Robert Forto

Shining

31 Nights of Horror. Night 20: The Shining

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Jack Nicholson in the famous “Here’s Johnny” scene
Jack Nicholson in the famous “Here’s Johnny” scene (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Shining (1980) is one of my favorite movies. I have watched it so many times that I can practically cite it line-by-line. It is a great story, even though is does not stay on pace with Stephen King’s story all that much.

Jack Nicholson is brilliant. He nailed the role of “Jack” and set a standard for every other creepy stalker guy in film today. Did you know that he ad-libbed the now famous, Here’s Johnny!, line and it wasn’t in the script?

Danny (Danny Lloyd) is great as well. Did you know that he was told during filming that the movie was a drama so that he wouldn’t get scared.

Also did you know that the outside shots of the hotel are actually the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon? Contrary to popular belief the hotel Estes Park, Colorado, The Overlook Hotel, was not the hotel in the film. It was used for the made-for-tv version of the movie.

Also did you know that almost all of the movie was filmed on sound-stages in London.

What is your favorite scary movie?

 

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NaBloPoMo: Did you have an imaginary friend?

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I am participating in the NaBloPoMo challenge for May. It should be a fun one. It is titled: Play.

Today’s topic is: Did you have an imaginary friend?

No I didn’t but one thing that is sure to creep anyone out is this video of the top five imaginary friends in the movies including Danny Torrance in the The Shining.

Check it out:

 

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Robert Forto is mushin’ down a dream in the wilds of Alaska. He and is wife are raising two teenagers at Forto’s Fort.

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Scary Movie Bracket: Champion: The Exorcist

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Over the past few weeks we conducted our own form of March Madness. We set out to find out what you, rabid reader, think was the scariest movie of all time.

We had some great match ups including the best in the horror genre. Everything from the classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. To the slasher films that were so popular in the 1980s like–Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Evil Dead, and The Thing. To the new breed of horror with films like–Drag Me to Hell and Saw.

After 32 match-ups and hundreds of votes it came down to the championship: Two old school films that have scared even the seasoned horror fan– The Exorcist and The Shining.

The Winner

Coming in October we will bring you our annual 31 Days of Horror marathon. We hope you will join us!

Become a fan of our Facebook page Scary Movies at the Fort

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Scary Movie Bracket: The Shinning vs. The Thing

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Here at the Fort we love sports, March Madness and scary movies. Play along with us and find out what is the scariest movie of all time, voted on by you, my rabid readers!

See who’s winning and the “official rules”

Scary Movie Bracket Round 2: The Shining vs. The Thing

vs.  

 

 

 

The Shinning

A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel’s past using a telepathic gift known as “The Shining”. The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotel’s ghosts. After being convinced by a waiter’s ghost to “correct” the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is “The Shining”.

Learn More…

The Thing

An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realises that an alien life-form with the ability to take over other bodies is on the loose and they don’t know who may already have been taken over.

Learn More…

Vote Now on Facebook or Comment Below

 

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31 Days of Horror. Day 24: The Shinning

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Every year we have a tradition in the Forto house where we celebrate the greatest month of the year, October, with scare your socks off, hide under the covers, turn on all the lights, sleep with one eye open, fright fest, movie marathon everynight of the month! We call it 31 Days of Horror

Tonights Movie: The Shinning is one of my favorites. It is a movie that I watch every year. I have been a Stephen King fan for as long as I can remember and remember reading his books for book reports in junior high. While one of Stephen King’s greatest books isThe Shining he has often said that he did not like the movie version directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Kubrick even went so far to reject a screenplay for the movie written by King and Kubrick ended up doing it himself.

In today’s movie review I am going to do things a bit different. I want to share with my rabid reader, friends and fans some little known facts about the movie:

According to Stephen King, the title is inspired by the refrain in the Plastic Ono Band’s song, Instant Karma (by John Lennon) which features the chorus: “We all shine on.”

The Timberline Lodge in Mt Hood Oregon, the hotel you see in the opening scenes, feared that no one would ever stay in room 217 (the number of the haunted room in King’s book) so it was changed to 237. There is no room 237 in the Timberline Lodge. Also the inside shots were done entirely indoors on sound stages in London. The Timberline Lodge was only used for the front views.

In the scenes where Jack his typing is novel, Kubrick had a typist type the words: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” (These are the only words he types in his descent into madness). Kubrick thought that typing letters on a typewriter made distinct sounds so he wanted to be authentic.

In the scene where Wendy wakes Jack up with breakfast in bed, Jack is wearing a shirt that says Stovington. Stovington is the school Jack worked at that is mentioned in the movie and the name of the school is mentioned in King’s book only.

The famous line by Jack, “Here’s Johnny!”, made famous by the Johnny Carson Show was ad-libbed by Nicholson. Kubrick did not know the line when it was taped.

Danny Lloyd (Danny) was 17 years old when he first saw the full film. 11 years after it was made. His parents told him he was making a drama not a horror film. Danny was 6 at the time the film was made and now is a professor in a college in the Midwest.

The finger gesture used by Danny when his “invisible friend” talked was his own idea.

My favorite coffee mug!

Danny says REDRUM 43 times before his mom wakes up in the iconic scene. REDRUM spells Murder backwards and you can see it in the mirror in the film.

In one weird scene in the movie where Danny is on the floor playing with his toys and he and his mom are watching TV, there is no cords or plugs for the TV that is in the middle of the room.

It took over a year to make the iconic blood scene and had to be “just right” according to Kubrick.

The movie was released on Scatman Crothers (Dick Hallorann) 70th birthday.

The made-for-TV version of the film was filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado and is believed to be really haunted. In the book and the film the hotel is said to be in Colorado. In the film and the book it is called The Overlook Hotel.

In the opening scenes of the film where you see Jack driving up to the hotel for his interview is supposed to be Colorado but was actually filmed near Glacier National Park. Kubrick actually sent a crew to film the scene in the mountains of Colorado but the  director didn’t like the way it looked. If you have ever driven to Estes Park from Denver the drive is very similar to what you see on the film with long windy roads and steep cliffs.

The radio station that is playing in the blizzard in Denver is an actual AM radio station in Denver-KHOW and it happens to be one of my favorite talk radio stations in the nation.

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