Compiled by the now defunct Cigarettes & Coffee. Whatever did happen to that site?
Trivia
Exodus 8:2 References
And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs.
In the first story, the hanging victim is wearing the number 82.
In the second story, the pilot is in a red plane marked 82.
The pilot is then seen playing Blackjack in Vegas. He needs a 2. He gets an 8.
In the third story, the sign shows the meeting started at 8:20.
When Sydney Barringer is preparing to jump off his building. The ropes to the left of him are coiled as an 8 and a 2.
March 23rd, the day that Sydney jumps, is the 82nd day of that year.
Downstairs, we enter the home of the Barringer's, who have live at apartment number 682.
When Sydney is loading his gun, the hands on the clock right behind him are on the 8 and the 2.
The 'Seduce and Destroy' number is 1(877) 826 - 3437 [or 1(877) TAME - HER]. Many of the phone numbers in the film were real & PTA set up voicemail boxes.
The clock on the wall during police officer Jim Kurring's (John C. Reilly) briefing reads 8:02.
Kurring's personals ad voice box number is 82.
A sequence shows Jimmy Gator has 8 television Emmys and 2 kids.
An onscreen title states there is an 82% chance of rain.
On the back of the paper that Jim is reading in the morning, there's a head line that starts "Frogs: . . ."
When the What Do Kids Know? show goes on live, there is a man in the audience holding up a white "Exodus 8:2." sign.
Jimmy Gator informs the audience that the kids team are heading into their 8th week and there are 2 days and 2 games left until they beat the record.
When Marcie is taken to jail, the number for her photos is made up entirely of 8s, 2s and 0s.
During his "Seduce and Destroy" seminar, Frank TJ Mackey (Tom Cruise) mistakenly says go to 18 in the blue book (form a tragedy) when he's going through his own tragedy. He corrects himself and says go to the white books, page 23. 1(8 2)3
When Donnie Smith enters the Solomon & Solomon Electronics Store, there is a small white Exodus 8:2. sign on the door.
Claudia's main apartment building address is #12601.
Claudia wants to go on a date a 8, however Jim doesn't get off till 2 hours later.
In the bar, there is an 8 and a 2 handwritten in blue on a dry-erase scoreboard and the numbers seem to be the score of some sort of game whose team names are "Frogs" and "Clouds."
Donnie mentions "LEAD" (though it's referenced as pencil lead.) Lead's atomic number is 82
"Quiz Kid" Donnie Smith's oversize check is dated April 28.
There is a poster in the library behind Stanley with the numbers 8 and 2.
Various scores on the quiz show equal the numbers. (i.e. 1025, 2000)
There are two different large white Exodus 8:2. billboards clearly shown at the intersection of Magnolia Ave right before and during the frog sequence. One near a bus stop and the other a larger billboard on the side of the road.
When Doc (Frank's assistant) goes on the elevator to find Frank, he gets on the 2nd floor and gets off on the 8th.
There is a Frogger video game in the Smilin' Peanut Bar.
8 2 is printed on some of the boxes in the Solomon & Solomon office when Donnie pulls the robbery.
There is a white frog figure on the right corner of the desk of the doctor who prescribes liquid morphine to Earl Partridge.
The number 82 is printed on a yellow book in Claudia's house. During the frog storm, as Claudia is hiding in the corner just as Rose knocks on the door. When Claudia crawls over to the door you can catch a glimpse of two piles of books. The left pile has the yellow book with 82 printed in the middle of the book's spine.
There is also a ceramic frog in Earl Partridge's house.
On the Magnolia teaser poster, there are exactly 10 frogs visible (8 + 2).
The center of the flower on the U.S. theatrical poster is comprised of frogs.
The Meaning of Magnolia
There has been much debate over the title of the film & PTA has said repeatedly that it should be left up to your interpretation (along with the Frog Sequence & many other elements of the film). There are many Magnolia flowers (or paintings) scattered throughout the film. Here are Paul's comments on this topic:
"I always had the title of Magnolia in my head even before I wrote it," says Anderson. And the a couple of weird things stared to happen that verified the title for me. I did some research on the Magnolia flower. There's a concept that if you eat the bark from the Magnolia tree it can help cure cancer.
"There's no reference to it in the film," Anderson says in an interview with the online entertainment website, Mr. Showbiz.
"It's many different things: It's a street in the Valley. It's a flower."
Perhaps more tellingly, most of the women in the film have flower names, like Lily and Rose, but Anderson told Mr. Showbiz that if any of the characters represents "Magnolia," it is Claudia, the coke-fried basket case movingly portrayed by Melora Walters.
A key phrase that gets repeated throughout the film -- "we may be through with the past, but the past isn't through with us" -- is at the heart of the film's meaning, Anderson told Mr. Showbiz.
Q: Did the title come to you early along?
A: Yeah, but at the time, I couldn't say exactly why. Yes, Magnolia is a street in the valley, and I knew something was going to happen in an intersection in the valley, but it was still not totally clear why that was going to be the title. And it wasn't until the last two weeks of the writing that certain validations for the title really started coming. One of them was the discovery of this thing called the Magonia, which is this mythical place above the firmament where shit goes and hangs out before it falls from the sky. I think I'd come to it through Charles Fort, who wrote about strange phenomena like rains of frogs and Greenbury Hill. The Magonia is this place where, when ships disappear from the ocean, that's where they go, and only later will an anchor from it fall from the sky.
Masonry References
Included among the books on the library table at which Stanley Spector is studying is "The History of Freemasonry" written by Albert Gallatin Mackey!
Before Jimmy Gator character enters WDKK set, Ricky Jay gives him the traditional masonic farewell - "We met on the level and we depart on the square". Jay also puts his hand on Gator's shoulder (a possible Masonic reference) which reveals that he is wearing a Masonic "pinky" ring.
Freemasonry is based on the temple of Solomon, and there is a character named Solomon Solomon.
When Frank is leaving the S&D lecture to go to the interview with Gwenovier, one of his security guards/lackeys in the background seems to have a jacket with masonic symbols on the back.
There are "seven keys" to the Temple of Solomon. When we see Donny laying out the keys in his kitchen, there are, of course, seven.
Masonic symbols in the background board of the WDKK (upside down compass, square, pi symbol, globe, etc.)
Cast
Jimmy Gator's assistant Mary is played by Eileen Ryan who just happens to be an actress & the mother of Michael Penn.
Rebecca Pidgeon, actress, & wife of David Mamet was offered the role of Jimmy Gator's mistress. She had to turn the role down due to her pregnancy. The mistress name is mentioned in the film (Paula), but Paul decided not to cast the part.
Mark Wahlberg was originally supposed to have a cameo in the Seduce and Destroy scenes but it did not work out. Here's the quote from Mark from the Toronto Sun: "There's no animosity between Paul and I," says Wahlberg, "We will work together again. He talked to me about playing a very small part in Magnolia. The hook was that I'd be able to kiss Tom Cruise."
Thomas Jane (Boogie Nights' Todd Parker ) plays the young Jimmy Gator in a few still pictures & one very brief flashback scene with the young "Quiz Kid Donnie Smith".
Porn actress Veronica Hart, plays one of the Dental Assistants when Donnie Smith visits the dentist.
Mark Flanagan played the vagrant "Joseph Green" in the prologue. Mark Flanagan is the owner of the popular L.A. club, Largo, with weekly performances headlined by Jon Brion, as well as others in PTA's circle of friends: Fiona, Aimee, Michael Penn & Elliott Smith.
Boogie Nights veterans in Magnolia include: John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Ricky Jay, Robert Downey Sr., Thomas Jane, Veronica Hart, Patrick Warren, Alfred Molina & Luis Guzman.
Mim (Patricia Forte) is the same actress who played the school teacher in Boogie Nights. Her face was not shown in Boogie, but you can hear her voice as she passes out the test to Rollergirl & her classmates.
Miscellaneous
The number 23 seems to have significance as well. Sydney Barringer jumps on March 23. The first time, when Rose Gator talks to Jimmy on the phone, the hands of the clock in the background are on 2 & 3. Frank Mackey tells his seminarians to turn to page 23 in their white books & Earl Partridge was married to Lilly for 23 years. It is, after all, a number of great significance to western occultists & conspiracy theorists - both of whom greatly emphasize 'coincidence' in their writings. William S. Burroughs was fascinated by the 23 enigma and planted a plethora of 23's in his writings. The counter-culture/occultist/conspiracy writer Robert Anton Wilson is also a subscriber to the notion that the number 23 has some cosmic significance.
There are various pictures/paintings of Magnolia flowers throughout the movie (during the Frank Mackey interview/interrogation, the Gator House, etc.).
Claudia snorts coke off of Aimee's "I'm With Stupid".
Stanley can be seen reading Charles Fort "Wild Talents" ,Ricky Jay's "Learned Pigs, and Fireproof Women" & "Our Natural Weather" in the Library.
Donnie tells Thurston "I'm Sick"; Thurston replies "Stay that Way!" A possible reference to Ghoulardi who's signature line was "Stay Sick!"
Signs in Jim Kurring's apartment: "Honest" & "Determined".
Sign behind Jim Kurring during Dixon's rap: "Reliable".
In Jim's apartment, there's a chess set with the queen missing. Much like his situation.
During Donnie's breakdown in the bar, what beer sign is visible directly behind him: Guinness.
Donnie was struck by lightning in Tahoe, Nevada. The Reno paper says lightning started the fire (in the second prologue sequence.) Donnie answers 'Prometheus' (a mortal who stole fire from the gods) during the Quiz Show flashback.
Right before the frog sequence begins, you see a sign in the window of the Solomon and Solomon store that says, EVERYTHING MUST GO! referring to the plague/the "letting go" theme of the film).
Right before the frog sequence, What does the intersection light do? It changes from red to green as a warning of what's to come.
When the rain stops and there's a shot of Magnolia Ave., the shot is going backwards.
In the intersection with the Mobil station where Jim drags Donnie to safety (actual location: Reseda and Sherman Way), there is an Allen's Wholesale Flower Market. The sign reads, from top to bottom, "Roses, Lilies, Magnolias".
There is an actual white magnolia flower tied to the railing in the front right hand section of the audience bleachers (screen right). It isn't there in the beginning of the scene, but it appears when the show starts.
The woman who helps the children at the gameshow is named Cynthia. Each time she walks by a co-worker, they greet her by saying "Hiya Cynthia" as in "Hyacinth", a type of flower.
Jimmy states "we're endorsed by the PTA".
The prompt cards which Jimmy reads from during WDKK tell us an important message/theme from the film: "Our Kids Teach Us."
When Rose & Jimmy talk before what turns out to be his last appearance on "WDKK", she asks him what he's doing. "Drinking", he replies. "'Quickly or slowly?", she asks. "As fast as I can," he says. This is a stretch, but could be a nod to Fiona Apple.
The line "I tell you what I want Janet, I want you to do your fucking job!" that Tom Cruise says is actually lifted from a stand-up routine by Patton Oswald. He played the blackjack dealer/scuba diver from the first story.
Donny tells Thurston, "You speak in Rhymes and Riddles and Rub-a-Dub." One
of the categories on WDKK is Rub-a-Dub.
Stanley's dad went to the same audition Julia did. "The Cory Haim project." When Rick and Stanley are first greeted by Mary he asks if she knows anything about the Cory Haim film he auditioned for. Then when the kids are first brought out Julia said she went for an audition for an MOW (Movie of the Week) with Cory Haim.
At the end of the credits of the What Do Kids Know?, Alison Dickey (John C. Reilly's wife) is listed.
Donnie says, "No, it is not dangerous to confuse angels with children".... during the game show, Stanley is often lined up in front of the wings on the medical symbol of the set's blue wall... also, when he is in the library, there's a reoccurring shot of him sitting at the table lined up in front of a big open book that almost looks like wings...
The actor who plays the pharmacist Sir Edmund William Godfrey (Pat Healy), who is killed in the Greenberry Hill sequence at the beginning of the film, is the same actor who plays the pharmacist who harasses Julianne Moore in the pharmacy later on in the film. His nametag reads "Ed jr."
During the opening introduction of the characters, Stanley Spector is seen
rambling off answers. Some noteworthy ones are, "1911"- the year of the
first incident in the prologue, "The Life of Samuel Johnson" a topic later
discussed by Donny & Thurston Howell in the Bar & "Donald W. Winnicott"-
A Child Psychoanalyst who studied the effects of parenting on children.
A book called the encyclopedia of symbols lists the symbolic meanings of Magnolia as self esteem & feminine beauty...
There are multiple uses of the phrase "Go, Go, Go" by various characters in the film including Frank "TJ" Mackey, Donnie Smith, Cynthia & Rick Spector. You'll also find this being said in Boogie Nights.
Frank Mackey's car in the movie is a Saturn SLC 3 Door. It's odd in two ways - it's not the expensive sports car you would expect him to drive and it's the only car in America that you do NOT negotiate for. And this from the guy who is teaching men how to dominate in negotiations with women.
