The China Syndrome - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

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

[chris]

Actress Jane Fonda dyed her waist-length fair hair to a show-stopping red for the film. This was because she had noticed that most of the on-camera female newscasters she had observed had sported dyed hair. Fonda once said of this: "I'm acting out my Brenda Starr fantasy!".

[fred]

The reporter Jane Fonda plays is based on a composite of real -life prototypes, women whose professional growth and rising stature had been obvious in recent years. However, their newly-apparent prominence in news programming is not simply a natural reflection of a progressive women's movement. The filmmakers uncovered the powerful influence of media consultants who "design" a news show, manipulating all the possible elements, especially the use of female personalities on screen.

[carl]

Producer Michael Douglas feels that what The China Syndrome (1979) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) share in common is the classic dramatic situation of man versus institutions. In the case of The China Syndrome (1979) those institutions are the many-headed monsters of modern media and technological corporations. Douglas said: "It's Man vs. Machinery. Basically, I find I like stories about heroes and, frankly, I think most people do. When I first read 'The China Syndrome', I was knocked out to find a very exciting story in which the leading characters are faced with dramatic choices, decisions that could make them heroic.This is the same plane on which 'Cuckoo's Nest' [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)] was so involving". Douglas added: "Although we're dealing with complicated and controversial issues, the story is presented in a straightforward fashion, just as in 'Cuckoo's Nest' [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)] . There were a lot of people who thought Big Nurse [(Louise Fletcher)] was right, that she was just doing her job. Conclusions belong to the audience, not the filmmakers".

[steve]

The first script for the film was written in the mid-1970s. Michael Douglas initially wanted to produce this film immediately after One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Jack Lemmon agreed to play his role as early as 1976. Douglas was enormously grateful to Lemmon, as he remained ready to start work at very short notice for over a year before production started, in the process passing up other work. To return the favor, Douglas amended the shooting schedule to allow Lemmon to attend rehearsals for the Broadway play Tribute (1980), the film version of which would later star Lemmon.

[lena]

In the scene where Jack Godell notices that he is being followed while he is on his way to speak to the regulatory committee, he uses a speeding firetruck to make his break for freedom. That truck was "Engine 51" from the hit T.V. show, Emergency! (1972)

[morris]

Michael Small composed a complete musical score for this film, but director James Bridges and the producers of the film did not like it. This is why the film was completely devoid of music except for the song sung by Stephen Bishop at the beginning of the film. In 2009 Intrada Records released and extremely limited (1000 copies) CD of Small's score which sold out in 24 hours.

[ivan]

Star Jane Fonda and her company partner Bruce Gilbert vowed that their production company IPC Films would never be involved in a film that was cynical. Fonda stated with conviction: "I feel what we need instead are more complex movies like this one that show people as being brave and intelligent and complicated, as people are".

[oscar]

The film was part of a 1980s cycle of films about atomic bombs and nuclear warfare which had started in 1979 with The China Syndrome (1979). The films included Silkwood (1983), Testament (1983), Threads (1984), WarGames (1983), The Day After (1983), The Atomic Cafe (1982), The Manhattan Project (1986), Whoops Apocalypse (1982), Special Bulletin (1983), Ground Zero (1987), Barefoot Gen (Barefoot Gen (1983)), Rules of Engagement (1989), When the Wind Blows (1986), Letters from a Dead Man (Dead Man's Letters (1986)), Memoirs of a Survivor (1981) and The Chain Reaction (1980).

[bernard]

Like many of the young new-breed producing teams, dedication and mutual respect brought Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, and Bruce Gilbert together and their parallel searches for a project of substance were fused in "The China Syndrome".

[ella]

Stephen Bishop was brought on late in production to write the film's title song, "Somewhere In Between." Producers wanted a song to replace the one originally chosen for the titles, which they felt didn't fit the film. The original song was a then-unknown song called "What A Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers.

[miriam]

This is one of only a few American movies where no music is played over the end credits.

[lena]

In the scene where Kimberly walks around her house carrying a turtle, a photo of Marilyn Monroe can be seen in the back. It appears to be from "Some Like it Hot," a movie starring Jack Lemmon.

[caroline]

The movie's title is based on the theoretical but implausible notion that if a nuclear meltdown were to occur in the United States, the nuclear core would melt all the way through the Earth's core and emerge on the other side of the world. However, China is simply a metaphor for the other side of the world. Such an event could never occur as the molten nuclear core would have to defy Newton's law of universal gravitation.

[darrell]

This is the only movie Jack Lemmon was in where his character died.

[jesse]

The only film that year to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars.

[oscar]

Concurrent with Michael Douglas' activity, Jane Fonda and her partner Bruce Gilbert were at the Columbia Pictures studio in the early stages of developing another story set in the explosive field of power, and its abuses, under the banner of their company, IPC Films, Inc. The basic story of "The China Syndrome" contained many of the elements IPC was seeking. From their own research, Fonda and Gilbert had some specific creative ideas for expanding the scope of the story.

[carl]

During pre-production, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, and Bruce Gilbert selected writer-director James Bridges as the movie's director to capture their aims and transpose them to the screen.

[javier]

Screenwriter Mike Gray's early background as an engineer and technical writer gave the scenes in the power plant the kind of drama that defies fictionalizing. During initial development, producer Michael Douglas brought in another writer, T.S. Cook, for script polishing, attracted the attention of the Columbia Pictures studio, and secured a commitment from actor Jack Lemmon for a crucial role. Lemmon recalled: "That script had a kind of maverick quality. I was hooked".

[michele]

Producer Michael Douglas spent the better part of a year having the film's screenplay properly developed with the film's three writers.