Hoffa - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Hoffa or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Hoffa

[kenneth]

Filming was taking place on-location at the old Ambassador Hotel when the Rodney King beating trial verdict was announced. Rioting in Los Angeles broke out that evening, but filming continued until late in the evening. Things seemed relatively peaceful in Los Angeles the next morning, so filming resumed as scheduled. However, by two o'clock in the afternoon, rioting had become so intense, that the City of Los Angeles pulled the production's filming permit. The cast, crew, and hundreds of extras were released to make their way home amidst the columns of smoke, sounds of gunfire, and clogged freeways. About three weeks later, cast, crew and extras returned to the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard to finish shooting the interrupted scenes.

[edgar]

This is the second film in which Frank Whaley played the alleged assassin of a famous figure. He also portrayed the "Oswald Imposter" in JFK (1991).

[jesus]

J.T. Walsh and Nicholas Pryor previously appeared in Blood Feud (1983), a TV movie that dramatized the feud between Jimmy Hoffa (played by Robert Blake) and Robert F. Kennedy (Cotter Smith).

[liam]

With the exception of the exchange between Jimmy Hoffa and Robert Kennedy when Hoffa first enters and delays the start of the proceedings, virtually every word between Jimmy Hoffa and Robert Kennedy is taken verbatim from the transcripts of the hearing. A portion of that hearing is included in the Special Edition DVD.

[bernard]

The film cast includes one Oscar winner: Jack Nicholson; and three Oscar nominees: Danny DeVito, John C. Reilly and Tim Burton.

[manuel]

One of two David Mamet written movies featuring actor Robert Prosky. The films are 'Hoffa' (1992) and 'Things Change' (1988). Prosky also appeared in 'A Wasted Weekend" (1987), a Mamet written episode of the television series, "Hill Street Blues" (1981-1987).

[nora]

The courtroom scenes were filmed in the Wayne County Commission (Detroit, Michigan) meeting room, and most of the extras were Commissioners, their staffs, and county workers.

[toni]

Frank Whaley plays the hitman who shoots Jimmy Hoffa. In Ironweed (1987), Whaley played the younger version of Jack Nicholson's character, Francis Phelan.

[jesus]

The word "fuck" and all various permutations of it are uttered one hundred fifty-three times.

[melinda]

Jack Nicholson's daughter plays the young nun in the hospital scene where Billy Flynn is dying from his burns. According to Danny DeVito in the DVD audio commentary, Nicholson had asked him to give his daughter a small role. At first, Danny DeVito suggested she play the hooker in his hotel room in a later scene, drawing the trademark raised eyebrow from Nicholson. Since DeVito was joking he, of course, relented and cast her as a nun.

[willard]

Hoffa's death in the film is far more dramatic than what probably happened in real life. According to historians and FBI investigators alike, Hoffa was waiting in his car with his driver and Teamster Charles "Chuckie" O'Brien. A car pulled up, presumably occupied by either the Mafia bosses he was to meet, or more likely Mafia assassins. Hoffa then got out and went to the arriving car. The car into which he was supposed to have gotten, registered under the name of one of the Mafia bosses he was supposed to meet, was later impounded, and the F.B.I. found small droplets of blood and hair from Hoffa, leading them to believe that as Hoffa was getting into the car, he may have realized what was about to happen, and was knocked unconscious and forced inside the car, which then quietly drove off. Though they cannot prove it, the F.B.I. believes that O'Brien helped the mob set Hoffa up, and lured him to his death. As for what happened to Hoffa's body, the theories are too varied to go into here.

[bryan]

Actor Robert Prosky, who portrayed Billy Flynn, originated the role of Shelly Levene in David Mamet's 'Glengarry Glen Ross' stage play, shortly before Prosky began working on the television series 'Hill Street Blues' (1981-1987).

[dustin]

This is one of two 1992 releases featuring Jack Nicholson and J.T. Walsh, with the other film being A Few Good Men (1992).

[scarlett]

The film was originally meant for director Oliver Stone, and then Barry Levinson.

[victoria]

Tim Burton: One of the corpses in the Teamsters' funeral scene.

[addison]

The trailer for this movie was narrated by Alec Baldwin.

[nicholas]

This was Danny DeVito's first film that he directed to be shot in the widescreen 2.39:1 "scope" aspect ratio and his first experience using the Panavision (anamorphic) format.

[phyllis]

The only major make-up Jack Nicholson had to wear to become Jimmy Hoffa was fake nose and a set of false upper teeth (as seen in the behind-the-scenes footage on the DVD).

[charlie]

1992 was a year with a unifying theme for Steve Witting - that of getting assaulted and removed from scenes by characters played by Danny DeVito. First, in this film, he appears in a single scene as a representative of the federal government investigating in Jimmy Hoffa's office, where he is promptly shoved and kicked out by DeVito's Bobby Ciaro. Then, in his only other film that year, he has the unfortunate distinction of a slightly meatier role, in which his nose is nearly bitten off by DeVito's Penguin in a more memorable scene of Batman Returns (1992).