Friday 18 January 2013

Further Kubrick

Famous Kubrick Film Quotes:
"Heeere's Johnny!" - Jack Torrence

"No time for the old in-out, love. I've just come to read the meter." Alex 

"You've had your whole fucking life to think things over, what good's a few minutes more gonna do you now?" - Jack Torrence

"Dave, just what do you think you are doing?" - HAL

"There is no password for the house." - Masked Leader


"Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!" - President Merkin Muffley


"Open the pod bay doors please, HAL." - Dave Bowman

Here've got a collection of the websites for the facts and quotes I'll be needing when It comes to creating my outcome:

Websites found containing more facts and quotes to work with:
http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/mindhole-blowers-20-facts-about-the-shining-that-might-make-you-say-talk-to-the-finger.php
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~mkb9600/finalproject/facts.html
http://thequietus.com/articles/09316-the-shining-stanley-kubrick-11-things-you-might-not-notice-room-237
http://kubrickfilms.warnerbros.com/video_detail/shining/
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/stanley-kubrick-10-facts-might-not-know-153200480.html
http://jonnys53.blogspot.co.uk/
http://jonnys53.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2007-12-21T17:05:00-08:00&max-results=7

Monday 14 January 2013

Kubrick: The Shining Facts/ Trivia

This post is my reference point for creating my outcome, I've collected all the facts and amounts for what I'm wanting to create, budgets, revenue, quotes (in a previous post). I really tried to get as much as I could possibly get on the film that was factual.

Budget
$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend
$622,337 (USA) (26 May 1980) (10 Screens)


Gross
$44,017,374 (USA) (31 December 1980)
$622,337 (USA) (26 May 1980)
AUD 3,722,000 (Australia) ( 1980)
HKD 2,751,789 (Hong Kong) ( 1983)
ITL 3,548,800,000 (Italy) ( 1981)
€1,353,605 (Spain) (20 December 2002)
SEK 6,140,088 (Sweden)
$7,000,000 (West Germany) ( 1980)


Weekend Gross
$622,337 (USA) (26 May 1980) (10 Screens)


Admissions
2,220,100 (France)
1,326,293 (Spain) (20 December 2002)
273,783 (Sweden)
2,022,832 (West Germany) ( 1980)


Rentals
$30,900,000 (USA)


Filming Dates
1 May 1978 -  April 1979

Source: 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/

Movie Posters:



Imagery:


















Shining Trivia:
  • According to Shelley Duvall the infamous 'Heere's Johnny!' scene took 3 days to film and the use of 60 doors. For the scene in which Jack breaks down the bathroom door, the props department built a door that could be easily broken. However, Jack Nicholson had worked as a volunteer fire marshal and tore it apart far too easily. The props department were then forced to build a stronger door. 
  • Garret Brown does say however that the scene where Hallorann explains to Danny what shining is was shot 148 times
  • Stanley Kubrick considered both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams for the role of Jack Torrance but decided against both of them. Kubrick didn't think De Niro would suit the part after watching his performance in Taxi Driver, as he deemed De Niro not psychotic enough for the role. He didn't think Williams would suit the part after watching his performance in Mork & Mindy, as he deemed him too psychotic for the role.
  • Stanley Kubrick, known for his compulsiveness and numerous retakes, got the difficult shot of blood pouring from the elevators in only three takes. This would be remarkable if it weren't for the fact that the shot took nine days to set up; every time the doors opened and the blood poured out, Kubrick would say, "It doesn't look like blood." In the end, the shot took approximately a year to get right. 
  • During the shooting of the movie, Lloyd was under the impression that the film he was making was a drama, not a horror movie. He only realized the truth seven years later, when, aged 13, he was shown a heavily edited version of the film. He didn't see the uncut version of the film until he was 17 - eleven years after he'd made it. 
  • The "snowy" maze near the conclusion of the movie consisted of 900 tons of salt and crushed Styrofoam. 
  • The making-of documentary shot by Vivian Kubrick shows that the hedge maze set, while nowhere near as large as the maze in the film (which was mostly a matte painting), was still large and complex enough to require a detailed map. In the commentary for her documentary, she notes that many crew members really got lost in the maze, dryly noting that it now reminds her of the lost-backstage scene in This Is Spinal Tap. + There was no air conditioning on the sets, meaning it would often become very hot. The hedge maze set was stifling; actors and crew would often strip off as much of the heavy clothing they were wearing as quickly as they could once a shot was finished. + The maze was constructed on an airfield near Elstree studios, by weaving branches to chicken wire mounted on empty plywood boxes. The maze was shot using an extremely short lens (a 9.8mm, which gives a horizontal viewing angle of 90 degrees) which was kept dead level at all times, to make the hedges seem much bigger and more imposing than they were in reality. 
  • Shelley Duvall revealed that due to her role requiring her to be in an almost constant state of hysteria, she eventually ran out of tears from crying so hard. To overcome this she kept bottles of water with her at all times on set to remain hydrated. 
  • Approximately 5000 people auditioned for the role of Danny over a six-month period. The interviews were carried out in Chicago, Denver and Cincinnati by Stanley Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali and his wife, Kersti
  • The film took almost 200 days to shoot. However, according to assistant editor Gordon Stainforth, it took much more, nearly a year. The film was originally supposed to take 17 weeks, but it ultimately took 51
  • The shot of the tennis ball rolling into Danny's toys took 50 takes to get right. 
  • The scene towards the end of the film, where Wendy is running up the stairway carrying a knife, was shot 35 times; the equivalent of running up the Empire State Building. 
-How many steps are there to the top of the Empire State Building?
There are 1,860 from street level to 102nd floor.

How tall is it?
There are several numbers to describe the height of the Empire State Building. The total height of the building, including the lightning rod, is 1,454 feet. The height of the building from the ground to its tip is usually given as 1,250 feet. The measurement from the ground to the 102nd floor observatory is 1,224 feet and from the ground to the 86th floor observatory is 1,050 feet.

  • This film was shot in the same film studio that was used for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. In fact, much of the same fake snow used for this film was used for the Hoth scenes.
  •  Garrett Brown discovered that Danny weighed about as much as a film camera. A chair was fashioned with webbing and “he would yell with delight as he swooped along riding suspended from the Steadicam arm.
  • He saw a chance to create text for Jack’s novel, and decided there should be a real manuscript of 500 or so pages. A secretary was hired to type the phrase ”All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” over and over, so no matter where Shelley dipped into paper, she would find it. The secretary spent months and months typing out pages, formatted differently, with typos and the weirdness of typewriters.
  • Kubrick shot over 1.3 million feet of film during a shooting schedule of nearly a year.
Rank  
Movie Year  
Adjusted for Inflation Box Office $ (millions)  
Cogerson Movie Score  
Critics Audience Rating  
Oscar Noms / Win 
1st
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
349.60
83.90
90%
04 / 01
2nd
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
185.00
81.69
88%
04 / 00
3rd
Spartacus (1960)
288.50
75.80
88%
06 / 04
4th
Barry Lyndon (1975)
80.70
63.34
88%
07 / 04
5th
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
95.40
62.86
93%
04 / 00
6th
The Shining (1980)
137.70
57.99
87%
00 / 00
7th
Lolita (1962)
107.60
54.62
88%
01 / 00
8th
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
97.00
51.50
90%
01 / 00
9th
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
89.60
45.38
75%
00 / 00
10th
Paths of Glory (1957)
38.30
38.97
90%
00 / 00
11th
The Killings (1956)
10.60
33.27
89%
00 / 00
12th
Killer's Kiss (1955)
0.80
26.23
75%
00 / 00
13th
Fear and Desire (1953)
0.80
26.12
64%
00 / 00


Sources:

http://kubrickfilms.warnerbros.com/video_detail/shining/

http://www.fast-rewind.com/trivia_shining.htm
http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/mindhole-blowers-20-facts-about-the-shining-that-might-make-you-say-talk-to-the-finger.php
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~mkb9600/finalproject/facts.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/
http://cogerson.hubpages.com/hub/Stanley-Kubrick-Movies-Best-to-Worst-With-Box-Office-Results-with-Inflation

Monday 7 January 2013

Research Theme: Stanley Kubrick


For my research theme I was given Stanley Kubrick to research into, one of the most famous auteurs of the past century and controversial. I'm really happy I got given Kubrick because he's one of my favorite film directors so this gives me an excuse to find out everything I can about him.



Stanley Kubrick
July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999
Director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor.

Filmography:

1953 'Fear and Desire'
1955 'Killer's Kiss'
1956 'The Killing'
1957 'Paths of Glory'
1960 'Spartacus'
1962 'Lolita'
1964 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
1968 '2001: A Space Odyssey'
1971 'A Clockwork Orange'
1975 'Barry Lyndon'
1980 'The Shining'
1987 'Full Metal Jacket'
1999 'Eyes Wide Shut'

Favorite typeface: Futura
(same as Wes Anderson!)

 

Stanley uses alot of One point perspective in his filming, creating a very similar look throughout, perfect. Due to his background in Photography and knowledge of how camera lenses worked because of this. So alot of the framing is done in this way so that the image isn't distorted by his heavy use of wide-angle lenses.


Kubrick is found all over in Pop culture too, Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' music video takes heavy inspiration from his films 'Clockwork Orange' and '2001: A Space Odyssey' video below is of the music video.



Here are the comparisons to the video with stills to the films referenced:


It's not just the video's she has him referenced it's also in her lyrics to 'Dance in the Dark'
"Find your freedom in the music.

Find your Jesus, find your Kubrick"
Dance in the Dark - Lady Gaga 




It's not just the Lady Gaga that does this, Kubrick's films are also the Simpsons most reference used in the cartoons. Even with a full episode based around the Shining! (South park recently did this too)




He even had to withdraw his own film Clockwork Orange in 1971 after receiving death threats:
Clockwork Orange, 1971
Stanley Kubrick’s most controversial film was adapted from Anthony Burgess’s bestselling dystopian novel about Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, and his gang of violent “droogs” who get their thrills  killing tramps and raping women. Given an X rating by the BBFC, Kubrick himself withdrew the film from British screens in 1973 and his widow has since revealed that he did so on police advice after threats were made to his family

Also employed advanced techniques of film-making also made him well known in the film industry, for his big break he used back-lit screening, a type of what would be today Green-screening but using mirrors and projections to project a image behind a set to make it appear as if they were really there. This takes heavy usage at the start of 2001: A Space Odyssey.



Then with the Shining he was one of the first few to make use of the Steadicam.


-
He also broke records with his final film, 'Eyes wide shut' for the longest continuous shoot:
'...At 15 months, the shoot for Eyes Wide Shut is included in the Guinness Book of World Records, for the ‘longest constant movie shoot’ of any motion picture in the history of Hollywood, which included an unbroken span of 46 weeks. Tom Cruise was filmed 90 times walking through a doorway, which accounts for a second entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for Eyes Wide Shut. Stanley died 4 days after delivering the final cut of the film...'

I really loved this scene from 2001: A Space Odysessy, it was a fully built wheel which revolved, this jogging scene was just him stood on the spot jogging but thanks to the camera made it seem as if he was actually jogging around a revolving wheel in space. Similar to what was done in 'Inception' corridor scene. Except his was done in 1968. The film 2001, was made before even the moon landing! 



I find Kubrick a really interesting person, his confidence in what he was doing, even from the initial negative press every one of his films got when they came out they're now seen as been some of the best films of their time. I'd like to focus maybe the research down into one of his films or perhaps feature all of them.

“If  it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed.”
Stanley Kubrick
(July 2, 1928 – March 7, 1999)

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/5247331/Simon-Cowell-polished-Jack-Nicholsons-axe-for-The-Shining.html

http://www.thefoxisblack.com/2012/12/11/saul-bass-poster-sketches-for-stanley-kubricks-the-shining/

http://www.kikidm.com/shop/home.php

http://www.directlyrics.com/lady-gaga-dance-in-the-dark-lyrics.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/gallery/2012/nov/10/censored-cinema-in-pictures#/?picture=399161542&index=6

http://kentroversypapers.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/eyes-wide-shut-occult-symbolism.html

http://filmjive.wordpress.com/tag/2001-a-space-odyssey/

http://www.angelfire.com/la3/aries1b/

http://www.underview.com/asohow.html