So what do Willow, The Ref, Godzilla, Galaxy Quest, and Lady in the Water have in common? They all feature an unsavory character named after a well-known movie critic. In Willow, that would be General Kael (named for Pauline). A military-school administrator in The Ref, who is being blackmailed over a sexual indiscretion, is named General Siskel and is played by a balding J.K. Simmons, who sorta looks like the late Gene Siskel (pictured, at left). The buffoonish and slow-to-respond-to-menacing-lizard-threat mayor of New York is named Ebert and played by Roger E. lookalike Michael Lerner in 1998′s Godzilla. Bonus: Mayor Ebert has a balding assistant named Gene (Lorry Goldman) who gives the mayor’s performance under crisis a literal thumbs-down at the end of the movie. In Galaxy Quest, a hideous, one-eyed alien villain is named Sarris (after Andrew). And in Lady in the Water, well, we won’t spoil it before it even opens, but just keep an eye on Bob Balaban’s character.
Not many of you got the gist this week. (See the very short list after the jump.) And come back Friday for more HeadScratcher fun.
Here’s the hall of fame:
Vicki Ebberts
Ryan Halbrook
Todd LaPlace
Megan Low
Harold Reynolds
Wendy Swiggett
Mike Tank
Meg Weber
Patrick A. Yearout
Don’t forget that the two-headed monster in “Willow” was named for Siskel and Ebert!
WOW!!! I guess I should have figured that each film having a star who hosted SNL was just a tad too easy.
Wow Hall of Famers – I bow to you. That is some seriously insider knowledge. I’m sort of speechless.