Random Things You Didn't Know About Call Me By Your Name (And How Shia LaBeouf Almost Starred In It) (10 items)

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  (#3) Shia LaBeouf

  • Actor

  While the film stars Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet as two young lovers in Italy, they weren't the first casting choices; Shia LaBeouf was originally tapped to appear in the movie. LaBeouf had flown to New York in order to read for the part, but complications with the actor caused some concern within the production. According to the film's screenwriter, James Ivory, the production company was worried that LaBeouf's offscreen antics would make him a liability to the shoot. Greta Scaachi was also originally supposed to appear in the film but was unexpectedly dropped from the project after she thought she had the role. 
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  (#2) The Lead Actors Only Rehearsed One Time, And It Was Super Weird

  Unlike most films, lead actors Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet barely rehearsed before the film started shooting. In fact, they only attended one rehearsal with director Luca Guadagnino. The two leads picked a scene at random out of the script to play out at the shooting location, and the scene just happened to be one with absolutely no dialogue and a whole lot of making out. Guadagnino encouraged them to follow the script and roll around in the grass while kissing. The two actors made out for a long time before realizing that Guadagnino had left the rehearsal entirely without telling them to stop. 
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  (#9) Timothée Chalamet

  • Actor

  Some actors take commitment to a role to the next level, and Timothée Chalamet is one of those actors. For his role in the film, Chalamet got a tutor and learned how to speak Italian. He met with the tutor every single day leading up to the shoot, but he wasn't starting from scratch. Chalamet is fluent in French, another romance language, and he says that his knowledge of French helped him when it came to learning Italian. Chalamet regrets not focusing more on the phonetics of the language during his tutelage. He also learned how to play the piano and guitar for the film. 
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  (#10) The Film Is Based On A Critically Acclaimed Novel Of The Same Name

  Like many great films, Call Me by Your Name did not start as a script. The film is based on the acclaimed novel by author André Aciman. The novel was originally released in 2007, and the film adaptation remains faithful to much of the story. There are some key differences, however. The novel features narration in the form of Elio's internal monologue. The filmmakers decided against including the narration, choosing instead to portray the events through images and emotion rather than words.
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  (#7) Sufjan Stevens

  • Band/Musician

  Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens might seem like an odd choice to narrate a feature film, and even Stevens himself agreed with that point. When director Luca Guadagnino approached the musician about potentially narrating Call Me by Your Name, Stevens politely declined the offer.

  "He initially asked me to be the voice of the older Elio; to contribute that voiceover," Stevens said in an interview with Deadline. He felt that adding narration to the film was unnecessary, but he did agree to write some original music for the soundtrack. He ended up recording two original pieces and one cover for the film. 
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  (#4) The Film Received A Record Breaking Standing Ovation

  It would be an understatement to say that Call Me by Your Name's premiere at the New York Film Festival went well. It completely transfixed the audience and as the film's credits began to play, the crowd stood up and applauded the film with gusto. That applause would go on to be the longest standing ovation ever recorded for a film playing at the New York Film Festival. It lasted a full ten minutes after the movie had concluded and most likely caused everyone in attendance to some minor hand pain. 

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