Awesome

Norm's last appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

And then Part 2:

Awesome

Well, last night there was this bowl. The "Super" bowl. Super? You betcha. First off, The Boss dished out a free lesson in how to rock and roll. Secondly, Kurt Warner hits Fitzy for a TD in the 4th quarter has everyone screaming their heads off (except Mumford) and then, with just seconds left, Big Roeth hit's Holmes!! Unbelievable!! I put back a few too many beers and proceeded to offend Anna twice with impressions of different nationalities. All in all a good time. But sadly, there was one thing missing from the evening. A 12 foot-long meatball sub? Well, yeah, that was missing too, so I guess there were two things missing from the evening: a 12 foot-long meatball sub and US Super Bowl ads. Now, everyone has probably dedicated their mornings to catching up on these 30 second masterpieces, but in case you haven't, here are (in my esteemed opinion) the Top 5 Super Bowl Commercials from 2009.

#5 - Hulu with Alec Baldwin. 

I can't really say why I think this one is funny, maybe just Baldwin saying, "DYNO-MITE!!" but whatever it is, it's good.

#4 - Cars.com with The Doctor

Grimes has a good sized list of things that scratch him right where he itches. Well for me, the biggest is people being awesome at stuff. You know that scene at the end of Groundhog Day when Bill Murray pulls off a perfect day? Amazing. And when Will Ferrell turns out to be a killer flautist in Anchorman? Perfection. So this commercial really speaks to me. Behold:

#3 - Etrade with The Babies

Maybe I'm too sentimental. Or maybe my biological clock is ticking, and I secretly know that I only have a few good years left in me to pull a Junior and have a man-baby (a baby born of a man, not a baby that comes out a full grown man...). Either way, this one rules. Mostly because even if it were full-grown men, I'd love the back-and-forth and the stretching of the golden pipes.

#2 - Monster with The Moose 

First of all, moose are ALWAYS funny. Literally, anytime something happens with a moose I'll probably laugh. This one continues that streak. And how! The reveal is amazing and man alive does it ever hit the nail on the head for how I feel at work.

#1 - Bud Light with Conan 

I mean, honestly, can YOU think up something funnier than Conan doing anything!?! I can't, which may be why this one takes the cake for best commercial of the year. Other newspapers and magazines have said that the Dorito's commercial with the old dude getting hit in the nuts is the winner (and on any other day of the week, I'd agree) but Conan in red mesh? Hello!!

BONUS 

And of course, no review of Super Bowl commercials would be complete without this one for next year's shoe-in for Best Picture Oscar.

And also, this one for Jack In The Box. The guy in the phone reminds me of Kevin James (or, as he's better known, Paul Blart, Mall Cop) and you know that means guffaw-city.

Awesome

Well, it's Friday. Usually I would post an epic list of trivia about some jerk-ass movie that only Mumford likes (like, honestly Mumford, Dark Knight!?!? What a piece of trash). But today, in honor of my work at this office coming to a ceremonial end, I'd like to send out a tribute to desk jockeys (and NFL offensive linebackers) everywhere.

Just remember folks, sometimes it's about intimidation.

Monday Screw (Friday Edition)

That Time On The Street Car

So usually we'd do The Monday Screw on, you know, Monday. But drastic times call for drastic measures. You see, despite what should have been a purely celebratory post, some chump-sac named Mike Tonner decided to take it upon himself to foul up the mood and call me out for not posting enough hilarious stories and tall tales like my esteemed colleague Eric Wendy Grimes. Who is Mike Tonner? Well according to Google, he's a fucking nobody! But we here at The Gritz take our jobs seriously, and any time a fan has comments or concerns, we like to either eradicate the fan or deal with the comments /concerns swiftly. And since I can't find where this Tonner douchtard lives, I guess I'll just have to post a little ditty that could well also be a Monday Screw, except it technically spilled over into Tuesday.

---

On Monday, the 19th of January I was sitting in my office, working diligently on a project surrounding the 175th Anniversary of the Founding of Toronto (look it up! It's this March the 6th!) when an e-mail came in. It was from the University College of London. Exactly 4 days prior, I had completed and submitted my applications to 5 law schools in the UK because (a) they were good schools and (b) I had spent too much of my first year of university looking down at an empty bottle rather than at an open book to ever have my GPA recover. So the UK was my best chance for further education. The e-mail was concise and comprehensive:

Dear Mr. Kitz,

We were delighted to received you application to the Faculty of Law at UCL. We have noticed, however, an irregularity in your application. As you know, all students are expected to write their LNAT and we have noticed that your LNAT score has not been attached to your application. Please remedy this situation as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Brett

I responded:

Dear Brett,

I was unaware that the LNAT was a required test for my application to the Faculty of Law at UCL. However, I am writing my LSATs, the North American equivalent to the LNAT on February 6th. As this is in only 15 days away, and as I am unaware of any LNAT testing centre in Toronto, would these results be acceptable rather than an LNAT score.

All the very best,

Alex Kitz

Response, not 20 minutes later:

Dear Alex,

No, your LSAT score will not be an acceptable substitute. We require all applicants to write their LNAT. I have attached for you, however, a list of locations near your address that hold LNAT testing.

Brett

Response:

Dear Brett,

Thank you so much for this list of testing centres. There is one only an hour or two by public transportation from my house which I should be able to access. When is the deadline for the test to be taken?

Alex

Response:

Dear Alex,

The deadline for the exam to be sat is the 20th of January.

Brett

Gulp

Alright, so I'd never heard of this test till now (it's 2 PM, Monday afternoon) and I had exactly 21 hours to learn about it, write it and submit it. Very fortunately I had helpful friends. I texted one, Kent Plummer, who happens to work out near the airport and asked for a lift. He obliged. So after a restless night and a quick glance over the single practice test offered online he drove me out to The Nordic College out at Islington and Dixon Road. 

College would be a stretch... You know that scene in Boiler Room when Ribisi sees their phone bank for the first time and it's just a shell of an office with hundreds of phones laying on the floor? Think even more ghetto. This place wouldn't have passed mustard as a street meat stand let alone a place to take an internationally accredited test. But here I was. 8:30 AM. In the middle of nowhere. It was cold and there were wolves after me. So I took a look in the mirror and took a second to compose myself. "You're a tiger. You're mommy's big boy! You can do anything. See what you want and take it!"

That morning I was not mommy's big boy. To be fair, halfway through the essay section of the test, the computer just shut down. By the time it was back on, they had re-calibrated the clock so I hadn't technically lost any time, but you'd better believe I'd lost my rhythm. I finished my essay 150 words short of their preferred 700 words and had accidentally written a paragraph or two on another question which may have voided both efforts. No matter how you cut it, it wasn't good. The test, one that was supposed to be rudimentary compared with the LSAT - an exam I had been studying industriously for - had absolutely kicked my ass. In a blur I walked out of the building, cursing myself under my breath, completely humiliated.

Of course, as soon as I walked out, my bus flew past the stop. It was -15 but felt like -25. I hadn't worn boots, as I can't concentrate when I wear bulky footwear, so my feet were freezing and I hadn't eating since 7 AM, so I was starving. A full 20 minutes later, another bus finally came. I got on and endured the 20 minute ride down to Bloor. Once there, I transferred to the subway and began the long slough back. Another 20, maybe 25 minutes on the subway, I finally reached the Spadina station when I could transfer onto a streetcar down to my office. My phone buzzed with an e-mail, "Alex - I can't believe you're missing the inauguration!! I hope you're catching it somewhere. It's really amazing!"

A brief, side note: I had worked for Obama in Florida. More hours, blood, sweat and tears than I can possible describe were dedicated to that campaign. It was one of the most important experiences of my life, and I was well aware that I was missing an important moment in world history to be on a subway back to the office.

Hungry and tired, bitter to be stuck on the TTC and even more bitter to have just flunked an important test, I felt a wave of relief wash over me as my street car pulled to a stop in the station; the feeling that a long and brutal morning was over crept into me.

I got on the busy streetcar and actually saw an available seat beside an attractive young Asian girl who was sitting in the aisle. I walked over and hovered above her for a moment, hoping she would notice me and move over to the window so I could have the seat. She didn't. I coughed loudly and when she looked up I asked in my most pleasant voice whether I could sit down. "Of course" she said but instead of moving over, she swung her legs around to let me weasel into the seat. Well, a seat is a seat, isn't it? So I grabbed my bag with my left arm to make sure I didn't knock anyone in the head with it and grabbed the bar with my right hand to steady myself as I attempted to vault over this girl.

But just as I was reaching for the bar, the streetcar lurched forward and falling with it, I stuck the girl right in the eye with my thumb.

WHAM!! Right with the pointy end of my thumb. She SCREAMED!! "Aiiieeee!!" and threw her armful of files straight up in the air, clutching her face. "You poked me!! Right in the eye with your nail!!"

"I know! Oh, my goodness, I know, I'm SO sorry! I'm SO sorry. Are you alright? Are you okay? Can you see? Do you need us to stop? Do you need medical attention?"

"NO! Just sit down!"

"Sit down!? I - I can't sit down with you, I just jabbed you in the eye with the entire weight of my body! I feel terrible, I can't possibly take that seat!"

"SIT DOWN!!"

"Alright, alright" and so I gathered up the spray of files and again steadied myself, this time successfully straddling over her into the window seat. I sat there, silent looking straight ahead, but well aware that she was whimpering in the seat next to me. As if she had been expecting to have her cornea scratched, she pulled from her bag eye drop bottle after hand-sanitizer after mirror after cotton ball and began applying all her medical skills to her - presumably permanently - damaged eyeball. All the while I just sat quietly and stared ahead, trying to avoid both eye (singular) contact from her and from the other 100 chinese people on the streetcar who were looking at me like I had committed a hate crime.

Of course, once in the window seat, there was NO WAY I was going to climb over her to get out. I'd just nearly blinded her! So I sat patiently, periodically casting cautious glances over to see if she'd stopped crying (she hadn't). We reached my stop, and with no movement on her side, I continued to sit quietly. Another stop past my office. Still no movement. Finally, she gets up to leave, but again I can't bring myself to do the same - as it trying to justify why she wouldn't move over  in the first place, I stay another full stop. By the time I get off I'm practically down at Lakeshore. 

I exit the streetcar, beaten. Defeated. Whatever mirrors I'd broken in my past had been saving up for a day like this. I trudged all the way back to the office, almost 10 minutes, only 5 minutes less than it would have taken me to walk from the Bloor subway station, and swore I'd never take the TTC ever again.

Breaking News

Nazi Teddybears Are All The Rage

So if you're like me, you saw Valkyrie (or sent your intern to see it - thanks Mumford!!) and spent the whole time thinking, "yeah, yeah, this is all well and good, but where is the merchandising!?!?"

Well Entertainment Tonight (ET) has the answer!! Their functionally retarded back-up interviewer met with Tom Cruise to talk about the success of the movie and in an attempt to either suck up, or convince him to join her aryan nation, she presented him with a teddybear dressed up in his uniform from the movie.

And if you're thinking, "wait, Tom Cruise played a Nazi in that movie..." You're right.

Now if we can just find the illustrated kids version of Mein Kampf for Access Hollywood to give to him... [Oh No They Didn't!]

Awesome

Iron Maiden Movie Announced

A new documentary following Iron Maiden's 2008 world tour, titled Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is being produced by Banger Films (whose credits also include Metal: A Headbanger's Journey) and should be released in theaters (read: a single theatre somewhere just outside of Moosemin, Saskatchewan) in April of 2009. From the press release:

"The movie, which was created by Banger Films, EMI Records, UMe and Arts Alliance Media, follows Maiden from February to March, 2008 on the first leg of their “Somewhere Back in Time World Tour.” For the tour, the band flew in a specially customized Boeing 757 airliner piloted for much of the time by vocalist Bruce Dickinson. The plane also contained Maiden’s crew and 12 tons of music and stage equipment. Puddle-jumping from one location to another, the band played 23 sold out stadium and arena shows in Asia, Australia and North, Central and South America in just 45 days. Maiden performed in 13 countries, also landing in Azerbaijan and Papua New Guinea en route for fuel stops, travelling 70,000km and performing to almost half a million fans."

Wait, what!? "a specially customized Boeing 757 airliner piloted for much of the time by vocalist Bruce Dickinson"!?! Amazing. Is there anything Bruce Dickenson can't do? According to his Wikipedia article, no.

"Dickinson's interests include literature, writing, fencing (at which he has competed internationally, and he also founded a fencing equipment company under the brand name Duellist), train technology and flying Boeing 757 charter jets for the UK charter airline Astraeus where he is employed as a First Officer. He was taught to fly by British Airways commercial pilot Captain Phil Dales.

In the summer of 2006, Dickinson flew about 200 UK citizens home from Lebanon during the Israel/Hezbollah conflict. On 12 February 2007, Dickinson was given permission to fly Rangers F.C. to Israel for their UEFA Cup game against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Dickinson asked if he could pilot this flight as soon as he found Astraeus had the contract for it. After the collapse of XL Airways UK in September 2008 he piloted an Iceland Express aeroplane and flew home 180 stranded holiday makers from Egypt, as well as a Boeing 747 with a group of british RAF pilots from Afghanistan. 'A lot of them recognised him because they are Maiden fans, but he was there in his professional capacity as a pilot,' says an RAF spokesman."

Uh.... Amazing.

Science!! Blowing You Mind In 2009

Almost all commercially produced liquid biofuels come from either sugary crops like sugar beet or cane, or starchy ones like potatoes or corn. But every acre used to cultivate those crops uses one that could grow food - potentially causing food shortages and pushing up prices.

Using woody material instead of crops could sidestep this to some extent by using biomass from more unproductive land. And producing biofuels from freshwater algae cultivated in outdoor ponds or tanks could also use land unsuitable for agriculture. But neither approach has been made commercially available.

Now a group at the Korea Institute of Technology in South Korea has developed a way to use seaweed to produce bioethanol and avoid taking up land altogether.

The group says seaweed has a number of advantages over land-based biomass. It grows much faster, allowing up to six harvests per year; unlike trees and plants, it does not contain lignin and so requires no pre-treatment before it can be turned into fuel; and it absorbs up to seven times as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as wood.

The group's patent suggests treating all sizes of algae - from large kelp to single-celled spirulina - with an enzyme to break them into simple sugars, which can then be fermented into ethanol.

The resulting seaweed biofuel is cheaper and simpler to produce than crop or wood-based fuels, and will have no effect on the price of food, says the group.

Click the hyperlink to read the full biofuels from marine algae patent application. Even though it can be kind of tough to wade through, it's worth it because the invention is awesome and I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that in 20 years this is where all our energy comes from.

Breaking News

From Maxim:

It’s about 10 minutes into our interview on a day off from shooting, and Morgan wants to talk tattoos. He starts ticking them off: a peace sign, a happy and sad face, a cross bearing the names of his ex-wife and three sons, the name of a friend he played football with in high school who was murdered. He lifts up his shirt, revealing his doughy torso as he displays the words ME, MYSELF, & I on his back. And then there’s STOVE TOP.

“I have a tattoo on the side of my penis that says STOVE TOP,” Morgan tells me proudly, referring to the instant stuffing mix. “I’m pretty well-endowed. A girl told me to get that because I stuffed her up like a turkey. She said, ‘You should call that Stove Top!’”

Awesome

Each Friday we drum up some cool trivia and quotes about amazing movies and not-so-amazing movies (read: pilfer the extensive trivia catalogues of IMDb) as a little treat for those thousands of loyal fans who stick it out till Friday afternoon to make sure they've read every. single. one. of our postings. This week: Batman Begins

There are a lot of reasons to write about a movie. It may touch you in ways long thought inappropriate. It may make you laugh, it may make you cry. I'm writing about 2005's Batman Begins because it is Derek Mumford's favorite movie.

Just kidding, I don't give a shit about that straightbacked sumbitch. I'm writing about Batman Begins because it holds the distinct honor of rebooting a long thought to be dead franchise through returning to both the source material and the new graphic novels surrounding the characters. 2005 was a big year for that (Frank Miller's Sin City was also released) but no movie combined a relatively fringe medium with blockbuster as successfully as Batman Begins. Hailed by many (including myself) as one of the best super-hero movies ever, Batman Begins certainly deserves a spot in our coveted "Awesome" column.

BATMAN BEGINS (2005)

- Before Christopher Nolan took over, director Darren Aronofsky was attached to make a Batman movie based on the graphic novel "Batman: Year One" and have the author Frank Miller write the screenplay. By 2003 there was a first draft screenplay with story boards, which are properties of AOL Time Warner. Warner's decision for not producing the film is unknown, but based on the details that have since leaked out, it would probably have to do with the screenplay, which strayed a considerable amount from the source material, making Alfred an African-American mechanic named "Big Al," the Batmobile being a souped-up Lincoln Towncar, and Bruce Wayne being homeless, among other things. This is all detailed in David Hughes' book "Tales from Development Hell."

- The device, on the heel of his boot, that the Batman uses to summon a swarm of bats is taken directly from Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One".

- The wide-shot of the house of the League of Shadows was entirely computer-generated.

- Before Christian Bale was cast as Batman, many other actors were considered for the role, including Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz and newcomer Hugh Dancy.

- Only days before the role of Batman was cast, eight actors were also asked to audition for the part. The actors were Christian Bale, Joshua Jackson, Eion Bailey, Hugh Dancy, Billy Crudup, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal. While Bale won the part, Christopher Nolan liked Murphy's audition so much, he cast him as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.

- Marilyn Manson was also considered for the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow and during earlier developments of the movie, Ewan McGregor was considered as well.

- Christian Bale lost his voice three times during filming after altering his voice while playing Batman.

- During filming of the scene where Batman is being towed by a train through the streets of Gotham, so much steam was used that it would "rain" on the cast and crew for several minutes after each take.

- The Batmobile, 9 feet wide and 16 feet long, has a top speed of 106 miles per hour and can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6 seconds. The engine is a 5.7 liter V8 Chevy. It runs on unleaded gas and can do about 7 miles per gallon. It has four 44-inch tires at the rear, made by Interco Tire Corp, while the front is covered in jagged plates of armor. It was designed and built by 'Chris Corbould' and Andrew Smith at Shepperton Studios in England. This Batmobile was built from the ground up and is estimated to be worth half a million pounds. It was designed by mashing together several different off-the-shelf model kits; its construction was so exacting to the model that they even duplicated the blobs of excess glue.

- Director Christopher Nolan decided that there would be no second unit, and so for the whole of the one hundred and twenty nine shooting days Nolan oversaw every shot of the film personally.

- The name of the commissioner on the film is "Loeb". However, this is NOT a reference to comic book writer Jeph Loeb, author of the graphic novels "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory", but rather simply the canonical name of the Gotham City police commissioner when Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham. This is shown in Frank Miller's Year One, which actually influenced both "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" and was published nearly a full decade before either of these.

- David S. Goyer said that the graphic novels "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" by Jeph Loeb were a huge influence on his screenplay. When he was asked the question, "What about Frank Miller's "Year One"?", he replied, "Our story is not "Year One"." An early draft of David S. Goyer's script leaked onto the Internet in April 2004.

- During the interviews he performed to promote the movie, Christian Bale continued using the American accent he'd adopted to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. He explained that he didn't want potential moviegoers to be confused about why Batman, an American institution, was being played by a Welshman.

- Christian Bale's trailer didn't have his name on the door but said "Bruce Wayne" instead.

- When the prisoners are all released from Arkham, briefly visible is Mr. Zsaz, a serial killer from the comics with tally marks scarred into his skin, representing each of his victims. Mr. Zsaz also appears in the courtroom in the beginning of the film where he is being transferred to Arkham Asylum by Dr. Crane.

- Contrary to the previous Batman films, in which the Batcave was realized as a combination of a live set and matte paintings (done either by hand or computer), no visual effects were used in this film to show the Batcave. The entire Batcave is instead a massive full-scale set.

- The score track names refer to Latin names of bat species. Also notice that the first letters of tracks 4-9 spell B A T M A N.

- Christian Bale had previously screen tested and was considered for the role of Robin in Batman Forever (1995).

- In the movie, Bruce Wayne is shown arriving at a fancy hotel in a Lamborghini Murciélago. The word "murciélago" is Spanish for bat (although the car itself was named after a prized bull owned by Don Antonio Miura, who had nothing to do with bats).

- Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by at one of the sets during filming.

- The sets were built in the Admiralty Hangar No. 2 at Cardington, one of the largest hangars in the world. The floor area is the size of 16 Olympic-size swimming pools. The No. 2 shed was assembled at the site in 1928 to house the British airship R100.

- A full city block of Gotham - much of it based on the slums of Kowloon in Hong Kong which were torn down in 1994 - was built in the hangar.

- The license plates for the Gotham related cars were designed in the same style as the Illinois state license plates. This was done to stay consistent with other vehicle license plates while filming the car chases in Chicago.

- Ra's Al Ghul is Arabic for "The Demon's Head". This refers to his position at the height of the Brotherhood of the Demon, also called the League of Shadows.

- A quote from Christian Bale that some of the crew had on the back of their t-shirts (the wardrobe department did it as a joke) said: "It's hot, dark and sweaty and it gives me a headache."

- Chris Cooper turned down the role of James Gordon.

- Kurt Russell and Dennis Quaid were considered for the role of James Gordon.

- Viggo Mortensen turned down Liam Neeson's role. Daniel Day-Lewis was also approached.

- Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Alfred but declined.

- Laurence Fishburne was considered for the role of Lucius Fox.

- The title went through many changes. First, it was known as "Batman 5". It became "Batman: The Frightening" for a while. To prevent script leaks, they were titled "Intimidation Game" to throw off the public, before settling on "Batman Begins".

- Filming was temporarily delayed on the London soundstage due to the sound of amorous pigeons in the rafters above.

- The crime boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone was a character from the comics. He was Gotham City's last "old school" gangster. He was killed, and his empire wiped out, when Batman's familiar rogues gallery came into prominence.

- On the set, the costumed Christian Bale constantly had two people trailing him to keep the Batsuit smudge-free.

- On a converted parking lot at Shepperton, the film crew built an entire village of trailers where chemists and costume artists made neoprene-and-foam-latex Batsuits. The place was dubbed "Cape Town."

- The script was written by David S. Goyer in the seven weeks before he was due to direct Blade: Trinity (2004), which he also wrote. Director Christopher Nolan took over the writing chores from there.

- While shooting on the streets of Chicago, a person accidentally crashed into the Batmobile. The driver was apparently drunk, and said he hit the car in a state of panic, believing the Dark Knight's vehicle to be an invading alien spacecraft.

- David S. Goyer mentioned in an interview that his favorite pre-audition choice for Batman was Jake Gyllenhaal, but that he was won over by Christian Bale after seeing his test.

- While filming in Lower Wacker Drive, in Chicago, Illinois, the filmmakers were so concerned for the care of the Batmobile, that they told the stunt driver to take as much time as he needed to make any move. Therefore, when it came time to back the Batmobile up, they went so slow as to cause traffic jams that had to be reported on the news. Simply moving the Batmobile around Chicago took numerous police as well as caused traffic jams where ever they went.

- Before the shooting began, Christopher Nolan invited the whole film crew to a private screening of Blade Runner (1982). After the film he said to the whole crew, "This is how we're going to make "Batman"."

- Christopher Nolan wrote in the character Rachel Dawes with Katie Holmes in mind. No other actresses were in serious consideration; it was hers to lose.

- Unlike most characters on the movie, Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes, doesn't exist in "Batman" or any other DC Comics' series. She was created by director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer.

- The "daylight" coming through the windows of Wayne Manor was created by a single 100,000-watt floodlight which weighed nearly 400 pounds.

- At the time of this film's release, Forbes Magazine did a breakdown of how much it would actually cost to become Batman. The magazine estimated that total expenses in US dollars would be around $3.5 million.

- The gun Bruce Wayne tosses in the river is a Brazilian six-shot Taurus.

- All the big name cast members were initially not told that the movie was a Batman movie as the script they were sent was titled "The Intimidation Game". Michael Caine commented that when he first saw the title, he assumed the script was some kind of gangster movie.

- A pair of Batman pajama bottoms can be seen hanging from the line in the scene where Batman talks to the little boy in the Narrows.

- Since Alfred's sense of duty and loyalty towards Bruce Wayne reminded him of the comradeship that exists in the military, Sir Michael Caine based his character's voice on that of a colonel he knew when he was in the army as an 18-year-old.

- The key "combination" that Bruce plays on the piano to open the secret entrance to the Bat Cave is comprised of three, two-note chords, starting three octaves above middle-C. The keys he presses are D-E, D-E (up an octave), and G-A. However, the tones heard in the soundtrack are actually a half-step down from the correct tones for the notes he plays. This may simply be a post-production soundtrack adjustment or variance, but could also be that the piano was tuned a half-step down, which is sometimes done on older pianos to reduce the 18-20 tons of string tension stress on their framing.

- Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski were approached to direct, and even wrote their own treatment based on Frank Miller's graphic novel "Batman: Year One", but turned down the offer and made the Matrix sequels instead.

- Broke opening weekend box office record for IMAX theaters.

- For the IMAX version, some of the theatres running older IMAX equipment, the credits for the movie wouldn't fit on the platters. IMAX and the theatres had to get special permission from Warner Brothers to show the movie without the credits.

- During production, DC Comics commissioned well known Batman artists to give their interpretation of the Dark Knight. The results were shown to Christopher Nolan and the cast to help give them a better idea of where the comic artists were coming from. Among the artists were James Jean, Jock, Tommy Lee Edwards and John Paul Leon.

- Early work on the script and the production design was conducted in the back of Christopher Nolan's garage. During the writing process, Nolan and David S. Goyer sometimes took walks near the site of the original Batcave from "Batman" (1966).

- Due to his part in Maquinista, El (2004) (aka The Machinist), Christian Bale was vastly underweight (about 120 pounds on his 6 foot+ frame) when he was under consideration for the part. After being cast, he was told to become as "big as you could be" by Christopher Nolan. Bale underwent a dietary and exercise regimen and ending up weighing about 220 pounds (about 40 pounds above his normal weight). It was decided that Bale had became too large (friends of his on the film's crew dubbed him "Fatman") and he quickly shed about 20 pounds to have leaner, more muscular frame.

- Alfred's last name is Pennyworth.

- When Christian Bale and Liam Neeson were fighting on the frozen lake they could hear the ice cracking beneath their feet. The next day, the lake was completely melted.

- Production designer Nathan Crowley said that the design of the Batmobile was largely influenced from the design seen in Frank Miller's graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns". The incarnation of the Batmobile was given the nickname "The Tumbler" by both filmmakers and Miller.

- Director Christopher Nolan is reputed to have been so fascinated with Cillian Murphy's bright blue eyes, that he kept trying to find reasons/ways to have Crane remove his glasses.

- In fact, Nolan was so fascinated that originally he didn't want to give Scarecrow a mask. Finally screenwriter David S. Goyer was able to talk him into it.

- Wayne Tower is based on the Chicago Board of Trade Building.

- The name of Arkham Asylum is inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

- The Gotham Police cruisers' color scheme is based on that of the New York Police Department. Gotham is meant by Bob Kane to be a caricature of New York City.

- In an interview with Moviefone, Christian Bale said that he became interested in playing Batman after a friend of his loaned him the graphic novel "Arkham Asylum" in 2000. After he read it, he told his agent that if anyone was making another Batman movie, he wanted in.

- The 2006 Forbes Fictional 15 ranks Bruce Wayne as the 7th richest fictional character with a net worth of approximately $6.8 billion.

- Batman's journey to Tibet, and his ninja training, were both elements introduced into the comic book by writer James Owsley in Batman #431 (March, 1989). The series editor, Denny O'Neil, made the issue part of the Batman Writers Bible that he would hand out to each new writer on the series, thus confirming the story's place in canon.

- According to DC Comics, Batman stands 6'2" and weighs 210 lbs. Christian Bale stands 6'0-1/2" (according to his IMDB profile) and at the time of filming weighed 210 lbs.

- There is no reference in Batman Begins to Ra's Al Ghul having any daughters; however, his daughter Talia is mentioned in the novelization by Ra's & Talia's creator Dennis O'Neil.

- The opera that young Bruce attends with his parents is "Mefistofele", composed in the mid-1800s by Arrigo Boito.

- The average length of a shot is 1.9 seconds.

- Instances with just one or two bats in the shot (such as the single bat gone astray inside Wayne's mansion) uses real bats, but each scene with a flock of bats had to be done using CG bats, since it was decided too difficult to control that many bats at once.

- Both Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, from Batman (1989), have said they were impressed by this film.

- Producer Larry J. Franco has a cameo as a Police Officer during the chase sequence.

- Director Christopher Nolan's uncle John Nolan has a cameo as the birthday party guest who tells Bruce Wayne that "the apple has fallen very far from the tree."

- "Batman" is said only 10 times throughout the film.

- Much of Batman's gear and apparel, including his cape and suit, is based on actual military technology. The cape was made with a technique called electrostatic flocking, taught to the crew by the British Ministry of Defense and normally used to decrease the night-vision visibility of objects. Nylon parachute fabric was brushed with glue and covered with fine hair-like material. An electrostatic current was then passed under the material, creating a dark sheen while maintaining the billowing appearance.

*SPOILERS* 

- The calling card the Joker leaves is a replica of the Joker Card from the 1989 graphic novel "Arkham Asylum".

- In the shot of the newspaper. the story about Bruce Wayne's mansion burning down is credited to Julie Ochipinti, the name of the movie's assistant set decorator.

- The Joker playing card presented to Batman at the end of the film carries an evidence label, this label reads that the officer who discovered it was a J. Kerr.

Science!! Blowing You Mind Since '89

I had wanted to write a Science update once a week when we started this blog, and now I think I have a good enough cache of Science magazines to find some real winners, so at the risk of saturating the blog today here is the inaugural post for "Science!!"

From The New Scientist, January 15th, 2009

DRIVING through the countryside south of Hanover, it would be easy to miss the GEO600 experiment. From the outside, it doesn't look much: in the corner of a field stands an assortment of boxy temporary buildings, from which two long trenches emerge, at a right angle to each other, covered with corrugated iron. Underneath the metal sheets, however, lies a detector that stretches for 600 metres.

For the past seven years, this German set-up has been looking for gravitational waves - ripples in space-time thrown off by super-dense astronomical objects such as neutron stars and black holes. GEO600 has not detected any gravitational waves so far, but it might inadvertently have made the most important discovery in physics for half a century.

For many months, the GEO600 team-members had been scratching their heads over inexplicable noise that is plaguing their giant detector. Then, out of the blue, a researcher approached them with an explanation. In fact, he had even predicted the noise before he knew they were detecting it. According to Craig Hogan, a physicist at the Fermilab particle physics lab in Batavia, Illinois, GEO600 has stumbled upon the fundamental limit of space-time - the point where space-time stops behaving like the smooth continuum Einstein described and instead dissolves into "grains", just as a newspaper photograph dissolves into dots as you zoom in. "It looks like GEO600 is being buffeted by the microscopic quantum convulsions of space-time," says Hogan.

If this doesn't blow your socks off, then Hogan, who has just been appointed director of Fermilab's Center for Particle Astrophysics, has an even bigger shock in store: "If the GEO600 result is what I suspect it is, then we are all living in a giant cosmic hologram." [Ed. Note: WHAAAAAA!?!]

"If the GEO600 result is what I suspect it is, then we are all living in a giant cosmic hologram."

The idea that we live in a hologram probably sounds absurd, but it is a natural extension of our best understanding of black holes, and something with a pretty firm theoretical footing. It has also been surprisingly helpful for physicists wrestling with theories of how the universe works at its most fundamental level.

The holograms you find on credit cards and banknotes are etched on two-dimensional plastic films. When light bounces off them, it recreates the appearance of a 3D image. In the 1990s physicists Leonard Susskind and Nobel prizewinner Gerard 't Hooft suggested that the same principle might apply to the universe as a whole. Our everyday experience might itself be a holographic projection of physical processes that take place on a distant, 2D surface.

The "holographic principle" challenges our sensibilities. It seems hard to believe that you woke up, brushed your teeth and are reading this article because of something happening on the boundary of the universe. No one knows what it would mean for us if we really do live in a hologram, yet theorists have good reasons to believe that many aspects of the holographic principle are true...

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Awesome

So it's no secret that everyone tied to the 2001 surprise hit The Fast & The Furious has fallen on some rough times. People didn't like Vin Diesel as much as I generally do, the franchise was cursed with watered down sequels and we saw Paul Walker all wasted and useless outside of Biftek one night (not good, everyone knows you should pass out in front of a cooler place so at least people think you got bombed somewhere classy...).

But it looks like the drought for both the franchise and these actors is about to come to a close with this follow-up to the already amazing teaser trailer that was released today.

Awesome

Each Friday we drum up some cool trivia and quotes about amazing movies and not-so-amazing movies (read: pilfer the extensive trivia catalogues of IMDb) as a little treat for those thousands of loyal fans who stick it out till Friday afternoon to make sure they've read every. single. one. of our postings. This week: Cloverfield

The story behind the marketing of Cloverfield is almost more amazing than any of the trivia surrounding the movie itself, so I will do my best to include both. 

For anyone who saw the movie - and if you haven't you should - the coolest part about the trivia is that it explains literally everything. No shot isn't there for a reason, no number or word isn't shown unless it connects to something else. It all fits together so well that the trivia, combined with the movie makes you feel like you're looking at a freshly completed cross-word puzzle. Or so I could imagine, having never finished a cross-word puzzle myself. Either way, without further adieu, Cloverfield.

CLOVERFIELD (2008)

- The first trailer for this movie played before Transformers (2007). It showed a giant explosion in the heart of New York City and the Statue of Liberty's head being thrown down a street. It was shot with a hand-held video recorder. There was no title.

- Jason (Mike Vogel) can be seen wearing a Slusho! T-shirt throughout the movie. Slusho! is a drink from J.J. Abrams' show "Alias" (2001) as well as a codename of the film's, and the shirt is the only time the beverage is acknowledged during the movie, with far more information hinted about it on the Internet.

- The film was shot in 34 days, in Los Angeles under the fake title "Slusho" and in New York under the fake title "Cheese". The Ferris wheel scene, the last in sequential order, was filmed on the first day. The scene inside Beth's parents' apartment, the first in sequential order, was filmed on the last day.

- While shooting in New York, the movie piggy-backed on the filming of I Am Legend, using the crowds and shooting permits to shoot their own scenes at the Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge shown in both I Am Legend and Cloverfield looks striking similar when watched in quick succession.

- The title "Cloverfield"; initially just a codename for the movie, is named for the boulevard in Santa Monica where the Bad Robot offices were located during the making of the film.

- The only reason people knew about the film at all was that J.J. Abrams Lawyer opened a company called Cloverfield sometime in 2005. All funds for the film were funneled through there, so no studio was publishing costs for Abrams' new movie.

- The new company, set up by Abrams' lawyer had a website. It turned out it was a Japanese company that made the specialty drink called "Slusho" (referred to above), the secret ingredient to which was a mysterious deep-water plankton that they were farming.

- There are suggestions that the deep-water plankton has something to do with waking the Cloverfield monster, angering the Cloverfield monster, or bringing it to earth in the first place. Or perhaps all three.

- The teaser trailer, as was planned, was shot before principal production began with digital cameras.

- The film has no music score and music for the end credits do not begin until 1 minute and 30 seconds after the credits start rolling.

- Prints were shipped to some theaters under the name "Bertha".

- The movie is viewed primarily from the point of view of Hud, the character who uses the camera the most. H.U.D. is short for Heads-Up Display, a method for overlaying information onto a view of one's surroundings such as Timestamps on video footage.

- During the first weekend of the release, many theaters posted signs warning guests that the hand held camera movements may cause motion sickness. My friend Kent actually barfed in the theatre.

- Lizzy Caplan (Marlena) did not know what she was auditioning for. She thought it was a romantic movie until her second audition, where she read a scene from "Alias" (2001). It wasn't until after she was offered the role that she found out it was a monster movie, and the actors weren't allowed to read the script until after they signed on.

- After signing on, the principle actors were allowed to read the whole script only once. From then on they were only given the shooting pages for that day, all of which were then collected at the end of the day and destroyed.

- The decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty in the street is inspired by the poster for John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), which depicts the head of the Statue of Liberty lying in the middle of the street.

- In the teaser trailer, the voice yelling "I saw it! It's alive! It's huge!" is that of Director Matt Reeves.

- The voice in the mysterious radio broadcast that plays after the end credits is director Matt Reeves.

- One of the original ideas for a title for the movie was "Greyshot," both a reference to the hand-held style of filming and the name of the bridge in Central Park where Rob and Beth take refuge.

- The voice yelling "Oh my God!" repeatedly when the head of the Statue of Liberty lands on the street is either producer Bryan Burk of J.J. Abrams. Both claim that it's them.

- The opening party scenes were filmed without music, and the guests in the background were silently pretending to talk to one another. All the music was added in post-production.

- The film begins on April 27 and ends on May 23 at the exact same time: 6.42 AM.

- Images from King Kong (1933), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), and Them! (1954) are hidden within the film. Each image is seen extremely briefly, for only a single frame, during a camera edit. The "Them!" picture is shown at 00.24.06, the "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" picture is shown at 00.45.27, and the "King Kong" picture is shown at 1.06.55. A brief clip of Rob and Beth at a train station is seen with the "King Kong" image at 1.06.51.

- The head of the Statue of Liberty is shown about 50% larger than actual size. CG supervisor David Vickery said in an interview that many people imagined the head being much bigger than it actually is, and that the size was increased due to complaints that the head looked too small in the trailer.

- Cameo: [Laetitia Casta] Model in the poster inside the Sephora shop exterior where Lily, Marlena, Rob and Hud stop after running from the Brooklyn Bridge, before Rob enters the electronics store.

- The rats used in the tunnel scene were specially-trained and colored with a dark, charcoal-like substance to give them the appearance of wild, dirty tunnel rats. The rats in the final shot were completely computer-generated.

- J.J. Abrams has used the number 47 extensively on past projects. In "Alias" (2001) it played great importance as a page on Rambaldi's manuscript, and as a recurring pointer to important motifs. It should come as no surprise that "Cloverfield" is the designation to the case of the images found on Area US-447. Also, in the scenes where they're taking the stairs up to the top of the skyscrapers to save Beth, one of the floor numbers filmed is the 47th.

- One of the promotional websites, Jamieandteddy.com (password "jllovesth"), shows videologs (vlogs) made by the title couple about their relationship (which turns sour). Jamie Lascano is only seen at the party unceremoniously unconscious on the couch, and Teddy Hanssen is nowhere to be found (although on 1-18-08.com, he is now identified as "missing"). The actors who play either of the two are not confirmed. Though it has been speculated that Jamie is played by Blake Lively, this is incorrect.

- The crossfire sequence was shot in one night on the Warner Brothers New York Street lot in Burbank. The extras playing soldiers fired real blanks from their weapons for the first couple of takes until 10:00 pm, when noise ordinances forced them to use quiet flash bulb alternatives.

- Eric Leven -- the visual effects supervisor -- refers to the monster as "Clover".

- According to Neville Page, creature designer -- the monster is a baby in a new environment -- "spooked" and looking for its mother.

- There are rumors stemming from this comment from Page that Cloverfield II will surround the mother coming to earth as well.

- According to Annie Pomeranz - visual effects producer - puppets were used in the scene involving the "parasites" inside the tunnel but the scene turned out to be more interactive than originally thought and CGI animation was required. However, Matt Reeves - the director - states that the scenes with the puppets were too "goofy".

SPOILERS:

SPOILER: Right before the credits, in the last Coney Island scene, as the camera looks out at the ocean, you can see a large but far away object fall into the ocean and make a splash.

SPOILER: After viewing a cut of the film, Steven Spielberg suggested giving the audience a hint at the fate of the monster during the climax. This resulted in the addition of the broadcast overheard on the military helicopter's radio, as well as the sounding of air raid sirens, both to signal the forthcoming "Hammerdown" bombing mentioned earlier in the film.

SPOILER: Hud was originally going to survive, but producer J.J. Abrams suggested having him getting eaten by the monster, allowing the audience to vicariously experience this. The scene was then planned as having Hud getting eaten instantly after turning around, but it was decided that the audience deserved a good look at the monster, which resulted in the longer shot with the monster leaning down to inspect Hud before biting and killing him.

SPOILER: It was originally intended for the Brooklyn Bridge to be destroyed by one of the monster's hands, but it was decided that this seemed too deliberate. It was changed to the monster's tail destroying the bridge, which seemed more accidental.

SPOILER: According to Director Matt Reeves in the DVD documentary, the last shot of the film, when Rob and Beth are on Coney Island, was the very first shoot of principal photography, while the very first scene in Beth's dad's apartment was the very last shoot of principal photography.

Awesome

Starting this week, each Friday I'm going to drum up some cool trivia and quotes about amazing movies and not-so-amazing movies (read: pilfer the extensive trivia catalogues of IMDb) as a little treat for those thousands of loyal fans who stick it out till Friday afternoon to make sure they've read every. single. one. of our postings. This week: Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is of course one of Eric Q. Grimes' favorite movies of all time, which in and of itself should be internationally know trivia for the picture. But seeing as Richard Kelly has never worked with William H. Macey (triviaaaaaa!), it's of little surprise that he ignores our good friend Eric. Anyways it's in the spirit of ignoring Grimes that the inaugural launch of "Awesome" is dedicated to that funny little ginger.

Donnie Darko (2001)

- The movie was shot in 28 days, exactly the time-span of the movie itself, on a budget of under US$5 million.

- In the scene at the house party someone is shown jumping on a trampoline, wearing a Ronald Reagan mask. This is taken from a photo of the journalist Hunter S. Thompson wearing a Reagan mask while jumping on a trampoline.

- In the film Donnie refers to "Married with Children" (1987) and, more specifically, Christina Applegate during conversations about sex with his therapist. The script initially called for Donnie's fantasies to be about Alyssa Milano. This had to be changed however when Richard Kelly was denied the legal rights to reference her in this manner.

- In the theater scene, Richard Kelly originally intended to have Donnie and Gretchen going to see C.H.U.D. (1984). However, there were problems with finding out who owned the rights to the movie. Finally, Sam Raimi came to the rescue by allowing Kelly to use and distort footage from The Evil Dead (1981), free of charge.

- Noah Wyle's character, Prof. Kenneth Monnitoff, is seen eating hard candy in some scenes because Wyle decided his character would be diabetic.

- Richard Kelly's original choice for the music to be played over the final sequence was 'U2''s "MLK." After difficulties obtaining the rights to the song, it was decided to use Gary Jules' cover of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World" instead.

- Richard Kelly originally wanted Tim Robbins to play the part of Donnie's father.

- The original poster art for the movie had been using an Arabic-style font, but this was changed to the much more standard Times New Roman boldface font for the video release after the terrorist attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001. The title remains in the same style in the film, though.

- Jason Schwartzman was replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal, due to Schwartzman's scheduling conflicts.

- Director Richard Kelly modeled the tone of the film after Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962). Elizabeth Darko (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is even dressed as Vivian Darkbloom (Marianne Stone) from Lolita at the Halloween party.

- One of the deleted scenes involves Donnie's English class discussing Richard Adams's novel Watership Down (1978), the plot of which involves a rabbit who prophesies the impending destruction of the rabbit warren. This scene was later included in the actual feature when the director's cut of the movie was released on DVD.

- During the open shots of the Halloween Party shown later in the film, in the background the sound of a wolf howling can be heard. It is the howl of the werewolf from An American Werewolf in London (1981).

- When Donnie's mother is calling to say how they'll be on the red-eye flight, the airport announcement in the background says that Flight 2806 is boarding at gate 42 and leaving at 12 AM. Presumably this is the flight they're taking, and also a reference to the 28:06:42:12 countdown that Frank gives Donnie.

- There are 28 scenes in the director's cut of the film. (Frank says the world will end in 28 days 06 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds)

- The movie takes place in 1988. Frank tells Donnie the world will end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. If you add these numbers, the sum is 88. When Samantha asks when she can have kids, Donnie says: "Not until 8th grade." Donnie mentions to his therapist that his dog Callie died when he was eight. (He is later seen holding a stuffed toy dog in her office.) According to the television reporter, the fire at Jim Cunningham's house was extinguished "sometime after 8:00 last night." The climax of Donnie Darko occurs one week before the 1988 US presidential election. George Bush was elected on November 8, 1988 [11/08/88].

- The scene where Donnie corrects Gretchen was improvised because the actress could not say the word.

- The shot of the bike ride to Grandma Death's house is an homage to Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), in which, Drew Barrymore also starred.

- The first scene in the movie is an homage to Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). The same movie is also labeled as showing at the movie theater.

- Jim Cunningham [The Swayze] depicts drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex as "instruments of fear." In the movie, Donnie smokes a cigarette, drinks alcohol, and engages in premarital sex. The climax of the movie occurs after he surrenders to all three temptations.

- When Donnie tells Gretchen he accidentally burned down a house, they are walking directly in front of Jim Cunningham's house. The Life Line Exercise Card that Donnie reads is about a girl finding a lost wallet. Later, Donnie finds Jim Cunningham's wallet on the sidewalk outside his mansion.

- In the "Cunning Visions" infomercial, Jim Cunningham pats a child on his behind. The young boy who wants to learn how to fight at the school assembly is the same boy in Jim Cunningham's infomercial (Larry Riesman).

- The film Donnie Darko and Stephen King's It (1990) (TV) both feature a knife-wielding bully. The primary bully is named Seth Devlin. His surname is a reference to the devil. A sticker inside Seth Devlin's locker reads: "What would Satan do?"

- According to the director's commentary, the book which Eddie Darko is reading in bed is Stephen King's "The Tommyknockers", the cover of which "some bastard stole from the set". Earlier in the film, Eddie's wife Rose is reading King's "It".

- Donnie mentions the DeLorean car, which was used for time travel in Back to the Future (1985). In that film the DeLorean had to reach a speed of 88 mph to travel in time.

- Rose Darko is reading the Stephen King book "It". In the book, children in a small town are terrorized by a clown. Later in the film, we see an encounter between Donnie and a clown.

- The dance performance in the movie is actually performed to "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe). Due to budgetary constraints, however, the song had to replaced by Duran Duran's "Notorious" in post-production.

- When casting for the role of Donnie's sister, it came to Richard Kelly's attention that Maggie Gyllenhaal (who had few film credits at the time) would be available for the shoot. The agent who proposed her casting reminded Kelly of her scene in Cecil B. DeMented (2000), where she drank urine. Though Kelly was slightly hesitant towards the idea, he did like the way she drank urine--and knew he wouldn't have to work hard at creating a sibling rivalry between her and her brother, star Jake Gyllenhaal.

- The song that plays as Donnie is riding his bike home in the theatrical version is "The Killing Moon" by Echo & The Bunnymen. As Gretchen waits for the school bus, a Volkswagen Rabbit vehicle quickly passes in front of her. When Elizabeth Darko is sleeping on the recliner, there is a stuffed rabbit next to her. As Donnie reaches for the car keys, there is a Polaroid picture of him and his sister in Halloween costumes on the desk. Donnie is dressed as a rabbit. When Donnie is talking to his sister after his mom leaves near the end, a "jack o lantern" bunny is seen on the table. Frank, the rabbit, often appears near a water source (sprinklers, water main, faucet).

- The words "Cellar Door" are written on the chalkboard in Karen Pommeroy's classroom. When Donnie asks about their meaning, she replies that "This famous linguist once said that of all the phrases in the English language, of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, that Cellar Door is the most beautiful." In the director's commentary Richard Kelly mistakenly attributes the phrase to Edgar Allan Poe, but it was actually J.R.R. Tolkien who, in his 1955 essay "English and Welsh", said that "Most English-speaking people . . . will admit that cellar door is 'beautiful', especially if dissociated from its sense (and from its spelling). More beautiful than, say, sky, and far more beautiful than beautiful."

- Newmarket Films, the movie's US distributor, approached Richard Kelly about doing a director's cut. He accepted the offer and did the re-edit with editor Sam Bauer in a swift nine days. Comparably, it would take him a full 5 years before he was ready to step behind the camera again to film the universally panned "Southland Tales".

- Richard Kelly received only $9,000 to write and direct Donnie Darko which had a budget of 4.5 million dollars.

- The character Karen Pomeroy's name is a reference to Wardell B. Pomeroy, a sex researcher at the Kinsey Institute.

- Seth Rogen's feature film debut.