Did you know that when they filmed the movie Jaws (1975), the film was nearly cancelled because they went weeks at a time when the animatronic shark wouldn't work? Actors and crew just stood around on some beach watching it jerk and thrash around in the water.
Steven Spielberg wouldn't even take film out of the camera for fear that the producers wouldn't allow him to put it back in.
And it's behind the scenes information like that that really helps you appreciate the movie even more when you go back to watch it. That said, in hopes that it produces a similar effect on you, here are our top five most interesting facts about the production of Vocab Wars!
5. There was supposed to be a Thriller scene.
In scene two, Agent Malone visits his personal graveyard to gloat over his defeat of the Chosen Ones, but the Man in the Panda Mask follows him and summons the dead from their graves.
According to the original script, the whole graveyard was supposed to come alive with zombies, decked out in makeup, tattered clothes, and a funky soul for getting down. Michael Jackson would lead the un-dead in a full on performance of Thriller, followed by a battle between Malone and the other zombies.
As they walk away from the graveyard, Ron Weasley would say, “When did we stop looking like zombies?” Hehehe...hilarious.
Michael Jackson's Thriller was - and still is - an American Heritage of South Jordan favorite, and almost the whole cast of Vocab Wars could've performed it. But when the week of filming finally arrived, it happened to be the same week as the premiere, and a catastrophic iMovie crash forced them to drop anything that hadn't already been filmed.
4. The Oracle of Dempewolf is based off of a real oracle
The Oracle of Dempewolf is named after Juli Dempewolf, a real live oracle.
Juli Dempewolf was a high school teacher at American Heritage of South Jordan from 2007-2012. During that time, she taught all levels of math from Pre-Algebra up to Calculus 2, American History (1600 - Present), American Government, Classical Literature, English and Writing, Latin 1 and 2, Theater, Leadership, and even has a Master's Degree in Physics.
Since that time she has continued to give and receive education, earning her PhD and continuing her passion of teaching out on the East coast. You could probably ask her anything and she could give you a solid 10/10 answer. She really was an oracle.
3. Almost every character in the series has a connection to American Heritage of South Jordan
When it was written, Vocab Wars was meant to have a subliminal, symbolic relationship with the same school that helped inspire it.
Michael Jackson - As already mentioned, Thriller was an annual Halloween performance and Taylor was nominated to perform Michael Jackson's part in 2009.
Charlie Brown - In Spring of 2010, Spencer Broadhead was cast as Charlie Brown in the school musical, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!
Gingerbread Man - In 2008, Anthony Minson was cast as a gingerbread man in a brief "commercial break" sketch during the school play, Big Bad, where he was chased by children around the auditorium.
Jack Sparrow - In the Fall of 2008, American Heritage hosted a full on mock presidential election to demonstrate the election process. Among the contestants were Peter Pan (portrayed by Micah Worwood) with his Vice-President, Captain Jack Sparrow (portrayed by Dakota Jake).
Agent Malone - In the Great Suburban Robbery, Agent Malone wears a suit and black shirt, sporting the plaid AHSJ uniform tie. In addition, his agent minions' ties are always one of the school's colors (red, white, black, or grey).
Lord Sohcahtoa - The name is derived from the common conjugation of Sine, Cosine, and Tangent with their "opposite/hypotenuse/adjacent" combos. Ms. Dempewolf had a sign in her classroom displaying this conjugation as a teaching tool.
Abraham Lincoln - For many years, it was required by American Heritage honor code that Halloween costumes be either based on historical characters or characters from classical literature. Hunter Johnson had the best Abraham Lincoln costume one year, and he even allowed us to borrow his hat and beard for the shoot.
Lady Macbeth - In 2007, American Heritage put on its first play, Shakespeare's Macbeth! Anthony Minson starred as Macbeth, with Mikele Mcgregor as co-star, Lady Macbeth. In fact, the Ron Weasley head that topples to the ground in the Great Suburban Robbery was a prop borrowed from the AHSJ theater department - it was originally used in Macbeth when the king met his untimely demise.
Empress Punnett - The genius scientist/terrifying empress of Blastopore derives her name from the punnet square, a tool used in Ms. Hadock's Biology class to deduce and predict dominant traits in a gene.
Oracle of Dempewolf - As explained in item 4, the Oracle of Dempewolf is based on AHSJ high school teacher, Juli Dempewolf, a never ending fountain of teacher knowledge.
On top of all that, both the Autocracy and Resistance headquarters were filmed inside the school itself! Lord Sohcahtoa resides in Mr. Yorgason's office, and the Resistance leaders reside in Mrs. Yorgason's office (they are connected by a single door).
2. The Great Suburban Robbery is a parody
The Great Suburban Robbery was originally conceived as an attempt at extra credit in American History class.
After watching The Great Train Robbery (1903) in class, Anthony, Spencer, and Taylor decided to recreate the film in hopes of winning some extra points. Without a train, cowboy costumes, or horses, however, they were forced to improvise with what they already had.
The two films share identical, shot-for-shot storyboards (up until the battle scene), which explains the insane amount of gingerbread men in that little suburban, as well as the random group of people they rob halfway through the film. It is also the reason for the selected time period, old-style film aesthetic, and absence of dialogue.
It turned out being 18 minutes long, and Ms. Dempewolf surprisingly allowed the whole thing to be showed in class! Although, they never received any extra credit for the project.
1. The Vocab Calendar really was lost
Tearing off pages from Ms. Dempewolf's daily vocabulary calendar was one of life's greatest pleasures for Taylor and Spencer. In fact, as the year came to a close, they purchased a new calendar as a Christmas present for her - it was this calendar that was used as a prop during the final scene of the Great Suburban Robbery.
Due to a series of unfortunate events, however, the calendar (and the pirate chest it was in) never made it off that park bench. This fact was not discovered until days after shooting, and the calendar was officially lost for good.
It was this devastating tragedy that inspired the plot of Vocab Wars Episode II, in which the Chosen Ones are destined to find the lost Calendar (the location of which "not even the Oracle of Dempewolf knows") and restore peace to Academia.
And that's it for our top five interesting production facts! We hope it somehow by some miracle enhances your viewing experience or opinion of the film. Or at the very least, respect us slightly more. Maybe?
.... WHICH ONE WAS YOUR FAVORITE??
yeah, that's a good way to end a blog post...
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