A Star Is Born - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

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

[ethel]

Richard Burton was offered the role of Norman Maine, but he was busy filming The Robe (1953).

[chris]

The premiere of the film at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles was the event of the year with Judy Garland, James Mason, studio head Jack L. Warner, and Jack Carson (who MC'ed the premiere) and dozens of A-list stars attending.

[clayton]

After filming was completed, Judy Garland stole some furniture from the sets of the film and brought them to her home. Producer Jack Warner found out when she invited him over after the premiere of the film.

[kyle]

The first preview was a triumph for Judy Garland. As she left, fans shouted at her "Don't cut a single minute of it." The second preview, on August 3, was equally successful. At this point the film ran 196 minutes.

[jesus]

George Cukor died before he could see the restored version.

[ava]

With the film's box-office failure, Judy Garland and Sidney Luft were broke. Both Jack and Harry Warner had advanced Luft money against his share of the profits. When they failed to see their money returned from ticket sales, they both ended up suing Luft to get their money back, and the Lufts' contract with Warners for future pictures was canceled.

[sylvia]

Groucho Marx called Judy Garland's not winning an Oscar for A Star Is Born (1954) "the biggest robbery since Brink's." Hedda Hopper later reported that her loss to Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954) was the result of the closest Oscar vote up till that time that didn't end in a tie, with just six votes separating the two. In any event, it was a heartbreak from which she never really recovered and which has remained a matter of some controversy ever since.

[jim]

Norman Maine mentions the name 'Ellen Terry' to Esther Blodgett. Ellen Terry (1847-1928, created a Dame in 1925) was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain during the late 19th century, as well as performing in plays by Ibsen, G.B. Shaw and many others. She was also the maternal aunt of actor John Gielgud, who worked with Mason in Julius Caesar (1953), his protege Sam Neill in Merlin (1998), and most notably, opposite Judy Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli in Arthur (1981).

[charlie]

After filming the Academy Award scene where Esther/Vicki is inadvertently slapped by a drunken Norman Maine, the whole side of Judy Garland's face was bruised.

[tammy]

Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft & film historian Jeffrey Vance co-authored a book released in 2018 titled "A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away" about the making of this film.

[toni]

WILHELM SCREAM: In the projection room while playing the western.

[ella]

Judy Garland wasn't always home resting when she was sick. She'd take a day off, then George Cukor would read in Louella Parsons' column that she had spent the night singing at a nightclub. She'd leave early and go to the races. None of this was released to the press. Instead, the Warners PR department attributed the delays to Garland's relentless perfectionism.

[harry]

Judy Garland did not attend the 1955 Academy Awards, where she was nominated as Best Actress for her portrayal of Vicki Lester, because she was in hospital after giving birth to her third child and only son Joey Luft.

[morris]

The New York premiere was so big it had to be held at two theatres, the Victoria and the Capitol.

[violet]

Laurence Olivier was considered for the role of Norman Maine, but Jack L. Warner wasn't enthusiastic about him.

[harry]

The proclaimed gaf about the sound volume not changing when Norman closes the sliding door at the end is not true. Vicki says "I'll open the kitchen window so you can hear me" before she sings.

[wallace]

James Mason on his contention that A Star Is Born (1937) is superior: "Ours was a little thrown out of kilter because it became centred on the activities of a musical performer, who happened to be the less important of the two characters - However, ours survives, and ours has become a classic because Judy Garland was such an extraordinary performer... It's a wonderful film, and I always watch it when it comes on the telly".

[eli]

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 16 seconds.

[violet]

George Cukor offered Marlon Brando the role of Norman Maine on the set of Julius Caesar (1953). "Why would you come to me?" asked Brando. "I'm in the prime of my life... If you're looking around for some actor to play an alcoholic has-been, he's sitting right over there"- pointing at his costar James Mason, who got the part.