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A lot of people love Steven Spielberg movies, especially his wide-eyed, wonder-filled science fiction romps of the 80s. But a lot of people don't get to actually celebrate their love of Spielberg movies by getting Steven Spielberg to produce an homage to their favorite Steven Spielberg movies-which is one of many things that set J.J. Abrams ("Lost", "Star Trek") apart. Here are few things you might not have caught while your eyes adjusted to the constant lens flaring of Abrams' 1979-set nostalgia trip, "Super 8".
10. Abrams definitely likes keeping things in the family. Super 8 takes place in the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio - named after Abrams' grandmother, Ohio (kidding). The town also has a gas station named Kelvin, after Abrams' grandfather. Fans will also remember that James Kirk's father is (briefly) captain of the U.S.S. Kelvin at the start of Abrams' Star Trek reboot. -
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9. The iconic bicycle (with makeshift milk crate basket) that Elliot used to race E.T. back to his ship in Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" is among the debris that gets magnetized to the water tower at the end of the movie.
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8. Early in the movie, you see a news broadcast (archival footage of Walter Cronkite) discussing the nuclear accident on Three Mile Island. The movie is supposed to take place just as the main character and his friends start their summer vacation. The Three Mile Island disaster occurred in March of 1979. So unless Ohio has really early summers...
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7. When the main kid, Joe (Joel Courtney), talks to his dad (Kyle Chandler) about his friends, dad claims to like them all "except Cary, who can't stop lighting things on fire." This is a nod to Abrams' obsession with Stephen King ("Carrie", "Firestarter").
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6. A 12 year-old Elle Fanning was not allowed to actually drive the car the kids use to beat a hasty retreat, so they installed a mini-steering wheel in the back seat and had a stunt coordinator control the car from there.
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5. Not to ruin the magic, but the kids' movie within a movie was actually shot on...Super 16. The digital effects guys said they couldn't achieve what Abrams wanted if they actually shot on Super 8 (as Abrams had originally requested).
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4. Abrams' notorious pre-release secrecy led to some wild rumors surrounding "Super 8" - including that it was going to be a "Cloverfield" prequel, and that the "8" referred to a group of super-powered teens.
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3. The alien's face was actually "performed" by actor Bruce Greenwood, who played Captain Pike in Abrams' "Star Trek'. Greenwood is listed in the end credits as "Cooper," which was the nickname the crew gave the alien during production.
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2. Steven Spielberg admitted that "E.T." started out as two separate movies, one about divorce and the other about aliens. Abrams claims that "Super 8" also started out as two separate movies, one a tribute to his youth making movies with friends and the other a half-formed idea about a train transporting mysterious objects from Area 51 that derails.
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CBS/Photofest10 of 10Next: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek
1. Early in the movie, the military instigates "Project Walking Distance." This is a reference to Abrams all-time favorite "Twilight Zone" episode, "Walking Distance." It's about a 40 year-old man who goes back to his old hometown and ends up meeting his younger self.