AMERICAN BEAUTY: SOME INTERESTING FACTS (part 2)
About phone numbers in the film…
— Lester gives his work phone number as 555-0199. This was also the phone number Al Pacino leaves on Russell Crowe’s answering machine in the beginning of The Insider (1999), released the same year. This was also Agent Fox Mulder’s phone number during the third season of the X-files.
— The area codes in Jane’s phone book are 312, which is the area code for Chicago. The paper in the Burnham’s kitchen appears to be the Chicago Sun-Times. Also, the lawn signs for both Carolyn and Buddy have phone numbers with an (847) area code. The (847) area code serves the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. However, the license plates in the film are not Illinois plates, and the filmmakers made an effort to avoid any specificity in the locale, in favor of a more generic setting.
About shooting…
— Near the end of the film, when Ricky opens the kitchen door to discover Lester, the hand opening the door (to reveal the blood on the table) is that of director Sam Mendes.
— Director Sam Mendes personally filmed the pivotal POV shot of Ricky’s camera when he zooms past the figure of Angela to “look closer” at Jane’s smiling reflection in the mirror.
— The high school campus scenes, including the Spartanette dance sequence in the gymnasium, were shot at South High School in Torrance, California.
— The shot where Annette Bening screams after her failure to sell the house was done in one take.
About music in the film…
— The tagline and important theme of the film - “Look closer” - can be seen in Lester’s cubicle at work. It was simply something a set dresser had put in, and director Sam Mendes noticed it while editing and suggested it be used for the poster.
— The video for “Cancer For The Cure” by Eels can be seen on a television Jane and Angela are watching.
— There is a poster for metal band Orgy’s first album “Candyass” on the wall in Jane’s bedroom.
<:3 )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra
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According to http://imdb.com/