Another Revisit: Witness 35 years later!!!

WITNESS




Another week with no new films...so sad. So another deep dive revisit!! Going back 35 years, to 1985. The Oscar Nominated....Witness. For this deep dive I went back and watched the film. It holds up well. And you know what? It is still a damn good film.

Lets look at who missed out or turned down the lead roles..................

Sylvestor Stallone turned down the role of John Book

Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson was considered for the role of John Book


Well let me do a deep dive into this film with some fun and not so fun facts.........................

-Kelly McGillis was working in New York, in a coffee house, not really thinking she would get the part she tried out for weeks ago. In walked Director Peter Weir and Harrison Ford into the shop to offer her the role of Rachel. Now that is a great day at work!!

-It was a good 2 years for this unknown Kelly McGillis, the following year came Top Gun.

-Kelly McGillis actually lived with an Amish widow and her 7 children before filming began to get the speech down, and cadence down. To also observe her daily life.

-At the same time Harrison Ford was spending time with the Philadelphia Police Department. He actually went on a couple raids.

-If you look close you will see Viggo Mortensen as Moses. His feature film debut!

-A good chunk of the film was filmed on the Paul Krantz farm in Strasburg Pennsylvania. Also in and around Lancaster County. This happens to be an area close to where I live.

-The barn was actually built but unfortunately the barn was then torn down The water wheel in the film was made for the film and also torn apart.

-The Amish community declined to be in the film, you see Mennonites playing the Amish extras. However the Amish community was very interested in the filming and were often standing behind Director Peter Weir while filming, just watching. Which is funny, because the elders were upset that they were disrupting their life.

-Harrison Ford was nominated for an Oscar for this role. Surprisingly his only nomination for an Oscar since. My favorite ever Harrison Ford scene...watch he never says a word. But his face...he grabs the boys hand...




-Looking at the famous dance scene: The song Wonderful World was chosen by Harrison Ford. It sounds like Sam Cooke, however it was sung by a sound alike Greg Chapman. Yes they looked sweaty, well thats because it was filmed during the day, in the summer, in a blacked out barn to make it look like night.




-The film was originally called Home To Witness

-At the end, there was 10 pages of dialog written, for one last conversation between Rachel and Book. Director Weir thought one last look was enough, that they knew. He ripped the 10 pages up. Kind of sad...right?


Well lets see where they are now..............

-Lukas Haas (Samuel), he is still working as an actor. He has worked with Woody Allen; Christopher Nolan; Gus Van Sant; and Tim Burton. So he is doing okay lol. Oh by the way, his mother played an Amish woman in the film.
-Danny Glover (McFee), went on to do the Lethal Weapon films. He was last seen in the latest Jumanji film.
-Kelly McGillis (Rachel), well she is still working sporadically. She went on to do Top Gun; The Accused; and Made In Heaven to just name a few. She just did a small part in the Dirty John TV series.
-Alexander Godunov (Hochleitner), he of course went on to star in Die Hard. Before these films he was known as a world class ballet dancer in Russia. He sadly dies at the age of 45, found dead in a car. His physician said it was natural causes.
-Harrison Ford (John Book), went on to do nothing...a small sci-fi film and an action movie about a treasure hunter. That's it. LOSER!!
-Patti LuPone (Elaine, Johns sister)-, went on to become one of the greatest stage actresses of our time. 2 time Tony Award winner.

Well let me finish this with my favorite quotes:

-You be careful out there among those English.

-Schtulpig? Whats Schtulpig?

-You take a picture of me with that thing lady, I am going to rip your brassiere off and strangle you with it.

-Whacking, I am hell at whacking

-Honey That's Great Coffee

Well go back and watch this film if you have not seen it for awhile. It won the Oscar for best screenplay. It is a great wonderful story with a slow build. I mean you can rent it for 3 bucks.

From the shadows, thanks for your time as always,

Another Revisit....35 Years Ago.....The Breakfast Club

Still no new films to go to at the theaters. So ANOTHER revisit....and it is a good one...

It has been 35 years since we were in detention with the ........

THE BREAKFAST CLUB

 Hey...Don't You Forget About Me

So lets look back with some exciting (okay not that exciting ) fun facts (okay maybe not so fun).


LEFT OUT BUT TRIED?!
Laura Dern and Robin Wright auditioned for the role of Clair

Rick Moranis was originally locked in to play the janitor but backed out due to differences with John Hughes.

Nicholas Cage was thought of for John Bender

John Cusak  auditioned for Bender a couple times.

Jodie Foster considered for Claire.

Brooke Shields considered for Allison.


OF NOTE:
Hughes almost fired Judd Nelson several times because of his bad attitude.

At the end of the film John Hughes gave each actor a piece of the library's banister.

The library in the film was actually a gymnasium in Wayne North High School which is shut down as a high school.

The film was originally conceived as a "franchise starter" where they would revisit each character 10 years later. That fell through for what people were guessing one of two reasons: 1-John Hughes and Judd Nelson's bad relationship. Or 2-The relationship between John Hughes and Molly Ringwald became strained when she turned down Some Kind Of Wonderful, which he wrote with Ringwald in mind. She explained she wanted to pull away from teenage films. Which Hughes took personally.

Anthony Michael Hall's real mom and sister play his mom and sister in the film.

The David Bowie quote at the beginning of the film was suggested by Ally Sheedy.

The dandruff flakes from Allison's hair was parmesan cheese.

The film was shot entirely in sequence. In fact they ran through the movie first a couple times before it was put on film like it was a stage play.

That is John Hughes playing Brian's father.

The reasons each character is in detention on Saturday:
Andy (Andrew): tapes a guy's butt cheeks together in the locker room
Brian: flare gun goes off in his locker
Bender: pulls a false fire alarm
Claire: ditches class to go shopping
Allison: didn't do anything, she didn't have anything better to do on a Saturday


AD-LIBBED?:
The scene when they were sitting around in the circle talking.

Judd Nelson iconic fist pump in the air was ad-libbed!!!!

Judd Nelson's joke while crawling through the rafters. There is no actual punchline to the joke.

Why do you have a photo ID? So I can vote. Adl-ibbed!!


IT WAS ORIGINALLY A 2 1/2 HOUR FILM. ALL NEGATIVES WERE DESTROYED
LEFT ON THE FLOOR OR THROWN FROM THE SCRIPT??!!

Principal Vernon being a perv watching the girls swim team practice.

Carl predicts where the five kids will be in 30 years. Bender will have killed himself, Claire will have had "2 boob jobs and a face lift," Brian will have become very successful but die of a heart attack due to the stress of the high paying job. Allison will be a great poet but no one will care, and Andrew will marry a gorgeous airline stewardess who will become fat after having kids.

John Bender was not going to walk to school in the original script. He was going to be driven by his dad in a rusty tow truck, and have a brief fight with him before his dad drives off. Bender also tossed a bagged lunch, his father saying "You are a waste of lunch meat!"

The scene where Andrew and Allison are walking to get the sodas is extended to a point where Allison pulls out a pack of cigarettes and smokes one.  After getting the sodas, Bender shakes his can violently and places it among the five to see who gets the rigged one. Allison ends up getting it, and when she opens the can, all the soda squirts directly into her mouth.

After Vernon asks who has to use the lavatory, the five go to the bathroom. Vernon gives the boys 2 minutes and the girls 3 minutes. Claire catches Allison in a stall eating a bag of chips, repulsing her. Bender mocks Brian for sitting down to pee instead of using a urinal.

When the group is sitting in the circle and Allison mentions that she can write (and do other things) with her toes, then begins to show the group her talents.

Several staff members were cut out of the script before filming. A social studies teacher who dresses oddly. A female gym teacher who helps Vernon on a few workout machines until Vernon injures his back. And she eventually visits the students while they are in their circle in the library.

Looking back at this blog. It is sad to see that they will not make any "revisits" to the "club". With John Hughes passing sadly I do not see it happening.

I also think , like a lot of John Hughes films, when you watch the films at different times in your life you have different thoughts and opinions of the characters and their behaviors which I think makes John Hughes films timeless.


I WILL CLOSE THIS LONG BLOG WITH MY FAVORITE QUOTES:

John Bender: Hey, how come Andrew gets to get up? If he gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy.

John Bender: So it's sorta social, demented and sad, but social. Right?

Vernon: Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.

Brian Johnson: Chicks cannot hold their smoke, dat's what it is.


Again thanks for your time.

New Post: 5 Films To Look Forward To In 2020 In The Theaters When They Open

Well, I know things are going backwards, so maybe this is wishful thinking. Here are 5 films to put on your calendar ( if the dates do not change again) for going to the theaters this year!!!



THE FRENCH DISPATCH
October 16



My favorite Director Wes Anderson, with his first live action film in 6 years. Yes it has been 6 years since The Grand Budapest Hotel!! Yes we had Isle Of Dogs 2 years a go, which was wonderful, but finally a Wes Anderson live action film! With, as you can tell his usual cast of actors and actresses, I AM IN!!!!! So should you.





SOUL
November 20



After Onward....lets hope for a big PIXAR comeback!! From the looks of the trailer ...it looks promising!!!




NO TIME TO DIE
November 20



Bond....James Bond..with an uncanny habit of staying alive.
Craig's last Bond film, I am in.
Ana De Armas, back together with Craig after following each other around in Knives Out, I am in!
Lea Seydox and Naomi Harris (We love you Ms Moneypenny) are back with Craig!!! I am in.
Oh...throw in Rami Malek in as a bad guy!!
IN!!!




MULAN
August 21



I think this film has been moved more than any other film. Lets hope for a summer release in the theaters and not Disney+. It is beautiful looking and should be on the big screen. I was not a fan of The Lion King remake...so I hope this is a comeback.




WONDER WOMAN 1984
October 2



I am one of the rare people who was not a huge fan of the first Wonder Woman. I did not hate it...I was just not a huge fan. I think people were so excited about a female super hero, they forgot to notice the back half of the film was a mess and the ending kinda needed editing. Now comes 1984...damn that was a good trailer...I got sucked in!!!

Well there are 5 films to mark down and go to your local theaters and see when they open. Support your local theaters and the local workers!!

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.