Trivia / Somewhere in Time

• Creator Breakdown: John Barry's parents both died shortly before he started work on the score, and he later said that the emotions in dealing with the aftermath were a big influence on the music.
• Creator's Favorite Episode:
  • Jeannot Szwarc says this is far and away his favorite film of his career, and his most personal work. He was given an Auteur License after the success of Jaws 2 and chose this project, partly due to his friendship with Richard Matheson (having met when they both worked on Night Gallery).
  • Matheson cited Bid Time Return as one of his two best novels (What Dreams May Come was the other one).
• Doing It for the Art: Christopher Reeve chose to do this movie despite not getting paid much for it because he thought the script was powerful.
• Enforced Method Acting: The first time Richard sees Elise's picture was also the first time Christopher Reeve had seen it. The director wanted his genuine reaction.
• Reality Subtext: As mentioned in Romance on the Set, the strong romantic chemistry between Reeve and Seymour in the film was very much a reflection of Real Life.
• The Red Stapler: Many fans of the film now take vacations to Mackinac Island, Michigan (where the movie was filmed) to expand their understanding of the setting.
• Romance on the Set: According to Jane Seymour, she and Christopher Reeve fell in love for real while making the film and hid their relationship from the rest of the cast and crew. Reeve ended the relationship when he learned his ex-girlfriend was pregnant with his child. They remained friends for decades afterwards and Seymour named her son after him.
• Screwed by the Network: This film received very little in the way of promotion as Universal Pictures, the distribution company, spent more resources spreading the word about The Blues Brothers, which was released at the same time. This, coupled with the 1980 actors strike which prohibited the cast from doing promotional work, meant that the film did poorly at the box office.
• Self-Adaptation: Richard Matheson adapted his novel Bid Time Return.
• Vindicated by Cable: The film didn't do well at the box office but gained a large and loyal fanbase when it began showing on cable in 1981, with frequent airings on HBO and the influential Los Angeles-based Z Channel. Fans were particularly enamored by the soundtrack and the incredible demand for the film's soundtrack album was what convinced Universal that such products were a viable revenue stream.

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