Let’s Go To The Movies!
This is my “upside down selfie” at my local movie theater – boy, is it great to get back to the movies!
What better way to celebrate than with some wild wild wild movie trivia! How wild? Well, what about this?
Simon Cowell Worked on “The Shining!”
If you love movies like I do, then you will get a kick out of this obscure and fascinating movie trivia!
Yes, this is the face of “The Shining!”
Simon Cowell actually worked with the legendary Director Stanley Kubrick on his horror masterpiece!
And what about this fun fact regarding another legendary Film Director:
Ingmar Bergman was a James Bond fan!
If you know this Swedish Director’s work, then the “Cries & Whsipers” Master is NOT an action Director…but apparently the Master would watch films before bed that would help relax his anxiety!
And James Bond movies were among his favorites!
And here is the trivia you’ve been dying to know:
Simon Cowell – yes, SIMON COWELL – polished Jack Nicholson’s Axe in “The Shining!”
This is fascinating to me…as a young man breaking into show business, Cowell was a “runner” at Elstree Studios outside London…
As part of his job, Cowell was assigned to work on “The Shining”…according to his half-brother Tony:
“I remember him saying he used to clean Jack Nicholson’s axe in between takes for the most famous scenes!”
“He took great pride in it. You could see you face in it, it was so shiny!”
So that was Simon Cowell handling Jack’s Axe between takes for the “Here’s Johnny!” scene…and we know how that turned out:
It’s one of the most repeated lines in cinema, and now it will also remind me of this:
And here is some trivia about one of the most beloved films of all time:
Oscar-winning Actress Debra Winger was the voice of “E.T.!”
Debra Winger was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the early ’80’s, thanks to such smash hits as “Terms Of Endearment”, Urban Cowboy” and “An Officer And A Gentleman.”
But she was also the voice of “E.T.!”
Here is what she told Empire magazine:
“Steven Spielberg asked me to record a few sentences – I went in for like one day, maybe two, to do these recordings. I’ve never seen the movie, so I don’t know what he used…well. I know about ‘phone home’ and all that…”
Sound effects creator Ben Burtt did the rest, mixing Winger’s lines with the sounds of raccoons, horses and otters! And with that, he turned a beautiful Actress into THIS!
Now, if you love movie trivia, what about this?
Yes, that’s Robert Duvall holding cue cards for Marlon Brando on the set of “The Godfather!”
There is so much more trivia about this movie – YES, THE HOSE HEAD WA REAL – see more of it here:
And remember that Ingmar Bergman 007 trivia? Well, did you know that Alice Cooper wrote and performed a Bond theme song?
Alice Cooper’s Censored Bond Theme!
That’s right, Alice Cooper recorded the theme for “The Man With The Golden Gun” but it was rejected! That’s just a little bit of Bond theme trivia, and you can ready more by clicking on here:
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Let me know what your favorite bit of trivia is!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Art, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
i love this stuff! especially the axe story with simon!
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Whoa! That’s some solid trivia that might win a bar bet. Have you seen the commercial with football player Baker Mayfield and Alice Cooper? I’ve only seen the first one (first 30 seconds of this video.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cpAdeZZxBg
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And, I always love your upside down selfie!
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Debra Winger was the voice of ET, and Simon Cowell polished Jack Nicholson’s axe. I am in shock heaven!
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Fun post, John! Who knew? 😃
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Hi John, it would have been great to work on the set of The Shining. Simon’s peering through the wooden boards just isn’t the same though, is it?
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HA! No not at all! Thanks for reading and commenting!
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Great stuff, John. I had no idea that Debra Winger was the voice of ET!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank for reading Pete!
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