Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #50 :: July 7•13

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Every decade this week saw at least one new movie released. Films this week include what was billed as the first pairing of James Cagney and Bette Davis, Irwin Allen’s first science fiction film, Al Pacino’s first starring role, Kurt Russell’s ‘escape’ from his Disney image (while providing his voice in a Disney film released on the same day), a John Singleton classic, surfing criminals, Reese Witherspoon pretty in pink, and more. Read on to see if any of your favorite films were released this week.

1921

July 8 – The Conquering Power

• Cast: Alice Terry, Rudolph Valentino, Ralph Lewis, Carrie Daumery, Bridgetta Clark, Mark Fenton, Ward Wing, Eric Mayne, Edward Connelly, George Atkinson, Willard Lee Hall
• Director: Rex Ingram
• Studio: Metro Pictures
• Trivia: Based on the 1833 novel Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac.

1931

July 10 – Sally in Our Alley

• Cast: Gracie Fields, Ian Hunter, Florence Desmond, Ivor Barnard, Fred Groves, Gibb McLaughlin, Ben Field, Barbara Gott, Renée Macready, Helen Ferrers
• Director: Maurice Elvey
• Studio: Associated Talking Pictures, distributed by RKO Pictures
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on July 10, 1931. No US release date is known. Based on the 1923 West End play The Likes of Her by Charles McEvoy. Screen debut of music hall star Gracie Fields.

July 11 – Smart Money

• Cast: Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Ralf Harolde, Noel Francis, Margaret Livingston, Maurice Black, Billy House, Paul Porcasi, Polly Walters
• Director: Alfred E. Green
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The only film in which Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney appeared together because Cagney stopped playing supporting roles after The Public Enemy, which was filming at the time of this film’s release, made him a star. The film features the unbilled Boris Karloff, five months before the release of Frankenstein, and Charles Lane, who was making his film debut. Writers Lucien Hubbard and Joseph Jackson were nominated in the Best Story category at the 4th Academy Awards. Original opening credits and music were replaced in the 1940s for an intended re-release and are still in place on surviving prints of the film. Donald Cook’s role was all but eliminated in the final cut of the film.

1941

Warner Bros. Pictures

July 12 – The Bride Came C.O.D.

• Cast: James Cagney, Bette Davis, Stuart Erwin, Eugene Pallette, Jack Carson, George Tobias, William Frawley, Harry Davenport, Edward Brophy, Harry Holman, Chick Chandler, Douglas Kennedy, Herbert Anderson, William Newell, William Hopper, William Forrest
• Director: William Keighley
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Billed as the first film to pair James Cagney and Bette Davis, but they actually appeared together in the 1934 film Jimmy the Gent and had wanted to make another film together. Both had wanted to change their screen images from gangster films and serious dramas, and a romantic comedy seemed to be the way. Davis, however, was not the first choice for the role with Ann Sheridan, Ginger Rogers and Rosalind Russell under consideration before it was reserved for Olivia de Havilland. With the backing of Hal Wallis, Davis got the role. The plot bears a strong resemblance to It Happened One Night. During filming in Death Valley, temperatures soared and Davis fell into a cactus, requiring the removal of 45 quills from her bottom. Lux Radio Theater presented an adaptation of the film on December 29, 1941 with Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr in the lead roles. Davis later claimed she hated making the movie.

1951

July 13 – He Ran All the Way

• Cast: John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford, Selena Royle, Gladys George, Norman Lloyd, Bobby Hyatt, Keith Hetherington
• Director: John Berry
• Studio: Roberts Pictures, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on June 20, 1951. This was John Garfield’s last film, having been blacklisted after accusations of his involvement with the Communist Party and his refusal to name names while testifying before HUAC. He died less than a year later at 39. Director John Berry and writers Dalton Trumbo and Hugo Butler were uncredited during the film’s initial run because they were already blacklisted. Assistant director Emmett Emerson is often credited as the film’s director.

1961

July 9 – Armored Command

• Cast: Howard Keel, Tina Louise, Warner Anderson, Earl Holliman, Carleton Young, Burt Reynolds, James Dobson, Marty Ingels, Clem Harvey, Maurice Marsac, Lt. Col. Thomas A. Ryan, Peter Capell, Charles Nolte, Brandon Maggart
• Director: Byron Haskin
• Studio: Allied Artists, distributed by Warner Bros-Pathe

July 12 – Francis of Assisi

• Cast: Bradford Dillman, Dolores Hart, Stuart Whitman, Cecil Kellaway, Eduard Franz, Athene Seyler, Finlay Currie, Mervyn Johns, Russell Napier, John Welsh, Harold Goldblatt, Edith Sharpe, Jack Lambert, Oliver Johnston, Malcolm Keen
• Director: Michael Curtiz
• Studio: Perseus Productions, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
• Trivia: Based on the 1958 novel The Joyful Beggar by Louis de Wohl. Two years after the release of the film, Dolores Hart became a nun at the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut.

July 12 – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

• Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, Peter Lorre, Robert Sterling, Michael Ansara, Frankie Avalon, Regis Toomey, John Litel, Howard McNear, Henry Daniell, Robert Easton, Mark Slade, Charles Tannen, Del Monroe
• Director: Irwin Allen
• Studio: Windsor Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: This marked Walter Pidgeon’s return to film after several year in the theatre. The role of Captain Crane was offered to David Hedison, who had just completed work on Irwin Allen’s The Lost World, because he didn’t like the script. Hedison ended up playing the role in the TV series adaptation. Allen had the film’s sets, props and scale models put into storage, and when he decided to produce a television series all he had to do was bring everything out of storage at a fraction of the cost he might have had starting from scratch. It ended up being Allen’s longest-running TV series. Del Monroe played Kowski in the film and Kowalski on the TV series. During production of the film, Allen asked the Navy for advice but was turned down as the nuclear submarine program was just beginning, top secret and they didn’t want any information getting to the Soviet Union. Some of the sub’s equipment and sound effects were recycled from The Fly.

1971

July 7 – The Last Run

• Cast: George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van Devere, Colleen Dewhurst, Aldo Sambrell
• Director: Richard Fleischer
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: John Boorman was originally to direct but withdrew because he was unhappy with the script. John Huston was the next director on the film. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergman’s regular collaborator, was making his American film debut. Huston and George C. Scott would fight on set because Huston and his son Tony were constantly rewriting the script. Production began in January 1971 and Huston quit production in February. French actress Tina Aumont also quit. With production shut down for a week, the studio offered the directing job to Richard Fleischer, who turned it down because he didn’t like the script. Fleischer visited the set, met the producer, star and writer and heard the original pitch, which was not the script he read. He did read the original draft and felt all the important parts had been removed. Scott wanted Bonnie Bedelia to replace Aumont, but she turned it down. Trish Van Devere won the role, and fell in love with Scott (who was married to Colleen Dewhurst at the time, who had made a cameo appearance in the film then left production). Scott and Dewhurst divorced after production ended, and Scott married Van Devere. The film was only $30,000 over budget and one week over schedule.

Universal Pictures

July 7 – Two-Lane Blacktop

• Cast: James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson, Rudolph Wurlitzer, Bill Keller, H.D. Stanton, Don Samuels, Charles Moore, Alan Vint, George Mitchell, A. J. Solari, Katherine Squire, Melissa Hellman, James Mitchum, Kreag Caffey
• Director: Monte Hellman
• Studio: Michael Laughlin Enterprises, distributed by Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Esquire magazine published the entire screenplay in its April 1971 issue, calling it ‘Our nomination for movie of the year’ without any commentary or review. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2012. The project was originally set up with CBS Cinema Center Films, which cancelled the film a few weeks from principal photography. Several studios were interested but wanted input on casting. Young Universal Studios exec Ned Tanan gave Monte Hellman $850,000 and complete control of the film. Hellman saw James Taylor on a billboard on the Sunset Strip and asked him to screen test. Filming took place over eight weeks during a cross country trip to convince the audience the characters had raced across the United States. Hellman did not let his three leads read the script, instead giving them pages of dialogue on the day of shooting. Taylor was uncomfortable with the approach and was finally given a script … which he never read. The first cut of the film ran 3.5 hours. Hellman was also the film’s editor and was contractually obligated to turn in a film no longer than two hours. The final version runs 105 minutes. Universal head Lew Wasserman hated the film and refused to promote it when it opened in New York City on the Fourth of July Weekend. This was the only acting role for Beach Boy Dennis Wilson. This was also Taylor’s only acting role, apart from cameos where he’s appeared as himself, which he won after Bruce Dern declined. Kris Kristifferson was actually the first choice for the role. As late as 2007, Taylor claimed he’d never seen the film but would like to now. This was the first of only three films Laurie Bird would make before her death in 1979. The film was shot in chronological order.

July 13 – The Panic in Needle Park

• Cast: Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint, Richard Bright, Kiel Martin, Michael McClanathan, Warren Finnerty, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Raúl Juliá, Angie Ortega, Larry Marshall, Paul Mace, Nancy MacKay, Gil Rogers, Joe Santos, Paul Sorvino, Arnold Williams, Sully Boyar, Ruth Alda
• Director: Jerry Schatzberg
• Studio: Gadd Productions Corp., Didion-Dunne, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 1971. Adapted from the 1966 novel by James Mills. ‘Needle Park’ was the nickname for Sherman Square on Manhattan’s Upper West Side near 72nd Street and Broadway, where a group of heroin addicts hung out. Makeup man Herman Buchman studied the track marks on the arms of hospital patients and victims in morgues and achieved an authentic look for the actors by using a liquid called Flexible Collodion. In scenes in which actors appear to inject themselves, a registered nurse was on set, serving as a technical adviser. The film uses cinéma vérité-style footage, and is believed to be the first mainstream film to feature actual drug injections. Jim Morrison was considered for the role of Bobby, and Robert De Niro read for it as well, but producers went with Al Pacino. 20th Century Fox is said to have wanted Kristofer Tabori for the role. While not Pacino’s first film, it was his first starring role. Francis Ford Coppola showed the film to Paramount executives to convince them Pacino was right for the part of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. It was Raúl Juliá’s film debut. Mia Farrow was considered for the role of Helen. There is no music in the film.

1981

July 9 – Grendel Grendel Grendel

• Voice Cast: Peter Ustinov, Keith Michell, Arthur Dignam, Ed Rosser, Bobby Bright, Ric Stone, Ernie Bourne, Rho Schepisi, Colin McEwan, Alison Bird, Barry Hill, Peter Aanensen, Jack Brown, Julie McKenna
• Director: Alexander Stitt
• Studio: Victorian Film, distributed by Satori Corporation, Umbrella Entertainment
• Trivia: The film opened in Australia on July 9, 1981, then played in the US in August. Based on John Gardner’s novel Grendel. The second full-length animated film made in Australia. James Earl Jones turned down the role of Grendel when he learned the film would be animated.

July 10 – Escape from New York

• Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Season Hubley, Charles Cyphers, Frank Doubleday, John Strobel, Nancy Stephens, Buck Flower, Ox Baker
• Director: John Carpenter
• Studio: AVCO Embassy Pictures, International Film Investors, Goldcrest Films International, City Films, distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures
• Trivia: The film was screened at the USA Film Festival on April 1, 1981, and in St. Louis, Missouri on June 26. The film was mainly shot in East St. Louis because it would have been too expensive to make New York City appear semi-destroyed. Carpenter persuaded the city to shut off electricity to ten blocks at a time at night. The film was shot between August and November 1980, almost entirely at night. The film company was the first to secure permission to shoot on Liberty Island at the Statue of Liberty at night. John Carpenter wrote the film as a reaction to the Watergate scandal. Jamie Lee Curtis is the voice of the narrator. Joe Unger filmed scenes, but was cut from the film. AVCO Embassy wanted either Charles Bronson or Tommy Lee Jones for the role of Snake Plissken. Kurt Russell was eager to take the role to get away from his Disney image. James Cameron, a special effects artist with Roger Corman at the time, provided some matte paintings, and was one of the film’s directors of photography. The wire frame computer graphics were actually miniatures of New York City with reflective tape on the edges of the models, filmed under a black light. John Carpenter and Adrienne Barbeau were married at the time of the film’s release, as were Russell and Season Hubley. The film never bothers to explain why the president of the United States has a British accent. Warren Oates was originally cast as Brain but took ill and suggested Harry Dean Stanton. Lee Van Cleef flew in for a one-night shoot and flew out the next day. Carpenter then discovered some of his close-ups were out of focus but he had to use them because it would have been too expensive to fly Van Cleef back from Los Angeles. Nick Nolte and Jeff Bridges were both approached for the role of Plissken. Kris Kristofferson was considered but never approached due to the failure of Heaven’s Gate. Steven Ford, son of president Gerald Ford, has a cameo as a Secret Service agent.

July 10 – The Fox and the Hound

• Voice Cast: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, John Fiedler, John McIntire, Dick Bakalyan, Paul Winchell, Keith Mitchell, Corey Feldman, Jack Angel
• Director: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens
• Studio: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
• Trivia: Loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. 24th Disney animated feature film. Disney acquired the rights to the novel in 1967 but development of the film did not begin until 1977. It was the last film for the remaining members of Disney’s ‘Nine Old Men’, which included Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, and the film was handed over to a new generation that included Tim Burton, Brad Bird, and John Lasseter. The film’s release was delayed for more than six months due to the abrupt departure of animator Don Bluth. A fight erupted among the animators and director Art Stevens about the fate of Chief, who was supposed to die after being hit by a train, giving the hound a reason to hate the fox. Stevens insisted they had never killed a major character before and weren’t about to start now, so Chief survived with a broken leg. The film’s original director Wolfgang Reitherman felt the second act lagged and wanted to add a musical number sung by Phil Harris and Charo as swooping cranes. Charo actually recorded her voice tracks but studio personnel felt the song was totally out of place and insisted the scene be removed. Kurt Russell completed his dialogue recordings in two sessions. This was the last Disney animated feature to end simply with ‘The End’. It was also the last Disney animated film to begin with the Buena Vista logo. This was Disney’s first animated feature to use computer graphics. Lillian Gish and Helen Hayes turned down the role of Widow Tweed. This was Jack Albertson’s final film. Paul Winchell’s final theatrical film though he did continue to act until 1999. Pat Buttram’s fourth and last film for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

1991

July 10 – Regarding Henry

• Cast: Harrison Ford, Annette Bening, Mikki Allen, Bill Nunn, Rebecca Miller, Bruce Altman, Elizabeth Wilson, Donald Moffat, John Leguizamo, Robin Bartlett, James Rebhorn
• Director: Mike Nichols
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: J.J. Abrams, who wrote the film and appears as a delivery boy, is billed as Jeffrey Abrams. Seven years later, Abrams names his first son Henry. The role of Linda was a last minute addition, added to production two days before filming completed. Rob Reiner filmed a role that ended up being cut from the final edit.

July 12 – Boyz n the Hood

• Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Desi Arnez Hines II, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Baha Jackson, Morris Chestnut, Donovan McCrary, Nia Long, Nicole Brown, Tyra Ferrell, Redge Green, Kenneth A. Brown, Whitman Mayo, John Singleton, Dedrick D. Gobert, Baldwin C. Sykes, Tracey Lewis-Sinclair, Alysia Rogers, Regina King, Lexie Bigham, Raymond Turner, Lloyd Avery II, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson
• Director: John Singleton
• Studio: Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 1991. A premiere was held in Century City, CA on July 2, followed by a New York City premiere on July 8. John Singleton’s feature directorial debut. Singleton received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, the youngest and first African-American to be nominated in the director category. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2002. The role of Doughboy was specifically written for Ice Cube. Singleton said Cuba Gooding Jr. and Morris Chestnut were cast because they were the first ones to show up for auditions. Fishburne was cast after Singleton met him on the set of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, where Singleton worked as a production assistant and security guard. The film was shot in sequence and Singleton notes you can see the camerawork get better as the film progresses as he found his footing as a director. Singleton has a cameo in the film as a mailman. Singleton never warned the cast when shots would be fired in order to get real reactions. This was Regina King’s first theatrical film. Will Smith was offered the role of Tre Styles but had to turn it down due to his commitment to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

July 12 – Point Break

• Cast: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Lee Tergesen, Vincent Klyn, Chris Pedersen, Anthony Kiedis, Dave Olson, Julie Michaels, Kimberly Martin, Gloria Mann, Galyn Gorg, Sydney Walsh, Julian Reyes, Daniel Beer, Richard Grove, Anthony Mangano, John Apicella, Mike Genovese, Jack Kehler, Christopher Pettiet
• Director: Kathryn Bigelow
• Studio: Johnny Utah Productions, Largo Entertainment, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The Los Angeles premiere was held on July 10, 1991. Tom Sizemore has an unbilled role as a DEA Agent. The film nearly began production in 1986 with Matthew Broderick, Johnny Depp, Val Kilmer, and Charlie Sheen all being considered to play the Johnny Utah character, and Ridley Scott directing. The film’s original title was Johnny Utah after Keanu Reeves was cast in the role. The studio felt the title said very little about surfing, and retitled it Riders on the Storm, after The Doors song, when Patrick Swayze was cast. But the lyrics of the song had nothing to do with the film, and the title was changed to Point Break midway through production. Swayze insisted on doing his own stunts in fight scenes, cracked four ribs during surfing scenes, and made 55 skydiving jumps. Swayze originally auditioned for the Johnny Utah role. Elizabeth Berkley had a small role in the film that was cut out. Michael Biehn was in talks to play Bodhi but the plans fell through.

2001

July 11 – Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

• Cast: Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Peri Gilpin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Keith David, Jean Simmons, Matt McKenzie, John DeMita
• Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi
• Studio: Columbia Pictures, Square Pictures, distirbuted by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: The film’s premiere was held on July 2, 2001. The first photorealistic computer-animated feature film, taking a staff of 200 four years to complete on 960 workstations for a combined 120 years of work. All of the backgrounds were hand painted mattes. When the film was projected digitally, it became the first ever genuine 8-channel Sony SDDS soundtrack. When Matt Dillon saw completed footage of his character, he stormed out of the Square Pictures building, yelling that they were trying to put actors out of business. He was replaced with Alex Baldwin, in his first voice acting job in a feature film. It was also Steve Buscemi’s first time voice acting in a film. Baldwin and Buscemi would voice act together again 16 years later in The Boss Baby. John DiMaggio and Dwight Schultz provided uncredited voices.

July 11 – Original Sin

• Cast: Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, Thomas Jane, Jack Thompson, Gregory Itzin, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., James Haven, Allison Mackie, Joan Pringle, Cordelia Richards, Mario Ivan Martinez, Harry Porter, Fernando Torre Lapham, Shaula Vega, Lisa Owen, Daniel Martínez, Farnesio De Bernal, Nitzi Arellano, Roger Cudney, Adrian Makala, Francis Laborial, Derek Rojo, Abraham Stavans, Julio Bracho
• Director: Michael Cristofer
• Studio: Hyde Park Entertainment, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer, distributed by MGM Distribution Co. (United States), 20th Century Fox (International)
• Trivia: The film opened in France on July 11, 2001, but did not see a release in North America until August 3. The film’s US premiere was held on July 31. Based on the novel Waltz into Darkness by Cornell Woolrich, and is a remake of the 1969 François Truffaut film Mississippi Mermaid. Michelle Pfeiffer’s production company bought the rights to the novel with the intention for her to star, but she opted to serve as producer only. It was the last film produced be her company. The film’s title was changed from the novel’s to avoid confusion with Dancer in the Dark.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

July 13 – Legally Blonde

• Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Moonie, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Ali Larter, Jessica Cauffiel, Alanna Ubach, Francesca P. Roberts, Oz Perkins, Linda Cardellini, Bruce Thomas, Meredith Scott Lynn, Wayne Federman, Raquel Welch, Greg Serano
• Director: Robert Luketic
• Studio: Type A Films, Marc Platt Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributed by MGM Distribution Co. (United States), 20th Century Fox (International)
• Trivia: The film’s Los Angeles premiere took place on June 26, 2001. Robert Luketic’s feature directorial debut. Based on Amanda Brown’s 2001 novel of the same name. Golden Globe nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Reese Witherspoon). Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, Katherine Heigl, Christina Applegate, Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Love Hewitt were all considered for the lead role. Luketic only wanted Witherspoon for the role, but studio executives were wry of casting her because they thought she was really like her shrewish character in Election. Luke Wilson was envisioned as Elle’s love interest when auditioning actors for the role. Someone finally suggested auditioning Luke Wilson for the Luke Wilson role. Witherspoon wore 40 different hairstyles in the film. The ‘bend and snap’ move in the film became a fully choreographed dance number by Toni Basil. Test audiences did not like the film’s original ending with a kiss between Elle and Emmett because the story was not about their relationship. Audiences wanted to know what happened after the court case, so a new ending was written and filmed for the graduation scene. The new ending had to be filmed in London because Witherspoon was working on her next film The Importance of Being Earnest. She and Wilson had to wear wigs for the new ending to match their hair from the original shoot. The actress brushing her hair behind the opening credits is not Witherspoon. This was filmed after she had gone to London. Witherspoon’s contract allowed her to keep all of her outfits after filming. More than 30 scarves were used to accentuate her outfits.

July 13 – The Score

• Cast: Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett, Gary Farmer, Jamie Harrold, Paul Soles
• Director: Frank Oz
• Studio: Mandalay Pictures, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in Baltimore, Maryland on July 9, 2001. This was Marlon Brando’s final film role, and the only time Brando and Robert De Niro appeared on screen together. Brando argued with Frank Oz on set constantly, calling Oz ‘Miss Piggy’. Edward Norton said in an interview he did the movie just to have his name on a poster with De Niro and Brando. Brando refused to smile in his last scene so a slight smile was added digitally. Michael Douglas was originally set to star as Nick Wells. Ben Affleck turned down the role of Jackie.

2011

July 8 – Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

• Cast: A Tribe Called Quest
• Director: Michael Rapaport
• Studio: Rival Pictures, Om Films, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
• Trivia: The film premiered at Sundance on January 22, 2011.

July 8 – Horrible Bosses

• Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx, Isaiah Mustafa, Julie Bowen, Ioan Gruffudd, Lindsay Sloane, P.J. Byrne, Wendell Pierce, Ron White, Bob Newhart, John Francis Daley, Meghan Markle
• Director: Seth Gordon
• Studio: New Line Cinema, Rat Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: Frank Oz and David Dobkin were in talks to direct, but Anne Fletcher was the studio’s first choice. Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Matthew McConaughey, Dax Shepard, Ashton Kutcher, Paul Rudd, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeff Bridges, and Tom Cruise were all rumored for roles at some point. Naomi Watts and Sarah Jessica Parker were considered to play Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S.

July 8 – Project Nim

• Cast: Bob Angelini, Bern Cohen, Renne Falitz, Bob Ingersoll
• Director: James Marsh
• Studio: BBC Films, Passion Pictures, Red Box Films, distributed by Icon Film Distribution
• Trivia: The film opened the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2011, screened at the Wisconsin Film Festival on March 31, the Newport Beach International Film Festival in April, and the Independent Film Festival of Boston on May 1 before opening in the US in limited release on July 8. The film opened in Canada on July 22, and the UK on August 12.

July 8 – Zookeeper

• Cast: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Joe Rogan, Nat Faxon, Ken Jeong, Steffiana de la Cruz, Thomas Gottschalk, Donnie Wahlberg, Brandon Keener
• Director: Frank Coraci
• Studio: Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Broken Road Productions, Hey Eddie, Happy Madison Productions, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
• Trivia: Animale voices were provided by Nick Nolte, Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, Cher, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Maya Rudolph, Bas Rutten, Don Rickles, Jim Breuer, Richie Minervini. This was Don Rickles’ last movie. The film was shipped to theaters under the code name The Combo.