Ocean's Eight (2018)
Trivia
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Spoilers (17)
Debbie Ocean speaks German as part of her cover. Sandra Bullock spent most of her childhood in Nürnberg, Germany and is fluent in the language. She holds dual citizenship in both Germany and the United States.
Both Rihanna and Cate Blanchett have actually served as Chairs for the annual Met Gala, the function played by Anne Hathaway's character in the movie.
Matt Damon and Carl Reiner were set to reprise their respective characters Linus Caldwell and Saul Bloom, but their scenes were cut.
Anne Hathaway replaced Jennifer Lawrence in this film, while Lawrence replaced Hathaway in Silver Linings Playbook (2012).
This film opens in the same way as Ocean's Eleven (2001), with an Ocean being asked what they will do when they leave prison during their parole hearing.
Jeanne Toussaint (1887-1978), for whom the Toussaint necklace was named, was hired by her boyfriend Louis Cartier in 1918 to join his family's jewelry firm, although she could neither draw or sketch and knew nothing about fine jewelry. After completing her apprenticeship, she was named Director of Haute Joaillerie in 1933, where she remained until her retirement in 1968.
Debbie's alleged "Enemies List" seems to in fact be a list of cons she's pulled off, reminiscent of the cons Steven Soderbergh made up for Ocean's Eleven (2001). Included (and crossed off) on the list are More the Merrier, Made in Heaven, Hallelujah Time, Spring Break!, Crack in the Mirror, Poof!, and Deviled Eggs. She crosses off Who's Who after this movie's caper is finished, suggesting the caper was a Who's Who. Still to be run is the last item, Cupid's Delight.
The eight main cast members have won four Oscars, two Emmys, nine Grammys, six Golden Globes, five BAFTAs, and 10 SAGs combined.
In her 2011 book, Mindy Kaling expressed an interest in wanting to do a reboot of Ocean's Eleven (2001), called Ocean's 5, that would feature an all female cast.
Celebrities who cameo as themselves in the film include: Anna Wintour, Zayn Malik, Katie Holmes, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Common, Adriana Lima, Desiigner, Kylie Jenner, Alexander Wang, Kendall Jenner, Ira Glass, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, Olivia Munn, Jaime King, Zac Posen, Hailey Bieber, Derek Blasberg, Sofia Richie, Heidi Klum, and Lauren Santo Domingo.
Anne Hathaway came up with the idea for her character Daphne to always be chewing gum and have cumbersome fake nails so that she would appear less polished and glamorous.
The Met event, where the robbery is intended to occur, is an annual gala sponsored and hosted by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Vogue, who plays herself in the movie. Anna Wintour was also the inspiration for Miranda Priestly, the boss of Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada (2006).
Elizabeth Banks was approached for a role but had to drop out.
Matt Damon filmed his cameo as Linus Caldwell in one day. When the film's release approached, however, a petition emerged online calling on the filmmakers to cut his appearance from the movie because of anger over Damon's perceived ties to Harvey Weinstein. In the end, the cameo was not in the final film.
When Lou and Debbie discuss recruiting Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter) to solicit her fashion designer services for the heist, Lou mentions that Rose was "big in the 90's" and that the Edwardian look was her trademark. This could be a reference to Bonham Carter herself as she starred in several popular costume dramas in the 90's such as Hamlet (1990), Howards End (1992), and The Wings of the Dove (1997), both of which were set in the Edwardian England era. The latter earned Carter an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
The numbering of the movie (Ocean's 8) allows for a trilogy (i.e. Ocean's 8, 9, 10), which would perfectly align with Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 trilogy (i.e. Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007)).
A scene features the song "These Boots are Made for Walking" sung by Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank Sinatra. In Ocean's Thirteen (2007) Danny Ocean says "You shook hands with Frank Sinatra." Also, Frank Sinatra played the role of Danny Ocean in the original Ocean's Eleven (1960).
Richard Armitage took over the role of art curator Claude Becker from Damian Lewis at very short notice.
The film was released on the eleventh anniversary of Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
When the group enters the Met Gala, the song "Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme)" by the James Last Orchestra is playing. This song had been used in Ocean's Thirteen (2007). It was also the music that Sandra Bullock's character, Gracie Lou Freebush, played on the water glasses in Miss Congeniality (2000).
The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway; as well as two Oscar nominees: Helena Bonham Carter and Elliott Gould.
Director Gary Ross takes over the Ocean's franchise from director Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh previously acted as a second unit director for Ross' The Hunger Games (2012), directing the District 11 riot scenes.
Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter previously starred as sisters in the Alice in Wonderland (2010) series and also starred in Les Misérables (2012) although they didn't share scenes.
The theme song from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) ("Love is all around") is in the background when Debbie demands her watch back from Constance. The singer is Sammy Davis Jr., who was one of the original Ocean's 11 and who sang the Ocean's Eleven (1960) theme song.
At the Met Gala, Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) sits on a table with Katie Holmes. While hosting Saturday Night Live (1975), Hathaway famously portrayed Holmes in a skit.
Sandra Bullock's character Debbie Ocean is the younger sister of Danny Ocean portrayed by George Clooney. The two of them starred together in Gravity (2013).
Dakota Fanning appears as Penelope Stern, a celebrity who Kluger is jealous of.
One of the jewelry actresses at the end of the film is Marlo Thomas, St. Jude Hospital spokeswoman.
This film also includes Judge Judy Sheindlin, whose show, Judge Judy (1996), is playing on a TV in an early scene. That gives Oceans Eight another Emmy winner as she has won 3 Emmy Awards.
When the camera is circling the Met Gala at the beginning of the movie, you can see many popular paintings and statues. At the end of the scene you see the camera turn to a poster of Queen Elizabeth I with the caption "The Scepter and the Orb". This was actually a small easter egg to Cate Blanchett's role as Queen Elizabeth I in 1998.
Elliott Gould and Marlo Thomas appeared in Friends (1994), Gould as Ross and Monica's father, and Thomas as Rachel's mother.
Pop Star Leon Bridges appears as himself briefly wearing a Pink Suit. You can find him at the top of the stairs as guests arrive at the Met Gala.
A scene early in the film shows the Bergdorf Goodman store. By coincidence, Bergdorf is the last name of Richard Conte's character in the original Ocean's Eleven (1960).
While the women are plotting which cameras to use, they are all sitting looking at a screen. On the table is the bowling ball with a skull in it just like the Bowler uses in Mystery Men (1999) where she is the only female hero.
Richard Armitage appeared in the movie Alice Through the Looking Glass with Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.
The film is a sequel to Steven Soderbergh's The Oceans Trilogy.
At 33:15, there's a "Chicka-Chickaaaaa" on the tail of the background music (and possibly elsewhere), reminiscent of the same lyric in Yello's "Oh Yeah", as featured in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"... another film about "scamming" the system.
This movie has two cast member who are part of Peter Jackson adaptation of J.R Tolkien The Hobbit. Cate Blanchett who play Lady Galadriel and Richard Armitage who play Thorin.
Debby's partner in crime, Lou, is played by Cate Blanchett, in the original trilogy Danny's partner in crime, Rusty, is played by Brad Pitt. Pitt and Blanchett star in two movies together, Babel (2006) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
Richard Armitage played Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter's father in Alice Through The Looking Glass.
Helena Bonham Carter appeared in "Fight Club" (1999) with Brad Pitt, who appeared in the previous 3 Ocean's films directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Now Playing Podcast reviewed Ocean's Eight. This film received two "recommends" and one "not recommend".
Spoilers
The "Toussaint", did, in fact, exist, created by Jacques Cartier in 1931 for the Maharaja of Nawanagar, who commissioned Cartier to build a multi-colored diamond necklace around his blue-white 136.25 carat Queen of Holland diamond, named for Queen Wilhelmina. As in the film, the necklace was split eventually. A photo of the Maharaja holding the necklace is featured in VO+ Magazine's article "The Second Birth Of The Famous Cartier's Toussaint Necklace". According to Harper's Bazaar, Cartier's Paris workshop created the replica in the film based on Jacques Cartier's blueprints and drawings, using zirconium oxides for the stones, which were then mounted onto white gold. It was scaled down 20% so that it would fit Anne Hathaway (Daphne Kluger). Cartier bought The Queen of Holland diamond from the Maharajah's family in 1960, then sold it to diamond dealer William Goldberg in 1975, who sold it to jeweler Robert Mouawad in 1990. Mouawad's firm has owned The Queen of Holland since.
In the final scene of the movie, Danny's sister Debbie is sitting in front of his grave. She is wearing a black tux with the bow tie untied. This is a nod to the opening and ending scene of Ocean's Eleven (2001) when Danny leaves prison in the same outfit, a black tux with the bow untied.
One of the royal jewels stolen during the Met Gala heist was an infamous necklace that can be seen displayed on an abstract statue of Marie Antoinette. This necklace has quite a scandalous history in the French court, and was believed to be one of the major contributing factors in the poor and working classes' disillusionment with the French monarchy, which ultimately led to the French Revolution and subsequent beheading of Marie Antoinette. Though the necklace was originally commissioned by Marie Antoinette's grandfather-in-law, King Louis XV for his mistress Madame du Barry, the necklace was a focal point in a variety of schemes within the French court, including blackmail and fraud in which Marie Antoinette's participation was falsely implied. Unfortunately, it was used as just another example of what the poor and underprivileged believed to be Antoinette's frivolous spending habits. She was later beheaded during the revolution and overthrow of the French monarchy. This necklace also featured prominently in Maurice Leblanc's stories about master criminal Arsene Lupin, one of the earliest examples of the master thief and a key ancestor of the entire caper genre.
In the last scene where Debbie pays Danny's tomb a visit in the mausoleum, one of the most visible tombstones bears the name of Sandra Bullock's mother, Helga Mathilde Meyer (spelled as "Helga M. Meyer" in the movie), albeit with different years of birth and death.
The coat Debbie Ocean wears on the train car at the end of the film is the same one she stole off the bellhop in the Plaza right after being released from prison.
There are actually nine people involved in the heist, with the last person being a former member of Danny Ocean's team. 10 if you include 9 ball's little sister who saves the main heist.
At the end of the heist, Daphne becomes a film director rather than an actress. A closer inspection of the scene shows that the majority of the film crew she's working with is female.
Marlo Thomas, Dana Ivey, Mary Louise Wilson, and Elizabeth Ashley appear as elderly actresses who help the crew shift their stolen gems.
Debra Ocean covertly places a painting on the wall at the Met. This is preceded by shots of artwork in which women are the subjects, and one of a man reaping wheat, foreshadowing a reveal late in the film.
Elliott Gould and Shaobo Qin reprise their roles from the previous films as Reuben Tishkoff and "The Amazing" Yen, respectively.
When Debbie speaks with Reuben at Danny Ocean's resting place, he refers to Danny, saying, "He said it was brilliant. And you would probably end up in prison." Clearly, Danny knew of Debbie's plan, which was developed recently. Danny also "died" recently - the same year that the story takes place. Considering how many people would want Danny dead, his death appears to be extremely convenient.
At one point in Ocean's Twelve (2004) there is discussion about Danny Ocean's age. He asks if he looks like he is fifty. In Ocean's 8, his sister Debbie visits a mausoleum in which Danny is either buried or using it as a ruse to avoid being hit by either casino owners Terry Benedict or Willy Bank. On the marker it gives his dates as 1963 - 2018. As Ocean's Twelve takes place in 2004, this would make Danny's age to be either forty-one or forty-two. In fact, George Clooney was born in May of 1961, which would make him two years older than Danny Ocean. Sandra Bullock was born in July of 1964. This would make her character either one year younger than Danny or, if there is an identical shift of two years, she would be three years younger than Danny. In either case we see from the dates that if Danny actually were dead, it would have happened shortly before Debbie was released from prison.
After the heist has succeeded, the music on the soundtrack is the title song from Super Fly (1972), which is also about a criminal who "gets away with it."
Nine Ball hacks the McCallister Security personnel directory at 46:32, and it contains the names of several crew members: Debra Zane, Josh Ries, Duane Charles Manwiller, Johan Heurlin Aidt, Bradley Grant, Suren Karapetyan, and Christopher D. Jones.
When Sarah Paulson's character is looking at headshots for the older women that will sell off pieces of the necklace she notes that one of them performed summer stock at Williamstown. Paulson starred in Williamstown Theater Festival's 2007 production of Crimes of the Heart.
Daphne extorts her way into Debbie Ocean's gang by commenting that she saw through their poor acting while using her for their caper. In actuality, four of the actresses in the gang are Academy-Award nominated, three of whom have won Oscars.
