Sunday, October 25, 2009

SCREAM OF THE DAY: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS


A lonely florist finds his chance for love, fame and fortune with the help of a giant blood thirsty plant in Little Shop of Horrors.



Trivia:

*The bizarre equipment used by sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello has made numerous appearances in other Warner Bros. productions, notably as Jeremy Irons' gynecology tools in Dead Ringers (1988) and as the Joker's plastic surgeon's tools in Batman (1989).

*It supposedly took Steve Martin six weeks to film all his scenes.

*Bill Murray ad-libbed his lines.

*The song "Some Fun Now" was adapted from the song from the Off-Broadway show "Ya Never Know." Four other songs were cut from the score and one, "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" was written for the film.

*The scenes in which the two largest Audrey II puppets are performing with the actors are filmed at a lower speed. First at 16 frames per second, then at 12 frames per second for the final number. This means that the actors had to move and lip sync in slow motion.

*For the scene during "Suppertime" when Mushnik is offering Seymour a way out, director Frank Oz originally wanted to use over-the-shoulder shots. But Rick Moranis and Vincent Gardenia kept cracking each other up so he had to use close-ups.

*The shot pulling away from Audrey after the song "Somewhere That's Green" was so long that it required two cranes, one placed on top of the other, to pull it off. The camera actually shifts a little when the one crane stops and the other takes over.

*Steve Martin cut his hands while filming the scene in which his character pushes open the double swinging doors to Audrey's apartment complex. As a result, in the final cut he is kicking the door open.

*As part of the film's promotion, the "Audrey II" plant was occasionally interviewed, in character, by the press. On at least one occasion, the interview concluded with Audrey II "eating" the interviewer.

*The filmmakers originally offered the role of Audrey to Cyndi Lauper, before casting original stage star Ellen Greene. Madonna was also reportedly considered for the role.

*The tie-in trading card set released by Topps contains many shots of scenes now deleted from the movie. These includes images of the plants taking over New York; of Audrey (1) being eaten; and pieces of the deleted extended song sequence - all presented in full colour. The back of some of the trading cards could be put together to form a larger picture of the plants attacking the Brooklyn Bridge.

source

4 comments:

Tim said...

One of my favorites. I also saw a really good stage version in Louisville once. I am not much on musicals, but this is definitely an exception!

Keith said...

I really liked this movie when I first saw it. Need to see it again. By the way, I gave your blog an award in my newest blog on my Sugar and Spice blog.

Keith said...

I've never seen the stage version, Tim, but I'd love to see it sometime. I'm not much on musicals but I love this one.

Keith said...

Wow! Thanks, Keith. I really appreciate the award. I put a lot of time on the site trying to keep it interesting and up-to-date. I don't get many hits, subscribers and comments compared to other sites. Many times I've been discouraged and thought of quitting. I thought if nothing else, I'd keep it going for a year before throwing in the towel. Thank you for the recognition and kind words. I appreciate it more than you know.

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