sica, Dennis Price, Gary Raymond, Alfie Bass, Miriam Karlin, Noel Purcell, Virginia Vernon
- Director: Anthony Asquith
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film is a loose adaptation of the 1936 play of the same name by George Bernard Shaw. George Martin produced the song ‘Goodness Gracious Me’, sung by Sellers and Loren, which was to be incorporated into the movie. The film’s producers did not agree to this but the studio was happy to release the song as a stand-alone single to promote the film, which succeeded as it became a UK chart hit in 1960.
1970
October 14 – CC and Company
- Cast: Joe Namath, Ann-Margret, William Smith, Jennifer Billingsley, Mike Battle, Greg Mullavey, Teda Bracci, Don Chastain, Sid Haig, Bruce Glover
- Director: Seymour Robbie
- Studio: Namanco, Rogallan Productions, distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures
October 18 – I Never Sang for My Father
- Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Dorothy Stickney, Elizabeth Hubbard, Lovelady Powell, Daniel Keyes, Conrad Bain, James Karen
- Director: Gilbert Cates
- Studio: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the 1968 play of the same name by Robert Anderson, who also wrote the screenplay. It was Oscar nominated for Best Actor (Douglas), Supporting Actor (Hackman), Best Adapted Screenplay. Director Cates was one of the producers of the play. Roger Ebert said in his review that it was ‘one of the most unforgettably human films I can remember.’
October 19 – Goin’ Down the Road
- Cast: Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley, Jayne Eastwood, Cayle Chernin
- Director: Donald Shebib
- Studio: Chevron Pictures
- Trivia: The film opened in Canada on July 2, 1970 and is regarded as one of the best and most influential Canadian films of all time. The film was parodied on SCTV as ‘Garth & Gord & Fiona & Alice’. Eastwood appeared in the parody, reprising her film role, with John Candy, Joe Flaherty and Andrea Martin. Many of the film’s scenes were improvised on the spot. The film has been preserved by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada as a ‘masterwork’. Then up-and-coming singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn composed several songs for the film, and refused to release the songs commercially because they represented the experiences of the movie’s characters. A sequel, Down the Road Again, was released in October 2011. The original was digitally restored in 2017.
October 20 – Le Cercle Rouge
- Cast: Alain Delon, André Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté, Yves Montand, Paul Crauchet, Paul Amiot, Pierre Collet, André Ekyan
- Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
- Studio: Rialto Pictures, StudioCanal
- Trivia: While released in France on October 20, 1970, the film did not see a theatrical release in the US until April 20, 1993 cut from 140 minutes to 99 minutes. A 102-minute cut was issued in 2003. The film is known for its heist sequence which runs nearly 30 minutes and has almost no dialogue.
October 20 – Rabbit Run
- Cast: James Caan, Carrie Snodgress, Anjanette Comer, Jack Albertson, Arthur Hill, Melodie Johnson, Henry Jones, Josephine Hutchinson, Don Keefer, Carmen Matthews, Nydia Westman, Ken Kercheval
- Director: Jack Smight
- Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Adapted from John Updike’s 1960 novel. The film had its premiere in Updike’s home town of Reading, Pennsylvania on October 28, 1970, but the reception was poor and Warner Bros. aborted its plans for a wide release. As late as 1973, Updike was still hoping the studio would re-shoot scenes he felt were weak and re-release the film.
1980
October 14 – Fade to Black
- Cast: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Gwynne Gilford, Norman Burton, Linda Kerridge, Morgan Paull, James Luisi, Eve Brent, John Steadman, Marcie Barkin, Mickey Rourke, Peter Horton, Melinda O. Fee
- Director: Vernon Zimmerman
- Studio: Compass International, distributed by American Cinema Releasing
- Trivia: The film was nominated for multiple Saturn Awards with Eve Brent winning for Best Supporting Actress. The film was a failure at the box office but gained a cult following after it was released on VHS in the mid-1980s.
October 17 – Foolin’ Around
- Cast: Gary Busey, Annette O’Toole, Cloris Leachman, William H. Macy, Tony Randall, Michael Talbott, Eddie Albert
- Director: Richard T. Heffron
- Studio: GCC Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: The film was shot on location in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The theme music was by Seals & Crofts. Susan’s (O’Toole) house in the film was the original Pillsbury family home called ‘Southways’, so named because one must go ‘south a ways’ to reach the estate on Lake Minnetonka. The mansion was demolished after new owners closed on the property in August 2018.
October 17 – Times Square
- Cast: Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, Tim Curry, Peter Coffield, Herbert Berghof, David Margulies, Anna Maria Horsford, Michael Margotta, J.C. Quinn, Tim Choate, Elizabeth Peña, Steve James, Jay Acovone
- Director: Allan Moyle
- Studio: EMI Films, Robert Stigwood Organisation, distributed by Associated Film Distribution
- Trivia: The film was inspired by a diary found in a couch Moyle bought from a second-hand store. The film’s original title was She’s Got the Shakes. Though Tim Curry has a small role that was filmed in two days, his familiarity with audiences assured his top billing on screen and in the film’s advertising. Johnson said her casting was a fluke after a supposed talent scout approached her while she was cutting class and told her to audition for the film. She never saw the man after that one meeting and no one involved with production knew who he was. The original cut of the film contained lesbian content which was deleted from the final print, prompting Moyle to state in a DVD commentary that the film’s integrity was compromised due to the cuts and by the addition of inappropriate songs added to the soundtrack by the film’s producer Robert Stigwood, who wanted another Saturday Night Fever and insisted the soundtrack be a double album to make the film more commercially successful. Moyle quit the film before it was completed, leaving others to supervise scenes to accompany the soundtrack additions. While not Moyle’s preferred cut, he still acknowledges the cultural importance as the film documents a Times Square that no longer exists. David Bowie had been commissioned to write a song for the film but his record label would not allow it because the film’s soundtrack was on a rival label. The film was not a commercial or critical success but has developed a cult following and has become a staple at gay and lesbian film festivals.
United Artists
October 18 – Motel Hell
- Cast: Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack, Elaine Joyce, Dick Curtis, Monique St. Pierre, Rosanne Katon, E. Hampton Beagle, Everett Creach, Michael Melvin John Ratzenberger
- Director: Kevin Connor
- Studio: United Artists
- Trivia: The film was shot at the Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita, California, a location used by Hollywood since the early 1920s. Interiors were filmed at Laird International Studios in Culver City. The film was Number 1 at the box office during its second weekend of release.
1990
October 19 – Night of the Living Dead
- Cast: Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson, William Butler, Katie Finneran, Bill Moseley, Heather Mazur, Russell Streiner
- Director: Tom Savini
- Studio: 21st Century Film Corporation, distributed by Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: A remake of George Romero’s 1968 film with a screenplay re-written by Romero. Romero instituted the remake due to a lengthy court battle over the original and an oversight that caused the film to not be copyrighted, resulting in Romero seeing very little in the way of profit. With the film in public domain, there was also concern that an unauthorized remake would be made. Savini originally intended to just do the special effects but Romero persuaded him to direct as well. The original film’s reputation made it easy to recruit extras, some who came as far away as Kentucky. Savini said the directing experience was a nightmare because without Romero on set, he clashed with producers who would not allow him to explore his vision for the film. To avoid an NC-17 rating, several scenes had to be cut which Savini attributes to the film’s lack of popularity among horror fans. Roger Ebert said in his one-star review that the film followed the original so closely there was no reason to see both.
October 19 – Quigley Down Under
- Cast: Tom Selleck, Laura San Giacomo, Alan Rickman, Chris Haywood, Ron Haddrick, Tony Bonne, Jerome Ehlers, Conor McDermottroe, Roger Ward, Ben Mendelsohn, Steve Dodd
- Director: Simon Wincer
- Studio: Pathé Entertainment, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: Writer John Hill began the screenplay for the film in 1974, and was first optioned in 1973 for Steve McQueen but McQueen died of cancer shortly after completing The Hunter. The script was then purchased by CBS Theatrical Films with Rick Rosenthal set to direct. In 1987, it went to Warner Bros. with Tom Selleck attached to star and Lewis Gilbert to direct. The project languished for three years before the studio dropped its option. A bidding war broke out between Pathé and Disney, which lured WB back into the mix, with Pathé winning with a $250,000 offer. A budget of $20 million was agreed upon with Selleck set to star. Director Wincer felt the story had been ruined by numerous rewrites from people who knew nothing of Australian history so he brought in Ian Jones, and they went back to the original draft, changing the time period from the 1880s to the 1860s to be more historically accurate. The film was not a financial success but Rickman won Best Actor of the Year from the London Film Critics’ Circle.
October 19 – Reversal of Fortune
- Cast: Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Uta Hagen, Annabella Sciorra, Fisher Stevens, Jack Gilpin, Christine Baranski, Stephen Mailer, Felicity Huffman, Johann Carlo, Keith Reddin, Mitchell Whitfield, Tom Wright, Michael Lord, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Julie Hagerty, Bill Camp
- Director: Barbet Schroeder
- Studio: Reversal Films, Inc., Sovereign Pictures, Shochiku Fuji Co. Ltd., distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film was screened at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, 1990, and had its premiere in Hollywood on October 17. Adapted from the 1985 book Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case, written by law professor Alan Dershowitz. Screenwriter Nick Kazan envisioned Klaus Maria Brandauer as Claus von Bülow but was thrilled with the performance of Jeremy Irons. Irons won the Best Actor Oscar in 1990. Kazan was nominated for his screenplay and Schroeder was nominated for directing. The film also scored four Golden Globe nomination, with Irons winning for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
October 19 – White Palace
- Cast: Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Eileen Brennan, Steven Hill, Corey Parker, Rachel Chagall, Renee Taylor, Jonathan Penner, Barbara Howard, Kim Myers , Mitzi McCall
- Director: Luis Mandoki
- Studio: Mirage Enterprises, Double Play, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name by Glenn Savan, who has a small role as an extra. The original title was meant to be The White Castle as the novel makes specific mention of a real White Castle in St. Louis, but the restaurant chain refused permission to use its trademarked name in the novel or the film, and refused permission for filming to take place at any of its locations. An independent diner was used with the actual location mentioned in the film as a plug for the diner. After the film’s release, the owners sought permission to rename the diner permanently to White Palace but the studio refused so they used the name White Knight. Gina Gershon was cast as a new boss for the characters played by Spader and Bates, following a subplot in which the pair had a difficult relationship with her. For some reason, the subplot was dropped and all of Gershon’s scenes were removed from the film, which also greatly reduced Bates’ role to a few scenes and only one with dialogue.
2000
October 17 – The Price of Milk
- Cast: Danielle Cormack, Karl Urban, Willa O’Neill, Michael Lawrence, Rangi Motu, Lawrence Makoare, Chris Graham
- Director: Harry Sinclair
- Studio: Lot 47 Films, Lyrick Studios
- Trivia: The film was released in New Zealand on October 17, 2000 followed by Australia on October 17, 2000. It reached US shores on November 3, 2001.
October 18 – Terror Tract
- Segments Cast: ‘Make Me an Offer’: John Ritter, David DeLuise, Allison Smith. ‘Nightmare’: Rachel York, Carmine Giovinazzo, Fredric Lehne, Wade Williams. ‘Bobo’: Bryan Cranston, Katelin Petersen, Jodi Harris, Marcus Bagwell. ‘Come to Granny’: Brenda Strong, Will Estes, Shonda Farr, Barbara Jansen, Jerry Day, Branwen Mayfair, Lynda Kay.
- Director: Lance W. Dreesen, Clint Hutchison
- Studio: Giant Leap Entertainment, distributed by Tomorrow Film Corporation
- Trivia: The first segment bookends the film as Ritter’s real estate agent attempts to sell three houses to his clients, but can’t help but relate the horrifying stories attached to each abode.
October 19 – O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Cast: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Daniel von Bargen, Stephen Root
- Director: Joel Coen
- Studio: Touchstone Pictures, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, Blind Bard Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (North America), Universal Pictures (International)
- Trivia: The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2000. Loosely based on Homer’s epic Greek poem The Odyssey that incorporates mythology from the American South. The title is a reference to the 1941 Preston Sturges film Sullivan’s Travels, in which the protagonist is a director who wants to film ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’, a fictional book about the Great Depression. The film was one of the first to use digital color correction to give it an Autumnal sepia-toned look. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The artists who performed the music, including John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Chris Sharp, and Patty Loveless joined together for the Down from the Mountain tour which was filmed for TV and released on DVD. The screenplay for the film was started in 1997. Neither of the Coen brothers had ever read The Odyssey but it was one of Ethan’s favorite storyline schemes, familiar only from adaptations in popular culture. Tim Blake Nelson was said to be the only person on set who had ever read The Odyssey. Joel Coen traveled to Phoenix, AZ to offer Clooney the role, which he accepted without reading the script saying he liked even the Coens’ least successful films. When he did get the script, Clooney did not understand his character so he sent it to his uncle Jack to read into a tape recorder. Jack was a devout Baptist and omitted all instances of the words ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ from his reading, something Clooney was unaware of until it was pointed out to him during filming. This was John Turturro’s fourth film with the Coens. The film required the digital color correction because the film was shot in Mississippi at a time when the foliage was, as Joel Coen stated, ‘greener than Ireland.’ The look was attempted with various techniques performed on the film itself without luck so cinematographer Roger Deakins suggested going digital. It was the first film to use a digital intermediate on the entirety of a first-run Hollywood film that otherwise had very few visual effects. The film received two Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography. The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Clooney won the Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
October 20 – Bedazzled
- Cast: Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, Frances O’Connor, Orlando Jones, Paul Adelstein, Toby Huss, Miriam Shor, Gabriel Casseus, Brian Doyle-Murray, Jeff Doucette, Aaron Lustig, Rudolf Martin, Julian Firth
- Director: Harold Ramis
- Studio: Regency Enterprises, Kirch Media, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: Remake of the 1967 film with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, which itself was a retelling of the Faust legend. Reviews were mixed but Hurley’s performance received praise. She also received backlash for attending the premiere which was held during a strike by the Screen Actors Guild. The film opened at Number 2 in the US and topped the box office during its weekend of November 10 opening in the UK.
October 20 – The Broken Hearts Club
- Cast: John Mahoney, Timothy Olyphant, Dean Cain, Zach Braff, Matt McGrath, Ben Weber, Billy Porter, Jennifer Coolidge, Andrew Keegan, Nia Long, Mary McCormack, Justin Theroux
- Director: Greg Berlanti
- Studio: Banner Entertainment, Meanwhile Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
- Trivia: This was Berlanti’s first feature film and was based on his circle of friends at the time. The film had the working titles The Broken Hearts League and 8×10’s. The film was praised for its depiction of homosexuality as normal and its characters as average gay men, focusing on themes of romance, acceptance and family rather than more controversial or stereotypical subjects as AIDS, coming out and sex common to LGBT films at the time. Kerr Smith, who knew Berlanti through his work on Dawson’s Creek, enjoyed the script and asked to be a part of the film, appearing in a cameo role. Filming took place in 20 days with a $1 million budget. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2000, then opened in limited release on September 29, 2000 before expanding to a wide release on October 20. The film won the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Film (Limited Release) in 2001.
October 20 – Pay It Forward
- Cast: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr, James Caviezel, Jon Bon Jovi, Angie Dickinson
- Director: Mimi Leder
- Studio: Bel-Air Entertainment, Tapestry Films, Pathé, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. In the novel, the character of Eugene Simonet was originally an African-American man named Reuben St. Clair. The role was offered to Denzel Washington but he turned it down for Remember the Titans. The novel’s multiple narrative structure almost proved too daunting for Leslie Dixon to turn into a workable screenplay because the reporter, a central character in the film, does not appear until halfway through the novel. Dixon almost quit the project but came upon the idea of introducing the reporter first and working backwards through the story, an idea Hyde liked so much she changed the structure of the then unpublished novel to mirror the screenplay.
2010
October 15 – Conviction
- Cast: Hilary Swank, Bailee Madison, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Ele Bardha, Melissa Leo, Ari Graynor, Loren Dean, Karen Young, Jennifer G. Roberts, Clea DuVall, Juliette Lewis, Peter Gallagher
- Director: Tony Goldwyn
- Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Trivia: Premiered at TIFF on September 11, 2010. The movie was filmed in various locations in Michigan including Ann Arbor, Dexter, Chelsea and Ypsilanti. Juliette Lewis won the Best Supporting Actress award from the Boston Society of Film Critics.
October 15 – Jackass 3D
- Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Chris Pontius, Danger Dave England
- Director: Jeff Tremaine
- Studio: Dickhouse Productions, MTV Films, distributed by Paramount Pictures
- Trivia: This was the last Jackass film to feature Ryan Dunn. The film earned $171.7 million against a $20 million budget. Paramount has announced a fourth Jackass film for release in September 2021. Bam Margera said when the film was 70% finished, half the crew had been to the hospital, and Margera suffered three broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a twisted ankle. Jackass 3.5, consisting of unused footage from the film, was released on June 13, 2011, a week before Ryan Dunn’s death. It was broadcast on MTV on November 28, 2011 following the special Tribute to Ryan Dunn. A fourth film was discussed in 2012, and that film eventually became focused on Knoxville’s grandpa character, titled Bad Grandpa. It was released on October 25, 2013, exactly 11 years after the release of the original film.
October 15 – Red
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Rebecca Pidgeon, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, James Remar
- Director: Robert Schwentke
- Studio: Di Bonaventura Pictures, distributed by Summit Entertainment
- Trivia: The film premiered September 29, 2010 at the Austin Fantastic Fest. The film is loosely inspired by the limited comic book series of the same name from DC Comics. The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy. DC wanted to get the film made but parent Warner Bros. was not interested and had to grant permission from the movie and TV divisions before the project could be shopped elsewhere. This was the first film from DC not produced by Warner Bros. since the purchase of the publishing company. John C. Reilly had originally signed on for a role but was replaced by John Malkovich. The film’s success exceeded expectations and a sequel was greenlit. Red 2 was released on July 19, 2013 but was neither a critical or financial success. A proposed third film never materialized.
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