50 Fun Facts About 2017 Movies

Which actress played Belle in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast, 2017's second-biggest hit?

Emma Watson was the Disney studio chairman's first and only choice. He had run Warner Bros. while she was playing Hermione Granger there.

Which wide-eyed seabirds nest on Luke Skywalker's island hideaway in Star Wars: The Last Jedi?

Porgs exist because real puffins crowded the Irish filming location. Rather than erase the birds from every shot, the film-makers turned them into creatures.

Which One Direction singer made his feature film debut as a soldier in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk?

Harry Styles beat hundreds of candidates at audition. Nolan said he cast him for his "old fashioned face", unaware of how famous the singer was.

Which Swedish actor played Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the 2017 film of Stephen King's It?

Bill Skarsgård got the part only after Will Poulter, the first actor cast, dropped out over a scheduling conflict. Tim Curry wore the greasepaint in the 1990 miniseries.

What form does Jumanji take to trap four teenagers in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

A video game cartridge is what the old board game becomes overnight, after a teenager who only cares about consoles sets it aside.

Which Mexican holiday is the backdrop to Pixar's Coco, in which young Miguel defies his family's music ban?

Day of the Dead inspired the whole film. Pixar deliberately kept Miguel's home town muted so the afterlife he visits would look more colourful.

Which former Batman actor played the winged villain Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming?

Michael Keaton plays Adrian Toomes, a salvage boss driven out of business who builds his flying suit from scavenged alien technology.

Which Avenger does Thor unexpectedly face in the Grandmaster's gladiator arena in Thor: Ragnarok?

Hulk wins the bout only because the Grandmaster rigs it when Thor gets the upper hand. The plot borrows from the comic storyline "Planet Hulk".

Which Best Picture winner follows a mute cleaner who falls for a creature held in a government lab?

The Shape of Water was inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon. It led that year's Oscars with thirteen nominations and won four, Best Director among them.

Which rock legend played Jack Sparrow's uncle in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales?

Paul McCartney stepped in because Keith Richards, who had played Sparrow's father, was unavailable. The character is named after the singer's own uncle Jack.

Which British prime minister did Gary Oldman play in Darkest Hour after over 200 hours in make-up?

Winston Churchill won Oldman his first Oscar. The film shows him ordering civilian boats to Dunkirk, the rescue Christopher Nolan put on screen that same year.

Which real-life circus founder does Hugh Jackman play in the musical The Greatest Showman?

P. T. Barnum gets a heavily fictionalised life story in the film, whose anthem "This Is Me" won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

Which famous detective did Kenneth Branagh both direct and play in Murder on the Orient Express?

Hercule Poirot proved worth repeating: Branagh returned as Agatha Christie's sleuth in Death on the Nile and A Haunting in Venice.

Which conflict does Diana leave her hidden island to stop in the 2017 film Wonder Woman?

World War I was a deliberate break from the comics, where she fights in the 1940s. In the film she is convinced that Ares, the god of war, is behind the slaughter.

Which little brother of Bill Denbrough chases a paper boat to a storm drain as 2017's It begins?

Georgie is seven when he meets the clown in the drain. His disappearance is what sends Bill hunting through Derry's sewers the following summer.

In which US state is Derry, the fictional town haunted by Pennywise in Stephen King's It?

Maine's city of Bangor was scouted for the 2017 film, but Derry's streets were shot in Ontario towns such as Port Hope, chosen for looking idyllic.

Which sketch comedian made his directorial debut with Get Out, winning a screenplay Oscar?

Jordan Peele became the first African-American winner of the Best Original Screenplay award. He has said comedy and horror run on the same timing and surprise.

In Get Out, what does Missy call the void where Chris's mind falls when she hypnotises him?

The Sunken Place leaves Chris paralysed while his mind drops away. It is also where the family's victims stay trapped once their bodies have been taken over.

Which actor does vain teenager Bethany find herself turned into in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

Jack Black plays her as Professor Shelly Oberon, an overweight male map expert. He also suggested naming the film after the song "Welcome to the Jungle".

Which actor plays Ego, Peter Quill's long-lost father, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2?

Kurt Russell plays the human face of a living planet. Making Ego the hero's father was a departure from the comics, where Quill has a different dad.

Which Knives Out film-maker wrote and directed the 2017 blockbuster Star Wars: The Last Jedi?

Rian Johnson's space saga took over $1 billion, his largest project by far. He went back to the mystery genre afterwards and earned screenplay Oscar nominations for it.

Which director's Wonder Woman became the highest-grossing film yet made by a solo female director?

Patty Jenkins was hired after the lead had been cast, which disappointed her at first. She came to think Gal Gadot was the perfect choice for Diana.

Which New Zealand director of Thor: Ragnarok also played Korg, the soft-spoken gladiator made of rocks?

Taika Waititi based the rock creature's gentle voice on Polynesian bouncers. He also performed the fire demon Surtur in motion capture.

Which actress won an Oscar as the grieving mother in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri?

Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, who rents the signs to shame the police over her daughter's unsolved murder. Co-star Sam Rockwell won an Oscar too.

Which actress made her solo directing debut with Lady Bird, a coming-of-age story set in Sacramento?

Greta Gerwig was born in the city and gave her cast her old yearbooks, photos and journals to prepare. She insists nothing in the film literally happened to her.

Which actor earned a Best Actor nomination at 22 for playing Elio in Call Me by Your Name?

Timothée Chalamet was then the youngest nominee in that category since 1939. He also turned up in Lady Bird, another of the year's Best Picture contenders.

Which actor plays K, the replicant-hunting officer at the centre of Blade Runner 2049?

Ryan Gosling had the part tailored for him by the screenwriters. It was his first lead in a blockbuster, opposite a returning Harrison Ford.

Which Stranger Things actor played foul-mouthed Richie Tozier in the 2017 film of Stephen King's It?

Finn Wolfhard lost the part when the first director quit, which freed him to make the Netflix series. He then had to audition for Richie all over again.

What do Bill Denbrough and his six outcast friends call their gang in the 2017 film It?

The Losers' Club is the name seven bullied children give themselves once they realise the same creature is stalking every one of them.

Which actor plays Farrier, the Spitfire pilot who fights on with his fuel running out in Dunkirk?

Tom Hardy's pilot glides down onto the beach with an empty tank, burns his Spitfire so the enemy cannot have it, and is taken prisoner.

Which 1973 shocker did Stephen King's It overtake as the highest-grossing horror film in US cinemas?

The Exorcist had held the unadjusted record for decades. The killer clown beat its total around the globe too, finishing on more than $700 million.

Which band's "Immigrant Song" features in Thor: Ragnarok after soundtracking its director's pitch reel?

Led Zeppelin's track drove the sizzle reel that won him the job. Marvel boss Kevin Feige felt it defined what the whole film was going to be.

Which Edgar Wright crime film follows a hero left with tinnitus who finds release in music?

Baby Driver drew on its director's own childhood tinnitus, and on Oliver Sacks's book about what music does to the brain.

Which Oscar-winning song from Pixar's Coco is heard first as a mariachi showpiece and later as a lullaby?

"Remember Me" came from the songwriting couple behind Frozen. In the story it is really a father's goodbye to his small daughter, stolen and turned into a hit.

Which actress won an Oscar as Tonya Harding's hard-driving mother LaVona in the skating drama I, Tonya?

Allison Janney swept the season, also taking the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild prizes. Margot Robbie, who plays Harding, produced the film as well.

Which leaked documents do Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks fight to publish in Steven Spielberg's The Post?

The Pentagon Papers were classified files on 20 years of American involvement in Vietnam. Streep plays the newspaper's publisher, Katharine Graham.

Which pop star plays himself as a kidnapped captive who joins the final fight in Kingsman: The Golden Circle?

Elton John helps destroy the villain's robot attack dogs. Two years later his co-star Taron Egerton played him in the biopic Rocketman.

Which hijacked Russian war machine pursues Dominic Toretto's crew in the finale of The Fate of the Furious?

A nuclear submarine is seized by the cyberterrorist Cipher, who wants its arsenal. Dom finishes it off by luring her own heat-seeking missile into the hull.

Which alien warlord and his Parademon army hunt three Mother Boxes in 2017's Justice League?

Steppenwolf is drawn back to Earth when Superman's death reawakens the Boxes. Joss Whedon reshot much of the film after Zack Snyder stepped down.

Which comedy stars James Franco as Tommy Wiseau, maker of the cult film The Room?

The Disaster Artist is based on a book co-written by Greg Sestero, Wiseau's co-star in The Room. Franco cast his own brother Dave as Sestero.

Which Argentine director of the horror film Mama took over Stephen King's It after Cary Fukunaga walked away?

Andy Muschietti broke through when his three-minute short Mamá caught the eye of Guillermo del Toro, who said it had the scariest scenes he had ever seen.

Which cinematographer won his first Oscar for Blade Runner 2049, on his fourteenth nomination?

Roger Deakins, who also shot The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo and Skyfall, had gone home empty-handed thirteen times. He won again two years later for 1917.

Which planned franchise of classic movie monsters was launched and sunk by Tom Cruise's The Mummy?

Dark Universe was meant to revive Universal's classic creatures as one connected series. The reboot's poor reception got the whole plan cancelled.

Which 1953 western supplies the eulogy Laura recites at the end of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine film Logan?

Shane plays on a hotel television earlier in the story, and its closing speech becomes the hero's farewell. Director James Mangold named it as a visual reference.

Which actor's finished scenes as J. Paul Getty were reshot with Christopher Plummer for All the Money in the World?

Kevin Spacey was cut weeks before release after misconduct allegations. Plummer reshot 22 scenes in little over a week and earned an Oscar nomination.

Which film about the circumstances of Van Gogh's death was the first fully painted animated feature?

Loving Vincent used 125 artists and 65,000 oil-painted frames. Because each canvas was painted over for the next shot, only about 1,000 of them survive.

Which Hollywood star makes a surprise cameo as an Asgardian actor playing Loki in Thor: Ragnarok?

Matt Damon flew to Atlanta just to shoot the scene "on a lark" after Chris Hemsworth suggested him. Hemsworth's brother Luke plays the stage Thor.

Which 1980s screen idol's likeness does Ego briefly take on in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2?

David Hasselhoff appears as himself, and the effects house Weta had to build a digital double of him for the moment of transformation.

In which capital city does Dominic Toretto win a street race on his honeymoon in The Fate of the Furious?

Havana was only possible once Universal had sought approval from both the American and Cuban governments. One scholar called the film Hollywood's love letter to the city.

Which city's Essence Festival do four old college friends head to in the 2017 comedy Girls Trip?

New Orleans hosted the shoot during the real 2016 festival, where the production cast more than 5,000 background actors.