The Grinch is Ron Howard’s film which airs this evening at 21.24 on Italia 1. It is a real Christmas classic, one of those essential films in the December schedules. Based on the short story of the same name Dr. Seuss released in 1957, The Grinch he also won an Oscar for Best Make-up thanks to the make-up that the protagonist Jim Carrey had to wear every day to transform himself into the green creature “allergic” to Christmas.
The Grinch, the plot
In the town of Chinonsò the preparations for Christmas are in full swing: the Christmas festivities are a real fixed appointment for the inhabitants of the town and every year they try to surpass the level of the previous year. But, in Chinonsò, there is someone who just can’t tolerate Christmas: the Grinch (Jim Carrey), a green creature who has a reputation for being a cruel man, incapable of love, who lives atop Mount Crumb with only his dog Max for company. The Grinch’s life, however, changes when one day, while he is by engineering one of his own pranks, he saves the life of little Cindy Chi Lou (Taylor Momsen). The little girl, therefore, understands that the Grinch is not really as bad as everyone thinks and is determined to prove that even the “green monster” is actually a person who just needs to be loved. Meanwhile, the Grinch, to try to save his reputation, organizes a very ambitious coup: stealing Christmas and thus wreaking havoc in the village. But the constancy and stubbornness of the little girl who wants to “save” him will risk screwing up the Grinch’s plans.
The Grinch, all the curiosities about the film
When Jim Carrey made fun of Ron Howard
The scene in which the Grinch is directing his dog, before stealing Christmas, was made by Jim Carrey with the intention of making fun of Ron Howard. In fact, in the scene, the actor imitates Howard’s directing style, including the movements and lines used during the making of the The Grinch. Ron Howard found his parody so funny that he decided to leave it in the final cut of the film.
Jim Carrey makeup
Jim Carrey spent 92 days as the Grinch. The make-up required a routine of two hours to apply in the morning and an hour in the evening to remove. According to the site of theInternet Movie Databasealthough the actor had developed a sort of zen acceptance to the make-up phases, Jim Carrey hated his latex costume, to the point of suggesting it as an instrument of torture.
The location of the film
The country of Chinonsò was built almost entirely in a space of Universal Studios, right behind the Bates Motel which became famous thanks to Psycho. During a break from filming the film, Jim Carrey frightened tourists on a tour by running out of the hotel in a woman’s dress, holding a knife. Nobody recognized him.
The work of Anthony Hopkins
In the outstanding cast that composes The Grinch there is also Anthony Hopkinsrecent Academy Award for The Father. The viewer, however, never sees the actor’s face, since Hopkins was hired as the narrator of the events. Hopkins was able to record all of his sentences and complete the narration in a single day’s work.
Ron Howard’s gesture
Director Ron Howard was so appreciative of Jim Carrey and his patience in “transforming” into the Grinch that, during the filming of the film, he decided to don the latex costume himself and apply the make-up, then directing the scenes tanned in that way. From his point of view it was a way to show Carrey how grateful everyone was for his sacrifice. Arrived on the set, however, Jim Carrey got angry: he didn’t recognize the director and thought that the second Grinch on the set was a stunt double who didn’t even look like him.
Contact lens
In the film, the Grinch has yellow eyes. At first it was planned to put Jim Carrey in contact lenses of the same color. But for the actor they were too annoying and he could not bear them. Some shots of his eyes were then edited during post-production.
The Grinch accent
Throughout the film Jim Carrey – in the original version – speaks with a strong accent. According to what he writes IMDB extension this accent is based on that of Sean Connery, personally chosen by Carrey himself.
The choice of the protagonist
Although today it is unthinkable to imagine a Grinch other than the one played by Jim Carrey, the actor of A week from God he was not the only one to be taken into consideration. Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams were also suggested for the lead role. It was Jim Carrey who chose Audrey Geiselthe widow of Dr. Seuss, who controlled the rights to her husband’s works.
The movie record
The Grinch it was the biggest-grossing Christmas movie since Mom I missed the planeanother classic of the period, which was released in 1990, ten years before the Ron Howard film.
The Grinch and Christmas
In the original transposition of The Grinch – which Ron Howard’s film is inspired by – the protagonist hates Christmas mainly because of annoying noises and greed. In the 2000 film, however, a more touching and emotional story is constructed to explain the Grinch’s hatred of the holiday season.
From makeup to Chinonsos: the curiosities you (maybe) don’t know about the Grinch