So I went to see an advance screening of Street Kings, in theaters Friday, because I felt like I hadn’t seen Keanu Reeves (pictured, right, with co-stars Chris Evans and The Game) in a while. (I told Josh Wolk that in the elevator, and he responded, "What, you didn’t see The Lake House?" Clearly, he expected me to say no; obviously, I couldn’t. I will never be able to resist Reeves as a romantic leading man. Just as Slezak will never be able to resist defending his performance in Sweet November.) Now, I’m not the target audience audience for a serious, violent cop flick — I prefer funny and violent. Nor do I typically seek out anything that involves Jay Mohr. But I enjoyed Street Kings. Particularly, when I spied Flavor of Love playing on a television in the background of a foot chase-through-a-house scene. It was the NSFW clip of Pumpkin spitting in New York’s face. Keep an eye out for it.
That made me wonder what random visual references I might have missed in other movies. Let’s all share one that we’ve caught. Judging from the box office, I’m guessing I’m the only one who noticed that Team America: World Police poster hanging in Simon Pegg’s flat in Run Fat Boy Run. (If you saw my Q&A with Pegg, you know that was his way of apologizing for using a montage, a device that his buddies Trey Parker and Matt Stone had brilliantly skewered in Team America.)
Your turn.
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In “Flushed Away” – there are several references to Nick Parks’ other works — there are stuffed rabbits from “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” and a couple of newspaper headlines referring to incidents that occur in that movie. Also a stuffed lion from “Madagascar”.
In “Finding Nemo” there is a Buzz Lightyear action-figure doll laying in the corner of the dentists office.
- A soundtrack album from “2001: A Space Odyssey” in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE; both films by Stanley Kubrick.
- “Saturday Night Fever” playing on TV in SHORT CIRCUIT; both films by John Badham.
- Video boxes for “Die Hard”, “The Hunt For Red October” and “Medicine Man” on display shelves in LAST ACTION HERO; all John McTiernan films.
In “I Think I Love My Wife” Chris Rock works at the firm Pupkin and Langford” … a classic reference to the two leading characters played by Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis in the “The King of Comedy”
pt. II – They only show the firm’s name in the lobby, I don’t believe they ever reference the name in the movie – thus visual reference
In Mr and Mrs Smith, Adam Brody is wearing a Fight Club t-shirt while being interrogated by Brad Pitt.
And in Order of the Phoenix, Harry had a quidditch world cup poster hanging in his room when the Order comes to rescue him from the Dursley’s house (that took me until the IMAX viewing to catch it). Not really a reference, since it is still within the overarching storyline – just a nice attention to detail.
In Hitman, when Agent 47 came through a window and 2 kids were playing the game “Hitman.”
In Monsters Inc., Boo hands Sully a stuffed fish in her bedroom that looks just like Nemo.
I believe there’s also a Woody doll that shows up in Monsters Inc.- or maybe it was in a different Pixar movie.
In the Russian vampire movie, “Nightwatch,” the little boy at the center of the conflict is watching the “Buffy vs. Dracula” episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Em, the doll Boo picks up is the Cowgirl doll from Toy Story 2, establishing that Boo is the kid sister that was mentioned. I remember see that scene in the theater and the audience was a mixed of gasps, ‘ahhs’ and ‘cool’.
If you rent “The Simpson’s Movie” make sure you read the warning labels at the beginning of the movie. The ones that tell you that making copies is illegal. I can’t ruin the joke by telling you why, just make sure you read them.
In Brokeback Mountain, there’s a scene where Ennis is getting ready to meet Jack after a long time apart, and he’s rummaging around in his cupboard. There’s a bag of Purity Hard Bread in one of the cupboards, which is a really, really obscure thing unless you’re from Newfoundland. I gasped when I saw it!
I caught the Team America poster too..funny stuff.
countless times I can’t help but notice the Clockwork Orange poster in Chloe’s room in Smallville…
I felt special when I saw the Team America poster in Run, Fat Boy, Run. lol I’m never good with details like this, because I’m usually just listening to the dialogue. If I can catch a verbal pop culture reference, I like to pat myself on the back, because most of the time I’m oblivious. Gilmore Girls was filled with them.
What about the Wire, and Dukie watching “Dexter”, all during a season where McNulty had concocted a fake serial killer story?
Wait a sec, Boo is actually Andy’s little sister?? Never caught that…
In Fargo, when the wife gets kidnapped, she’s watching an old morning show that was only on here in the Twin Cities. Nobody else would notice that if they weren’t from here, which was very nice attention to detail by the Coens.
No, Boo is not necessarily Andy’s kid sister. It’s just a visual reference to another Pixar movie–they all have ‘em (note other posts below). They put in references to their short movies, too, such as the old restoration guy in Toy Story 2 who fixes up Woody. He’s the same guy from Gerry’s Game, a short Pixar made which I believe can be found on the Bug’s Life DVD.
In Collateral, there’s a scene in the hospital. On the patient’s wall is a picture of the cast of “Sister, Sister.”
In Goonies, the kids watch Cyndi Lauper’s video for her song from the soundtrack.
In Thirteen, the girls go to a fake movie starring Jack Black and a cartoon pig.
Any of you who are avid readers of Stephen King knows that he frequently makes reference to characters and situations that have occurred in his previous novels. Two examples:
- CUJO makes reference to the serial killer Frank Dodd from THE DEAD ZONE.
- Annie Wilkes in MISERY mentions how a man named Jack Torrance went crazy and blew up the Overlook Hotel (THE SHINING).
also in finding nemo–a pizza planet truck (from toy story) zooms by during a scene outside the dentist office.
In Rory and Paris’s dorm room, they had a Planned Parenthood Stand Up for Choice poster. (Gilmore Girls)
One of my favorites: on Veronica Mars, the numbers on the fortune cookie fortune that Duncan gave to Veronica were the Lost numbers (4 8 15 16 23 42).
In Star Wars Ep.#1 there’s a scene in the Galactic Senate that shows a group of delegates that all look like “E.T.”.
on gilmore girls, there was a michael moore poster in rory and paris’s first dorm room.
in the lake house, sandra bullock is watching the powerpuff girls.
and on friday night lights, they watch the office, my name is earl, deal or no deal, and the today show. (nbc plugs, but the characters don’t say they’re watching it, so visual?)
in shaun of the dead and the 40 year old virgin, dawn of the dead plays on one of the tvs in the bg
also in finding nemo, the toy chest in the dentist office is andy’s toy chest from toy story, & at the end of finding nemo, mike from monster’s inc swims by through the credits & in another disney movie, im blannking of the title, mrs potts, lumiere, & cogsworth from beauty & the beast… disney movies tend to do that all the time. if you watch any of them back to back, you will see stuff from every disney movie lol
In 50 First Dates the Head Injury Hospital is called Callahan Institute and was founded by a grant from an auto parts factory out of Sandusky Ohio. Which is the same auto parts place in Tommy Boy. A shout out from Adam Sandler to his departed friend Chris Farley, I am sure.