Rain Man

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. Quantas was the only airline to not cut the airport scene in Rain Man during its in-flight entertainment. The film served as an unsolicited advertisement for the airline's safety record and they showed their gratitude to the film by promoting the movie's writers to first class.
2. Rain Man proved to be a perfect product placement opportunity for sunglasses manufacturer Ray Ban. Sales of the sexy style Tom Cruise wore in the movie increased 15% after the film's release.
3. When Barry Morrow first pitched the story to studio executive Roger Birnbaum, Birnbaum immediately gave it the green light. In return, Morrow gave Birnbaum a "special thanks" credit. I'm sure the money made off the success of the film was actually thanks enough, but the credit is nice too.
4. Actor Dustin Hoffman kept his in-laws happy by giving them a shout-out in Rain Man. In the scene where his character memorizes a phone book, Hoffman stopped at the names Marsha and William Gottsegen - Hoffman's wife's parent's names.
5. Rain Man was Hans Zimmer's first Hollywood score. He was nominated for an Academy Award for this score. His first time proved to be more than just luck. Since then he has been nominated and won numerous other awards including an Oscar, Grammy and a Golden Globe.
6. Both Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro turned down the part of Raymond in Rain Man. This left the door open for Dustin Hoffman to elbow his way in to take on the role he really wanted - the gawky, autistic older brother.
7. Dustin Hoffman originally wanted Bill Murray to play the role of Charlie. Tom Cruise was a much cuter choice.
8. The Rain Man script originally portrayed Raymond as happy and friendly, but after the initial reading Dustin Hoffman successfully lobbied for the character to be a withdrawn autistic. The studio successfully lobbied to get Hoffman an Oscar for his performance.
9. The Vernon Manor Hotel in Cincinnati where Charlie, Raymond and Suzanna stay is on Oak and Burnet. This is the address that Raymond gives for the K-Mart where he got his underwear. But the inaccuracy is okay because "K-Mart sucks" anyway.
10. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise lovingly dubbed Rain Man "Two Schmucks in a Car" because they weren't sure the movie would do well. It's nice that they had so much confidence in their work. Not like it mattered, since Rain Man went on to win four Oscars even without the more colorful title.

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