Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #44 :: May 26 to June 1

New Line Cinema

Every decade but 1931 produced new films that were released during this week, some which have gone on to become classics and film buff favorites, while some have fallen into obscurity. 1981 saw director John Waters really enter the mainstream with his first film to score an R-rating, and 1991 gave us a behind-the-scenes comedy classic. 2011 produced one ‘art film’ and three sequels, one of which became the highest grossing R-rated comedy ever. Let’s take a look to see which films you remember, and which of your favorites debuted this week.

1921

May 29 – Among Those Present

• Cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, James T. Kelley, Aggie Herring, Vera White, William Gillespie
• Director: Fred C. Newmeyer
• Studio: Rolin Film Company, distributed by Pathé Exchange
• Trivia: Harold Lloyd married co-star Mildred Davis in 1923, and remained married until her death in 1969.

May 29 – White and Unmarried

• Cast: Thomas Meighan, Jacqueline Logan, Grace Darmond, Walter Long, Lloyd Whitlock, Frederick Vroom, Marian Skinner, Georgie Stone, Jack Herbert
• Director: Tom Forman
• Studio: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film is considered lost. Loretta Young makes her fourth screen appearance, at the age of eight, in an uncredited role.

May – The Four Feathers

• Cast: Harry Ham, Mary Massart, Cyril Percival, Henry Vibart, Tony Fraser, Robert English, Harry Worth, Gwen Williams, M. Gray Murray, C. W. Cundell, Roger Livesey
• Director: René Plaissetty
• Studio: Stoll Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s exact release date is unknown. The second film based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason. The first was released in 1915.

1931

• No new films were released this week in 1931.

1941

May 30 – Blood and Sand

• Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Alla Nazimova, Anthony Quinn, J Carroll Naish, Lynn Bari, John Carradine, Laird Cregar, Monty Banks, Vicente Gómez, George Reeves, Pedro de Cordoba, Fortunio Bonanova, Victor Kilian, Adrian Morris, Charles Stevens, Cora Sue Collins, Rex Downing, Ann E. Todd
• Director: Rouben Mamoulian
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on May 22, 1941. Based on the 1908 Spanish novel. Rita Hayworth’s singing voice was dubbed by Gracilla Pirraga. Two earlier versions of the story were released in 1916 and 1922, with a later version released in 1989. This was the fourth and final film in which Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell worked together. More than 30 actresses auditioned for the role of Doña Sol, including Gene Tierney and Dorothy Lamour. Hedy Lamarr was the first actress approached for the role but MGM refused to loan her to Fox. Carole Landis refused to dye her hair red for the role so Rita Hayworth, who was borrowed from Columbia Pictures, was cast in what was her first Technicolor film. Sets were inspired by the works of El Greco, Goya and Velázquez. Director Rouben Mamoulian carried paint spray guns so he could alter the color of props at any time, and he painted shadows on walls rather than change the lighting. Bullfighter Armillita instructed Power and doubled for him in some of the bullfighting scenes. A Lux Radio Theater version of the story was broadcast on October 20, 1941 with Power and his then wife Annabella. Mexican comedian Cantinflas appeared in the 1941 comedy film Ni sangre ni arena (“Neither blood nor sand”), which was a deliberate parody of the film. The film won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, and was nominated for Best Art Direction. The studio prepared a special edition of the film for release in South American countries featuring bullfighting scenes which would not be acceptable in the American version. Because financial returns weren’t substantial from ‘re-run markets’, the film was re-released on cheaper black and white film in the 1940s and 1950s. The film can be heard in a Season 3 episode of M*A*S*H playing over a loudspeaker during a lengthy surgery session.

May 30 – In the Navy

• Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd, The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Billy Lenhart, Kenneth Brown, Shemp Howard
• Director: Arthur Lubin
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film was rushed into production after the success of Buck Privates, and was filmed after Hold That Ghost but released before it as it was held back for revisions. A scene where Pomeroy (Costello) impersonates a captain and takes the battleship through wacky maneuvers was offensive to Naval officers for whom the film was screened, but it was the film’s climax and could not be edited out. Instead it was turned into a dream sequence, causing the film to go over budget by $335,000. A baby Lou Costello refers to as a ‘cute kid’ is actually his daughter Carole. The film was re-released in January 1949 with Who Done It?

1951

May 31 – That’s My Boy

• Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Ruth Hussey, Eddie Mayehoff, Marion Marshall, Polly Bergen, Hugh Sanders, John McIntire, Francis Pierlot, Lillian Randolph, Selmer Jackson, Tom Harmon, Gregg Palmer, Hazel Boyne, Frank Gifford, Don Haggerty
• Director: Hal Walker
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: This was the first Martin & Lewis film in which they actually played roles instead of just an extension of their nightclub act. A TV series based on the film aired on CBS for one season from 1954-1955, with Eddie Mayehoff reprising his role as Jarring Jack Jackson. Jerry Lewis wanted to remake the film in 1965 with his son Gary. Frank Gifford doubled for Lewis in the kicking scenes. Producer Hal B. Wallis was so pleased with the screen chemistry of Martin, Lewis, Polly Bergen, Marion Marshall and Eddie Mayehoff that he immediately cast them in The Stooge.

1961

May 27 – The Last Time I Saw Archie

• Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb, Martha Hyer, France Nuyen, Louis Nye, Joe Flynn, Del Moore, Jimmy Lydon, Richard Arlen, Don Knotts, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Claudia Barrett, Theona Bryant, Elaine Devry, Marilyn Burtis, Howard McNear, James Mitchum, John Nolan, Nancy Kulp, Don Drysdale, Billy Kilmer, Lillian Powell
• Director: Jack Webb
• Studio: Manzanita-Talbot Productions, Mark VII, Ltd., distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The lead character was based on actor Arch Hall Sr., whom screenwriter William Bowers knew in the war. The film was made without the permission of Hall, who successfully sued and won a settlement. Baseball pitcher Don Drysdale and football quarterback Billy Kilmer make their film debuts. The production company commissioned Robert Carlisle to novelize the screenplay to be published prior to the film’s release to give the impression that the movie was based on an existing book. The non tie-in adaptation was published as Archie in February 1960, 15 months before the film was released. The novel was subsequently re-issued as a film tie-in with the film’s title, even claiming on the cover the book’s original title was Archie.

American International Pictures

May 31 – Master of the World

• Cast: Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Henry Hull, Mary Webster, David Frankham, Richard Harrison, Vito Scotti, Wally Campo, Ken Terrell
• Director: William Witney
• Studio: American International Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and its sequel Master of the World. The novel’s opening scene is set in Morganton, North Carolina while the film’s opening is set in a fictionalized Morgantown, Pennsylvania. AIP released the film as a double feature with Konga. While AIP attempted to create a prestige picture like Around the World in 80 Days, it still used existing footage from other films including Henry V, That Hamilton Woman and The Four Feathers (1939 version). The film’s opening is three-and-a-half minutes of stock footage of early attempts at functioning aircraft. This was Charles Bronson’s first role as a heroic leading man. Bronson had previously appeared with Price as Igor, the deaf-mute assistant, in House of Wax. Price’s House of Usher co-star Mark Damon was originally announced as a co-star but he was replaced by David Frankham. Henry Hull came out of retirement for the film. Price is said to have considered this role as one of his personal favorites. A sequel was considered but as elements from two novels were combined for the original film, a sequel would have caused insurmountable continuity issues. The song ‘Master of the World’, sung by Darryl Stevens, is listed in the end credits but the song was dropped.

June 1 – The Pleasure of His Company

• Cast: Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds, Lilli Palmer, Tab Hunter, Gary Merrill, Charles Ruggles, Harold Fong, Elvia Allman
• Director: George Seaton
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1958 play of the same name by Samuel A. Taylor and Cornelia Otis Skinner. Film rights to the play were purchased before the play was even produced. The play opened on October 22, 1958, ran for 474 performances, received four Tony Award nominations, winning one for Charles Ruggles, who reprised his role in the film. Fred Astaire received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Astaire had given up dancing on screen by this time but did dance and sing a little. He wouldn’t make another musical until 1968’s Finian’s Rainbow. Edith Head makes a cameo appearance showing dresses to Debbie Reynolds. Rod Taylor was announced for the role of Roger Henderson, which was eventually played by Tab Hunter. To date, the film has never received a home video release. The film’s collection of stars would not have been possible just a few years earlier under the old studio system. Reynolds would have been locked into her MGM contract, Hunter was a Warner Bros. exclusive, and Merrill was under contract to Fox. Only Astaire and Lilli Palmer would have been in a position to freelance.

1971

May 26 – Big Jake

• Cast: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O’Hara, Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Bruce Cabot, Bobby Vinton, Glenn Corbett, John Doucette, Jim Davis, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Gregg Palmer, Jim Burk, Dean Smith, Robert Warner, Jeff Wingfield, Everett Creach, Roy Jenson, Virginia Capers, Hank Worden, Ethan Wayne, William Walker, George Fenneman, Tom Hennesy, Chuck Roberson
• Director: George Sherman
• Studio: Batjac Productions, distributed by Cinema Center Films through National General Pictures
• Trivia: This was director George Sherman’s final film. Sherman was ailing, and when unable to direct, John Wayne took over but insisted Sherman get sole credit. The film’s working title was The Million Dollar Kidnapping. This was John Wayne’s last film with Christopher Mitchum after the two had a falling out over Wayne’s conservative views. Mitchum tried to reach out to Wayne in 1979 as Wayne was dying of cancer, but did not receive any response. Wayne’s son Ethan plays his grandson in the movie. This was the tenth and last film to co-star Wayne’s other son Patrick. Bobby Vinton played the middle brother, but he was four years older than Patrick Wayne. This was the last film in which Wayne and Maureen O’Hara starred together. It was her last film until she was lured out of retirement for Only the Lonely (1991). They were such good friends she named a wing of her home after him. Jeff Bridges turned down the role of Michael McCandles. Due to the film’s success, Wayne was number one at the box office in 1971 for the last time. Wayne was concerned by the film’s violence and insisted on adding more comedy, but critics felt the comedy undermined the film. The ranch seen in the film is same ranch used for Wayne’s 1970 film Chisum. If Richard Boone had been unavailable, his role would have been offered to Gene Hackman. Boone’s character kills John Agar’s character at the beginning of the film; in 1956’s Duel in the Sun, Agar’s character kills Boone’s. Distributor Cinema Center Films was a subsidiary of CBS, but when the film made its television debut, it was on NBC.

May 26 – Villain

• Cast: Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport, Donald Sinden, Fiona Lewis, T. P. McKenna, Joss Ackland, Cathleen Nesbitt, Colin Welland, Elizabeth Knight, Tony Selby, Del Henney, James Cossins, John Hallam, Anthony Sagar, Clive Francis, Shirley Cain
• Director: Michael Tuchner
• Studio: Anglo-EMI, distributed by MGM-EMI (UK), MGM (US)
• Trivia: Based on James Barlow’s 1968 novel The Burden of Proof. This was Michael Tuchner’s first feature film after having directed in television. Richard Burton waived his normal $1 million fee for a percentage of the film’s profits. Unfortunately, the film was a financial failure and ended Burton’s viability as a box office draw. The film was originally meant to be a ‘B’ picture starring Derren Nesbitt, but Elizabeth Taylor was filming in London and Burton wanted to do a film, so he was given the role and the film was turned into an ‘A’ picture.

May 29 – The Grissom Gang

• Cast: Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, Tony Musante, Robert Lansing, Irene Dailey, Connie Stevens, Wesley Addy, Don Keefer, Joey Faye, Ralph Waite
• Director: Robert Aldrich
• Studio: ABC Pictures, The Associates & Aldrich Company, distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
• Trivia: Premieres for the film were held in New York City and Los Angeles on May 28, 1971. The second adaptation of the 1939 novel No Orchids for Miss Blandish by James Hadley Chase; the first was made in 1948 in Great Britain. Kim Darby stated that ‘every actress in town’ had been up for her role including Michelle Phillips and Barbara Hershey. Bruce Dern had tested unsuccessfully for the role that went to Scott Wilson.

June 1 – One More Train to Rob

• Cast: George Peppard, Diana Muldaur, John Vernon, France Nuyen, Soon-Tek Oh, Steve Sandor, Pamela McMyler, Richard Loo, Robert Donner, John Doucette, C.K. Yang, Marie Windsor, Timothy Scott, Joan Shawlee, Hal Needham, Harry Carey, Jr.
• Director: Andrew McLaglen
• Studio: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s working title was Hark. Filmed at the Spahn Movie Ranch after the Manson Family had vacated the premises.

1981

May 27 – Possession

• Cast: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer, Carl Duering, Shaun Lawton, Michael Hogben, Maximilian Rüthlein, Thomas Frey, Leslie Malton, Gerd Neubert
• Director: Andrzej Żuławski
• Studio: Gaumont
• Trivia: The film premiered at Cannes on May 25, 1981 before its general release in France on May 27. The film did not come to the US, in an edited form at 97 minutes from the original 127 minutes, until 1983 where it played in Victoria, Texas on September 2, followed by New York City on October 14, then a general release on October 28. Director Andrzej Żuławski’s only English-language film. Isabelle Adjani won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. Adjani’s management turned down the role initially, and it was offered to Judy Davis. Davis was hesitant to take the role, but Adjani eventually accepted. She stated it took several years for her to recover from the emotionally exhausting role, and she allegedly attempted suicide after filming completed. Sam Neill also stated that he escaped the film with his sanity barely intact after being asked to do things he wouldn’t and couldn’t go to now. Sam Waterston had been considered for his role. The emotional rigors of the film may have come from Zulawski writing the screenplay during a deep depression while going through a divorce.

May 29 – Polyester

• Cast: Divine, Tab Hunter, David Samson, Edith Massey, Mink Stole, Ken King, Mary Garlington, Joni Ruth White, Stiv Bators, Hans Kramm, Rick Breitenfeld, Susan Lowe, Cookie Mueller, George Hulse, Mary Vivian Pearce, Jean Hill, Leo Braudy, Dorothy Braudy, George Figgs, Marina Melin
• Director: John Waters
• Studio: New Line Cinema, Dreamland, Michael White Productions, distributed by New Line Cinema
• Trivia: Featured the gimmick Odorama, in a tribute to William Castle, which gave audience members a card with ten numbers to scratch and sniff at corresponding parts of the movie. One of the first films produced by New Line Cinema. The film was shot in three weeks in October 1979. This was Waters’ first film to receive an R-rating from the MPAA. The other had been unrated or received an X-rating. It was also the first film Waters directed on 35 mm film, and the first to use a Steadicam. For the first DVD release, the smell of glue (#3) was changed for, as Waters put it, ‘political correctness’. Following home video releases omitted the card and the flashing on-screen numbers. Odorama cards have been reproduced for film festivals, and have been included in the Criterion Collection laserdisc release, as well as a smaller version included in the Blu-ray release. On the DVD audio commentary, Waters said he was delighted to make audiences ‘pay to smell shit’. The Fishpaw’s live at ‘Wyman Way’, a reference to Jane Wyman, who had starred in All That Heaven Allows directed by Douglas Sirk. The look of the film was inspired by Waters’ love for Sirk’s ‘women’s pictures’. Waters was asked to directed Divine’s and Tab Hunter’s follow-up film Lust in the Dust, but he turned it down because he didn’t write it. This was Waters regular Cookie Mueller’s last film. In the film, Bo-Bo’s car belonged to Waters.

1991

May 31 – Soapdish

• Cast: Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg, Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall, Teri Hatcher, Kathy Najimy, Paul Johansson, Sheila Kelley
• Director: Michael Hoffman
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Leeza Gibbons and John Tesh appeared as themselves as hosts of Entertainment Tonight, Ben Stein and soap actors Stephen Nichols and Finola Hughes also had cameos. Kevin Kline was nominated for a Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden Globe. Extensive re-shoots forced Kline to drop out of Hook, replaced by Robin Williams. Burt Reynolds turned down the lead role because his wife Loni Anderson told him Hollywood would laugh at her if he made a movie with his ex Sally Field. The David Barnes character was written as a 50-year-old man, but the part was re-written for Robert Downey Jr., who had worked with Michael Hoffman on a previous, unfinished film. Patty Duke was said to have been up for a lead role that was written specifically for her. Three of the film’s stars actually appeared on daytime soaps: Kline (Search for Tomorrow), Teri Hatcher (Capitol) and Paul Johansson (Santa Barbara). The film was cross-promoted in Europe with the soap Santa Barbara (shown in prime time there) with Stephen Nichols appearing as Dr. Skyler Gates in seven episodes. Garry Marshall’s character mentions a fictional soap titled Laguna Beach thirteen years before MTV produced a reality series by the same name. A stage musical adaptation was workshopped in 2010, and a staged reading took place in 2012 with Kristin Chenoweth, John Stamos, and Jane Krakowski. The musical was presented to the public as a workshop production in London in 2020.

2001

June 1 – The Animal

• Cast: Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Guy Torry, Edward Asner, Michael Caton, Louis Lombardi, Bob Rubin, Scott Wilson, Michael Papajohn, Ron Roggé, Raymond Ma, Sebastian Jude, Philip Daniel Bolden, Deker Daily, Timmy Deters, Hannah K Ford, Megan Harvey, Mitch Holleman, Mollie Rae Dodson, Charlie Stewart, Tim Herzog, Bret Smrz, Norm Macdonald, Adam Sandler, Brianna Brown, Amber Collins, John Farley
• Director: Luke Greenfield
• Studio: Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios, Happy Madison, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on March 21, 2001. Cloris Leachman, and Harry Dean Stanton appear uncredited, and Fred Stoller has a cameo. Controversy surrounded the film when critic David Manning gave it a good review. Manning, it turned out, was fictitious and Sony blamed a copywriter for creating the name and fake quote as a placeholder for an ad that was never replaced. But Sony had used the fake critic’s fake quotes for other films as well, causing a bit of a scandal and a lawsuit in which the studio had to refund $5.00 to any patrons who were dissatisfied with films they had seen because of the fake quotes. This was Colleen Haskell’s debut as an actress after appearing on the first season of Survivor. It was also Brianna Brown’s film debut. The Frisbee that Rob Schneider catches in his mouth was CGI. Adam Sandler plays the role of the Townie in this film, the role usually played by Schneider in Sandler’s films.

June 1 – What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

• Cast: Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Glenne Headly, Carmen Ejogo, Bernie Mac, Larry Miller, Nora Dunn, Richard Schiff, William Fichtner, Ana Gasteyer, GQ, Sascha Knopf, Mike Jessel
• Director: Sam Weisman
• Studio: Turman-Morrisey Company, Hyde Park Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by MGM Distribution Co.
• Trivia: This was originally a project for Heath Ledger. Marc Shaiman said scoring the movie was the worst job he ever had. Kevin’s house is the same firehouse used in Spenser: For Hire and The Real World: Boston.

2011

May 25 – The Hangover Part II

• Cast: Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Sasha Barrese, Jamie Chung, Gillian Vigman, Mason Lee, Bryan Callen, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor, Sondra Currie, Yasmin Lee, Nirut Sirijanya, Penpak Sirikul, Crystal the Monkey
• Director: Todd Phillips
• Studio: Legendary Pictures, Green Hat Films, BenderSpink, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on May 19, 2011. The film opened first in Italy, Belgium and France on May 25, followed by the US, UK and Canada on May 26. The film went into development two months before the first film was released. During its run, the film became the highest grossing R-rated film. Mike Tyson reprises the role of Mike Tyson. This is Mason Lee’s film debut. Nick Cassavetes cameos as a Bangkok tattoo artist, a role that was originally cast with Liam Neeson, but had been envisioned for Mel Gibson (who was dropped because Todd Phillips didn’t have the full backing of the cast and crew). Gibson was furious about the decision and wondered why someone like Mike Tyson got a second chance, but he didn’t. In the original script, Alan was meant to have his beard shaved but Zack Galifianakis refused, so his head was shaved.

May 25 – Kung Fu Panda 2

• Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Yeoh, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Jackie Chan, James Hong, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Haysbert, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Victor Garber, Danny McBride, Fred Tatasciore, Lauren Tom, Conrad Vernon
• Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• Studio: DreamWorks Animation, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on May 22, 2011. The film opened first in the Philippines on May 25, then in Canada and the US on May 26. It did not open in the UK until June 10. Jennifer Yuh Nelson feature directing debut. The film was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. The film’s sub-title was originally Pandamoneum, then The Kaboom of Doom before the title was changed to Kung Fu Panda 2. The character of Shen was originally conceived for the first film but was written out before production. This was Jean-Claude Van Damme’s voice-over debut for an animated film.

May 26 – Melancholia

• Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgård, Kiefer Sutherland, Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Jesper Christensen, Stellan Skarsgård, Brady Corbet, Udo Kier
• Director: Lars von Trier
• Studio: Zentropa Entertainments, Memfis Film, Slot Machine, Liberator Productions, Film i Väst, Danmarks Radio, Arte France Cinéma, Sveriges Television, CanalPlus, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, CinéCinéma, Edition Video, Nordisk Film, Det Danske Filminstitut, Eurimages, Swedish Film Institute, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, distributed by Nordisk Film (Scandinavia), Les films du losange (France), Concorde Filmverleih (Germany), BIM Distribuzione (Italy)
• Trivia: The film premiered at Cannes on May 18, 2011, then opened in the Czech Republic and Denmark on May 26. It opened in the UK on September 30, then had a screening at the New York Film Festival on October 3 before being made available to Video On Demand on October 7, followed by a limited US and Canadian release on October 11. Lars von Trier was inspired to write the film after suffering a depressive episode. It is the second entry in his unofficially titled ‘Depression Trilogy’. Kirsten Dunst won the Best Actress award at Cannes. The characters of the two sisters were born out of an exchange of letters between von Trier and Penelope Cruz, who wanted to work with him and talked about the Jean Genet play The Maids. Cruz was expected to star in the film but had to drop out when the production date for another project was changed. Paul Thomas Anderson suggested Dunst as Cruz’s replacement. Olga Kurylenko was also considered as a lead. Von Trier was not allowed to go within 100 meters of the Festival Palace at Cannes after giving a press conference in which he talked about understanding Hitler, learning that he was German and not Jewish, and suggested he himself was a Nazi. The festival issued an apology the next day stating he was not a Nazi or anti-Semite and declared him ‘persona non grata’, a festival first. He remained in Cannes and continued to do promotional interviews. The first 9 minutes and 25 seconds of the film contains no dialogue.

20th Century Fox

June 1 – X-Men: First Class

• Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Rebecca Romijn, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Kevin Bacon, Zoë Kravitz, Caleb Landry Jones, Matt Craven, Álex González, Rade Šerbedžija, Glenn Morshower, Michael Ironside, Ray Wise, James Remar, Brendan Fehr
• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Studio: Marvel Entertainment, The Donners’ Company, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on May 25, 2011. The film opened on June 1 in several countries including France and the UK, then in the US and Canada on June 3. This is the fifth X-Men movie. Hugh Jackman makes a cameo appearance as Wolverine. Stan Lee was unable to make his traditional cameo because, as he explained, ‘they shot it too far away.’ The film was meant to be a franchise reboot and contradicted the events of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but X-Men: Days of Future Past retconned the events of the film into a prequel to X-Men (2000). First Class replaced a Magneto prequel film that had been in development. Matthew Vaughn was not originally considered to direct because he had been working on X-Men: The Last Stand and dropped out, but after seeing Kick-Ass, he was given the chance to direct and put his own stamp on it. A dream sequence with revolving rooms was scrapped after the release of Inception (2010). The 1960s look of the film was inspired by the Bond films of that era. The film contained 1,150 effects shots. James McAvoy shaved his head to play Charles Xavier, then learned he was to have a full head of hair in the film. Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon were both considered for the role of Sebastian Shaw. Bacon was chosen because he is American and seemed more menacing. Vaughn later cast Firth in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Bryan Cranston was also considered, but turned it down to appear in Drive. To play Beast, Nicholas Hoult studied Kelsey Grammer’s performance in The Last Stand, as well as his earlier work on Frasier. Taylor Lautner was cast as Beast but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Benjamin Walker was cast as Beast but dropped out to star in the Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Lucas Till was cast as Beast but then turned down the role because of the lengthy makeup process. He was re-cast as Havok. This was Álex González first English-speaking role. He enjoyed playing a villain as in most of his Spanish films he plays good guys. Rose Byrne was cast after production had already begun. Rosamund Pike had also been considered for the role of Moira McTaggart and for Emma Frost. Alice Eve was originally cast as Emma Frost but a deal could not be reached so January Jones was cast. The war room set is based on the war room set in Dr. Strangelove. Josh Hutcherson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were both rumored to appear as Cyclops.