ReCreating 1941, Pearl Harbor

In 2001, Michael Bay And Jerry Bruckheimer recreated one of the most historical events in US history, The Attack On Pearl Harbor, into a full length feature film. From the start the probability of this fill being done correctly was very unlikely due to the high magnitude of props. In total 10 cameras were used, 5 big cameras, 2 running cameras, 2 floor cameras and 1 underwater camera were used to film the action scenes. Over 700 sticks of dynamite, 4,000 pounds of gasoline were used to recreate the bombings on the battleships.

The movie Pearl Harbor starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin, grossed over $140,000,000 and brought the memories back from the dead. It follows the story of five fictional main characters including soldiers during the war, Dorie Miller, the first african american to have single handedly shot down over seven Japanese aircrafts, the nurses involved, the japanese and the families involved. Director Michael Bay, made sure that every first hand account of the Pearl Harbor was including in the movie and not only the war scenes but the family aspect which audiences would react to in a emotional way. He essentially made Pearl Harbor an action movie, a memoir of the event that happened that year, a love story and inspirational tale of triumph. No matter what age this movie will intrigue our mind and personally this movie made me want to become a film maker because of all the technical aspects involved in creating such a beautiful story.



Over eight thousand custom made costumes, nine planes, three hundred and fifty bombs, one hundred stunt men, and the world largest gimbal totaling one hundred and eighty feet and three hundred and fifty thousand pounds of steel were used in creating the actual attack scene. The hardest part of the film was creating an entire Japanese army out of nine replica 1940's plane provided by volunteers. The directing team resorted to computer graphics and motion capture for the actors during the action scenes. The live action film was the main source for the computer and then in post production the clips were placed into 3D software and completely stripped of its realistic qualities. Now having blank canvas editors added generated images frame by frame to match the pre-shot footage and imputed CG people and effects. The action was real but a few scenes were enhanced for better and more realistic feel.

The male characters were placed into four days of bootcamp to fully understand the strength and determination the soldiers had. Also to be able to portray the military in the proper and respected way. Members of the actual military including active and inactive members were present during filming and some are even featured in the movie. The veterans were on set during some of the toned down scenes so they would not be effect too much emotionally.

This movie wen through many obstacles to be where it is at now and with out doing this probably would not have been such an amazing movie. This was a high budget film, with a lot of pyrotechnics, and high expectations that the pressure to create a flawless movie that there are few visible mistakes.

A "Pretty Woman's" Breakfast Masterpiece!

Julia Roberts?? When I Say This What Comes To Mind? Stepmom, Erin Brockovich, Hook, Mystic Pizza, Ocean's Eleven, Mona Lisa Smile, Duplicity, Eat Love Pray, Runaway Bride, Steel Magnolia's, The Pelican Brief, or Pretty Woman. Julia Roberts has established a well known career and has brought box office receipts totaling over $2.4 billion making her one of the highest selling box office actresses. She is also one of the highest paid actress, $20 per movie, and is estimated to be worth around $140 million dollars.

After Starring Along side Vincent D'Onofrio In Mystic Pizza, Roberts name slowly became a hit when Steel Magnolia's was released. Steel Magnolia's was filled with power house actresses such as Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine, musical legend Dolly Parton, and uprising star Daryl Hannah, and Julia Robert after filming Mystic Pizza was the right piece that fit the puzzle for this romantic comedy/ feel good movie.

In 1990, Pretty Woman was released and instantly became a classic in the romantic comedy genre. The movie was about a unlucky prostitute who is hired by a highly successful business man, Richard Gere, to escort him to varies business event and there growing relationship. Today it is still considered one of the most grossing romantic comedy in history.

So During one of the scene, where Roberts character wakes up in the hotel and is eating breakfast along side Richard Gere when her breakfast changes from scene to scene. She clearly grabs a croissant then later it switches to a pancake and then the pancake bites change from 1 to 2 back to one.

Croissant Or Pancake?! But the funny thing about this mistake is the director knew of the breakfast mishap but found Julia Robert's performance too remarkable not to put in the movie. Editors did the director a hard time but after viewing the entire film agreed with the director decision.

This movie wasn't technically difficult but with the star power behind this movie it made it harder to make a hit among the people. The classic scenes and priceless quote made this movie the most epic romantic comedy of its time. Despite having one major mistake that was known this movie was simple and still made a lasting effect on America.

"The Flaws That Made Jaws"

Steven Spielberg?! Does That Ring A Bell? Maybe? Think 127 Film Awards Including 3 Oscars And Another 82 Nominations A Top His Producing, Directing and Writing Career In The World Of Popular Cinema! In 1975, Steven Spielberg took to his 3rd feature film entitled Jaw, which later came brought fear to people of all ages around America and beyond. It exposed the fear of sharks and the fear of the unknown and that which you cannot see. It is known still as the "Father Of Summer Blockbusters" and one of the first "high concept" films. But One thing that isn't known to most is "Jaws" was supposed to feature the shark in the majority of the terror scenes. Let's elaborate...

In May 1974 , Spielberg came up with the idea of a 25ft shark terrorizing the waters of Amity and in doing he wanted to do what has never been done before. He built a 25ft shark, named Bruce after his lawyer, made of electrical circuits. After a few months they tested the shark in fresh water tanks and he seemed to be working out perfectly. When filming came along they put Bruce, the shark, in the water and shortly after his electrical system blew out and Bruce was no longer usable. This was a devastating blow the Spielberg because the shark was essentially the movie and without him Spielberg felt it wouldn't be the same movie. So they went back to the drawing board and built 3 new sharks using pneumatically-powered props which are basically air powered blows to controlled the shark by at least 10 people in the case. The stomach of the shark was hollow so the pneumatic circuit could be placed. (See Pics Below)




Unfortunately Each Day Some part of the shark would break and would need many hours to fix and they lost valuable filming time. So as time went on the shark slowly started to break down and became extremely slow to a point were the shark was no longer a factor in the movie. Also photos of "Bruce" were leaked to time magazine making the fear of the entire movie lose its effect. Who would want to see a movie with a fake shark? Spielberg had to scratch his entire concept of having a visual of the actual shark other than what they shot already and think of another fright factor. Spielberg at this point thought "What would Alfred Hitchcock do? He though and come to the conclusion of implying the shark was there and film from the sharks point of view. He used shots primary made up of the actors chest up creating that fear of the unknown and not seeing your feet and wondering if anything is down there. So without using the shark Spielberg completely flipped his original concept and still made one of the most celebrated films in history.

If you really think about the fact that the shark did not work essentially gave Spielberg the edge he need to make his film and truly became a landmark in movies. Thankful the shark didn't work and we now are left with one of the greatest Steven Spielberg films ever made! Even without technology Spielberg was able to use the creativity of the audience to make the film and in this case was a huge success!



Interesting Fact About Jaws, The Open Scene Featuring Susan Backlinie was a scene that required little acting. During this scene Susan Backlinie was being tethered by two men under water to give the appearance of being attacked by a shark. In the scene she is screaming in pain because the shark is eating her but in reality while the men were tugging her she was breaking her ribs because the extent of the tugging. She is really screaming in pain because her ribs are breaking and not really because the "shark" is eating her. No Acting All Pain!

Snakes Take Over The Internet!!

In 2005, A Movie Filled With Big Names Including Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Rachel Blanchard, And Kenan Thompson, A "Killer" Movie Plot And An Almost Unthinkable scenario became an internet phenomenom practically overnight. If You Haven't Guessed The Movie Yet Then Let's Give You The Most Iconic Quote From The Film Spoken By Samuel L. Jackson...

"Enough is enough! I have had it with
these motherfucking snakes on this
motherfucking plane!"

By Now You Have Figured Out That The Online Sensation Was Snakes On A Plane. Now Why Is This Movie So Important To This Blog? Well If You Really Think About And Look At The Facts, This Movie Made Film History. Let's Start From The Beginning. Snakes On A Plane first idea was thought out by David Dalessandro In 1992 and made attempts to make it a film then. He went through many titles including Vemon but was side track by another film with higher potential called, "Alien". After Alien Was completed he went back to his original idea and in 2004 filming began. Samuel L . Jackson soon became the driving force behind this iconic film and from there casting was considered easy-pickings. Who would not want to sign up to do a film with Samuel L. Jackson? The only problem was the film's budget, which hasn't been released but it was reported over 450 snakes were used to replicate the thirty different species.
After filming was completed, blogger, Josh Friedman released information about the movie and from then history was made. Clips were released from the film were leaked onto the internet and fans soon followed every link that had "snakes on the plane" in it. Internet buzz grew faster than wild fire and within 6 months after clips were leaked t-shirts and other memorbilia we unofficially released to the public. At this time producer felt it was nesseccary to release the film January of 2006 but the fear of the internet fans rewatching the same scenes created a issues. Last minute reshooting was done from January 2006 until April 2006 and the film was picked up by New Line Film Company.
With A New Film, New Production Company, And New Fan Base All That Was Needed Was A Hit Song To Put The Icing On The Cake. July 2006, Cobra Starship Released The Hit Song "Snakes On A Plane" To MTV And That Set Forth The Internet Hit Into A Summer Blockbuster!
On August 18th "Snakes On A Plane" Was Released To The UK And Us But Fell Through In Sales. This Continues to Be A Mystery Because How Could A Highly Anticipated Internet Leaked Movie That Created A Fan Base Bigger Than Apple Products Be An Epic Failure! Either Way "Snakes On A Plane" Broke Internet History By Giving Us One Of The Most Highly Anticipated Films Of The Summer Simple By Word Of Mouth In A Blog!

So To The Amazing Stuff! Check Out This Classic Scene Of A Snake Being Microwaved And Yes Now A Days Microwaves Do Have Snake Buttons!!






This Goes To Show As Long As You Have A Highly Reliable Internet Fan Base And A Huge Hollywood Star Your Movie Will Probably Break Records, Either Online Or In Theaters! :D