cult films

“four interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on new year’s eve.”

dirs.: allison anders, alexandre rockwell, robert rodriguez & quentin tarantino
comedy
1995 

this movie features the collaborative directorial efforts of four new filmmakers, each of whom directs a segment of this comedy.

facts:
- the film was originally to be titled “five rooms,” with richard linklater contributing a segment; however, he withdrew before production began.
- the original idea for the film came from alexandre rockwell.
- the role of ted was originally written with steve buscemi in mind.
- quentin tarantino’s “a band apart” production logo at the beginning of the film shows tim roth’s “mr. orange” unzipping his character from reservoir dogs and becoming the bell hop character for four rooms.
- the video game being played by betty and her friends is rambo iii for the sega genesis, however some scenes show her playing “rambo” for the nintendo entertainment system.
- ted can be seen with the two cherries from the missing ingredient at the beginning of the misbehavers.
- before “the misbehavers” turn to the “porno” channel, they are watching the short film bedhead, also written and directed by robert rodriguez.- just before ted answers a call from the man in “the misbehavers”, a package of red apple cigarettes is visible near the switchboard. this fictitious brand of cigarettes features in other quentin tarantino films.
- robert rodriguez and antonio banderas shot their segment one week after wrapping up the filming of desperado.
- in the fourth room the alfred hitchcock presents episode they call “the man from rio (or reno)” is actually called “man from the south” (ep. #5.15) 1/3/1960.
- in the final segment, “the man from hollywood”, which last 21 minutes, the word “fuck” or a variant of it is said 193 times.
- the “one minute” chester asks ted to sit on the stool and listen to his proposal actually lasts one minute and twenty eight seconds of screen time.
- the reason bruce willis is not credited is because he violated sag rules for acting in this film for no money. he appeared for fun and as a favor to quentin tarantino, and acting for free violated sag rules. sag agreed not to sue willis if his name was not included in the credits. but his hairstylist does appear.
- the film continues until the credits are halfway over.
- madonna won the 1995 razzie award for worst supporting actress for her part in “the missing ingredient”.

+: wiki 

(Source: cultfilms)

by nicolas guerin
+: see more
+: his website 

a collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.

dir.: risa bramon garcia

comedy / drama
1999

cameo by elvis costello

soundtrack:
- “cruel to be kind” by nick lowe
- “in the flesh” by blondie
- “just what i needed” by the cars
- “our lips are sealed” by the go-go’s
- “i want candy” by bow wow wow
- “i don’t care” by the ramones
- “boogie wonderland” by girls against boys
- “ladies night” by kool & the gang
- “it’s different for girls” by joe jackson
- “nowhere girl” by b. movie
- “more than this” by roxy music
- “romeo and juliet” by dire straits
- “peace, love and understanding” by elvis costello
- “medley: rapture/maria/no exit” by blondie

amongst other shots of famous 80’s music

+: imdb

“if you only remember one thing I’ve said, remember this; james brown is the baddest motherfucker in show business.”

first rule of  ██████ is you don’t talk about  ██████

(Source: radlounge)

“a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse. before the day was over, they broke the rules…”

dir.: john hughes
comedy / drama
1985

facts:
- the film’s title comes from the nickname invented by students and staff for detention at new trier high school, the school attended by the son of one of john hughes’ friends. thus, those who were sent to detention were designated members of “the breakfast club”. “the breakfast club” at that school probably took its name in turn from the title of american radio’s longest running network entertainment show, broadcast from chicago, 1933 to 1968.
- the library in which this movie takes place was actually constructed in the gymnasium of maine north high school specifically for the film. the school closed down in 1982, two years before filming began. the building had been used for park district purposes and the chicago blitz before the illinois state police bought it, turning it into a police station, which it still is to this day.
- claire’s entire ensemble was purchased specially for the character from a ralph lauren store, the only one in chicago at the time. hughes had rejected the original costume on the grounds that it wasn’t sophisticated enough. 
- john hughes insisted that the entire cast and crew eat their meals on location in the maine north high school cafeteria.
- john hughes wrote the screenplay to this movie in just two days (4 and 5 july 1982).
- shot entirely in sequence.
- the joke that bender tells but never finishes (while crawling through the ceiling) actually has no punchline. according to judd nelson, he ad-libbed the line. originally, he was supposed to tell a joke that would end when he came back into the library and said, “forgot my pencil”, but no one could come up with a joke for that punchline.
- the license plate on brian’s mothers’s car is emc 2. the license plate on andrew’s fathers’s car is ohiost.
- the scene in which all characters sit in a circle on the floor in the library and tell stories about why they were in detention was not scripted. john hughes told them all to ad-lib.
- judd nelson made up many of the terms used in the movie, including ‘neo-maxi zoomdweebie’.
- the theme song, “don’t you (forget about me)”, was written for the film by keith forsey. it was a number one hit for simple minds, and both billy idol and bryan ferryturned down offers to record it first (although in 2001, billy idol recorded don’t you (forget about me) as a bonus track for his greatest hits album). the song was also turned down by chrissie hynde of the pretenders who then suggested they offer it to the band fronted by her husband at the time, simple minds. 
- the david bowie quote at the beginning of the movie is pulled from his song ‘changes’. it can be found on the 1971 album, ‘hunky dory’.
- the song which judd nelson hums the guitar riff to at the beginning of the movie is the opening tune to “sunshine of your love” by cream.
- before john bender says: “oh, shit - what are we supposed to do if we have to take a piss? “, he begins to hum a song while playing an air guitar. the song was “sunshine of your love” by eric clapton.
- the switchblade used in the movie actually belonged to judd nelson. he explained that he had it for protection purposes.
- alison does not speak until 33 minutes into the film.
- what they ate for lunch: andy (andrew): a bag of chips, chocolate cookies, three sandwiches, milk, a banana and an apple. claire: sushi (rice, raw fish and seaweed). allison: a sandwich with pixie stix and cap’n crunch cereal. john: nothing. brian: soup, sandwich with peanut butter and jam and apple juice.

by olaf cuadras ferré

a young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. then he meets hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.

dir.: spencer susser
drama 
2010

joseph gordon-levitt as hesher
devin brochu as t.j.
rainn wilson as paul forney
piper laurie as grandma
natalie portman as nicole

some facts:

- elephants make several appearances in the film. rainn wilson’s character is watching a tv show about elephants and we hear them in the background, the car dealership has a large pink elephant on the roof and beside t.j’s bed there is a figurine of another elephant. 
- in the pool scene, hesher asks r2 to shut down all the trash compactors. this refers to r2-d2 from star wars. director spencer susser also directed a tv special short, r2-d2: beneath the dome (1992). 
- all of hesher’s “persona”, according to joseph gordon-levitt, is inspired by late bass player from metallica, cliff burton. not only that, but the movie features a significant amount of music from the “burton” era, including the solo that hesher plays in the garage (anesthesia, from the kill ‘em all album) and, of course, the hesher lettering. 
- most of the songs on the film’s soundtrack are tracks from american heavy metal band metallica and british hard rockers motorhead.
- hesher (slang/noun): a person who is a fan of, and displays the appearance of heavy metal or hard rock music. a male enthusiast of heavy metal music, particularly one who adopts the hair style and dress of his idols. the female equivalent is a hesher-chick.