Writer and Director Hugh Wilson was inspired to write this movie while working at the CBS Studio Center, which used to be the backlot of the former Republic Pictures, where many westerns were made.
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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Fan of The Bostonians or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Bostonians
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The picture was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Costume Design and for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Vanessa Redgrave but failed to win an Oscar in either category.
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The film takes place in 1875.
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The film was made and released about ninety-nine years after its source novel of the same name by Henry James had been first published as a serial in 'The Century Magazine' in 1885-86 and then in novel form in 1886.
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This was the first film that Christopher Reeve made for Merchant Ivory Productions. The second was The Remains of the Day (1993).
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During filming, actress Madeleine Potter noticed that one of her costumes had the name "Nastassja Kinski" sewn into it. As it turned out, the dress had originally been made to be used in the movie Tess (1979).
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In the last scenes, a female journalist is introduced, by the name of Henrietta Stackpole, a character not in "The Bostonians", but borrowed from another Henry James novel, "The Portrait of a Lady", which was later produced as a film, but not by Merchant Ivory Productions [See: The Portrait of a Lady (1996)].
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After Somewhere in Time (1980), this was Christopher Reeve's second period drama.
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Christopher Reeve said of this film in his autobiography "Still Me" (1998): "[Producer] Ismail [Merchant] could only afford to pay me $100,000, less than a tenth of my established price at the time. I insisted that the money was not an issue, that this was the kind of work I ought to be doing, but my agent told me, 'If you do that picture with those wandering minstrels, it will be one foot in the grave of your career'. ... I cheerfully ignored their advice".
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Star Christopher Reeve has said that he was cast in this picture because director James Ivory had liked his work in Superman: The Movie (1978).
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Vanessa Redgrave replaced Glenn Close in the lead female role of Olive Chancellor. Close had agreed to play Olive but dropped out to film The Natural (1984). Close once said of this: "Finally, I got to play opposite every woman's fantasy, Robert Redford, and I never got to touch him!". Olive Chancellor was played in the end by Vanessa Redgrave who got Oscar nominated for Best Actress. There was a convincing belief prior to the ceremony that Redgrave would never win due to her controversial anti-Zionist spiel from her Oscar acceptance speech in 1977. According to Ivory, "I wanted as much as possible to have a completely American cast, but we were never able to work that out. We couldn't get a suitable American address to play that kind of part, so we sent Vanessa Redgrace the script, and she's marvelous. So I accepted her, English though she is with an English accent. In the 30s and 40s they used to hire English actors all the time for American films to play upperclass parts, remember? So I suppose I accept her on that basis.
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Debut theatrical feature film of actress Madeleine Potter.
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During a sequence with a group of women suffragettes, Vanessa Redgrave's daughter, Joley Richardson, can be spotted standing behind her mother.
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Director James Ivory was a big fan of The Bostonians (1984)'s source novelist Henry James and had read all his novels.
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Madeleine Potter received an 'introducing' credit on the movie's poster, but not during the opening titles.
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In the same year that this picture debuted, actor Christopher Reeve also acted in a stage production of another Henry James story adapted from his 1888 novella "The Aspern Papers". The play was produced and performed at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket in London, England. It starred Dame Wendy Hiller as Juliana, Christopher Reeve as Henry Jarvis and The Bostonians (1984) leading lady Vanessa Redgrave as Miss Tina. This stage adaptation was written by Sir Michael Redgrave, the father of Vanessa Redgrave, the latter of whom was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival.
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Vanessa Redgrave was director James Ivory's first choice for both the lead roles in The Europeans (1979) and The Bostonians (1984). With The Europeans (1979), Redgrave was unavailable due to other commitments, and with The Bostonians (1984), Redgrave originally declined, and Glenn Close was cast. Then Close withdrew, due to being offered The Natural (1984), the part was then re-offered to Redgrave, who accepted.
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Actresses Jodie Foster and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio were considered for the role of Verena Tarrant which in the end was cast with newcomer Madeleine Potter.
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Bostonians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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