What's the Connection?

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I'm going to go ahead and reveal that each of these six films features at least one actor recreating a role they created on Broadway in the stage version.

In Damn Yankees, Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston were allowed to reprise the roles of Lola and Applegate that they created on Broadway.

In Come Back Little Sheba Shirley Booth reprised her Broadway role as Lola Delaney

In the 1977 film version of Equus, Peter Firth reprised his Broadway role as Alan Strang

In A Streetcar Named Desire, the entire original Broadway cast reprised their roles, with the exception of Jessica Tandy as Blanche. Her role in the film version went to Vivien Leigh,

In The Man Who Came to Dinner, Monty Wooley reprised his role as Sheridan Whiteside.

In The Wiz, Ted Ross was the only actor from the Broadway cast who was allowed to reprise his role as The Cowardly Lion





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I will go ahead and reveal that these three films all feature a scene where a character or characters are watching a movie:


In Twister, Aunt Meg (Lois Smith) is watching the Judy Garland version of A Star is Born and the storm chasers also stop at a drive in showing The Shining



In Jenny, Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda go to a drive in and watch A Place in the Sun



In Get Shorty, Chili Palmer (John Travolta) goes to a movie theater alone to watch A Touch of Evil





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The connection between these six films is that they all won the Oscar for Best Original Song...Here Comes the Groom featured "In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening", The Sandpiper featured "The Shadow of Your Smile", Working Girl featured "Let The Rivers Run", Norma Rae won for "It Goes Like it Goes", Days of Wine and Roses won for its title tune and Thank God it's Friday won for the Donna Summer disco classic "Last Dance".




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The connections between these three sets of films is that each set of movies were Oscar nominees for Best Picture that didn't win the award. The first three films were Best Picture nominees of 1966, losing to A Man For All Seasons. The second set were Best Picture nominees of 1972, losing the award to The Godfather. The third set were nominated for Best PIcture of 1990, losing to Dances with Wolves.




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The connection between these six film is that they all have a professional athlete in a major role. The NBA's Kevin Garnett is in Uncut Gems; Airplane features NBA icon Kareem Abduhl Jabaar; tennis pro John McEmroe is featured in Mr. Deeds, the late WWF wrestler Andre the Giant is in The Princess Bride and pro football's Bubba Smith is in Police Academy.




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Time to reveal that the stars of these six films also directed them: Burt Reynolds starred in and directed The End; Jodie Foster starred in and directed Little Man Tate; Alan Alda starred in and directed Sweet Liberty; Jack Nicholson starred in and directed The Two Jakes; Woody Allen starred in and directed Sleeper; Mel Brooks starred in and directed High Anxiety.




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