scorecard15 details you probably missed in 'The Holiday'
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15 details you probably missed in 'The Holiday'

Erin Ajello   

15 details you probably missed in 'The Holiday'
Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz starred in "The Holiday."Columbia Pictures
  • The Christmastime rom-com "The Holiday" is a classic, but fans may have missed these gems.
  • Amanda and Graham both have floor-to-ceiling shelves showcasing things relating to their careers.

Iris' desk gives viewers a hint about what she does before it's actually said.

Iris
Iris writes for The Daily Telegraph.      Columbia Pictures

Iris writes for the society column at The Daily Telegraph.

At the beginning of the film, the camera pans across her desk, showing scattered marriage announcements and photos.

These are all visible before her job title is actually mentioned during the company holiday party, so eagle-eyed viewers may have already figured it out.

The shoes Amanda throws at Ethan disappear and reappear behind him.

The shoes Amanda throws at Ethan disappear and reappear behind him.
Edward Burns played Ethan in "The Holiday.      Columbia Pictures

At the beginning of Amanda and Ethan's argument, she throws two sneakers at him.

Both shoes land behind him in the hallway outside their bedroom.

Throughout the next few shots, the shoes seem to disappear and reappear on the floor behind him.

The gardener tries to signal to Ethan not to admit to his affair.

The gardener tries to signal to Ethan not to admit to his affair.
Ethan cheated on Amanda.      Columbia Pictures

Amanda's gardener overhears the conversation between Amanda and Ethan when their argument continues outside.

Amanda asks Ethan to admit to having an affair with his secretary and says she really wants to know the truth.

Before he answers, the gardener looks at Ethan and shakes his head, presumably to warn Ethan against confessing.

This wasn't Lindsay Lohan's first project with the "Holiday" director.

This wasn
Lindsay Lohan makes a brief, uncredited cameo in "The Holiday."      Columbia Pictures

It's hard to miss Lohan's uncredited cameo in "The Holiday" — she appears in Amanda's movie trailer alongside James Franco. But there's a story behind her appearance in the film.

Nancy Myers, the writer and director of "The Holiday," also created Lohan's first feature film, "The Parent Trap."

In a 2006 interview with ComingSoon.net, Meyer's said, "I know Lindsay because I directed 'The Parent Trap' and I told her she owes me everything so I made her do it."

The director added, "I called her and said, 'You have to do this for me,' but she was sweet about it, she was totally there."

Hal Douglas narrates the trailers throughout the movie.

Hal Douglas narrates the trailers throughout the movie.
Hal Douglas was one of the most popular trailer voices in the US.      Columbia Pictures

The trailer Amanda works on at the beginning of the film and the one she dreams later on are both narrated by recognizable voice actor Douglas.

Before his death in 2014 at the age of 89, he was well-known for narrating thousands of movie trailers, including those for "Forrest Gump" and "Lethal Weapon."

The website Amanda and Iris use to swap houses is real.

The website Amanda and Iris use to swap houses is real.
HomeExchange has been around since the 1990s.      Columbia Pictures

Amanda and Iris find each other through the house-swapping website HomeExchange.

It's a real company and website that's still running today. It continues to offer the experience shown in the film, where two users agree to stay at each other's homes for a set amount of time.

The site even credits the film for really putting it on the map.

The books stacked next to Amanda's bed date the movie a bit.

The books stacked next to Amanda
"The Holiday" came out in 2006.      Columbia Pictures

Amanda brings a big stack of books on her vacation, featuring many popular reads from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The pile includes the spiritual book "The Power of Now" (1997), young-adult fiction novel "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (1997), and Alice Munro's short-story collection "Runaway" (2004).

The way Iris' scarf is tied changes as she walks around Amanda's house.

The way Iris
There's a slightly different knot at the neck.      Columbia Pictures

When Iris first arrives at Amanda's house, she excitedly explores each room.

For most of the tour, her scarf is loosely looped around her neck once.

But there are a handful of shots where her scarf is instead tied in a double layer around her neck.

The DVDs at Amanda's house seem to all be arranged in alphabetical order.

The DVDs at Amanda
Amanda has an entire wall of DVDs.      Columbia Pictures

Amanda has a massive DVD collection at her house, which isn't surprising seeing as she makes movie trailers for a living.

Based on various shots, the DVDs seem to be sorted in alphabetical order. When Iris looks more closely at the shelves, she's near the "G" section.

"Enigma" (2001) can also be spotted on one shelf, which is a bit of a pop-culture paradox since Kate Winslet (who played Iris) starred in the movie.

The meet-cute Arthur mentions is from "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife."

The meet-cute Arthur mentions is from "Bluebeard
Eli Wallach in "The Holiday."      Columbia Pictures

Arthur explains the concept of a meet-cute — the moment in a rom-com when a couple meets for the first time — to Iris.

He then gives an example of a man and a woman meeting at a store while trying to buy separate halves of the same pajama set.

This exact scenario is the meet-cute in "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" (1938).

There are indeed five marshmallows in each cup of hot cocoa at Graham's house.

There are indeed five marshmallows in each cup of hot cocoa at Graham
Graham is meticulous about making sure everyone has an equal number of marshmallows.      Columbia Pictures

Graham and his daughters, Olivia and Sophie, tell Amanda that they always drink hot cocoa with five marshmallows each.

Whenever the shot shows a clear view of their mugs, there are indeed five marshmallows in each cup.

Olivia says they never have girls at their house, but Graham's daughters seem close with their aunt Iris.

Olivia says they never have girls at their house, but Graham
Graham and Iris are siblings.      Columbia Pictures

When Amanda hangs out with Graham and his daughters, Olivia comments that they never have girl visitors at the house.

But their aunt Iris lives nearby, and judging by their reaction to seeing her at the New Year's Eve party at the end of the film, they're fans of hers.

Graham's book collection mirrors Amanda's DVDs.

Graham
Graham works as a book editor.      Columbia Pictures

Just like Amanda's wall of DVD shelves, Graham has a wall of bookcases in his house. This is equally fitting since he works as a book editor.

His collection seems to include a number of classics — there's a Tennessee Williams collection visible on the same shelf as a Dylan Thomas book.

But there are also multiple travel guides on the shelves.

Miles comments on work done by the composer who scored "The Holiday."

Miles comments on work done by the composer who scored "The Holiday."
Hans Zimmer composed the score for "The Holiday."      Columbia Pictures; YARA NARDI/Reuters

While perusing Blockbuster with Iris, Miles picks up a copy of "Driving Miss Daisy" and tells her the iconic score was done by Hans Zimmer.

Zimmer actually composed the score for "The Holiday" as well.

"Jaws" is in the wrong section of the video store.

"Jaws" is in the wrong section of the video store.
Jack Black in "The Holiday."      Columbia Pictures

Miles continues pulling multiple movies from the shelves of the video store to comment on the different scores, including "Jaws."

The movie was sorted in the "drama" section, but it's most commonly referred to as an adventure/thriller.

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