Chances Are - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

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

[terry]

To add further realism to Corinne Jeffries' (Cybill Shepherd's) fund-raising gala for the exhibit, the filmmakers enlisted America's foremost band-leader, Lester Lanin, to preside over the dance orchestra. Lanin, who had played nine out of the last ten Presidential Inaugural balls as well as at the wedding receptions for Prince Charles and Princess Diana; and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (a.k.a. Princess Sarah), was delighted to participate in the film.

[stephanie]

At 5-foot 7-inches tall, Robert Downey Jr. had to wear lifts in scenes with Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O'Neal.

[addison]

The on-screen chemistry of Cybill Shepherd and Robert Downey, Jr. reflected an off-screen rapport that developed as Shepherd helped Downey ease into his role. Downey said, "Cybill helped me to take my time at what I was doing. She taught me that I didn't have to be talking every minute, 'It's alright if you just look at me for five seconds and don't say anything', she'd say."

[lonnie]

Attention to detail for the look and feel of the film extended to Cybill Shepherd. The filmmakers and Shepherd wanted her character of Corinne Jeffries to appear as different as possible from her Moonlighting (1985) Maddie Hayes character. To achieve this, they cut her hair at least five inches in a more conservative style. Costume Designer Albert Wolsky draped Shepherd in a lot of black and/or structured clothing at the beginning of the film, also noting that "We never see her wearing black on Moonlighting (1985)." In the second half of the film, as Corinne Jeffries (Cybill Shepherd) starts to mentally and physically open up, Wolsky dressed her in softer, more voluminous creations. Wolsky explained: "Her colors get softer, the fabrics go from wools to chiffons and cottons." Director of Photography William A. Fraker highlighted Shepherd with his own special brand of luminous lighting. The veteran Cinematographer was well suited for the movie, not only was his work highly respected within the film industry, but, having shot Shepherd in her Loreal commercials, Fraker was very familiar with the actress.

[phyllis]

Cybill Shepherd brought her then eight-month-old twins to the set every day.

[stephanie]

The accident scene that concludes the 1964 section of the story, was filmed on the night of June 7-8, 1988, when the TriStar film crew secured permission from the Mayor's Office of Film and TV Development, District of Columbia, to close Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown between M and O Streets NW between 4 p.m. on Tuesday until dawn on Wednesday. Around two dozen 1960s vintage automobiles were secured from area car club members, many driven by their owners, to dress the street. These included a 1956 Buick Century, a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500, a 1959 Cadillac Seville, a 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne, a 1960 Mercury Comet dressed as City Cab 101, a 1960 Pontiac Star Chief, a 1958-1960 Edsel, a 1962 Studebaker Lark, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, and a matched pair of 1964 Volkswagen Beetles. The "Bug" is driven in the film by Louis Jeffries, and he is struck crossing Wisconsin Avenue by the Studebaker.

[violet]

Uncredited anywhere is the thriller REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD (1975) which has a similar plot line - a man seeking the truth about his flashes of memory discovers he must have been reincarnated after a violent death. While visiting his old home, he falls in love with (unknowingly) his own daughter, which his original wife will seek to prevent. Surely more than coincidence that CHANCES ARE utilized this, unless a film can itself be reincarnated.

[kylie]

The film opens up in Washington, D.C., in the 1960s. The setting was deliberate. Randy Howze explained: "Washington was magical then. The Kennedy Presidency was in full force. There was so much promise, and like that, Corinne's life starts out so blissfully. She is marrying the man of her dreams, Louie Jeffries. The couple has everything going for them, and ahead of them, like the 'Camelot Years', and then, boom, it all ends, and we cut to twenty years later, where again the times are reflected in Corinne's life. She's now a modern working woman, and a single parent."

[claude]

The film takes place in 1964 and 1987.

[jessie]

The picture was shot in the U.S. on-location in Washington, D.C., and featured some of the city's famous landmarks, including Capitol Hill, the Smithsonian Institute, the Washington Post, the Jefferson Memorial, and the historic city of Georgetown.

[ava]

Snaring two Washington, D.C. prime locations, the Smithsonian Institute and the Washington Post, proved to be challenges indeed. As Mike Lobell explained: "The Smithsonian took about four months to give us the go ahead. They, for good reason, were very concerned about how they would be portrayed to the public. We had to assure them that we would present the institution in the best possible light. They finally agreed, and treated us wonderfully in Washington." Securing the Washington Post was due, in part, to Perry Howze and Randy Howze. Lobell said, "We were fortunate because our screenwriters, who grew up in Washington, D.C., had been childhood friends of Benjamin C. Bradlee's daughters, and therefore knew Bradlee." The production got the full support of the Washington Post, filming in front of the building, inside the press room, in its lobby, and at its printing presses. This was quite a coup it was thought by the filmmakers, considering that the newspaper had refused to cooperate with the filming of All the President's Men (1976).

[michele]

There was only a 15 year age difference between Cybill Shepherd and Robert Downey Jr.. Shepherd's character was widowed for 23 years when Downey shows up.

[lena]

Robert Downey, Jr. and Mary Stuart Masterson appeared in the documentary The Last Party (1993).

[carla]

Cybill Shepherd had had a personal relationship with Peter Bogdanovich, who had directed Ryan O'Neal in Paper Moon (1973), What's Up, Doc?? (1972), and Nickelodeon (1976).

[nicholas]

The working title for the film was "Life After Life".

[carla]

After viewing Dirty Dancing (1987), Mike Lobell was certain that Emile Ardolino had the proper sentiment, compassion, and intimacy to direct this film. Lobell explained, "I could see that Dirty Dancing (1987) was directed by a man who had a lot of heart, which was exactly what I wanted for our film."

[christina]

Show-business trade-paper "Variety" said of this movie in its review, "Here comes Chances Are, and there goes Mr. Jordan", a reference to the earlier heavenly comedy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), which had been remade as Heaven Can Wait (1978).