Monday, October 22, 2007

Trivial Pursuits: Dirty Pillows Edition

As you may have gathered by now, Carrie is thought of very highly around here. Something about the "alienated youth with a secret" plot speaks to us, I guess. On the other hand, maybe it is the "getting revenge on your high school tormentors" that does it.

While you ponder that, here is some tasty trivia about the film starring the movies' most memorable prom queen:
  • This was the first Stephen King novel to be adapted into a movie. (And it mostly went downhill from here.)
  • Brian De Palma's Carrie and George Lucas' Star Wars were cast from the same casting sessions. Just think of the possibilities: William Katt as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Carrie White ...
  • Bates High is the name of the school, and if you don't know what that's a reference to, then you don't know your horror movies.
  • The little boy who taunts Carrie was played by De Palma's nephew, Cameron. His voice ("Creepy Carrie! Creepy Carrie!") was dubbed though, by ... Betty Buckley.
  • Amy Irving's real-life mother, Priscilla Pointer, played Sue Snell's mom in the movie.
  • What a trouper: Sissy Spacek was willing to have real blood poured on her; it was actually a mixture of karo syrup and food coloring.
  • P.J. Soles' eardrums burst and she was knocked unconscious in the scene where her character is killed by the fire hose. And that shot is what is seen in the final film.
  • That is actually Spacek's arm thrusting out of the ground during the famous final scare.
  • Unusual for a horror film, Spacek and her onscreen "mama", Piper Laurie, were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances.
  • Buckley would go from sympathetic gym teacher to irrational mother in the infamous Carrie - The Musical, one of the biggest flops in Broadway history.
Click here to purchase Carrieon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com and Wikipedia.org.

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