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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Movies in Movies
| Scenes from this film classic featuring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed have appeared in dozens of films, including 'The Ref', 'Home Alone' and 'Bruce Almighty'. What is the name of this Christmas-related cinema favorite? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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It's a Wonderful Life. The 1946 classic 'It's a Wonderful Life', directed by Frank Capra, has become so enmeshed in Americana that it is no wonder that the film is 'sampled' rather often in other films. You can literally find dozens of films in which 'It's a Wonderful Life' is referenced, featured or spoofed.
Plot: 'It's a Wonderful Life' is about a man who does his best to help his family and his Building and Loan survive during the depression years in the small town of Bedford Falls.
| The 2002 movie 'Adaptation' features a scene in which Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) literally walks right onto the set of which other film? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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Being John Malkovich. The scripts for both 'Being John Malkovich' and 'Adaptation' were written by Charlie Kaufman. Since the story behind 'Adaptation' is supposed to be taking place around the time that 'Being John Malkovich' is being made, it makes sense that Kaufman would be interacting somehow with this film within a film.
Plot: In 'Being John Malkovich', some people discover a pathway into the soul of actor John Malkovich. They are able to experience things through the actor's eyes, resulting in bizarre consequences.
| During one scene in 'The Shawshank Redemption', a classic Hollywood film is being shown to the prisoners. Which film, starring Rita Hayworth, is featured here? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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Gilda. 'Gilda', starring Hayworth, Glenn Ford and George Macready and directed by Charles Vidor, has been referenced or featured in a number of films and television shows over the years. The particular scene they show in 'The Shawshank Redemption' where Rita Hayworth flips her hair over her head after being asked 'Gilda, are you decent?' and responds, 'Me? Sure, I'm decent.' is a classic.
Plot: 'Gilda' is a noiresque love-triangle about a casino owner, his unfaithful wife and her former lover who has been hired as the assistant to the casino owner.
| Released in 2001, 'Donnie Darko' has already become a cult classic film. In one scene, Donnie takes a date to a movie theater where they watch which 1980's horror cult classic? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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The Evil Dead. The director of 'Donnie Darko', Richard Kelly, not only got permission from director Sam Raimi to feature 'The Evil Dead' (1981) in his film, he was also allowed to distort the picture on the screen in the movie theater at which the film was being played.
Plot: 'The Evil Dead' is about a group of young people who become trapped in a small house that is haunted by the spirits of the dead.
| The Grim Reaper appears in the 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie 'The Last Action Hero', walking directly off the movie screen from which classic 1950s film? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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The Seventh Seal. The classic portrayal of Death by Bengt Ekerot is renewed once again in 'The Last Action Hero', though, of course, once the Grim Reaper emerges through the movie screen he is portrayed by none other than Ian McKellen!
Plot: A crusading knight and his squire return from the Crusades. 'The Seventh Seal' deals with the struggles of the knight, to find meaning in his existence.
| In the 1995 film 'Twelve Monkeys', directed by Terry Gilliam, which classic movie by Hitchcock (and featuring James Stewart) is seen by the characters Cole and Railly in a brief excerpt? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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Vertigo. The film 'Vertigo' greatly influenced the 1962 French film 'La Jetée', upon which 'Twelve Monkeys' is partially based. The Cole and Railly characters were played by Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe, respectively.
Plot: 'Vertigo' is about a former detective, with a fear of heights, who is hired to follow the wife of a friend who is believed to have become possessed by another woman's spirit.
| The 1994 Peter Jackson-directed film 'Heavenly Creatures' features scenes and excerpts from which classic film noir, featuring Orson Welles and directed by Carol Reed? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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The Third Man. Like 'The Third Man', 'Heavenly Creatures' features a bizarre fantasy world in which murder becomes a subplot. In 'Heavenly Creatures', the two lead characters (one played by Kate Winslet) make Orson Welles and his Harry Lime character from 'The Third Man' one of their obsessions.
Plot: In 'The Third Man', a man named Holly Martens (Joseph Cotten) becomes embroiled in a murder mystery involving a former friend named Harry Lime (Orson Welles) who he believes has recently been killed.
| In the 1992 film 'The Player', studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) goes to a movie theater to find a hard-luck case screenwriter (Vincent D'Onofrio) who he believes has been threatening him. What classic Italian film do they watch at the theater? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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The Bicycle Thief. It's difficult to say exactly what the significance of 'The Bicycle Thief' has for 'The Player', but it could be a message about the difference between the hard realism of the former film, as opposed to the vibrant fantasy world created in the latter. In addition, the down-on-his-luck lead character in 'The Bicycle Thief' resembles somewhat the D'Onofrio character in that neither are able to cope with a changing, dog-eat-dog world.
Plot: 'The Bicycle Thief' is about a working class man whose bike goes missing on the very day that he finds a good-paying job. He spends the rest of the film relentlessly pursuing his bicycle, which is essential to his work.
| In the 1989 film 'When Harry Met Sally' there is one fantastic split-screen scene featuring both lead characters viewing perhaps the all-time greatest romantic film. Which film classic do the Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan characters watch simultaneously? | Movies Featured in Other Movies
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Casablanca. 'Casablanca' is the prototypical film about two star-crossed lovers whose love is unable to survive for various reasons. In 'When Harry Met Sally', the two lead characters also seem to have a wedge between them. 'Casablanca', starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, has been referenced, spoofed and/or featured in literally dozens of movies.
Plot: 'Casablanca' takes place in World War II Morocco. There, the Bergman and Bogart characters, once lovers, meet under trying circumstances. The Bogart character attempts to help Bergman and her husband escape the clutches of the Vichy French regime.
Red River. Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges) and Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) sit in the local theater and watch the last film performance that is going to be shown there, a screening of the John Wayne classic 'Red River'. Thus the title of the Peter Bogdanovich-directed film 'The Last Picture Show'.
Plot: 'Red River' is about a group of cattle drivers who make the difficult trek north from Texas with their herds, made even more treacherous by the fact that the owner of the cattle (John Wayne) has a ruthless disregard for the men's lives.
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| (1993) Nora Ephron’s "Sleepless in Seattle" featured an old, romantic movie that was either watched, or referred to by a number of the movie’s characters. Annie and Becky were watching it (and crying over it) when Annie composed her letter to Sam, choosing the suggested meeting place from the climatic scene in the film. Sam’s sister, Suzy was a big fan, and recognized the reference in Annie’s letter. Even Jessica, Jonah’s friend, knew the movie, and convinced Jonah that he had to go and meet the writer of the letter.
What was the name of this film within the film? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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An Affair to Remember. In "An Affair to Remember", Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr played a couple who met and fell in love while crossing the Atlantic on a ship. Since they were both engaged to other people, they agreed to separate and take six months to get their lives in order. They chose Valentine’s Day as the time to reunite, and the top of the Empire State building as the spot. Kerr’s character missed the meeting, because she was hit by a car and paralyzed. Of course they eventually got together.
In "Sleepless in Seattle", Annie also suggested that she and Sam meet on top of the Empire State building, on Valentine’s day.
| (1999) Paul Edgecomb was in charge of Death Row in a 1930’s prison. It was his job to oversee the execution of prisoners, including John Coffey, a man who was not only innocent of the crimes he was sentenced to die for, but who also had an amazing gift for healing. Edgecomb struggled a great deal with his dilemma, aided only by Coffey’s willingness to lay down his burden and find eternal rest. Before Coffey was executed, the guards allowed him his last request, to see a moving picture show. He watched this with the wide-eyed enjoyment of a child.
What was the name of this amazing movie from 1999? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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The Green Mile. Frank Darabont directed this amazing movie, which was based on a Stephen King novel. Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan were absolutely brilliant as Edgecomb and Coffey, backed by the talents of David Morse, Bonnie Hunt and James Cromwell. The movie that Coffey watched before his execution was "Top Hat" (1935), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. While Coffey watched this, he said it was like watching the angels dance.
| (1984) Billy’s father brought him home a very unusual Christmas gift with three strict rules: keep it out of bright light, don’t get it wet, and don’t feed it after midnight. Billy soon found out why these rules were so important, when they were accidentally broken. The town became overrun with little monsters that took time off from their destruction to watch "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the local theatre.
What was the name of this funny, yet scary film? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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Gremlins. Joe Dante directed this film that, although set at Christmas time, wasn’t exactly a Christmas movie. Hoyt Axton, Zach Gilligan and Phoebe Cates starred. The scene where the gremlins were singing along with the Seven Dwarfs was decidedly creepy.
| (1981) In "An American Werewolf in London", two young men were attacked by a werewolf while wandering the English moors. Jack was killed outright, but David soon found that he was becoming a werewolf himself. David was frequently visited by both his friend Jack, in progressive stages of decay, and his victims. They all kept trying to convince David to kill himself, so that their souls could find rest.
What kind of movie was playing when they gathered together at the theatre? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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an adult movie. According to this version of the werewolf legend, the victims of werewolves (those killed outright, and not turned into werewolves themselves) were condemned to the life of the undead, as long as any in the bloodline of the werewolf that killed them was still alive. It was very surreal to see the decaying bodies, and listen to them advise David on ways to kill himself, while the moans and groans of an adult sex film played in the background.
John Landis, of “Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers” fame, directed.
| (2001) Jennifer Lopez was "The Wedding Planner", a young woman who made the colossal mistake of falling in love with the groom of one of the weddings she had been hired to coordinate. Who played the intended groom, a doctor who she bumped into at the screening of an outdoor movie? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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Matthew McConaughey. Adam Shankman directed this romantic comedy that ended happily, with McConaughey and his intended bride realising that they didn’t really want to get married, leaving him free to love Lopez.
The outdoor screening was accomplished by projecting the movie onto the side of a sky rise.
McConaughey was chosen as "People" magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, for 2005.
| (1967) Loosely based on a true story, this film told of a pair of lovers who formed a gang and robbed banks for a living, in the 1930s. The first time that a robbery went wrong and they ended up having to kill a man, they escaped to a movie theatre to deal with their feelings about what had happened. Ironically enough, the movie they were watching was "Gold Diggers", which contained the song "We’re in the Money".
What was the name of this powerful film? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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Bonnie and Clyde. Arthur Penn directed this semi-biographical movie that starred Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons and Michael J. Pollard. Nominated for ten Oscars, it took home two. One of these went to Parsons, for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and the other was awarded for Best Cinematography.
| (1991) Oliver Stone’s masterpiece, "JFK", examined the Kennedy assassination, and the subsequent government effort to blame the killing on a lone gunman. Kevin Costner played Jim Garrison, the District Attorney for New Orleans whose office brought charges against a New Orleans’ businessman for being part of the conspiracy to kill the president. What was the name of the man who filmed the actual assassination, a film that Garrison used to prove the existence of a conspiracy? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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Abraham Zapruder. Abraham Zapruder happened to be filming President Kennedy’s motorcade at the exact moment that President Kennedy was shot. The film was confiscated and locked up for years, after the Warren Report determined that Kennedy was shot by the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. Garrison got his hands on the film, and used it to determine that there were multiple shooters, and that Oswald could not have acted alone. Although Garrison lost his case, he helped change the way that people treated the assassination.
| (1996) Driven by a need to understand tornadoes, and gather information to help develop better warning systems, Dr. Jo Harding and her team spent a great deal of time chasing storms. When her ex-husband tried to get her to sign divorce papers, he got drawn back into the excitement of the chase. In an attempt to launch sensors into the eye of a tornado, the team chased a few of them across the country. They were unprepared for the one that hit while they were at a drive-in movie watching "The Shining".
What was the name of this surprisingly entertaining film? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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Twister. Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, and Philip Seymour Hoffman starred under Jan de Bont’s direction.
"The Shining", based on a Stephen King novel, was a scary film about a haunted hotel, and how it took control of the winter caretaker, played by Jack Nicholson.
| (1999) When Lester Burnham’s midlife crisis hit, it hit big. He quit his job, and got a new job at the local fast-food joint. He bought himself a muscle car, started smoking dope, that he bought from the teenager next door, and developed an obsession with his teenage daughter’s friend. The neighbour’s son developed his own obsession, for Lester’s daughter, and was seldom seen without his camera. The two spent a lot of time in his bedroom, watching the tapes that he had made.
Who played Lester Burnham in "American Beauty"? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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Kevin Spacey. Spacey took home a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance. This was Spacey’s second Oscar. He also received one for his performance as Verbal Kint in "The Usual Suspects".
"American Beauty" nabbed four other Oscars, including one for Best Picture.
| (1971) Alex was a nasty young man who enjoyed Beethoven and inflicting pain. When imprisoned for murder, he was given the opportunity to be a subject in an experiment that explored the possibility of behavioural conditioning to eliminate his lust for violence. With the promise of a shorter jail sentence, Alex agreed. The aversive conditioning involved receiving painful stimuli, while being forced to watch the Nazi film "A Triumph of the Will".
What controversial movie was this? | Watching Movies in the Movies
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A Clockwork Orange. Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess, "A Clockwork Orange" examined the ethical issue of placing societal needs above free will. Malcolm McDowell delivered an excellent performance as Alex, under Stanley Kubrick’s direction.
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