The Mask of Zorro (1998)

This movie is one of those 1990s movies you may have watched, at one point or another, in Spanish class in school. I know I certainly did. Me and my sister suspect that the reason we always watched this movie was because our teacher, Bertha Garcia-DeBurke, who hailed from the Mexican city of Guadalajara, had a major crush on Antonio Banderas.

Summary
-After his brother is brutally murdered by an Army captain, a young thief seeks revenge and is trained by the once great hero of the people, Zorro, who is seeking revenge of his own

Cast
-Diego Sieres: young Joaquin Murrieta
-Jose Maria de Tavira: young Alejandro Murrieta
-William Marquez: Fray Felipe
-Stuart Wilson: Don Rafael Montero
-Tony Amendola: Don Luiz
-Anthony Hopkins: Don Diego de la Vega / Zorro
-Antonio Banderas: Alejandro Murrieta / Zorro
-Julieta Rosen: Esperanza de la Vega
-Victor Rivers: Joaquin Murrieta
-L.Q. Jones: Three-Fingered Jack
-Matt Letscher: Captain Harrison Love
-Jose Perez: Cpl. Armando Garcia
-Catherine Zeta-Jones: Elena

Did You Know?

-Joaquin Murrieta was not only a historical figure, but was also thought to be the inspiration for the literary character Zorro

-At first, Anthony Hopkins refused the role of Don Diego de la Vega because of massive back pain. But after undergoing a laser treatment, he was able to take the role.

-Professional sword trainer Bob Anderson, who trained Errol Flynn, remarked that Antonio Banderas was the most talented sword fighter he has ever worked with since Flynn. It also helps that Banderas trained with the Spanish Olympic team for four months

-In the scene where Elena and Zorro are fighting in the stable, Elena's dress falls off after being sliced by Zorro's sword. To pull this effect off, a wire was attached to her dress to pull it off
-Antonio Banderas was strict about performing his own stunts, to make it more authentic
-The Addams Family actor Raul Julia was originally supposed to play the role of Don Diego de la Vega, but he died before casting begun.
-Catherine Zeta-Jones was cast because Steven Spielberg enjoyed watching her in the 1996 Titanic miniseries and suggested her

-If you look close enough, there are subtle differences in the Zorro costumes worn by Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) and Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins). The costume designer for the movie claims that de la Vega's costume reflects his Spanish heritage while Alejandro's reflects his Mexican heritage

Anthony Hopkins

 

Antonio Banderas

-Three of the possible considerations for the role of Elena was Latina pop singer Shakira, Latina actress Penelope Cruz and actress Salma Hayek

-In a nod to the Zorro series, Antonio Banderas voices a character called Puss in Boots in the Shrek series. Essentially, this character is a feline form of Zorro, who wears a hat, boots and fights with a sword.

-Only when Alejandro dons the Zorro mask does he use one of de la Vega's swords. Up to that point, he had been using his own sword
-Three of the considerations for the role of Alejandro Murrieta were Mark Anthony, Joaquin de Almeida, Andy Garcia, Elmer Figueroa Arce
-Giancarlo Giannini, Lance Henriksen, Sam Shepard, Edward James Olmos, Scott Glenn were all considered for the role of Don Rafael Montero
-In the movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones play father and daughter and in real life are actually Welsh-born. They are the only Welsh-born actors present
-Welsh actor Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Spaniard Don Diego de la Vega while Spaniard Antonio Banderas plays Mexican Alejandro Murrieta
-Ironically, Antonio Banderas is Spanish in real life instead of Mexican. He has more in common with the antagonists than the protagonist

-The characters Joaquin Murrieta, Alejandro Murrieta and Three Finger Jack were all real-life bandits from Northern California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Joaquin Murrieta was Mexican, born in Sonora and moved to California to find fortune with gold. After American gold miners beat him and robbed him, he swore to see vengeance. He found a group of bandits and lead them through the California wilderness, killing anyone who posed a threat. Americans saw him as a reason to hang anyone who spoke Spanish while Mexicans looked at him like a folk hero. Three Finger Jack was a Mexican named Manuel Garcia, who was Murrieta's sidekick. He was supposedly killed on July 18, 1853 by Captain Harry Love, who preserved Murrieta's head in a jar of alcohol and Three Finger Jack's hand as proof they were dead.

Captain Harry Love

Joaquin Murrieta

 

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

This is the second movie in the Zorro series.

Summary
-Alejandro de la Vega, also known as Zorro, has made a promise to his wife Elena to stop wearing the mask and take on duties as a father. He breaks it and Elena leaves, falling for a French count. When a threat to California's statehood turns out to be linked to a mysterious explosion in the desert, it's soo discovered this mysterious French count might be related to that case

Cast
-Julio Oscar Mechoso: Frey Felipe
-Gustavo Sanchez Parra: Guillermo Cortez
-Adrian Alonson: Joaquin de la Vega
-Nick Chinlund: Jacob McGivens
-Antonio Banderas: Alejandro de la Vega
-Catherine Zeta-Jones: Elena de la Vega
-Rufus Sewell: Count Armand

Did You Know?
-Adrian Alonso, who plays Joaquin, didn't know English. He learned all his lines phonetically, just as Antonio Banderas had done for his role in The Mambo Kings
-Between The Mask of Zorro and this film, Alejandro had changed his name from Alejandro Murrieta to Alejandro de la Vega to avoid using the name of a wanted criminal

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

ATTENTION!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
IF YOU ARE A FAN OF QUEEN, YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!!

That's right, if you read this and you're a fan of the band Queen, you must see this movie! This movie is the perfect movie for anyone who loves the men who wrote such legendary songs as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Somebody to Love", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Radio Ga-Ga" and more!!!

Summary
-This movie is the story of how one of the most iconic and yet underrated bands in music history came to be. Four men from different walks of life-astrophysics student Brian May, electrical engineering student John Deacon, dentistry-turned biology degree student Roger Taylor and Heathrow Airport baggage handler Farrouk Bomi Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury, come together and form the iconic band known as Queen. Like all bands, this band will have its ups and downs, but they will make it through and play one of their most successful concerts-Live Aid.

Cast

Rami Malek: Freddie Mercury

Lucy Boynton: Mary Austin

Gwilym Lee: Brian May

Ben Hardy: Roger Taylor

Joseph Mazzello: John Deacon

Aidan Gillen: John Reid

Allen Leech: Paul Prenter

-Tom Hollander: Jim Beach
-Mike Myers: Ray Foster
-Aaron McCusker: Jim Hutton
-Meneka Das: Jer Bulsara
-Ace Bhatti: Bomi Bulsara
-Priya Blackburn: Kashmira Bulsara
-Dermot Murphy: Bob Geldof
-Neil Fox-Roberts: Mary's father
-Matt Greenwood: Young man at medical clinic

Did You Know?
-Bryan Singer, who directed the movie, was fired by 20th Century Fox after getting into a fight with the film's lead actor, Rami Malek. Reportedly, Malek threw something at singer when Malek complained to the studios about Singer's repeated absences
-During the Live Aid scene, there are two guys up in the rafters jamming to the music. They look and are very reminiscent of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar from the Wayne's World movies.

-One of the first radio DJs to ever play the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" was Kenny Everett. He truly believed in the song's success and he would hype it up, play it on the radio station without consent and put it on heavy rotation. He ended up becoming a good friend of Freddie Mercury. Soon they became more than friends as Everett and Mercury would end up both becoming drug addicts. They also both became diagnosed with AIDS. Everett tested positive for HIV in 1987 and died in 1995 from AIDS-related complications

-In real life, Freddie Mercury did not learn that he was HIV-positive before Live Aid. He learned he was positive between 1986-1987. He let the band know first and expressed concern about focusing on the music and keeping the news private. He also had no clue the band was rehearsing for a last minute, squeezed-in gig at Live Aid

-Ray Foster, played by Mike Myers, complains that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is not a song that kids can bang their head to. This is a reference to the film Wayne's World, in which the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" had gained even more popularity with Myers banging his head to the song

-Joseph Mazzello, who plays bassist John Deacon, had to wear five different wigs throughout the movie to simulate the various hair styles over the years

-Freddie Mercury's best friend, Mary Austin, is the only person who truly knows where Freddie's ashes are buried
-In December 2017, director Bryan Singer was fired for repeated absences and clashes with crew and cast members and to finish the film, Dexter Fletcher was brought in

-Joseph Mazzello, who plays bassist John Deacon, starred in a miniseries called The Pacific, playing a character named PFC Eugene Sledge. Rami Malek, who played front man Freddie Mercury, also starred in this miniseries, playing Merriell "Snafu" Shelton, alongside Mazzello.

Joseph Mazzello

Rami Malek

-The song "Love of My Life" was dedicated to his good friend Mary Austin, who he was deeply in love with. Freddie Mercury entrusted a good portion of his estate to her, she is the only one who knows where his ashes are buried and even though he told her that he felt he might be bisexual, she still stayed a close friend of his

-When Malek was cast as Freddie, he had only a casual knowledge of Queen. He had to undergo intense choreography and lessons in moving like Freddie in addition to learning how to talk with prosthetic teeth

-Despite John Deacon appearing to play bass at their first American concert in 1970, he actually didn't enter Queen until 1971. He was their fourth bass player

-Joseph Mazzello said the first song he downloaded on Napster was "Bohemian Rhapsody"
-During one of Freddie's parties, girls in hot pants are seen on bicycles, a reference to "Fat Bottom Girls" and "Bicycle Race"

-When John Reid started managing Queen, he was only 29. Aidan Gillen, who plays him in the movie, was 49 at the time

John Reid and Freddie Mercury

Aidan Gillen

-To celebrate the movie's release, Rami Malek appeared on the Egyptian launch release of GQ Magazine because Egypt is his ancestral home
-On Oct. 20, 2018, Chrissie Mullen, Brian May's first wife, was said to be unhappy with how she is portrayed in the movie. Producers cut her out altogether despite her protesting to ex-husband May
-Rami Malek underwent 50 hours of costume work, from Lycra outfits, skintight spandex and satin pants, 4'' platform shoes, etc

-Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) took her stage name from the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga"

-When Rami Malek first met with Queen at Abbey Road Studios, he was running late. As he was racing up the stairs, he passed a picture of Freddie Mercury, who Rami felt had been staring at him, saying "Don't do this". Rami felt "it was really inspiring"
-Despite not being mentioned in the movie, Paul Prenter (played by Allen Leech), died of AIDS in 1991, the same year Freddie Mercury died of the disease
-All except "Another One Bites the Dust", the music in the movie are backing tracks with the cast playing like a real band

-Queen was not happy about having such a short timeslot at Live Aid. So they got creative and ended up doing an over 20 minute slot there. With Freddie's expert showmanship, he got the crowd up and moving. One of the members of Bob Geldof's band, The Boomtown Rats, said, annoyed, "Thanks, Bob. Now we have to follow that!"

-Rami Malek was chosen to play Freddie Mercury because his jawline reminded people of Mercury in Mr. Robot (2015)

-For the role of Freddie Mercury, Rami Malek was fitted with a set of prosthetic teeth to imitate Mercury's famous overbite. After filming was finished, Malek kept the teeth as a memento

-When the producers were looking for an actor to play the iconic singer, Rami Malek sent in a video of him singing Queen songs. But the actual band members had not downloaded the video properly and gotten a chance to watch it. But Malek blew away the band members when he finally got to meet them and sing in person

November Birthdays

Since it's November, time to say Happy Birthday!!!

Jonny Lee Miller

-DOB: 11/15/1972

-Where: London, England

-Played the Frankenstein Monster opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Dr. Frankenstein, in the stage production of Frankenstein

Rick Allen

-Birth name: Richard John Cyril Allen

-DOB: 11/1/1963

-Where: Sheffield, England

-Has two kids, a daughter named Lauren Shane Allen and a daughter named Josefine Allen

Tommy Thayer

-Birth name: Thomas Cunningham Thayer

-DOB: 11/7/1960

-Where: Portland, Oregon

-Played guitar for a band called Black 'n Blue before joining Kiss

Billy Idol

-Birth name: William Michael Albert Broad

-DOB: 11/30/1955

-Where: Stanmore, Middlesex, England

-Spent 4 years of his childhood living in Long Island, New York. He even picked up American terminology for items and when the family moved back to England 4 years later, he was picked on for talking as an American

Roger Glover

-Birth name: Roger David Glover

-DOB: 11/30/1945

-Where: Brecon, United Kingdom

-Got into a fight with Ritchie Blackmore after Blackmore destroyed his bedroom room door at a cottage in Devon looking for a cross. Roger then chased Blackmore with the same axe he used to destroy the door because Roger is a deeply religious man and knew what Blackmore was up to.