*Jodie Foster won a Golden Globe for "The Mauritanian" but failed to secure an Oscar nomination. This essentially does not happen. In Foster's category, this hadn't happened even once in the previous 44 years.
*Dino De Laurentiis is the villain in the Thomas Harris story -- pushing for "Hannibal Rising," purely for cash. Deep down, no one wanted "Hannibal Rising." When it happened, it was embarrassing for Harris.
*One odd twist in the story of Hannibal Lecter: Anthony Hopkins's performance is beloved, but many fans would not rank Hopkins as their ideal Lecter. Many would give the title to Mads Mikkelsen. Some might give the title to Brian Cox. (No one is fond of Gaspard Ulliel, the star of "Hannibal Rising.")
*No one really understands Trump's fascination with Lecter. (Bill Clinton, the great explainer, cannot explain.) There are two main (contradictory) theories. One: Trump wants Americans to imagine immigrants as Hannibal Lecters, threatening U.S. security. Two: Trump himself identifies with the amoral Lecter, whose main "story" ("The Silence of the Lambs") arrived on the scene at the same time as Trump's "The Art of the Deal."
*It wasn't a given that "Silence of the Lambs" would take home the Best Picture Oscar. Stiff competition arrived in the form of "Bugsy" and "Beauty and the Beast."
Lecter is the subject of "Hannibal Lecter: A Life," an entertaining work of history by Brian Raftery. Happy Friday.
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