Stigmata

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. At the end of the movie, you can spot a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi - who famously became the first Catholic figure to bear signs of the stigmata in 1224.
2. Patricia Arquette's character Frankie is named for Saint Francis. Or possibly Michelle Pfeiffer's character in Frankie and Johnny. But probably the religious guy.
3. Producers originally wanted to call the film St. Frances of Pittsburgh, before deciding on Stigmata. Really, really good call.
4. While the title may have been up in the air, director Rupert Wainwright had his leading lady picked out from the start - Patricia Arquette was his first choice to play Frankie.
5. Almeida's body in the coffin was actually made of wax. Madame Tussaud's must have been having a clearance sale.
6. Know your archaic alphabets: when Frankie is scribbling on the wall in "Aramaic," the characters are actually from ancient Hebrew. Director Rupert Wainwright thought they looked cooler than the actual Aramaic.
7. In fact, the real Gospel of Thomas wasn't written in Aramaic at all, but in the ancient Egyptian language known as Coptic. It's all Greek to us.
8. One language we can handle: Italian. When Father Kiernan enters the Vatican office for his latest assignment, Cardinal Houseman is speaking Italian to another priest in the back. He's saying "Rest assured, none of this will ever leave this room."
9. Extras with benefits: in the subway scene, Patricia Arquette and Nia Long were the only actors on screen who weren't trained stunt people.
10. If that subway setting looks familiar, that's because it was shot on the same fake train carriageway used in Seinfeld. Look hard enough and you just might see crazy Joe Davola lurking in the shadows (not really).

Cast

Crew