Pop Culture/Sci Fi References in the Movie "Paul"
by matt392 in Living > Pranks, Tricks, & Humor
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Pop Culture/Sci Fi References in the Movie "Paul"
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There are a number of pop culture references in the film "Paul". I tried to gather from the Web as many of them as possible in one place here on Instructables.com, plus a few that I researched on my own.
The List of References
Among them are:
- Graeme's cover art featuring a woman with 3 breasts is a reference to a prostitute in the film Total Recall who also had 3 breasts as a result of poor radiation shielding on Mars.
- Paul's spaceship initially crashed in the town where Tara lives, Moorcroft, Wyoming. This was the same town that was featured in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
- The landing zone for Paul's spaceship that picks him up is near Devil's Tower in Wyoming, which was also used in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind as the landing site of the aliens.
- When confronting Paul and his crew, The Big Guy calls him "Mork". This is a reference to the sitcom from the 1980s Mork and Mindy, where Mork, played by Robin Williams, is an alien living in Boulder, Colorado.
- At Devil's Tower, when Tara yells "Get away from her you bitch!" at The Big Guy (played by Sigourney Weaver), this is a reference to Aliens when Ripley (also played by Sigourney Weaver) said the same thing just prior to her using the Powerloader to fight the Alien queen in the cargo bay of the USS Sulaco.
- While Paul is running from Moses Boggs in the RV park, Boggs shoots at him with a shotgun. In the process, Boggs destroys one mailbox at the entrance as Paul makes his escape. This is similar to Back to the Future I when Marty McFly is driving away from the farm owned by Old Man Peabody in 1955 and is shot at. As Marty escapes from the farm, Peabody also destroys a mailbox with his shotgun.
- While driving, Agent Zoil uses his pistol to shoot the CB radio in his car and states "Boring conversation anyway". This is a reference to Han Solo when he shoots the radio and then said the same thing while he was in Detention Block AA-23 on the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV.
- During a car chase, Moses Boggs states that "I am on a mission from God!". This is a reference to the film The Blues Brothers, where Jake and Elwood are also on a mission from God to save a Catholic-run orphanage from foreclosure.
- As Agent Haggard is chasing the recreational vehicle that Paul is driving, he aims his pistol and shouts at him "Smile you son of a bitch!". This is a reference to the film "Jaws", where Brody says the same thing just before he fires at the air tank in the mouth of Jaws killing him.
- In the closing credits, Ruth is dressed as the bounty hunter who captured Chewbacca at the beginning of The Return of the Jedi. Graeme asks her "Who are you?" Ruth takes off her helmet and says "Someone who loves you." This is the dialogue that occurred between Han Solo and Princess Leia when she was attempting to rescue him from Jabba the Hutt's palace while dressed as the same bounty hunter
- When Graeme is making a sketch of Paul in the RV, Paul asks "Are you going to draw me like one of your French girls, Jack?" This is a reference to the film "Titanic" when Jack is drawing Rose as she is posing topless.
- When the group goes into Ray's Bar while being chased by Moses Boggs, the country band is playing the same music that was being played in the Cantina the Luke and Obi Wan walk into in the Mos Eisley Spaceport in Star Wars Episode IV.
- While walking through the San Diego Comic-Con, a television is playing the fight scene between Captain Kirk and Gorn from the original Star Trek. They later recreate the scene at Vasquez Rocks Park.
- When they stop for gas and food, Paul shouts at them "Reese Pieces! Yes, thank you." This is a reference to the same candy that was used in Spielberg's film "E.T." to tempt the alien to follow Elliot.
- Agent Zoil's full name is Lorenzo Zoil, which refers to the film "Lorenzo's Oil".
- While on the phone, Agent Zoil states "Accidents happen all the time.". This is a reference to the film "Hot Fuzz", where the same quote was used.
- When the main characters enter the fireworks store, the same tones that were played in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are heard at the front door.
- The type of fireworks that they select is called "The Five Tones", which is also a reference to the tones played in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" at Devil's Tower.
- When the characters hide the RV behind a billboard, this is a reference to "Back to the Future I" when Marty hides the Delorean behind a billboard in 1955.
- Graeme wears a shirt for the Star Wars film "The Empire Strikes Back".
- In a flashback scene, Paul is seen advising Steven Spielberg on the alien in "ET". In this scene, he is also sitting in a warehouse-like environment, similar to the one at the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where the US government is hiding the Ark of the Covenant.
- When the 2 agents are first introduced, they are in a restaurant called "Gerties". Gertie was a character in the film "ET".
- When the bird hits the RV windshield and dies, this could be a reference to Alfred Hitchcok's film, "The Birds". In one scene, a bird hits a door and dies
- In the opening scene at San Diego Comic-Con, the robot on stage is from the series "Buck Rogers" called Twiki.
- When walking through the town, the movie theater marquee features 2 movies: "Easy Rider" and "Duel". "Easy Rider" is a film about a road trip through the American Southwest, similar to "Paul". The film "Duel" was Steven Spielberg's film feature film.
- When confronting The Big Guy, Clive states that he can bring "blind fury" and attempts to whip out his sword. This is a reference to the film "Blind Fury" where the main character wields a sword.
- At the end with Clive is onstage and winks at an Ewok, that is one of the characters in "The Empire Strikes Back".
- Towards the end, Agent Zoil refers to Paul as "Short Round". This is a reference to a character in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom".
- When Paul is taking Tara on board the spaceship, he states "Where we're going, you don't need teeth". This is a reference to the end of "Back to the Future" when Doc Brown says "Where wer're going, we don't need roads".
- When the spaceship is open, Agent Zoil puts on sunglasses to cut down on the glare from inside the ship. This same action with the same glasses is performed by Dr. Lacombe in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as he is walking towards the mothership.
- The town of Moorcraft where the group goes to pick up Tara was also featured in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as being near Devil's Tower.
- When The Big Guy says that she has a "big fcuking gun" this is a reference to the BFG in the Doom video game and movie.
- Paul states when they are being chased that "We've got company!" This has been used in a number of sci-fi films, includying "Star Wars: A New Hope", "Tron", "Terminator 2" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Temple of Doom".