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Famous Movie Locations: Hospital From 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (Salem, Oregon)

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jul 31st 2010 6:32PM
Filed under: On the Scene

It's extremely rare for a film to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay. 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' in 1975 became only the second film to do so, and the feat didn't get repeated until 1991 when 'The Silence of the Lambs' won all five. Some would argue that it is even more impressive that the film is as good as the Ken Kesey book it was based upon, while also honoring the story but maintaining its own unique voice.

Kesey wrote the book after working the graveyard shift as an orderly at a mental health facility in Menlo Park, California. He became sympathetic to those interned there, and that inspired him to write a novel from a patient's viewpoint. Although he worked in California, Kesey hailed from Oregon and set the story in his home state. The book is written from the point-of-view of Chief Bromden, a silent Native American inmate, but the protagonist is Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson).
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Famous Movie Locations: School From 'Rushmore' (Houston)

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jul 27th 2010 6:45PM
Filed under: On the Scene

'Bottle Rocket' may have been a box-office failure, but it established Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers as exciting new voices in American cinema. While the film holds up today, and Martin Scorsese included it in his top-ten favorite movies of the 1990s, in hindsight a viewer can see Anderson was still struggling to define the distinctive voice his films are known for today.

After setting their debut against a realistic Texas background, the Anderson and Owen Wilson writing duo wanted 'Rushmore' to have a "slightly heightened reality, like a Roald Dahl children's book." That is why Rushmore Academy has the feel of a blissful British prep school meets 'Dead Poets Society.'

To achieve this unique and elite feel, Anderson returned to his high school alma mater, St. John's School in Houston, Texas.
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'I'm Bruce Willis' Music Video Project

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jul 21st 2010 9:46PM
Filed under: Quizzes and Trivia, Video, 'Fone Finds
If you're at all like like us, your summer jam has not been by Eminem or Katy Perry -- it's 'I'm Bruce Willis' by currently little-known Kevin Bewersdorf and Jeep Cherokee. Their mash-up tribute to the tenacious Willis is an impressively intricate music video put together with scenes from at least 22 Bruce Willis films.

The music video is a perfect tribute to the actor; it makes us want to battle evil villains (or at least shadow box). Unfortunately, as movie geeks, we cannot just enjoy the finished product without dissecting it. We want to figure out from which movies the clips originate. So far no other site has posted that information; we want to be the first, but we need your help.

Watch the music video after the jump and then help us identify each clip's movie origin.
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Famous Movie Locations: Train Station from 'The Untouchables' (Chicago)

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jul 20th 2010 2:00PM
Filed under: On the Scene

No matter how many times you watch Brian De Palma's mafia classic, it is impossible not to cringe as Kevin Costner lets go of the baby carriage and it rolls in slow motion down the stairs amongst a barrage of gunfire. And even if you've just watched one of Costner's later films, in which he tends to play washed-up middle-aged guys, you'll still think he's a bad-ass as he chases the carriage while shooting nearly all of trigger-happy gangsters.

'The Untouchables' follows the true story of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Costner) and his vendetta to bring down Chicago's largest mob boss, Al Capone (Robert De Niro). David Mamet adapted the script from Ness's autobiography. The film favors drama over historical accuracy at times, but it feels pitch-perfect on nailing Prohibition-era Chicago.
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5 Music Acts That Deserve Biopics

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jul 19th 2010 9:36PM
Filed under: Features, Hot Topic
Amy Adams scored headlines recently by confirming she will portray Janis Joplin in an upcoming biopic, 'Janis Joplin: Get It While You Can.'

The blogosphere is abuzz on whether this is a good match. Agree with the casting or not, we're just excited the biopic looks like it will finally happen. For awhile, it seemed a Janis Joplin film would only happen in the '30 Rock' universe.

Although music biopics are great, more often than not, they're difficult to get a greenlight. There's music rights, rock star egos, family handouts, defamation lawsuits, etc, that can get in the way. Remember when Elijah Wood was going to play Iggy Pop in 'The Passenger'? Pop didn't like the script and it's been shelved indefinitely. That's why a biopic is best done after the subject has died; it frees the filmmakers from certain expectations.

With that in mind, the following five acts are screaming for a biopic.
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Lessons We've Learned from High School Reunion Movies

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jun 22nd 2010 12:15PM
Filed under: Features
'Saturday Night Live' friends Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider reunite on June 25 in 'Grown Ups,' a film about ... reuniting with friends (specifically, from junior high). They let Kevin James be in on it, too, since someone has to play the fat kid.

If the previews have you fondly remembering your younger days and reconsidering that high school reunion invitation, let us interject. Sandler and crew make it all look like fun and games, but there are serious things to consider. Dozens of reunion films through the years have taught us these important lessons to know before on attending any class reunion.
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Famous Movie Locations: 'Snow White' Cottages (Los Angeles, CA)

By Ryan McKee (Subscribe to Ryan McKee's posts), Posted Jun 16th 2010 2:20PM
Filed under: On the Scene

Like many a Hollywood star, Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck didn't just work in LA -- they were born there, too. The first Disney studio became a reality in 1925 on 2719 Hyperion Avenue, east of Hollywood's glamour. Sadly, the historic building where Walt Disney and his team produced the first full-length animated film, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' is no longer there. The location -- now occupied by a supermarket and a strip mall -- currently divides a neighborhood of hipsters from a neighborhood of aging hipsters; most walk right past without noticing the Disney plaque near the grocery store's entrance.

If you travel west on Griffith Park Boulevard, which intersects with Hyperion, behind the strip mall, you'll see a cluster of charming Tudor cottages that look surprisingly familiar. According to Hollywood legend, Disney animators lived in these houses and used them as architectural inspiration for the dwarfs' home.
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