Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #29 :: February 10•16

Universal Pictures

The week including Valentine’s Day feels more like Halloween with new films being released that feature a vampire, a homicidal miner, a brilliant cannibal and a snarky alien. Many more notable — or notorious — films were also released this week so let’s take a look to see which of your favorites are on the list!

1921

February 10 – The Haunted House

• Cast: Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts, Edward F. Cline, Dorothy Cassil, Mark Hamilton, Natalie Talmadge
• Director: Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
• Studio: Metro Pictures
• Trivia: A two-reel short that runs 21 minutes.

1931

February 14 – Dracula

• Cast: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Frances Dade, Joan Standing, Charles K. Gerrard
• Director: Tod Browning, Karl Freund (uncredited)
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1924 stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which was adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker. The first sound adaptation of Stoker’s novel. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2000. Director Browning provides the off-screen voice of the harbormaster. Producer Carl Laemmle bought the rights to the novel, envisioning a spectacle on the scale of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. The hit Broadway production became the blueprint for the film. The film’s writers also studied the unauthorized Nosferatu for inspiration, lifting one scene from the film, Renfield pricking his finger, that does not appear in the novel. Despite good reviews for his Broadway performance, Laemmle was not interested in casting Lugosi, instead considering such actors as Paul Muni, Chester Morris, Ian Keith, John Wray, Joseph Schildkraut, Arthur Edmund Carewe, and William Courtenay. Lugosi happened to be in Los Angeles with a touring company of the show when the film was being cast, lobbying the studio hard, willing to accept a paltry $500 a week salary for seven weeks of work. The usually meticulous Browning left cinematographer Karl Freund to take over much of the disorganized shoot. Edward Van Sloane also reprised his Broadway role as Van Helsing. Signs in the village are in Hungarian because Transylvania was part of Hungary when Stoker wrote the novel. By the time the film was made, however, Transylvania had become part of Romania. The scene of crew members on the ship fighting a storm were lifted from a Universal silent film, The Storm Breaker, which was cobbled together with new footage of Dracula and Renfield. During production, Lugosi feared he would be typecast as the character and turned down an offer to reprise the role in another stage production saying he was done with the character and never wanted to hear of Dracula again. Like the play, the film has minimal special effects and Dracula’s transformation to a bat is always done off-camera. The film also employs elements from silent films, from two intertitles to the performances of the cast. Browning had a solid reputation as a silent director but was never comfortable with sound production. He only directed six more films over the next eight years, including the notorious Freaks, with his last film in 1939. Due to the cost of adding an original score to a film’s soundtrack, no musical score was composed specifically for the film. Composer Philip Glass was commissioned in 1998 to compose a score for the film which was performed by the Kronos Quartet. DVD and Blu-ray releases have included the score with the option to allow viewers to select it or the original unscored soundtrack. The film had its premiere at the Roxy Theatre in New York City, with publicity orchestrated to entice viewers to see the film upon its national release, teasing that members of the premiere audience had fainted at the horror on screen. The film was Universal’s biggest earner of 1931. A Spanish-language version of the film was produced at night on the same sets with Carlos Villarías as Conde Drácula. That version was thought lost but a good copy was located in Cuba in the 1990s, and has been preserved in the National Film Registry as well. A third, silent version of the Lugosi film was also prepared for theaters that had not yet made the transition to sound presentation. Universal released a direct sequel, Dracula’s Daughter, in 1936 that begins immediately after the end of the original. A second sequel, Son of Dracula, was released in 1942, with the Count returning for House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, the only other film in which Universal cast Lugosi as the Count. Despite his attempts at playing other roles, Lugosi did end up becoming forever typecast as Count Dracula.

1941

• No new films were released this week in 1941.

1951

February 11 – Sugarfoot

• Cast: Randolph Scott, Adele Jergens, Raymond Massey, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Warwick, Arthur Hunnicutt, Hugh Sanders, Hope Landin, Hank Worden, Gene Evans
• Director: Edwin L. Marin
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: In the late 1950s, the film’s title was changed to Swirl of Glory to avoid confusion with the 1957 TV series Sugarfoot (which was inspired by a different Western, The Boy from Oklahoma). It has since reverted to its original title.

February 15 – Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

• Cast: James Mason, Ava Gardner, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold Warrender, Mario Cabré, Marius Goring, John Laurie, Pamela Mason, Patricia Raine, Margarita D’Alvarez, La Pillina, Abraham Sofaer, Francisco Igual, Guillermo Beltrán
• Director: Albert Lewin
• Studio: Romulus Films, distributed by Romulus Films (UK), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA)
• Trivia: The story was based on the legend of the Flying Dutchman. The land speed record scenes were shot at Pendine Sands in Wales, near the home of poet Dylan Thomas. Thomas showed up on location to watch the scene, and can be seen in the crowd (hatless, brown jacket, beige trousers at the extreme left). It is the only known surviving motion picture footage of Thomas. Most of the film was shot on location in Tossa de Mar, Catalonia, Spain. A statue of Ava Gardner has been erected on the hill overlooking the town’s main beach. The film was released in the US on October 15, 1951. MGM delayed the US release until Gardner’s star-making appearance in Show Boat had been seen. The tactic worked and solidified her as a rising star. It was the first color film Gardner made, although Show Boat was released first in the US. The film was adapted in comic book form in Eastern Color Movie Love #11. The tavern ‘Las Dos Tortugas’ also appears in Lewin’s 1945 film The Picture of Dorian Gray, but with the English name ‘The Two Turtles’. Lewin hired surrealist artist Man Ray to handle Gardner’s still photography. His chess set for the film is in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. Martin Scorsese supervised the film’s 2010 restoration for Blu-ray and DVD.

February 16 – Vengeance Valley

• Cast: Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker, Joanne Dru, Sally Forrest, John Ireland, Carleton Carpenter, Ray Collins, Ted de Corsia, Hugh O’Brian, Will Wright, Grayce Mills, Tom Fadden, Jim Hayward, James Harrison, Stanley Andrews, Glenn Strange
• Director: Richard Thorpe
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film premiered on February 6, 1951 in both Canon City and Florence, Colorado, then in New York City on February 14 before its nationwide release on February 16. MGM failed to renew the film’s copyright registration the 28th year after publication and it fell into the public domain in 1979. This was Lancaster’s first Western, and Walker’s last film.

1961

February 14 – No Love for Johnnie

• Cast: Peter Finch, Stanley Holloway, Mary Peach, Donald Pleasence, Billie Whitelaw, Hugh Burden, Rosalie Crutchley, Michael Goodliffe, Mervyn Johns, Geoffrey Keen, Paul Rogers, Dennis Price, Peter Barkworth, Fenella Fielding, Derek Francis, Conrad Phillips, Gladys Henson, Peter Sallis
• Director: Ralph Thomas
• Studio: Five Star, distributed by The Rank Organisation (UK), Embassy Pictures Corporation (USA).
• Trivia: The film had its world premiere at the Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End on February 9, 1961. The film’s UK release was February 14, 1961. The film opened in the US on December 12, 1961. Based on the book by Labour Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh, who died in a car crash in 1958 before the novel’s publication in 1959. A very young Oliver Reed can be seen briefly as a bohemian party-goer. Peter Finch won his third BAFTA for this film, and the movie was named Best Film. Finch was said to have perfectly embodied Fienburgh although the two had never met.

1971

February 12 – Raid on Rommel

• Cast: Richard Burton, John Colicos, Clinton Greyn, Wolfgang Preiss, Danielle de Metz, Karl-Otto Alberty, Christopher Cary, John Orchard, Brook Williams, Greg Mullavy, Ben Wright, Michael Sevareid, Chris Anders
• Director: Henry Hathaway
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Most of the film’s action footage was lifted from the film Tobruk, which has the same basic storyline. The film was originally intended to be a TV movie, but Universal wanted to get more mileage out of that film’s Oscar-winning effects. Burton’s hair was dyed to match that of George Peppard, who was seen in the long shots from Tobruk. The film was a massive flop and was quickly withdrawn from theatrical release, ending up back on television nine months later. Greg Mullavey is seen in two different roles in the film with no explanation: a private in the British 5th Commando unit and as a German officer at Rommel’s field headquarters. Robert Stack was originally cast as Foster and replaced by Burton.

1981

Paramount Pictures

February 11 – My Bloody Valentine

• Cast: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck, Jeff Banks, Cynthia Dale, Don Francks, Keith Knight, Alf Humphreys, Terry Waterland, Thomas Kovacs, Helene Udy, Rob Stein, Patricia Hamilton, Gina Dick, Larry Reynolds, Jim Murchison, Carl Marotte, Jack Van Evera, Peter Cowper
• Director: George Mihalka
• Studio: Canadian Film Development Corporation, Secret Film Company, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film opened in Canada on February 13. The film was shot on location in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, the town spent $50,000 cleaning the mine for the production which forced the producers to spend $30,000 to re-dress the mine to its original condition. The film has become known for being harshly edited by the MPAA for its intense violence and gore, removing nine minutes from the film. The producer says the cut footage still exists but Paramount has refused to offer an uncut version. The film was licensed to Lionsgate, which made a remake in 2009, with three minutes of footage restored for a home video release. It has been suggested that the remaining footage is mainly expository, dialogue scenes, and Mihalka has stated this restored version is how the film was meant to be seen. There is, however, a double murder scene that was filmed and completely cut (the other death scenes remained in edited form) that has not been restored. The film was originally titled The Secret but was retitled to cash in on the ‘holiday serial killer’ trend (producers said they had the release title in mind the whole time). The killer’s identity was kept from the cast until the end of production so they could play their roles in an ambiguous manner. A new Blu-ray was released in February 2020 from which the original negative with much of the uncut footage was located was used. George Mihalka approached Paramount with a pitch for a sequel in 2001, but due to the original’s poor box office, they turned him down.

February 11 – Sphinx

• Cast: Lesley-Anne Down, Frank Langella, Maurice Ronet, John Gielgud, Vic Tablian, Martin Benson, John Rhys-Davies, Nadim Sawalha, Tutte Lemkow, Saeed Jaffrey, Eileen Way, William Hootkins, James Cossins, Victoria Tennant, Behrouz Vossoughi
• Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
• Studio: Orion Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1979 novel by Robin Cook. Interiors were filmed in Budapest, with the tomb set budgeted at $1 million. Jill Clayburgh turned down the role of Erica Baron, which went to Lesley-Anne Down. Rutger Hauer was considered for the role of Khazzan, but Frank Langella was cast.

February 13 – American Pop

• Cast: Ron Thompson, Lisa Jane Persky, Jeffrey Lippa, Richard Singer, Jerry Holland, Marya Small, Hilary Beane, Robert Beecher, Gene Borkan, Beatrice Colen, Frank Dekova, Ben Frommer, Roz Kelly, Amy Levitt, Richard Moll, Joey Camen, Elsa Raven, Vincent Schiavelli, Leonard Stone, Eric Taslitz, Lynda Wiesmeier, Elya Baskin, Lee Ving, Ralph Bakshi
• Director: Ralph Bakshi
• Studio: Bakshi Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The fourth animated feature to be presented in Dolby sound. The majority of the film’s animation was completed through rotoscoping over the live actors’ performances. The film also uses other media such as water colors, computer graphics and archival footage. The band Fear appears in the film. Its lead singer Lee Ving acted under the name Lee James Jude. Because of Bakshi’s reputation, he was able to acquire music rights for the soundtrack from various artists for under $1 million. But due to music clearance issues, the film was not released on home video until 1998. Some of the gangland scenes are rotoscoped footage from 1931’s The Public Enemy. The dancers in the ‘Sing Sing Sing with a Swing’ montage are rotoscoped Nicholas Brothers from Stormy Weather, and the battle scenes were from Hell Is For Heroes (1962). When the actor cast as Tony did not pan out, Bakshi asked Pete’s portrayer Ron Thompson to take the role. He agreed and joked he’d also play Tony’s love interest Frankie. Though both characters were 19 years old, Thompson was nearly 40.

February 13 – Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen

• Cast: Peter Ustinov, Lee Grant, Angie Dickinson, Richard Hatch, Brian Keith, Roddy McDowall, Rachel Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Ryan, Johnny Sekka
• Director: Clive Donner
• Studio: Jerry Sherlock Productions, distributed by American Cinema Productions
• Trivia: In the Shanghai bar scene, Lee Chan, Jr. (played by Richard Hatch) orders a ‘Captain Apollo on the rocks. Hatch played Apollo on Battlestar Galactica. Because of Rachel Roberts’ fragile mental health, producers had another actress on standby in case she couldn’t complete the role. This was Roberts’ last film. Sterling Hayden had been hired at a salary of $250,000 for five weeks of work but broke his contract to travel to Yugoslavia to cover the death of Josip Broz Tito for Rolling Stone magazine on spec with no money up front. He never finished the article. This was the first Charlie Chan theatrical film since 1949’s The Sky Dragon. Peter Ustinov played Chan in between films in which he played another famous literary detective, Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982). At the time of the film’s release, there had been one movie serial and 46 movies featuring Charlie Chan between 1929 and 1949, and the part had never been played by a Chinese actor. Ustinov played another Chinese character in Disney’s One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing.

February 13 – Eyewitness

• Cast: William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods, Irene Worth, Kenneth McMillan, Pamela Reed, Steven Hill, Morgan Freeman, Alice Drummond, Keone Young
• Director: Peter Yates
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK as The Janitor, but after a poor showing at the box office the title was changed to Eyewitness. The news equipment used in the film belonged to New York City television station WNEW (now WNYW). The station’s news anchor, John Roland, and sportscaster, Bill Mazer, have cameos in the film. Sigourney Weaver worked at the station for a time to gain experience for her reporter role. The station and the film were under the corporate ownership of 21st Century Fox until March 20, 2019 when The Walt Disney Company took control of the Fox entertainment assets. William Hurt also studied for his role by moonlighting as a janitor. The script was a mash-up of two scripts writer Steve Tesich had been writing but having no success in completing. Director Yates suggested combining the stories. The film’s original title was The Janitor Can’t Dance, but Fox forced them to change it first to The Janitor then Eyewitness. Yates always hated the film’s title. 2000 Bollywood comedy-thriller Hum To Mohabbat Karega was inspired by the film.

1991

Orion Pictures

February 14 – The Silence of the Lambs

• Cast: Jodie Foster, Masha Skorobogatov, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons, Frankie Faison, Tracey Walter, Charles Napier, Danny Darst, Alex Coleman, Dan Butler, Paul Lazar, Ron Vawter, Roger Corman, Chris Isaak, Harry Northup, Brent Hinkley, Cynthia Ettinger
• Director: Jonathan Demme
• Studio: Strong Heart Productions, distributed by Orion Pictures
• Trivia: The film had two premieres: New York City (January 30, 1991) and Los Angeles (February 1). The film is adapted from the 1988 novel by Thomas Harris. It was the fifth highest grossing film worldwide of 1991. Demme won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival. It became the third film to win the ‘Big Five’ Oscars: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay. It’s considered to be the only horror film to win Best Picture and only one of six nominated in the category. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. It is the second film to feature Hannibal Lecter after 1986’s Manhunter. The film was originally conceived with Gene Hackman to direct and possibly star as FBI agent Jack Crawford. The studio had to acquire the rights to the Lecter character from Dino De Laurentiis, who lent the rights for free after the box office failure of Manhunter. Hackman withdrew from the production when the script was halfway finished and financing fell through. Orion encouraged Ted Tally to keep writing as they took care of the financials and finding a new director. Jonathan Demme signed on after reading the novel because the script was not finished. Jodie Foster was interested in the role of Clarice Starling, but despite having just won an Oscar for The Accused, Demme didn’t think she was right for the role, his first choice being Michelle Pfeiffer, with whom he’d just worked on Married to the Mob. She turned it down because of the subject matter (or because Orion would not meet her salary demands of $2 million), then Meg Ryan turned it down for its gruesome themes. Laura Dern was next but the studio didn’t think she was a bankable name. Foster got the role because of her passion for the character. Demme originally wanted Sean Connery for the Lecter role. Anthony Hopkins was the second choice, but other actors were considered if he’d turned it down including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Derek Jacobi and Daniel Day-Lewis. Hopkins based Lecter’s voice on the HAL-9000 computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as the cadences of Katharine Hepburn and Truman Capote. With 24 minutes and 52 seconds of screen time, Hopkins’ performance is the second shortest to win the Best Actor Oscar. When characters talk to Clarice, they often talk directly to the camera so the audience can experience her point-of-view. The film had the full cooperation of the FBI which thought it could be a good recruitment tool for female agents. Hopkins saw the film as his chance to break through in Hollywood and if it hadn’t been a success, he would have turned all of his focus to acting on the British stage. The character of Clarice Starling was Chris Carter’s biggest influence in creating Dana Scully for The X-Files. The film was originally scheduled for release in the Fall of 1990 but Orion Pictures wanted to focus its attention on Oscar consideration for Dances With Wolves.

February 15 – King Ralph

• Cast: John Goodman, Peter O’Toole, John Hurt, Camille Coduri, Ann Beach, Jack Smethurst, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips, James Villiers, Joely Richardson, Niall O’Brien, Julian Glover, Judy Parfitt, Rudolph Walker, Tim Seely
• Director: David S. Ward
• Studio: Mirage Enterprises, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Loosely based on the novel Headlong by Emlyn Williams, but very little of the story made it to the screen, characters were changed and the story became a comedy. The script was written with Bill Murray in mind. John Candy was also considered. This was John Goodman’s first top-billed starring role and his first sole above-the-title billing on the posters. Goodman was the only American lead actor in the cast. Though billed prominently in the credits, Judy Parfitt only has one line in the film.

February 15 – Nothing but Trouble

• Cast: Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Demi Moore, Valri Bromfield, Taylor Negron, Bertila Damas
• Director: Dan Aykroyd
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Dan Aykroyd’s directorial debut. The film’s original title was Git, which was changed in production to Valkenvania. Prior to the film’s release, Warner Bros. retitled the film again although Aykroyd preferred Valkenvania. Aykroyd received the Worst Supporting Actor Award at the 12th Golden Raspberry Awards. The film’s story was based on Aykroyd’s own experience of being pulled over for speeding in a small town and taken to court to stand trial in the middle of the night. The town of Valkenvania was loosely based on Centralia, PA. After the film was turned down by several directors, Aykroyd agreed to direct to secure a deal with Warner Bros. He also wanted to play the judge and Chris Thorne, but the studio wanted Chevy Chase for Thorne. Aykroyd then agreed to play the giant adult baby Bobo because no one else wanted the role, a task he found difficult while also playing the judge under heavy makeup and directing. The studio had faith in him and gave him a $40 million budget. The film went $5 million over budget, and ended up earning just $8.4 million at the box office. The film was delayed from its Christmas 1990 release so it could be re-edited to cut the over-the-top violence to earn a PG-13 rating. Chevy Chase reportedly lived up to his notorious reputation by being verbally abusive to cast and crew, including Demi Moore and Aykroyd. Aykroyd has never directed another film. Chase would occasionally call various co-stars at night after filming to apologize for his behavior on set. This was Tupac Shakur’s film debut as one of the members of hip-hop group Digital Underground. He’s billed as 2 Pac Shakur. Playing brother and sister, Bertila Damas and Taylor Negron spent a lot of time together developing their characters and writing their own dialogue with Aykroyd’s blessing.

2001

February 15 – Super Troopers

• Cast: Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske, Kevin Heffernan, Brian Cox, Daniel von Bargen, Marisa Coughlan, James Grace, Michael Weaver, Dan Fey, Jim Gaffigan, Lynda Carter
  Dan Fey
• Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
• Studio: Jersey Shore, Cataland Films, Arpad Productions, Broken Lizard, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001. Winner of the Audience Award (in a three-way tie) at the 2001 SXSW Film Competition. Kevin Heffernan’s parents have a cameo. The syrup chugging scene used thickened ice tea for the actors to drink but it didn’t look real enough so the tea was replaced with syrup. Some wide shots where tea was used are seen in the film. In a scene where the troopers are smoking marijuana, the redness of their eyes was achieved by a makeup artist blowing menthol in their faces. The film was originally to be set in the 1970s. Jim Gaffigan plays a motorist named ‘Larry Johnson’. In 2009, Gaffigan appeared on an episode of Law & Order as a murder suspect named ‘Larry Johnson’.

February 16 – Down to Earth

• Cast: Chris Rock, Regina King, Mark Addy, Eugene Levy, Frankie Faison, Greg Germann, Jennifer Coolidge, Chazz Palminteri, Wanda Sykes, John Cho, Mario Joyner, Arnold Pinnock, Brian Rhodes
• Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
• Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film had its world premiere on February 12, 2001. The third film based on Harry Segall’s stageplay Heaven Can Wait.

February 16 – Recess: School’s Out

• Cast: Andrew Lawrence, Rickey D’Shon Collins, Jason Davis, Ashley Johnson, Courtland Mead, Pamela Adlon, Dabney Coleman, Melissa Joan Hart, April Winchell, James Woods, Peter MacNicol, Diedrich Bader, Allyce Beasley, Gregg Berger, Klee Bragger, Clancy Brown, Dan Castellaneta, Lane Toran, Rachel Crane, Elizabeth Daily, R. Lee Ermey, Ron Glass, Tony Jay, Clyde Kusatsu, Charles Kimbrough, Tress MacNeille, Andrea Martin, Anndi McAfee, Mark Robert Myers, Ryan O’Donohue, Philip Proctor, Patrick Renna, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jack Riley, Justin Shenkarow, Michael Shulman, Francesca Marie Smith, Kath Soucie, Robert Stack, Ken Swofford, Nicholas Turturro, Erik von Detten, Paul Willson
• Director: Chuck Sheetz
• Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Television Animation, Walt Disney Television Animation Digital Production, Paul & Joe Productions, Sunwoo Animation, Sunwoo Digital International, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
• Trivia: The film had its world premiere on February 10, 2001. Also known as Recess: The Movie – School’s Out. Burt Reynolds was cast as Benedict but producers thought his performance was too over-the-top and sinister so he was replaced by James Woods. As in most Disney animated film, there is a hidden Mickey as a cluster of moon craters are in the shape of the iconic mouse’s head. Robert Goulet provides the singing voice for Mikey (Jason Davis). The film was planned as a direct-to-video release but Disney allowed a theatrical release due to the TV show’s popularity. The film was then to be released in the Summer of 2000.

February 16 – Sweet November

• Cast: Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Jason Isaacs, Greg Germann, Lauren Graham, Liam Aiken, Frank Langella, Ray Baker, Michael Rosenbaum, Robert Joy, Jason Kravits, Tom Bullock, Susan Zelinsky
• Director: Pat O’Connor
• Studio: Bel Air Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered on February 12, 2001. Based on the 1968 film with Anthony Newley and Sandy Dennis, but with a different ending. To prepare for the cross-dressing scenes, Jason Isaacs visited drag bars. He wanted to bring Keanu along but didn’t think he’d be able to go undercover after the success of The Matrix. Charlize Theron turned down the role of Evelyn in Pearl Harbor to do this film. The footage of a radio-controlled submarine is taken from The Hunt for Red October. This is the second film in which Reeves and Theron play a couple. The first was 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate.

2011

February 11 – Carbon Nation

• Cast: R. James Woolsey, Richard Branson, Denis Hayes, Van Jones, Lester R. Brown, Ralph Cavanagh, Bob Fox, Thomas Friedman, Eban Goodstein, Gary Hirshberg, Sadhu Aufochs Johnston, Amory B. Lovins, Joel Makower, Edward Mazria, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, John Rowe
• Director: Peter Byck
• Studio: Earth School Education Foundation
• Trivia: The film is narrated by Bill Kurtis.

February 11 – Cedar Rapids

• Cast: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Lennon, Rob Corddry, Mike O’Malley, Sigourney Weaver, Inga R. Wilson, Mike Birbiglia, Seth Morris
• Director: Miguel Arteta
• Studio: Ad Hominem Enterprises, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2011. It went into nationwide release in the US on March 18, 2011 after a limited release on February 11. An Iowa film production tax credit fell through so production was moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan which provided a 42% tax rebate. The Wire actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. plays Ronald Wilkes, who does an impersonation of The Wire‘s popular Omar Little character. Whitlock said the references to The Wire were written before he was cast in the movie. The name of the call girl, Bree, is a reference to the character played by Jane Fonda in Klute.

February 11 – Just Go with It

• Cast: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, Nick Swardson, Brooklyn Decker, Nicole Kidman, Dave Matthews, Rachel Dratch, Kevin Nealon, Heidi Montag, Minka Kelly, Rakefet Abergel, Dan Patrick, Mario Joyner, Keegan-Michael Key, Allen Covert, Andy Roddick, Jake Shimabukuro
• Director: Dennis Dugan
• Studio: Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison Productions, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: The film’s premiere was held in New York City on February 8, 2011. The film opened in Egypt (February 9), the UAE, Israel, Singapore and Slovenia (February 10), before its US, UK and Canada release on February 11, which is Jennifer Aniston’s birthday. Based on the 1969 film Cactus Flower and the 2005 Bollywood film Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?, which are both based on the 1965 Broadway production of Cactus Flower that was based on the French play Fleur de cactus. The film was originally titled Holiday in Hawaii, then Pretend Wife. The film won Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actor and Worst Director. This was the first film collaboration for Sandler and Aniston, who had been friends for 20 years. The party where Danny (Sandler) and Eddie (Swardson) meet Palmer (Decker) was filmed at Nick Swardson’s house. The film was shipped to theaters with the code name Grounded Out.

February 11 – Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

• Cast: Justin Bieber, Usher, Jaden Smith, Sean Kingston, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Miley Cyrus, Boyz II Men, Scooter Braun, L.A. Reid, Jeremy Bieber, Hayden Thompson, Scrappy Stassen
• Director: Jon M. Chu
• Studio: Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, Scooter Braun Films, L.A. Reid Media, AEG Live, Island Records, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film had a sneak preview on February 9, 2011. The film was also released in 3D. Earning $99 million worldwide, it was the highest grossing concert movie since 1984, and the third highest grossing documentary since 1982. An Inconvenient Truth‘s Davis Guggenheim was originally announced as director. He dropped out to direct Waiting for ‘Superman’. Bieber had fallen ill two days before the concert was to be filmed at Madison Square Garden, but it was not evident during the concert. The concert sold out in 22 minutes. Eleven 3D cameras were used to film the concert. A ‘Director’s Fan Cut’ of the film was released in 3D on February 25, 2011 which included 40 minutes of new footage, while removing 30 minutes of original footage, making the new version 10 minutes longer. This was MTV Films’ first and only film to date to receive a G rating. A sequel, Justin Bieber’s Believe, was released on December 25, 2013.

February 11 – Mooz-lum

• Cast: Evan Ross, Nia Long, Danny Glover, Roger Guenveur Smith, Azhar Usman
• Director: Qasim ‘Q’ Basir
• Studio: CodeBlack Lionsgate (US), Rising Pictures (Australia)
• Trivia: The movie was filmed on location in Southeastern Michigan. The film premiered at the Urbanworld Film Festival on September 17, 2010, and screened at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 9, 2010 before its limited US theatrical release.

February 11 – The Eagle

• Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Denis O’Hare, Douglas Henshall, Paul Ritter, Dakin Matthews, Pip Carter, Ned Dennehy
• Director: Kevin Macdonald
• Studio: Toledo Productions, Film4 Productions, DMG Entertainment, distributed by Focus Features (US), Universal Pictures (UK)
• Trivia: The film opened in Kazakhstan (February 9) and Russia (February 10) before its North American premiere. Adapted from the 1954 historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. The story is based on the supposed disappearance of the Ninth Spanish Legion in Britain, although there is mention of them in the Netherlands from about 120 AD. In a reversal of typical films depicting the Roman Empire, the decision was made to have the Roman character speak with an American accent. Because of budgetary considerations, the night battle scene was filmed in one night, giving it the disorganized look the director wanted. Jamie Bell had to learn to ride a horse on set, which required stirrups to be used for insurance purposes, although stirrups had not been in use during the time period in which the film is set. An elaborate chariot race was filmed but because of time and pacing it was cut from the film. It is included as a bonus scene on the video release.

February 14 – Paul

• Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, Mia Stallard, Joe Lo Truglio, John Carroll Lynch, Jane Lynch, David Koechner, Jesse Plemons, Sigourney Weaver, Syd Masters, Jeffrey Tambor
• Director: Greg Mottola
• Studio: Relativity Media, Working Title Films, Big Talk Pictures, StudioCanal, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in London (February 7) and at the Glasgow Youth Film Festival (February 10) before its general UK release on February 14. It opened in the US and Canada on March 18, 2011. After Pegg and Frost mentioned the project to Steven Spielberg and told him of their love for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he agreed to make a cameo appearance as the voice on a speakerphone in 1980 discussing ideas with Paul for his upcoming film E.T the Extra-Terrestrial. Paul is speaking to Spielberg from a large room that looks like the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. To help with the script, Pegg and Frost embarked on their own road trip across the US to get ideas for the film. Jason Bateman based his character on Yaphet Kotto in Midnight Run and Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive. Pegg and Frost said the film cost more than their Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz combined, but with a higher budget came ‘suggestions’ from the studio. The pair envisioned Jack Nicholson or Rip Torn as the voice of Paul, but the studio suggested Seth Rogen. They went with it because of Rogen’s distinct voice. Rogen was filming The Green Hornet at the time and was unable to perform the majority of the motion capture for Paul, which was performed by Joe Lo Truglio who studied Rogen’s mannerisms and movement. Bill Hader was originally cast as Paul. In the film, Graeme and Clive’s destination is New Mexico but they never make it there. Ironically, the movie was filmed on location in New Mexico. The film was originally meant to be directed by Edgar Wright, but he had to leave the project to direct Scott Pilgrim vs the World. This was Universal’s third live-action/animation hybrid and the first to be rated R.