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movie The Birdcage

Azure Moon

By Azure Moon,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Wennfred

Wennfred

Posted
Posted

It was filmed in 1996, that ship looked like a Fantasy Ship, one of the mistakes in the movie:

 

When Armand calls Katherine, he tells her he is on his way to Miami from Miami Beach. The cruise ships in the background indicate he is actually going eastward to Miami Beach from Miami.

 

 

Fred

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Fam_Cruise

Fam_Cruise

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Actually that probably wasn't a mistake. Yes, it was wrong, but not a mistake. The director probably wanted a more colorful background for the scene, and purposely chose to shoot in that direction because of the ships vs. a background on predominantly water. I live in the DC area, Northern Virginia, and can't count the number of times they shoot scenes of people driving in the wrong direction to reach their destination. But they always like to use the DC monuments and scenery as part of their shot. In Spy Game, Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) driving into DC across Memorial Bridge and past the Lincoln Memorial to get to the CIA. NOT! The CIA is in Langley Virginia and to get there from the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge one would get on the GW Parkway going north which is easily accessible before crossing Memorial Bridge. And while the parkway is beautiful and green, it doesn't visually add to the story line because it doesn't have the expected DC backdrop. That is just one example, trust me there are plenty more.

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Magic City Cruiser

Magic City Cruiser

Posted
Posted
Actually that probably wasn't a mistake. Yes, it was wrong, but not a mistake. The director probably wanted a more colorful background for the scene, and purposely chose to shoot in that direction because of the ships vs. a background on predominantly water. I live in the DC area, Northern Virginia, and can't count the number of times they shoot scenes of people driving in the wrong direction to reach their destination. But they always like to use the DC monuments and scenery as part of their shot. In Spy Game, Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) driving into DC across Memorial Bridge and past the Lincoln Memorial to get to the CIA. NOT! The CIA is in Langley Virginia and to get there from the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge one would get on the GW Parkway going north which is easily accessible before crossing Memorial Bridge. And while the parkway is beautiful and green, it doesn't visually add to the story line because it doesn't have the expected DC backdrop. That is just one example, trust me there are plenty more.

 

Or, maybe the Director had taken one too many Prins. (I love that movie!)

Donna

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

Posted
Posted

I agree with Fred, definitely looks like a Fantasy class. Not sure how to figure out which one though. Maybe if someone has an old Carnival brochure they could tell you which ones were sailing out of Miami at the time. Since it was made in 96, that throws out Paradise, Elation and maybe Inspiration.

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Wennfred

Wennfred

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Actually that probably wasn't a mistake. Yes, it was wrong, but not a mistake. .

 

Heres some more mistakes:

 

Mistakes

 

  • When Armand calls Katherine, he tells her he is on his way to Miami from Miami Beach. The cruise ships in the background indicate he is actually going eastward to Miami Beach from Miami.

  • When the Keeleys are driving to South Beach, the gearshift in the car is in park mode.

  • When Val tells Armand he is getting married, Armand drinks his entire glass of wine, but in the next shot his glass is not empty.

  • When Albert discovers Armand by the pool with 2 glasses of wine he throws down his jacket in anger, putting out one of the candles on the table, which is lit during the rest of the scene.

  • When Albert is accusing Armand of making him "short, fat..." etc, he opens his robe. Throughout the rest of the scene it is sometimes open and sometimes closed.

  • When Armand and Val are in the kitchen reprimanding Agador for not making an entree (where Armand gives the note for Katherine to Val), Armand slips and falls onto the kitchen floor; though not completely a mistake, Robin Williams did seem to improvise the rest of the scene after getting back to his feet, yelling at Agador, telling him "**** the shrimp!" (when telling Val to hurry and put the note on the door, it's evident that Robin is holding back laughter).

Trivia

 

40px-Broom_icon.svg.png

  • A special version censored for television broadcast in the US uses special effects to change the thongs worn by various extras into baggier swimwear. The television version often includes some deleted and extended scenes.[citation needed]

  • The film was originally titled Birds of a Feather, the literal translation of the title of the original film.

  • Albert was originally supposed to be played by Robin Williams but Williams asked Mike Nicols if he could play Armand instead as he felt he would be typecast due to his frequency in playing flamboyant characters.[citation needed]

  • The song that Albert rehearses during the sequence with the gum-chewing dancer is entitled Little Dream, and was written by Stephen Sondheim specifically for use in the film.[4]

  • This film is number 99 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies" list.

  • In a deleted scene on the special edition DVD, actor Gene Hackman has a makeout scene with relatively unknown actor David Swanson. The scene did not make the final cut due to the lack of believeability on Hackman's part.[citation needed]

  • When the newspeople are paying off the driver in front of The Birdcage, the woman says "So, three...?" speaking about the amount of money she is going to pay him. One would think this refers to $300 but, if you look closely at the bills she counts out, you can see they are 3 $1 bills.

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aVASTGrl

aVASTGrl

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Actually that probably wasn't a mistake. Yes, it was wrong, but not a mistake. The director probably wanted a more colorful background for the scene, and purposely chose to shoot in that direction because of the ships vs. a background on predominantly water. I live in the DC area, Northern Virginia, and can't count the number of times they shoot scenes of people driving in the wrong direction to reach their destination. But they always like to use the DC monuments and scenery as part of their shot. In Spy Game, Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) driving into DC across Memorial Bridge and past the Lincoln Memorial to get to the CIA. NOT! The CIA is in Langley Virginia and to get there from the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge one would get on the GW Parkway going north which is easily accessible before crossing Memorial Bridge. And while the parkway is beautiful and green, it doesn't visually add to the story line because it doesn't have the expected DC backdrop. That is just one example, trust me there are plenty more.

 

 

I notice that kind of thing every time I see movies filmed in DC...drives me nuts!!!

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leadout_kv

leadout_kv

Posted
Posted
Actually that probably wasn't a mistake. Yes, it was wrong, but not a mistake. The director probably wanted a more colorful background for the scene, and purposely chose to shoot in that direction because of the ships vs. a background on predominantly water. I live in the DC area, Northern Virginia, and can't count the number of times they shoot scenes of people driving in the wrong direction to reach their destination. But they always like to use the DC monuments and scenery as part of their shot. In Spy Game, Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) driving into DC across Memorial Bridge and past the Lincoln Memorial to get to the CIA. NOT! The CIA is in Langley Virginia and to get there from the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge one would get on the GW Parkway going north which is easily accessible before crossing Memorial Bridge. And while the parkway is beautiful and green, it doesn't visually add to the story line because it doesn't have the expected DC backdrop. That is just one example, trust me there are plenty more.

 

You're right that there are many quirks in movies but....while you are correct that the CIA's office is in Virginia you are referring to the CIA's main office. I hate to break the news to ya but the CIA has many offices and a number of them (at least 10) are in DC. Do they refer to which CIA office in the movie that they are driving to? If not it is very possible to drive into DC to get to the CIA.

 

Still don't believe me? See link: http://www.jar2.com/cryptome.ru/1/H/cia-dc.htm

 

Kinda scares me that google can provide this much info about the CIA.

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FrannyK

FrannyK

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After our Imagination cruise a few years back, we had quite a few hours to kill until our flight back to Philly. We took the cruiseline sponsored South Beach tour and went to the bar where Birdcage was filmed at and had drinks there. It was the highlight of our day :)

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floatingaway2525

floatingaway2525

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After our Imagination cruise a few years back, we had quite a few hours to kill until our flight back to Philly. We took the cruiseline sponsored South Beach tour and went to the bar where Birdcage was filmed at and had drinks there. It was the highlight of our day :)

 

What is the name of that bar Franny?

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Fam_Cruise

Fam_Cruise

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Do they refer to which CIA office in the movie that they are driving to?
Yes, when Nathan Muir is driving his Porsche through the entrance of the CIA, that is the entrance of the CIA HQ in Langley.

 

Not to mention that they show a ariel shot of the CIA HQ and across the middle of the screen in big letters it says the following:

 

CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

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leadout_kv

leadout_kv

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Yes, when Nathan Muir is driving his Porsche through the entrance of the CIA, that is the entrance of the CIA HQ in Langley.

 

Not to mention that they show a ariel shot of the CIA HQ and across the middle of the screen in big letters it says the following:

 

CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

 

Ah, that's funny. You know your movies. I'm impressed. As another poster said movie directors love to use locations that may appeal to the audience while not being anywhere near the actual location of the site.

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Azure Moon

Azure Moon

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Thanks to all of you for the replies.

The ship very well could be the Imagination.

I'll have to get my VHS tape of The Birdcage out and see if the lettering on the ship is clearer than on the cable showing.

FrannyK, thanks for sharing the names and locations of the bar and apartment. :cool:

Wennfred, thanks for posting the trivia :cool: . It'll be fun looking for those mistakes.

 

Fam_Cruise and aVASTGrl, I agree about changes in scenery.

I always find it eye opening to see California scenery in the Midwest :eek:.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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The ship is the Ecstasy. You can see the name on ship.

 

Wasn't that right around the time she was also "starring" on CNN..............due to the laundry room fire? :rolleyes:

 

Oh well, I guess you gotta take the good with the bad.

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

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Wasn't that right around the time she was also "starring" on CNN..............due to the laundry room fire? :rolleyes:

 

Oh well, I guess you gotta take the good with the bad.

 

July of 1998 was when she caught fire. If you watch the movie in High Definition, the words "Ecstasy" are very clear just above the category eleven suites.

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maggieworkman

maggieworkman

Posted
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Here is a picture of me by the Carlyle hotel.

 

2668057730089234266ryfWUM_th.jpg

 

We didn't take a tour but walked around South Beach awhile to find the correct place. We just did it from memory of the film, but I'm glad to know I was correct.

 

I looked inside and it seems like its an apartment or something now (maybe hotel)? I couldn't figure out how they transformed the lobby to be the Birdcage bar, but I see above it was a different location. I guess in August when we sail on the Imagination, I'm going to have to go looking for the bar next!!!

 

Maggie

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