The movies to see are:
The Monuments Men
Trivia
- From a newspaper report dated 13 December 2013: Police broke into the flat of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi art dealer who hoarded hundreds of works believed to have been looted by the Third Reich. Gurlitt has been the focus of huge media attention after a trove of over 1,400 previously unknown masterpieces were uncovered in his Munich flat. A task force appointed to research the origin of the art has said that around 590 pictures fall into the category of art looted or extorted by the Nazis from Jewish collectors. These include pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Munch and Cezanne among others.
- Originally slated for a December 2013 release, with an awards/holiday season aim. In a rare move, Director George Clooney asked the studio for more time for post-production due to the special effects not being ready, knowing this would make it very unlikely to receive awards attention (uncommon for an early-year release). Reluctantly, the studio put it to the following February.
- When Sam Epstein (Dimitri Leonidas) sees a Rembrandt's painting for the first time (a self-portrait from c.1645), his face is lit with a Rembrandt style (a key light coming from a side of the frame creates a chiaroscuro marking a small triangle on the cheek not receiving the light directly.)
- Daniel Craig was cast in a role but ultimately he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Matt Damon replaced him.
- As mentioned in the jail scene between Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett, the office in Paris where the Nazis amass their stolen art was the Galerie du Jeu de Paume, located next to Place de la Concorde in the heart of the city. The real Hermann Göring visited the museum 20 times during the war and cherry-picked over 700 items for his private collection.
- The actor playing the older Frank Stokes visiting the Madonna of Bruges at the end is George Clooney's father, Nick Clooney.
- True to depiction in the film, Neuschwanstein Castle served as a repository during World War II for many works of art looted from conquered European nations by the Nazis.
- The character of Claire Simone, played by Cate Blanchett appears to have been based on Rose Valland, a Parisian museum curator who was drafted by the Nazis during the occupation of Paris to assist with art acquisitions. As depicted in this film and in the documentary The Rape of Europa (2006), Valland secretly kept a detailed ledger of all works that passed through Nazi hands, the original (often Jewish) owner of each work, and the location in Germany where each item was eventually transported.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Trivia
- Wes Anderson's seventh collaboration with Bill Murray.
- Bill Murray's character's name can be read in hungarian as "Mi van?" which means: "What's going on?".
- Tilda Swinton underwent hours in the makeup chair to play the 84-year-old dowager Madame D. "We're not usually working with a vast, Bruckheimer-type budget on my films, so often we're trying a work-around," says director Wes Anderson. "But for the old-age makeup I just said, 'Let's get the most expensive people we can.'"
- Angela Lansbury was originally cast in the movie but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with the stage production of Driving Miss Daisy and was replaced by Tilda Swinton.
- Saoirse Ronan's character is responsible for making the hotel's signature confection, the Courtisane au Chocolat. "Making them wasn't easy," says Ronan. "Forget the action scenes in Hanna - these little pastries were the hardest thing I've had to do in a movie."
- The snowy rock formation in the background of the wedding scene is the so-called Saxonian Switzerland in Saxonia, Germany.
- Jeff Goldblum plays Deputy Kovacs. In 1984's "Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984)", Goldblum played comedian Ernie Kovacs.
Dallas Buyers Club
Trivia
- The budget was also so low for this film that only two-hundred and fifty dollars ($250) was allotted to the Makeup department. Amazingly, the film's artists were able to work within that figure, and the film's Makeup and Hairstyling won an Oscar.
- Matthew McConaughey lost 47 pounds in assuming his role as an AIDS patient. Newspapers reported his new looks as "terribly gaunt" and "wasting away to skin and bones".
- The movie went through various stages before finally being financed with the help of Matthew McConaughey. The first director/actor duo who tried to get the movie made were Brad Pitt and Marc Forster and also Ryan Gosling and Craig Gillespie. Woody Harrelson was also involved with the project at one point.
- Jared Leto stayed in character as Rayon throughout filming. At one point, he went grocery shopping in character at a local Whole Foods where he received numerous stares and double takes.
- The film marked Jared Leto's return to acting after 5 years.
- Jared Leto lost 30 pounds for his role.
- Leto's and Garner's characters didn't exist in real life.
- Such were the budgetary constraints on this 25-day shoot, no customary lighting setups were used for the only camera that was hand-held for takes lasting up to 15 minutes. Rehearsals were excluded and, to the relief of the actors, no post-production looping requested.
- During the mid-1990s, Dennis Hopper was attached as director with Woody Harrelson as Woodroof, but financial backing was impossible to secure.
- Major League Baseball player Adam Dunn, a friend of producer Joe Newcomb, helped finance the film and appears in the non-speaking, uncredited role of Neddie Jay, the bartender.
- This is the fifth movie to win best actor & best supporting actor oscars (for Matthew McConaughey & Jared Leto), Going My Way (1944),The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Ben-Hur (1959) & Mystic River (2003) Being The Others.
- Hilary Swank was cast but she dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
- This movie marks the second collaboration between Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn, eight years after their first collaboration, in Sahara (2005).
Notes from the last meeting
Notable Phillip Seymour Hoffman films
- Love Lucy
- Doubt
- The Big Lebowski
- Boogie Nights
- The Master
- Almost Famous
- The Savages
- A Late Quartet
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Other notable films
- Jane Mansfield's Car
- The Intouchables
- Enough Said
Notable TV shows
- Veep
- Episodes
- Californication
- Damages
