The way many talk about Big Labowski is the way I feel about another Coen Bros film, Raising Arizona. I saw it twice in the theater when it came out in 1987. I remember hearing the film was by the same guys that made Blood Simple, plus at the time I remember liking Nicolas Cage in the couple of films I had seen him in, especially Birdy which I had bought for the Peter Gabriel soundtrack. Later in the early 90's I bought the Raising Arizona VHS tape and everytime it shows up on TV I'm stuck watching it.

At the time besides Nicolas Cage being hardly known, I only knew John Goodman for a Talking Heads video, but his character as Gale is what I think of everytime I hear his name. To me, so many scenes are classic. The convenience store hold up and police chase, the visit to the trailer by H.I.'s boss' family with Frances McDormand as Dot, Gale and his friend breaking out of prison, later their bank holdup and the blue dye pack going off. There's is just too many classic scenes.

"GENTLEMEN!!! YOU CAN'T FIGHT IN HERE, THIS IS THE WAR ROOM!!!"

ROFL

That movie is definitely one that deserves a second viewing. A lot of subtle humor in there to catch while trying to keep up with the plot.

Speaking of Norton, I saw Primal Fear last week. I liked the atmosphere and the courtroom drama, but the corruption of the Archbishop was tiring.

I enjoy movies with Catholic characters, backdrops, and themes. One I enjoyed very much was The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The priest in particularly, is a very moral and faith-filled man. It's also extremely creepy.

That's what happens hen you **** a stranger in the ass...

Tom Wilkinson, ftw!

Chris Cooper = University of Missouri school of drama grad according to imdb.com

You also forgot badass actor.

Cooper grew up in Blue Springs.

More Chris Cooper-Missouri trivia:

Studied ballet at Stephens College in Columbia.

He majored in agriculture and acting at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.

Turned down the role of Jim Gordon in Batman Begins (2005).

As a young man, he did some construction work, including helping with the construction of Royals Stadium in Kansas City, now known as Kaufman Stadium.

Graduated from Southwest High School in 1969. Southwest High School closed down in 1998 and reopened in 1999 as Southwest Charter School. Southwest High School is located in the Kansas City, Missouri School District.

Chris Cooper is the shit, from the city (then small town) i grew up in

Ive always liked Cooper. Hes great in the original Lonesume Dove from like 20 years ago. That was the first time i ever remember seeing him.

Didn't know that.

I don't know whether I'm happy or not. I love Gary Oldman but Chris Cooper is awesome too. Course, I loved Oldman in DK.

Raising Arizona is a freaking classic!

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And more Batman Begins/Dark Knight trivia:

Christian Bale had previously screen tested and was considered for the role of Robin in Batman Forever (1995).

Kurt Russell and Dennis Quaid were considered for the role of James Gordon.

Viggo Mortensen turned down Liam Neeson's role. Daniel Day-Lewis was also approached.

Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Alfred but declined.

Laurence Fishburne was considered for the role of Lucius Fox.

Christian Bale's trailer didn't have his name on the door but said "Bruce Wayne" instead.

Due to his part in Maquinista, El (2004) (aka The Machinist), Christian Bale was vastly underweight (about 120 pounds on his 6 foot+ frame) when he was under consideration for the part. After being cast, he was told to become as "big as you could be" by Christopher Nolan. Bale underwent a dietary and exercise regimen and ending up weighing about 220 pounds (about 40 pounds above his normal weight). It was decided that Bale had became too large (friends of his on the film's crew dubbed him "Fatman") and he quickly shed about 20 pounds to have leaner, more muscular frame.

Matt Damon was Christopher Nolan's first choice for the role of Harvey Dent but turned it down. Before Aaron Eckhart was cast in the part, other actors considered included Hugh Jackman, Ryan Phillippe, Liev Schreiber, Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Lucas.

As a joke, one bat suit was made with nipples, as in Batman & Robin (1997). It was presented to Christian Bale as the real bat suit, but he knew instantly it was a joke, having seen a few design pictures during preproduction. He did pose for some publicity photos in the "nipple" suit.

To prepare for his role as the Joker, Heath Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's psychology, posture and voice (the last one he found most difficult to do). He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker's thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. He was also given Alan Moore's comic "Batman: The Killing Joke" and "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" to read. Ledger also took inspiration from A Clockwork Orange (1971)'s Alex and Sid Vicious.

It's Sir Michael Caine's opinion that Heath Ledger beat the odds and topped Jack Nicholson's Joker from Batman (1989): "Jack was like a clown figure, benign but wicked, maybe a killer old uncle. He could be funny and make you laugh. Heath's gone in a completely different direction to Jack, he's like a really scary psychopath. He's a lovely guy and his Joker is going to be a hell of a revelation in this picture." Caine bases this belief on a scene where the Joker pays a visit to Bruce Wayne's penthouse. He'd never met Ledger before, so when Ledger arrived and performed he gave Caine such a fright he forgot his lines.

I love the bit of the clapping not being in the script. I read parts of the script and there's a lot that was improvised. For the better....