40 Fun Facts About Uncut Gems

The opening shot of Uncut Gems drifts through the opal and reveals Howard at which appointment?

A colonoscopy: what looks like a cosmic voyage through the opal turns out to be the camera inside Howard's colon.

The Safdie brothers, who made Uncut Gems, are lifelong fans of which NBA team?

New York Knicks: their original Uncut Gems script was built around Knicks star Amar'e Stoudemire, long before Kevin Garnett took the basketball role.

Which comic actor did the Safdies pursue for the lead in Uncut Gems around 2015?

Sacha Baron Cohen: the brothers courted him in 2015, when Adam Sandler's team kept calling their star unavailable even after they offered to move the dates.

Which 1990s toy does Howard sell in jewel-encrusted versions in Uncut Gems?

Furby: Howard pitches his blinged Furbies to Kevin Garnett, but it's the opal he then brings out that hooks the star.

In what part of New York City is Howard's jewelry store located?

Howard's store sits in Manhattan's Diamond District on West 47th Street, the block where the Safdies' father worked as a diamond salesman and which they had wanted to film since 2009.

Which streaming service released Uncut Gems outside the United States?

Netflix: A24 kept the US rights, so Britons could stream the film from 31 January 2020 while Americans waited until late May.

Which musician plays himself hosting a nightclub party in Uncut Gems?

The Weeknd: he performs 'The Morning' from his 2011 mixtape, and Howard ends up shoving him after finding his girlfriend in the singer's private section.

Which actress made her feature-film debut as Howard's employee and mistress in Uncut Gems?

Julia Fox: the character was so like her that, on first reading the script, she asked the Safdies if they had been spying on her.

Which Broadway star plays Howard's wife, Dinah, in Uncut Gems?

Idina Menzel: she modeled Dinah on the Long Island women she grew up around, calling the part 'based on some parts of me.'

Who plays Demany, the associate who brings clients into Howard's store in Uncut Gems?

LaKeith Stanfield: Demany's big catch, Kevin Garnett, walks in just as the opal arrives, and the star's obsession with the stone sets the whole disaster moving.

What does Garnett leave with Howard as collateral when he borrows the opal in Uncut Gems?

His championship ring: Howard runs it straight to a pawnbroker to fund a six-way parlay on Garnett's game that night.

How is Arno related to Howard in Uncut Gems?

Brother-in-law: the loan shark hounding Howard for money is also family, so their feud follows him to the family's holiday table.

From which country is the opal smuggled at the start of Uncut Gems?

Ethiopia: the prologue's scenes at its Welo opal mines were actually filmed in South Africa.

What is the name of Howard's jewelry store in Uncut Gems?

KMH: its double security doors become the final trap when Howard locks Arno and his goons between them as the game plays out.

Why does Kevin Garnett ask to borrow the opal in Uncut Gems?

As a good-luck charm: Howard lends it for one night, but Garnett doesn't return it on time, and Howard has to chase down the stone he means to auction.

Where do Arno's goons strip Howard naked and lock him in his own car trunk in Uncut Gems?

At his daughter's school play: stuck naked in the trunk, Howard has to phone Dinah, the wife who is divorcing him, to let him out.

Which Jewish holiday dinner does Howard sit through with his family in Uncut Gems?

Passover: Howard's business troubles follow him even to the seder, turning the family holiday tense.

In Uncut Gems, how does the smuggled opal arrive at Howard's shop?

Hidden in a dead fish: Howard is sure the stone will fetch a fortune at auction, but the appraisers value it far below his estimate.

Whom does Howard recruit to bid at the auction to drive up the opal's price in Uncut Gems?

Gooey: played by Judd Hirsch, he helps Howard rig the bidding, but the scheme backfires.

Where does Howard's girlfriend go to place his final bet in Uncut Gems?

Mohegan Sun casino: Howard sends her there with the cash as Arno and his goons descend on the store to collect.

About how much does Howard's final parlay win in Uncut Gems?

$1.2 million: the win Howard has chased all film finally lands, and he gets only moments to celebrate before his life ends.

Who shoots Howard at the end of Uncut Gems?

Phil: he guns down Arno too, and he and Nico loot the store while Howard's winnings are being collected.

Who composed the score for Uncut Gems?

Daniel Lopatin: for a frantic crime thriller, much of his synth score is counterintuitively New Age, full of wordless chants and choirs.

Which legendary director served as an executive producer on Uncut Gems?

Martin Scorsese: his arrival as executive producer raised the project's profile, and with heavyweight backers aboard the brothers were pushed to land a bigger star.

Which actor was set to star as Howard in 2017, before his schedule forced him out of Uncut Gems?

Jonah Hill: the brothers struggled to rewrite Howard as a much younger man, and when Hill's schedule fell through they went back to Adam Sandler.

Which earlier Safdie film finally convinced Adam Sandler to take the Uncut Gems role?

Seeing Good Time, the Safdies' 2017 Robert Pattinson thriller, persuaded Sandler; his team had passed on the script twice before.

Around 2015, which NBA star did the Safdies rewrite the Uncut Gems basketball role for?

Kobe Bryant: the brothers rebuilt the script around one of his biggest scoring nights, until word came back that he only wanted to direct.

Which NBA star was courted for the Uncut Gems basketball role until the shoot slid into the NBA season?

Joel Embiid: an active player's schedule proved impossible to work around, so the Safdies turned to a list of retired stars and landed on Kevin Garnett.

Who was the cinematographer on Uncut Gems?

Darius Khondji: a wide-lens cinematographer by habit, he shot the film with super-long anamorphic zoom lenses that kept the camera far from the actors.

At which festival did Uncut Gems have its world premiere?

Uncut Gems premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, then played Toronto and the New York Film Festival before its December release.

Which film knocked Uncut Gems off its perch as A24's highest-grossing domestic release?

Everything Everywhere All at Once: it opened to about $500,000 at home, yet by its ninth weekend it had passed Uncut Gems's $50 million.

What CinemaScore grade did audiences give Uncut Gems in wide release?

C+: the grade didn't sink it, as the film ran 13 weekends and finished with about $50 million at home.

What did Adam Sandler joke he'd do if the Oscars snubbed Uncut Gems?

Make a bad movie on purpose: the Academy did pass him over, and he tweeted that the good news was he could stop wearing suits.

Which actress voices the auction manager Howard speaks to by phone in Uncut Gems?

Tilda Swinton: she runs the auction house where Howard's scheme to drive up the opal's price backfires.

Which NBA coach voices a locker-room pep talk heard in Uncut Gems?

Doc Rivers: the Safdies had him rework the 'like roaches' speech he'd given his Clippers after a real playoff win over the Warriors.

Which Pixar sequel took camera cues from Uncut Gems, including handheld shots and wide-angle lenses?

Inside Out 2: its filmmakers borrowed that nervy handheld look for the scenes where Anxiety takes over Riley's mind.

Which awards ceremony honored Adam Sandler as best lead actor for Uncut Gems?

Independent Spirit Awards: accepting in a gruff comic voice, he likened his Oscar snub to missing out on his yearbook's 'best looking' title and called these Hollywood's 'best personality' awards.

Which sports-radio host plays Gary, Howard's bookie, in Uncut Gems?

Mike Francesa: during downtime between his scenes, he watched a Brewers game with Adam Sandler in the star's trailer.

What tattoo does Howard's girlfriend reveal when the two make up in Uncut Gems?

His name: the scene came from the actress's own life, since she had once had a boyfriend's name inked after a fight to prove her devotion.

Which NBA team do the Celtics face in the playoff games Howard bets on in Uncut Gems?

Philadelphia 76ers: the film splices in real footage from that 2012 series, used without a license from the league.