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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  (#1) The Infamous "Peach" Scene Was Tested In Real Life

  Minor spoiler warning:

  There is no way you can talk about this movie without mentioning the "peach" scene. In the scene, Timothée Chalamet's characters masturbates into a pitted peach.  The scene is taken straight out of the book, but the director was torn when deciding whether or not to include it in the movie... until he actually did it himself. Guadagnino admitted this himself in an interview. "I was struggling with the possibility that you can masturbate yourself with such a fruit. So, I grabbed a peach and I tried, and I have to say - it works."

  If you think that's crazy, it turns out that Guadagnino was not the only person involved with the film to try out this crazy stunt in real life. Chalamet had already performed the deed himself to test out if it was even possible, and he came to the same conclusion as Guadagnino.
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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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#8) This Film Is The Final Chapter Of Guadagnino's "Desire Trilogy"

  While Call Me by Your Name is a standalone film, it is thematically linked to two previous films by Luca Guadagnino. The trio of movies is known as the "Desire" trilogy, as each deals with temptation and lust as core themes. The first film in the series, I Am Love, was released in 2010 and received an Academy Award nomination for costume design. It was followed up by A Bigger Splash in 2015, and both films starred Tilda Swinton as a woman tempted by younger men. Call Me by Your Name is the capstone to this trilogy and the only one in the series not to feature Swinton. 

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