Wonder Woman [2017] (2 discs)

Random Trivia For This Title:

• In the classic [Wonder Woman] theme song from 1975 there is a line that says "Stop a war with love." This is what happens in the film: Diana fights and defeats the god of war Ares with love, and ends World War I.
• The No Man's Land sequence initially caused confusion for some people on the film's creative team. They thought it was meant to be an action sequence and didn't understand how it could work without Diana fighting a villain. Patty Jenkins insisted that the scene was a pivotal dramatic moment, underscoring Diana's self-affirmation and her resolution.
• Director Patty Jenkins was originally in talks with Warner Bros. to direct this film back in 2005, but due to her unexpected pregnancy, she had to step down. Jenkins claimed that Wonder Woman is the film she has been wanting to do her whole life and that she was fortunate to come back to it.
• Every design decision made for Themyscira came down to director Patty Jenkins and designer ^[?] Lindy Hemming asking, "How would women want to live that's badass?" Hemming crafted a look to show off the Amazons' ripped shoulders and toned legs, emphasized by wrist braces and heeled sandals, because, Jenkins explained, "As a woman, I want Wonder Woman to fight and look great at the same time. In my opinion, this means she has really long legs."
• Gal Gadot was a part of re-shoots for the movie (including stunts) while being five months pregnant. Her baby bump was visible, so the crew created a costume which had a green screen around her belly, which was later removed during post-production.
• Steve's timepiece is a pocket watch, adapted with a leather case to be worn on the wrist. Pocket watches were the norm at the time (they were usually worn on a chain), but they proved to be impractical in front line action. Because timing was critical for coordinating large-scale action (such as the use of infantry maneuvers in conjunction with artillery barrages), soldiers began wearing timepieces on their wrists. This fashion spread to civilians after the war and adapted pocket watches into wristwatches, which became as the preferred fashion of timepieces in the 20th century.
• Gal Gadot trained for nine months to gain seventeen pounds of pure muscle.
• The discussion in the boat about "the pleasures of the flesh" was improvised.
• Diana's scenes in London are a homage to Superman, where Superman encounters urban life for the first time: the protagonist gets a disguise of a formal bespectacled attire, stops a mugging attack and has some trouble with a revolving door.
• This film features Diana Prince, the original Wonder Woman, and Artemis and Orana, who briefly held the title of Wonder Woman in the comics. The actresses who played them, Gal Gadot, Ann Wolfe and Mayling Ng, were all trained in martial arts.
• This film is banned in Lebanon because its star, Gal Gadot, is an Israeli citizen and Lebanon is officially at war with Israel. Like the authorities in Tunisia and Qatar who banned the film, the official "explanation" for it being banned in Lebanon was that Gadot had expressed positive views of her country (and the IDF) along with negative views of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, implying that if Gadot was an anti-Zionist they would not have banned the movie at all.
• Steve Trevor sarcastically refers to Diana's island home of Themyscira as "Paradise Island." However, this is a nod to the original name for Wonder Woman's homeland (the island of Amazons) in the comics. In the 1980s, the name of the Amazon Island was changed to Themyscira when comic book writers (^[?] George Perez specifically) updated and revamped the character. It has been referred to as Themyscira in all Wonder Woman media since then. Steve Trevor's sarcastic remark was actually written in to nod to fans who would remember the old name (which was used in the television show, as well as comics pre-dating the 80s).
• This is the first female-dominant superhero film in twelve years since Elektra.
• General Ludendorff was a real person and he was as ruthless as his movie counterpart. As supreme commander of the German forces, he authorized the use of mustard gas, a corrosive agent that could quite literally melt tissue, and that depending on the exposure would inflict temporary or permanent blindness, lasting damage to lungs and an extremely painful death. With the armistice, Ludendorff later supported Adolf Hitler's failed coup and the Nazi regime.
• This film had been in development since 1996, when Ivan Reitman was hired to write and direct it. In January 2001, Silver Pictures approached ^[?] Todd Alcott to write a Wonder Woman script. He was replaced in August 2003 with Laeta Kalogridis. Later in March 2005, Joss Whedon was hired to not only write but also direct the film, but in February 2007, he left due to creative differences. On November 24, 2014, ^[?] Michelle MacLaren was confirmed as director, but she dropped out on March 13, 2015 due to creative differences.
• Director Patty Jenkins is a big fan of the [Wonder Woman] TV show and wanted ^[?] Lynda Carter and ^[?] Lyle Waggoner, who played Diana and Steve in that show, to make cameo appearances in the film. However, Lyle retired from acting in 2005 and while Lynda was still active, but she had conflicting schedules about her cabarets.
• A role was offered to Cate Blanchett, but she turned it down. She would take the role of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.
• The role of Queen Hippolyta was offered to Nicole Kidman but she passed on the role. She wanted to be part of the film because of Patty Jenkins, but scheduling conflicts with [Big Little Lies] prevented this. Kidman would later star in Aquaman as Queen Atlanna, mother of Aquaman/Arthur Curry (who is Wonder Woman's ally).
• After its domestic opening weekend, this film immediately became the highest grossing film about World War I (The Great War), and the first to gross over $100 million.
• This is the first film in Gal Gadot's acting career in which she received top billing.
• Both Gal Gadot and Connie Nielsen were up for roles in Man of Steel, with Gadot as Faora and Nielsen as Lara.
• Some of the Amazons have flesh colored cloth over one side of their chest, almost seeming like one breast was uncovered or nonexistent (this is very apparent in the opening sequence when young Diana watches the training and Antiope walks over to talk with an Amazon so clad). This may be a reference to the fact that Amazons are often depicted in art as having one breast exposed. Ancient sources even state that Amazons cut or burned off their breast on their dominant side so that it wouldn't interfere with combat, especially with a bow. Some ancient sources suggest that this is the source of their name; a-mazos in Greek means "without breast".
• ^[?] Kathryn Bigelow, Catherine Hardwicke, Mimi Leder, Karyn Kusama, ^[?] Julie Taymor and Tricia Brock were considered to direct the film. ^[?] Michelle MacLaren originally took the job but had to decline.
• Liam Hemsworth and Alexander Skarsgård were considered for the role of Steve Trevor. Liam Hemsworth's brother, Chris Hemsworth, and Alexander Skarsgård's father, Stellan Skarsgård, are part of Marvel's "Thor" films. Scott Eastwood, who appeared in Suicide Squad, was rumored for the role of Steve Trevor in this film.
• Kate Beckinsale, Sandra Bullock, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Biel, Eva Green, Christina Hendricks, Kristen Stewart, Olga Kurylenko and Elodie Yung were considered to play the role of Wonder Woman throughout the years. After being considered for Diana, Eva Green was later for the role of Doctor Poison. In 2005, Angelina Jolie was offered the chance to play the lead role, but she declined. In 2015, she was considered to direct it. Cobie Smulders was briefly considered for the role of Wonder Woman. Smulders went on to voice the character in the The Lego Movie and also appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Agent Maria Hill.
• Patty Jenkins admitted that she didn't really think Gal Gadot would suit Wonder Woman at first. She had been previously cast by Zack Snyder who remained here as producer. However after paying attention to Gadot, Jenkins admitted she thought she was perfect for the role.