Telling the story of Hollywood one movie at a time. Behind-the-scenes stories sourced direct from cast/crew or 3+ verified sources. Podcast + daily posts. 🎬
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Sep 1 • 42 tweets • 23 min read
REAR WINDOW was released 71 years ago today. One of the most enduring Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, and among the most popular films of James Stewart and Grace Kelly, the story of how it was made might give you the feeling you’re being watched…
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Following a falling out with his regular studio partner Warner Bros in the early 1950s, Alfred Hitchcock was a director in demand. Paramount made a move, asking Hitchcock if he was interested in After Dinner Story, a short story collection they’d bought the rights to.
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Aug 27 • 53 tweets • 30 min read
MARY POPPINS was released 61 years ago today. One of the most successful of all Disney films, and the movie which made Julie Andrews an overnight star, the behind-the-scenes story is practically perfect in every way…
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In 1934, Australian-British writer P. L. travers published her latest novel. The first in a series of 8 children’s books, it was called Mary Poppins, and told the tale of a magical English nanny. The book was a roaring success, getting the attention of Hollywood studios.
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Aug 26 • 54 tweets • 29 min read
TENET was released 5 years ago today. The 11th feature film of director Christopher Nolan and his first trip into time-travel, the story behind the scenes will have you unsure if your entropy is coming or going…
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After the success of World War II epic Dunkirk in 2017, Nolan was looking for a return to the kind of mind-bending science fiction film that helped make his name. The idea that intrigued him most was a time-travel concept he’d been grappling with for about 20 years.
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Aug 25 • 60 tweets • 35 min read
THE WIZARD OF OZ was released 86 years ago today. One of the most influential movies ever made, and the film that catapulted the career of Hollywood icon Judy Garland, the story of how it was made will have you heading for the yellow brick road…
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In 1900, author L. Frank Baum published his latest book. A children’s fantasy called The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, it would sit at the top of best-seller lists for over two years, and spawn thirteen sequels. The film industry was in its infancy, but took notice.
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Aug 23 • 49 tweets • 27 min read
STAND BY ME was released 39 years ago. Acclaimed as one of the ‘80s great coming-of-age movies and among River Phoenix’s best-remembered roles, the tale of how it was made is a reminder we never had any friends like the ones we had when we were 12…
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In 1982, acclaimed horror author Stephen King published a collection of four dramatic novellas called Different Seasons. It included Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, Breathing Method and The Body. It wasn’t long before Hollywood came calling…
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Aug 21 • 41 tweets • 28 min read
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON was released 44 years ago this week. One of the most popular horror-comedies out there, and with groundbreaking effects work, the behind the scenes story will make you beware the moon…
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In 1969, while working as a 19-year-old production assistant on Kelly’s Heroes in Yugoslavia, aspiring filmmaker John Landis came across a group of Romani people burying a man. This gave him the idea of making a film about the undead rising from the grave.
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Aug 20 • 50 tweets • 35 min read
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS was released 16 years ago this week. A revisionist World War II tale and Quentin Tarantino’s first foray into the war genre, the story of how it came to be is as out there as you’d expect for QT…
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Following his first three films – Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown – Quentin Tarantino was the hottest filmmaker in Hollywood. In 1998, he started writing his next film which he planned as a World War II drama.
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Aug 19 • 49 tweets • 27 min read
MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN was released 46 years ago this week. The second entry in the Monty Python film series, and regarded among the great British comedies, the story of how it was made will have you asking what have the Romans ever done for us…?
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Following the success of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1976, another film featuring the British comedy troupe was always on the cards and, when promoting Holy Grail in Amsterdam, two of the Pythons – Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam – came up with an idea.
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Aug 16 • 40 tweets • 24 min read
THE USUAL SUSPECTS was released 30 years ago today. Acclaimed as one of the great thrillers of the 1990s – and with one of the great twists - the making of story will flip ya for real…
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In 1993, writer Christopher McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer collaborated on drama Public Access. Thinking of their next project, McQuarrie read a magazine article titled “The Usual Suspects”. He even had an idea for a poster and a tagline: “All of you can go to hell.”
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Aug 15 • 57 tweets • 38 min read
APOCALYPSE NOW was released in the US 46 years ago today. Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus is considered by many to be the definitive Vietnam War film. The production of the film is one of the most unbelievable stories in Hollywood history.
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John Milius wrote the original script for Apocalypse Now in 1969. He was partly inspired to write about Vietnam from his frustration at never fighting in a war. He volunteered for the Marine Corps but was rejected because of his asthma.
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Aug 12 • 34 tweets • 21 min read
UNFORGIVEN was released 33 years ago. Acclaimed as one of the greatest ever westerns, and among Clint Eastwood’s best works, the making of story is as impressive as the film…
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In 1976, The Shootist was released. Film editor David Webb Peoples was writing screenplays in his spare time and the Johnn Wayne film inspired him to write an honest neo-western that dissected the genre whilst honouring its classic tropes.
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Aug 8 • 33 tweets • 22 min read
COLLATERAL was released 21 years ago this week. Acclaimed as one of the great thrillers of the early 21st century and among Michael Mann’s best, the making of story will have you thinking twice before your next cab ride…
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When he was 17 years old, aspiring Australian writer Stuart Beattie took a cab from Sydney airport. That journey gave him the idea of a murderous maniac entering a normal drive’s taxi. He turned this into his first screenplay, called The Last Domino.
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Aug 6 • 32 tweets • 17 min read
THE SIXTH SENSE was released 26 years ago today. One of the most popular ghost story movies ever made and the film that launched director M. Night Shyamalan into the spotlight, the story of how it came to be made will have you seeing dead people…
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In the late 1990s, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan had two titles under his belt. Drama Praying With Anger and comedy Wide Awake had been largely ignored by the box office. Shyamalan was looking for a hit, and started thinking about a film about a boy who can see ghosts.
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Aug 5 • 36 tweets • 24 min read
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES was released 14 years ago today. The opening part of one of the most acclaimed trilogies this century, the making of story is worthy of the iconic franchise…
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After the success of Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes in 2001, there were plans to make a sequel that picked up where that film left off. Due to some unfavourable critic and audience feedback, and creative differences with Burton, the project was shelved.
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Aug 4 • 36 tweets • 21 min read
THE FUGITIVE opened nationwide in the US 32 years ago this week. Starring Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble, it was an unexpected box office smash and Oscar winner. The behind-the-scenes story shows that it was a miracle the film was even made…
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The Fugitive was based on the 60s TV show of the same name. Producer Arnold Kopelson loved the show, and had been trying to get an adaptation off the ground since the 80s. A number of screenwriters wrote unsuccessful drafts, including Walter Hill.
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Aug 3 • 49 tweets • 27 min read
AMERICAN GRAFFITI was released 52 years ago this week. One of the most successful budget-to-box office films ever made, and the movie that led to George Lucas making Star Wars, the story of how it came to be will have you wishing you were Seventeen Forever…
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In 1971, filmmaker George Lucas was at the Cannes Film Festival with his new film, THX-1138. He met the Head of United Artists – David Picker – who asked Lucas for movie ideas. Intrigued by a 60s-set coming-of-age drama, Picker agreed to pay Lucas $10k to pen a script.
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Aug 1 • 34 tweets • 21 min read
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION was released 10 years ago this week. The 5th entry in the series and full of enormous set pieces, the behind the scenes tale is as spectacular as the film…
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After the huge success of the 4th Mission: Impossible film – Ghost Protocol – a follow up was inevitable. Paramount hired Drew Pearce to pen the script in 2013. He was then replaced in 2014 by Will Staples to carry out major revisions.
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Jul 31 • 38 tweets • 24 min read
THE LOST BOYS was released 36 years ago today. A reinvention of the vampire genre, and an 80s cult classic, the behind the scenes story will have you cursing all the damn vampires…
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In the 1980s, writer James Jeremias read Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire, featuring a 200 year old in the body of a 12 year old girl. A fan of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, Jeremias thought ‘what if the reason Peter could fly and came out at night was that he’s a vampire?’
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Jul 30 • 33 tweets • 20 min read
DELIVERANCE was released 53 years ago today. John Boorman’s brutal tale of naïve city boys in an unfamiliar environment continues to cause controversy to this day. The behind-the-scenes story was as dangerous as its subject matter…
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Deliverance was based on James Dickey’s debut novel of the same name from 1970. Dickey was a poet, an ex-lawyer, teacher, ad-man and WWII veteran. Dickey claimed that a lot of what happens in the novel were based on real events.
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Jul 29 • 35 tweets • 10 min read
The movie TEASER TRAILER can be an art form all of its own and we’ve pulled together some of our all-time favourites. To start, a classic. Inside the Terminator factory that teased TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991).
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JURASSIC PARK (1993)
A fossilized mosquito caused quite a stir 30+ years ago.
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Jul 28 • 36 tweets • 24 min read
WATERWORLD was released 28 years ago today. The most expensive movie ever made at the time, it went down in history with a reputation as one of the biggest flops in Hollywood. The making of story is full of fallouts, terrible luck, and lots more…
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In the 1980s, screenwriter Peter Rader saw the Mad Max series and was inspired to write a post-apocalyptic adventure of his own. Taking further inspiration from the Old Testament and Homer’s The Odyssey, he came up with an idea of a future Earth submerged under water.