TedStixon

27th Nov 2018

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Trivia: The only entry in the Mummy series to not have an opening title card. The first film, third film and all of the Scorpion King spin-offs have opening title cards, while this film only displays the title during the end credits.

TedStixon

27th Nov 2018

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Trivia: One of the film's most common criticisms is that the CGI for the Scorpion King is notably of a lower quality than all of the other effects. There's actually a reason for this. The character was an early attempt at attempting to make a photorealistic humanoid, and thus the effect took much more work to complete. Additionally, the effect was made before a technique called "subsurface scattering" became prevalent, thus causing the plastic-like sheen on the skin. (Subsurface scattering is a technique that simulates how light penetrates and/or reflects off multi-layered surfaces like skin, thus allowing more realistic lighting and a less plasticy look.) It was so complicated trying to get the character to look "right," that they simply ran out of time and had to use what they had done, even though it wasn't quite complete.

TedStixon

27th Nov 2018

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Trivia: At Izzy's home, there's a man in a bathtub reading a newspaper that's focused on in one shot. You can faintly hear him humming a few notes. The humming was actually done by director Stephen Sommers in an audible cameo, and it was looped over the scene. (Though contrary to popular belief, the man in the tub was just an extra - not director Sommers).

TedStixon

27th Nov 2018

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Trivia: As of 2020, "The Mummy Returns" is still the highest grossing Universal "Mummy" movie both domestically and worldwide. It was the highest grossing of the Stephen Sommers series, and also grossed more than the 2017 reboot in unadjusted dollars. (And if you adjust for inflation, it actually grossed nearly twice what the 2017 film did).

TedStixon

27th Nov 2018

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Trivia: In order to maintain his perfect sculpted, hairless look, the titular mummy actor Arnold Vosloo had to shave his body head-to-toe twice a day during filming.

TedStixon

Trivia: Ashly Burch, who portrayed Chloe in the original "Life is Strange," was unable to reprise her role in the three main chapters of this spin-off "Before the Storm" due to an actor's strike. However, the strike ended before the completion of the bonus forth chapter, "Farewell," and Burch was finally able to voice the character once again in this chapter. (Chloe is played Rhianna DeVries in the other three chapters). Despite not being in them, Burch also served as a writing consultant for the three main chapters, as Chloe is one of her most personal roles and she wanted to make sure the game was true to the character.

TedStixon

Trivia: Spoilers. The producers have admitted that they would have deleted the final scene of chapter three (which implies Rachel's death in the dark room, as referenced in the original game) in retrospect. They felt the scene went too far, and was too traumatic.

TedStixon

25th Nov 2018

Mimic: Sentinel (2003)

Trivia: Writer/Director JT Petty got the approval to make this follow-up after a simple pitch. He went into a meeting and told the produces that he wanted to "make Hitchcock's 'Rear Window, ' except with giant cockroaches." Not only was it a novel approach to a sequel that allowed the studio to take the series in a new direction, but it also helped the production save money, since most of the film would be set in and around a single location (in this case an apartment complex.) He was given the greenlight almost immediately after.

TedStixon

Trivia: During the flashbacks when we see the younger Bill Foster, the character is not played by a digitally de-aged Laurence Fishburne as most would assume. For these brief scenes, the character is actually played by Laurence's son Langston. (Albeit made up to more closely resemble his father).

TedStixon

Trivia: "Ant-Man and the Wasp" is the twentieth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Originally, "Captain Marvel" was meant to be released first, but their release dates were swapped. It is the second MCU sequel to be filmed in the wider 2.39:1 aspect ratio after the first film was shot in taller 1.85:1 ratio. (The other films being "The Avengers/Avengers: Age of Ultron"). Walton Goggins and Hannah John-Kamen, who play the villains in this film, both appeared in the 2018 "Tomb Raider" film, which was released just a few months prior to this. And the first publicity photo of the Wasp was released on what would have been the 100th birthday of Jack Kirby - the character's co-creator.

TedStixon

22nd Nov 2018

Life is Strange

Plot hole: In episode two, Mr. Jefferson receives a phonecall at one point after talking to Kate. However, if you rewind time all the way and then don't interact with him, he doesn't receive the phonecall a second time. Flub in the programming of the time-travel.

TedStixon

22nd Nov 2018

Life is Strange

Trivia: Originally intended to be a stand-alone story, the game was eventually followed up with both a prequel (in the form of the 2017 video-game "Before the Storm"), and a sequel in the form of a comic-book, which began release in November 2018. Spoilers. Publisher Square-Enix oversaw production of the comic, and it follows the game's "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" ending. (Though the comic notes that given the game's multiple endings, it's only one of many possible timelines to occur after the game).

TedStixon

22nd Nov 2018

Life is Strange

Trivia: The game is filled with references. Throughout the game, many license plates on in-game cars reference TV-shows. (Such as one that says "brkbd" - for "Breaking Bad.") In episode five, many of the surnames on the list of the "Everyday Hero" contest winners are references to famous authors. Max shares the same surname as the lead character Holden Caulfield in the novel "Catcher in the Rye," and the player can find a cute in-game reference to the red cap Holden often wears in episode three.

TedStixon

22nd Nov 2018

Life is Strange

Trivia: Spoilers. Originally, the game was planned to have a secret third ending that combined elements from both the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" and "Sacrifice Chloe" endings. Max would choose to save the town instead of Chloe, and would travel back in time to the instant Nathan killed her. However, this time, the game cuts forward, and Chloe is revealed to be in a coma in the hospital, having somehow miraculously survived the gunshot in this new timeline. Max is unsure when or if she will wake up, but she's alive, and the town is safe, ending the game on a still sobering but ultimately happier note than the two other endings. The developers ultimately cut the ending, feeling that giving the players a more black-and-white philosophical choice (saving Chloe at the expense of the town, or saving the town at the expense of Chloe) was more appropriate for the game.

TedStixon

22nd Nov 2018

Life is Strange

Trivia: The game deals with some important modern issues, including cyber-bullying and teen suicide. Square-Enix, publisher of the game, ended up using the game to raise awareness of these topics, donating to anti-bullying advocacy groups and making promotional videos featuring the characters from the game talking about these topics.

TedStixon

15th Nov 2018

Happy Death Day (2017)

Trivia: Director Christopher Landon tested out the killer's mask by putting it on and scaring co-workers in his office one day. Once he saw the genuine shock on people's faces, he gave the mask the go-ahead to be used in the film.

TedStixon

15th Nov 2018

Happy Death Day (2017)

Trivia: Originally, the school's mascot (and thus the killer's mask) was going to be a cute, anthropomorphic pig. This was eventually vetoed, as it was considered too similar to the "Saw" series, in which the killer sometimes wears a pig-mask when he abducts his victims.

TedStixon

15th Nov 2018

Happy Death Day (2017)

Trivia: The killer's mask was designed by Tony Gardner. If that name sounds familiar, you're probably a big horror fan. Aside from the killer's mask in "Happy Death Day," Gardner also helped design the final look of "Ghostface" seen in the"Scream" franchise (albeit loosely based on an earlier design), worked on a number of cult-films including "Darkman, "Hocus Pocus" and the "Evil Dead" sequels, and has worked as the main effects supervisor on a number of the "Chucky/Child's Play" films.

TedStixon

15th Nov 2018

Happy Death Day (2017)

Trivia: There actually is an in-universe explanation for why Tree got stuck in a time-loop. However, director Christopher Landon opted to omit it from the finished film. Partially because it could be used in a potential sequel, and partially because it wasn't necessary for the narrative. Landon has hinted that the upcoming sequel, "Happy Death Day 2U," will finally reveal the explanation.

TedStixon

Trivia: During the early 1980's, Ivan Reitman was working with author Douglas Adams to make "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" into a film. However, the project fell apart when Reitman decided to work on another film instead - the film that would eventually become "Ghostbusters." The "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" movie didn't finally come out until over twenty years later.

TedStixon

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