Trivia / The Freshman (1990)

• Adam Westing: Marlon Brando plays a character that's clearly written as a parody of one of his most iconic roles.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Matthew Broderick signed on to work with Marlon Brando.
• California Doubling: Toronto stands in for New York for much of the filming.
• Creator Backlash: During post-production, Marlon Brando publicly condemned this film and claimed it would be the biggest turkey of all time. This was because Brando asked for an additional $1 million when the shoot was extended an extra week. When the producers refused, he threatened to badmouth the film in the press. They still refused and he followed through with his threat. The following day, the producers paid him the money and he publicly praised the film.
• Enforced Method Acting: Matthew Broderick had no idea that Marlon Brando was going to use the walnuts as a prop in the scene where they discuss his job. While waiting for the scene to be shot, Brando cracked the walnuts just enough so they would be easy to break, and then used them in the scene to help generate a more genuine response from Broderick.
• Portrayed by Different Species: Though referred to in the movie as a "Komodo Dragon", the lizards supplied for filming were actually Asian water monitors, a more common, much more docile, and slightly smaller relative. A tame specimen was used for scenes requiring the actors to interact with it, while the chase sequences used flightier lizards.
• Uncredited Role: David and Don Was make uncredited cameos as two band members of the Gourmet Club's party band.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Robert Downey Jr. was offered the role of Clark Kellogg but passed.
  • Robin Wright was considered for the role of Tina Sabatini.
  • According to Andrew Bergman, Laurence Olivier was interested in the role of Lord London, but was too ill to take it.

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