Monday, January 15, 2018

Popcorn, Please!

Did you know The Exorcist was the first horror film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar?

Did you know Psycho is the first American film to show a toilet? It's also the first time we hear a toilet flush.

For more fun trivia, check out 40 Fascinating Facts About Your Favorite Horror Movies (MentalFloss.com, 10/23/17.) I love this kind of stuff! Here are a few more:

Robert Englund was not the first choice to play Freddy Krueger, and Sissy Spacek was not the first choice to play Carrie. Can you imagine anyone else in those roles?

Gene Hackman was supposed to star in and direct Silence of the Lambs. No Anthony Hopkins?! And speaking of Silence of the Lambs, remember Buffalo Bill's creepy dance? That wasn't in the script, but it was in the book, and actor Ted Levine insisted it be included to help explain the character.

Jaws is one of my all-time favorite movies for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that not seeing Jaws right away escalates the tension and the creepiness. But the real reason the shark doesn't fully appear until one hour and twenty-one minutes into the movie? Because apparently, the mechanical shark rarely worked during filming.

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Do you enjoy watching horror/scary movies? Have any favorites? Have any interesting movie trivia to share?

32 comments:

  1. I knew that last bit. Bruce the shark was a pain in the butt.
    Gene Hackman? Wow, glad that didn't happen.

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    1. I can't imagine anyone else in that role. And I don't really want to. :)

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  2. Very interesting fact about the flushing toilet in Psycho. Can't say I paid that much attention to it, I was too scared about what was going to happen next.

    I'm not really a fan of horror or scary movies. They give me nightmares.

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    1. After I read that about Psycho, I wanted to go back and pay attention, see if I noticed it. Then I wondered if that was a weird thing to want to do.... :o

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  3. Jaws is the only 'horror' movie I've seen. I try to avoid them as a rule. I have enough nightmares!

    You remind me of my best friend. She LOVES every kind of horror movie. You'd never know it by talking to her. She seems so normal. LOL!

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    1. I really do enjoy horror movies and stories overall (though not so much the gory, slasher ones.) It makes absolutely no sense because I am a huge chicken. :)

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  4. I saw that mechanical shark in a display. It was fearsome to see. I didn't know it hadn't worked properly. Interesting.

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    1. So interesting that the mechanical shark was fearsome in person/on display. It wasn't just the movie magic after all. :)

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  5. I knew about Psycho and Jaws. Funny how the shark not working made the movie so much better!
    I like scary movies but not ones that are too gory.

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    1. I'm with you on not liking the gore. I don't mind some, and it really depends on the story, if it's necessary, etc. I don't care for gore for gore's sake.

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  6. Gene Hackman? No way. That would just be wrong. Anthony Hopkins did it right and then, somehow, went onto play C.S. Lewis well in Shadowlands. He's an exceptional actor.
    I don't like gore much either, which is one of the reasons that Jaws works for me, plus the scary, not-seeing-the-shark thing is the kind of scary that works on me in good and bad ways. I had nightmares after Signs - which to most isn't even a horror film. I have a driveway lined with trees and there is nothing like driving down and thinking maybe I saw a weird foot poking out of the underbrush.

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    1. I love the not-seeing-the monster/killer kind of thing! I think that's why movies like Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity scare me so much. :o

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  7. I didn't know those facts. I know Jaws was deliciously terrifying when I first saw it.

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    1. No matter how many times I watch it, Jaws still scares me. And I love it. :)

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  8. I love odd facts like that...makes me a better trivia player. I enjoy a good horror movie, as long as I have my trusty blanket to hide under.

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    1. I just wish I could remember all the trivia I come across. It pretty much goes in one ear and out the other. Unless I write it down in a blog post. :)

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  9. Not into horror, although I saw most of the ones mention. Watch more of that type when I was younger.
    Rarely watch anything like that now-a-days, but love thrillers.

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    1. I like a good thriller, too. Recently watched The Last Rampage with Robert Patrick. Good stuff! Dark, but good.

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  10. I'm not a fan of horror movies, but I do love any kind of trivia so I find these facts fun.

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    1. I hope you check out the whole list. Lots more trivia there! :)

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  11. Interesting facts. Not much into horror films though - I know my limits :-)

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    1. I have limits, too. There are some movies I just won't see because I know they will freak me out too much.

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    1. Ah, but I couldn't use everything from the original post! :) Go over and read it - lots of good details there.

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  13. What a fun article. So many of my favorites - I love horror movies. I do agree with Stephen King - the movie verion of The Shining was monumentally disappointing.

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    1. I thought it was really interesting to read WHY he didn't like it.

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  14. I love trivia like this as well. I used to watch horror movies all the time when I was younger. These ones that feature gore without a story don't interest me though. I did hear that factoid about Jaws, which is pretty funny.

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    1. I'm with you re the gore. There are a lot of good ones out there, more along the lines of creepy, psychological etc, like The Babadook. I also like the movies in The Conjuring franchise.

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  15. These are such cool facts! I actually didn't care for Sissy as Carrie, so I'd be happy to see another actress in that role, but thank God Anthony Hopkins got to be Hannibal. How could that have gone to anyone else?

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    1. Didn't they remake Carrie? With a different actress, I'm guessing.

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