Kingsman: The Secret Service Trivia

Trivia about Kingsman: The Secret Service.


 * According to "The Gentleman's Guide" on the film's official website, "The Rules" of a Kingsman Gentleman are as follows: (1) A gentleman never tells about conquests, private matters, or dealings. His business is nobody else's. (2) A gentleman doesn't clash in public with enemies or exes, or worse, with out-of-fashion contrasts, colors or styles. (3) A gentleman is always happy to serve, whether it's opening the door, picking up the bill, or merely calling a cab the next morning. Ask him for help and he cannot refuse. (4) A gentleman never reacts to rudeness. He pretends he doesn't recognize it and moves on like it never happened, because it never should have. (5) A gentleman is always on target with witty remarks, interesting facts, and conversation starters that bring the best out of everyone. And (6) A gentleman asks non-invasive questions to keep a conversation going and attention focused on others. He makes them feel like the most interesting person he's ever met, whether that's true or not.
 * Actor Colin Firth did 80% of his own stunts according to stunt coordinator and second unit director Bradley James Allan.
 * A full Kingsman Secret Service menswear line was created and crafted especially for the film with tailoring and manufacturing by some of Britain's most elite, famous and trusted clothing brands.
 * Many of the villains in the James Bond franchise have had some form of physical dysfunction, difference or abnormality. Samuel L. Jackson's character of Richmond Valentine was originally intended not to have a lisp, however Jackson completed his first take with a lisp. Director Matthew Vaughn yelled cut and talked to Jackson who revealed to Vaughn that prior to having an acting career he actually had a lisp which he eventually overcame. It was also jokingly remarked that this lisp is Valentine's intention for being villainous.
 * Actress Sofia Boutella had to undergo an intense training schedule to portray the part of Gazelle. Boutella has said: "They taught me Thai boxing, Taekwondo, and how to work with cables. Gazelle uses her legs to kill, so I had to learn different types of kicks. I'd never done anything like it before".
 * In the film and trailer, when the new Kingsman recruits have their first night's sleep interrupted by a deluge of water pouring into the dorm, on set the scene went horrifically wrong. As Vaughn recalls "I shouted 'action!', the computer got it wrong and vrrrrssshh, everyone was 20 feet down underwater. Cameras, sound guys... Guys were in waders full of water, panic, everyone diving in and pulling people out." The set, painsstakingly planned and rehearsed using height markers and computer programmed water tanks, washed away in a near-biblical flood when said computers went rogue. "Those actors weren't acting, they were absolutely terrified," shudders Vaughn. "It was awful for the first day of filming.
 * Director Matthew Vaughn withdrew from directing X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) in order to direct this movie instead.
 * Star Colin Firth worked out for around six months to be in top fighting shape and physical form in order to portray gentleman spy Harry Hart.
 * Taron Egerton worked out very hard for months on end to get in shape for this film eventually developing six-pack abs for his shirtless scenes. He said that it "required a lifestyle change" for him and "total commitment to living a certain way and being very militant about what you eat". He said he overall enjoyed the experience and would definitely do it again if there is a sequel. He was thrilled that his body was captured looking that way for the silver screen adding "to see my body transform and then to have that there forever on screen is quite a nice feeling. For generations to come, we can all appreciate my abs".
 * In Michael Caine's final scene, he speaks with his native Cockney accent, suggesting that Arthur's roots are not so aristocratic as one would think.
 * Director Matthew Vaughn wanted the character of Merlin (Mark Strong) to have a Welsh accent but Strong found the accent too challenging and persuaded Vaughn to let him use a Scottish accent instead.
 * One of the objectives of the studio and the filmmakers is for the movie to be the first film in a franchise series of pictures. Director Matthew Vaughan has said: "Well, that's the plan . . . otherwise someone's going to lose a lot of money!".
 * In the film, the character of Dr. James Arnold is played by Mark Hamill. In the comic series, Hamill is the first celebrity kidnapped by Dr. Arnold.
 * Matthew Vaughn describes the film as a love letter to the old-time Bond movies and the stylish super-spy films and TV series he grew up with, such as The Avengers (1961), The Ipcress File (1965), The Prisoner (1967), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and In Like Flint (1967).
 * Director Matthew Vaughn has said that his vision for the picture should be interpreted in terms of what Steven Spielberg wanted to do with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) where Spielberg took the movie-genre he grew-up with as a kid and then re-interpreted it in a "modern, fresh, accessible way".
 * Inspired by the 2012 Paralympics in London, Matthew Vaughn wanted to have a character with a prosthetic leg similar to the 'Flex-Foot Cheetah' as worn by paralympian sprinters. At one point, Oscar Pistorius was approached about playing the role of 'Gazelle' and his representatives were asked if Pistorius could play a convincing killer. He later declined to take the role to focus on practicing for future sporting events. Ironically, in February 2013 Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Also in the film, Gazelle shoots someone through a door. Pistorius had shot Steenkamp through a door.
 * At the Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) press conference at the San Diego Comic-Con in August 2014, actor Samuel L. Jackson answered a reporter's mobile cell phone which rang on the table in front of the actors as it was recording their answers. Jackson stayed on the phone with the caller to the great amusement of everyone in the room.
 * Actor Mark Strong, who plays Merlin, has said of this film: "This [movie] will be to Bond what Kick-Ass (2010) is to superhero movies".
 * When the Kingsman recruits are going through the basic training program, they still look good, and wear what are known as "siren suits". These outfits were inspired by the one-piece garment famously worn by former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
 * The movie is notable for its high-end male clothing fashions. Director Matthew Vaughn has conceded that he personally is a "closet clothes guy".
 * The "Looking Good. Feeling Good" exchange is a reference to Trading Places (1983) which is a film about opposite ends of the class privilege scale and is referenced early in the movie.
 * The canvas shown in Richmond Valentines (Samuel L. Jackson) luxury mansion, is the same one Mark Strong has in his office in Kick-Ass (2010).
 * The classic British Gentleman's Wardrobe featured in the film is a sixty piece collection that includes suits, watches, ties, umbrellas, briefcases and more. Some movie posters for the picture feature the whole of the arsenal.
 * Director Matthew Vaughan told star Colin Firth for his performance and characterization of Harry Hart to channel David Niven rather than Roger Moore, the latter portraying James Bond in seven films, with Niven portraying Sir James Bond in the 1967 unofficial James Bond spy spoof Casino Royale (1967), with Niven also once considered to play Bond in the official franchise series.
 * The gentlemen spy Kingsmen in this movie are considered to be latter-day modern-times equivalents of the Knights of the Round Table from Arthurian legend.
 * Gadgets and weapons featured in the film include exploding silicon microchips, remote-activated poison pens, double-barrelled hand-pistols, bullet-proof designer-fashion suits, a 50,000 volt electrified sovereign ring, augmented virtual reality spectacles, a bulletproof AR targeting system ammunition-firing black designer umbrella, super-spy smart watches which can fire sleep darts and magnetized bolas, artificial razor-blaze sharp silver-metal legs of female acrobat Gazelle, and shoes with poisoned neurotoxin pop-out blades reminiscent of those seen in From Russia with Love (1963).
 * Comic book writer Mark Millar once told director Matthew Vaughn about a newspaper article he had read about how director Terence Young, who directed the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962), and had cast Sean Connery against the wishes of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Fleming had seen Agent 007 as more of a James Mason or David Niven type, the latter actually portraying him later in the unofficial spoof Casino Royale (1967). Millar has said: "Young realized he had to turn Connery, this rough Edinburgh guy, into a gentleman, and before they started shooting the film he took him to his tailor, to his favorite restaurants, and basically taught him how to eat, talk, and dress like a gentleman spy".
 * According to show-business trade paper 'The Hollywood Reporter', "while lots of films have done clothing or jewelry or product tie-ins after the fact - this is the first time that the idea for a full collection of clothing was conceived while the film was being conceived".
 * Emma Watson and Bella Heathcote were considered for the female lead role of Roxy which in the end was cast with newcomer Sophie Cookson.
 * Lock & Co., the store Harry Hart recommends Valentine buy his hat from, is a real shop on St. James Street in London.
 * Amy Purdy, the double amputee snowboarder in Sochi and runner up from Dancing With The Stars was originally cast as "Gazelle" but when filming was delayed she dropped out so she wouldn't miss the Olympics.
 * During production soccer football legend David Beckham, singers Lady Gaga and Elton John, and Skyfall (2012) song-stress Adele, were all rumored to be making cameos in the film but none of them were ever confirmed. Director Matthew Vaughn has said of this: "They're all bull****. . . . I wrote a draft with celebrities in but it got too confusing, so we binned it".
 * Colin Firth had a training schedule that was rigorous, painful and ran for around three hours a day for several weeks . Firth describes the movie's crack stunt team as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)".
 * At one point in the film, Eggsy calls Merlin 'Mycroft' as in Mycroft Holmes, the brother of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. 'Mark Strong', who plays Merlin in this movie, also featured in the film Sherlock Holmes (2009).
 * The Kingsman shop seen in the film is based on the world-renowned tailor Huntsman shop according to production designer Paul Kirby. Shooting on location was impractical, so Kirby and his team built their own version of the Kingsman shop in the studio at Leavesden. The tailors at Huntsman loaned the production some props to add authenticity. Kirby has said: "We were then able to crank up the volume and density of some things, and strip away some others. If you walk down Savile Row and have a look in the Huntsman window, as I'm sure some people will do after seeing this film, you'll see some elements that are similar and some that aren't. We wanted to put our own mark on it".
 * James Bond movie references appearing in the film include a discussion of the films, the method of how to mix a martini, Arthur's question concerning Gary's dog's name, and Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya)'s lethal dagger shoe that appeared in From Russia with Love (1963).
 * Fashion editor, consultant and Net-a-porter empire founder Natalie Massenet has said of this film to show-business trade paper 'The Hollywood Reporter': "I knew the clothes had to really serve the plot - and they do in our film. An elite secret group of gentleman spies camouflage their identity by holding meetings in a Savile Row tailor's shop. It's not like the clothes are an added benefit or not utterly functional to the story. They are a big part of the story. Colin [Firth] is grooming a young man to be the next gentleman spy - and in this case, the clothes do make the man".
 * Only three of the characters from the source comic book "The Secret Service" by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons were used for the screen version. They are Gazelle (with a gender change), Dr. James Arnold (who is now a professor) and Gary London who is now Gary Unwin.
 * Every piece of bespoked designed chattel and apparel featured in the film carries a "Kingsman" branding designer label.
 * Taron Egerton and co-star Edward Holcroft had a big bodybuilding competition on-set to determine "who would get the biggest pecs" because they both had shirtless scenes in the movie and wanted to look their absolute best. But Egerton said that he eventually came out on top saying "I think [Edward] may have got the guns (biceps), but in terms of abs and pecs I think I just pipped him to the post".
 * The British version of the movie had to have some of it's violence components edited out in order for the film to garner a "15" classification in the UK otherwise the film was likely going to be slammed in that territory with an "18+" certificate. According to the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) website's precuts information for the film, "during post-production, the distributor sought and was given advice on how to secure the desired classification. Following this advice, certain changes were made prior to submission".
 * Screenwriters Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn were keen to make some changes to Mark Millar source story and take Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) in a slightly different direction. They crafted a back-story for the organization that was slightly less governmental, and the gentleman spy was no longer the street-punk's uncle, but a former colleague of his father's, who'd lost his own life while saving the spy.
 * Director Matthew Vaughn conceptualized the Kingsman suits as being double breasted ones and not the traditionally cut and tailored style.
 * The movie is the fourth consecutive teaming of screen-writer Jane Goldman and writer-director Matthew Vaughn after Stardust (2007), Kick-Ass (2010) and X-Men: First Class (2011). Vaughn was fleshing out ideas for the film version with his co-writer Goldman whilst the source-comic book was being published. The pair have collaborated on most of Vaughn's films that he has directed to date. They both created the new script as source comic-book creators Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons were producing the comic, in much the same way Vaughn and Goldman had approached the adaptation of Millar's earlier then in-progress Kick-Ass (2010) story. Millar has said: "Matthew and Jane work together so brilliantly. Whatever you give them it always comes back better. There's nothing lovelier than seeing your book adapted and actually being better than you had imagined".
 * The film was made and released about three years after its source comic book "The Secret Service" written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons was first published in 2012. "The Secret Service" rolled out onto the shelves of comic book stores in February 2012, telling the story of a gentleman spy training his street-punk nephew to be the next great secret agent, and exploring two co-existing sides of British culture.
 * The character of Harry Hart (Colin Firth) wears spectacles like that of spy Harry Palmer who was played in movies by Michael Caine and also appears in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014).
 * Three of the film's cast have notable espionage film experience. Colin Firth and Mark Strong have recently starred in John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) whilst Michael Caine had portrayed three times the famous 60s spy character of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967).
 * The movie was initially going to be set in the USA but after much consideration it was finally decided to set the picture in the UK. Director Matthew Vaughn insisted on keeping the story based in Britain, so source comic-book writer Mark Millar knew he'd need to find a British illustrator to capture the subtle differences between the classes and that person was Dave Gibbons.
 * According to the film's press notes, the movie wryly subverts the conceits of the spy genre, telling the story of a gentleman spy who takes an ordinary working class kid under his wing and trains him in the art of espionage. It's about a street kid's journey from one social class to another, set in the two colliding worlds of life and death adventure and a very ordinary street existence. Director and co-writer Matthew Vaughn has said: "The film is a blend of everything I learned from making Lock Stock [Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)], Snatch. (2000), and Layer Cake (2004), which were gangster movies, as well as my comic-book films Kick-Ass (2010) and X-Men: First Class (2011)".
 * A number of the characters have Arthurian Legend names. These include Merlin (Mark Strong), Galahad (aka Harry Hart) (Colin Firth), Lancelot (Jack Davenport), Arthur (Michael Caine) and Young Arthur (Matt Hookings).
 * The movie pays tribute to classic 1960s hit spy TV series Get Smart (1965) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) by setting the entrance to the headquarters in a tailor's shop. Entry to UNCLE's New York HQ was via Del Floria's Tailor Shop whilst Colin Firth points out that an earlier model of the Kingsman shoe had a phone in the heel, a la Maxwell Smart's shoe phone.
 * Taron Egerton got up to a size 88 kilos (194 pounds) and just 5 percent body fat for this film. He felt it was "necessary to show muscle definition if you are going to save the world".
 * The British Gentleman's Wardrobe fashions seen in the film are a collaboration of director Matthew Vaughan, costume designer Arianne Phillips and 'MR PORTER", the award winning global men's style retail tailors, combining the best international menswear with editorial content, these all creating for the film a dream team of British heritage brands to create a new menswear label that refreshes that wardrobe.
 * The Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) henchwoman character has metallic weaponry anatomical appendages in keeping with some of the iconic villains and henchmen from the James Bond series such as Dr. No (1962) (metallic hands); the title character Goldfinger (1964) with his obsession with gold as well as Oddjob (steel rimmed bowler hat) from that same movie; Tee-Hee (metallic hook hand) from Live and Let Die (1973); and Jaws (metal teeth) from Moonraker (1979) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
 * The film features a bulletproof AR targeting system ammunition-firing black designer umbrella. According to website 'MyVue', in real life, "back in 1978, Bulgarian author Georgi Markov was assassinated when an umbrella, partly developed by the Soviet KGB, fired a fatal pellet the size of a pinhead, containing the poison ricin into his leg".
 * The production wanted to the film to be "The Best of British". Production Designer Paul Kirby has said that you can't do a British spy film "without considering Bond" and that the picture they wanted to make is a pantomime of the Roger Moore era Bond Movies. Kirby added: "[James Bond] has gone a little bit dull while they chase the [Jason] Bourne franchise".
 * More than sixty young actors were screen-tested before director Matthew Vaughn for the role of Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin which in the end was cast with Welsh actor Taron Egerton.
 * The poster design style of one of the film's main movie posters, with all its variations, with a woman's legs and thighs in the foreground and a male in the background situated between them, was iconic and controversial when it was used for the earlier James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981). When shooting the still for that movie's main poster, photographer Morgan Kane allegedly asked the model to put the bathers on backwards as they hung too low over her legs. After the poster had been released, some newspaper editors felt that there was too much buttock shown in the poster. To show less skin, the bathers were extended or shorts were added to the hips in the posters. The original poster caused outrage amongst various groups, causing Saskatchewan, Canada, to rate the film "Special X", despite being rated PG or equivalent virtually everywhere else. That rating was later lowered. Apparently the model's identity was not known for some time. More than one model alleged they were the owners of the legs but it was finally revealed they belonged to then 22 year old New York model Joyce Bartle. The Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) poster avoids the controversy by not having naked legs and thighs and with star Colin Firth's eye-line gaze looking downwards, instead of Bond's in the For Your Eyes Only (1981) poster looking upwards at the Bond poster Girl.
 * Co-screenwriter Jane Goldman has said of the film's writer-director Matthew Vaughn: "Matthew's got such a love for the James Bond movies, and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) is about embracing that genre, while also doing something new with it. Matthew's been talking about doing a spy movie for years even back when we were working on Stardust (2007)".
 * It was on the set of the genre bending Kick-Ass (2010) that writer-director Matthew Vaughn noted graphic novelist Mark Millar who conceived the concept for what would finally become Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). Millar has said: "We agreed we wanted to explore the origins of an elite spy, but focus on an unlikely candidate".
 * The head camera seen in many scenes is a ReplayXD action camera.
 * The press notes states that the gentleman spy is a classic trope of British cinema, from the authentic view of the lonely sleuth presented by John le Carré to the high-tech high-testosterone fantasies of the 1960s James Bond films. Lead actor Colin Firth has said: "So you have a bit of [author Len Deighton's spy protagonist] Harry Palmer, a bit of [James] Bond, and a bit of [John] le Carré, and it's all there for the sake of entertainment".
 * Richard Brake, who plays the interrogator during the train scene, played Joe Chill (the man who shoots and kills Bruce Wayne's parents) in Batman Begins; a movie that starred Kingsman actor Michael Caine as Alfred, Bruce's caretaker after his parents death. Also in this movie is Mark Hamill, who has voiced Batman's arch-enemy, The Joker, for over two decades.
 * According to Matthew Vaughn, he decided to work on this film because he felt it was an opportunity too good to be passed and would rather not see it filmed by someone else. While working on a treatment for X-Men: Days of The Future Past, he saw a work-in-progress version of the comic that Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons was working on. He told the studio that he wanted to do this film and then next he asked Bryan Singer, who produced First Class whether they can swap duties. All parties consented to his idea on condition that Fox would distribute and finance this movie.
 * The character of henchwoman Gazelle, was so named, according to actress Sofia Boutella who portrays her, "because she's in total control of her legs". The character is a beautiful, super-smart double amputee killing machine with deadly running blades. Boutella adds: "Gazelle wears prosthetics that, when she's fighting, unleash razor sharp blades, which makes her very dangerous".
 * The major role of role of Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin was still uncast when the film was deep into pre-production with most of the other roles already cast.
 * The main character's name was changed in the film from London to Unwin probably as a reference to Stanley Unwin who played the lead character of Father Unwin in the Gerry Anderson supermarionation series called The Secret Service (1969).
 * Comic-book writer Mark Millar pitched illustrator Dave Gibbons the story for the film's source comic-book "The Secret Service". Gibbons was drawn by the fact it was set in Britain and that the characters were intrinsically British. Gibbons has said: "There's nothing that's really quite as exciting as things that are grounded in reality. Even with the most outlandish fantasy, you have to ground it in reality for it to remain feasible. So if you're going to have people flying around in jet-packs [like in Thunderball (1965)] and ejector seats [like in Goldfinger (1964)] and possess all the wonderful gadgetry, the fact that 'The Secret Service' comics are set in a believable South London, that the kids looked believable, and that the cars fit, is really important to sustain and feed the fantasy".
 * In the film Mark Hamill plays Professor Arnold, who is one of the central figures who joins Valentine in his quest to purge humanity and join him in his new world. In the graphic novel from which the film is based, the villain is only kidnapping celebrities to join him in his new world. Mark Hamill happened to be one of the celebrities being kidnapped by the villain.
 * England did beat Germany 5-1 in a 2002 World Cup qualification match played on September 1, 2001. The film makes reference of that match.
 * You can see a Millwall FC scarf in the background in Eggsy's room.
 * The picture was originally going to be released late 2014 in around late October and November depending on the territory but the movie was not ready so the worldwide release launches got pushed back to dates most of which are during February 2015.
 * Brand integrations, product placements and promotional tie-ins seen in the movie in the exclusive Kingsman designer range include the Savile Row shopfront; Mackintosh coats and outwear; Drakes handmade ties, pocket squares, bow ties and silk accessories; George Cleverley shoes and footwear; Turnbull & Asser cotton poplin and Oxford cloth shirts; Bremont watches, clocks and timepieces; Cutler & Gross glasses, frames and eyewear; Swaine Adeney Brigg leather goods; Thomas Briggs & Sons umbrellas; and Phillips suits, jackets, and trousers.
 * The film's art and set direction was inspired and influenced by long-time James Bond franchise art director and production designer Ken Adam. Given the film's Bondian influences, Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) production designer Paul Kirby embraced the opportunity to give a nod to famed production designer Ken Adam, who worked on many of the early James Bond films. Kirby has said: "We made something with its own sensibility but there are one or two subtle nods to acknowledge Ken's body of work. There's not a designer in the world that isn't a fan of his". Kirby has worked on three James Bond films himself, and all Pierce Brosnan Bond films, they being GoldenEye (1995), Die Another Day (2002) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
 * Both Mark Hamill and Samuel L. Jackson have both portrayed Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies. Hamill played Luke Skywalker and Jackson played Mace Windu.
 * Reportedly, the price-range for Savile-Row-style suiting seen in the film starts at around the US $1750 price tag.
 * The movie's music score has said to be reminiscent of the soundtracks that John Barry use to compose for the earlier James Bond films.
 * While many people compare actors Tom Hardy with Taron Egerton, Hardy was actually in another 'Matthew Vaughn' film, Layer Cake (2004), and will be starring in the upcoming British crime drama Legend (2015) with Egerton.
 * The company who supplied the watches in the movie "Bremont" their co-founder Nick English has a small cameo in the movie. He is one of the Kingsman sitting around the table with Colin.
 * Near the end of the movie, when Samuel L. Jackson has gathered those to be protected from the deadly signal and sees that they are being very serious and sad, he speaks to them, ending with a line almost identical to a line he speaks in the film Formula 51, originally titled Formula 51 (2001), "Let's get ready to party." It is also spoken with the same emphasis and elongation of the word "party."
 * On the film's specialized direct specific for movie product branding and manufacture, Vanessa Friedman of the 'The New York Times' has reported: "The clothing line is a risky move, as it is so dependent on the success of the film and its potential for sequel after sequel. And the investment required is not insignificant, especially compared with the traditional product placement deals where filmmakers get the stuff free (or as a pay-to-play, depending on the agreement) but the clothing brand gets the associated windfall if your picture makes it big. When you think about this approach, however, the payoff could be huge . . . ready-made content for marketing, not to mention ready-made celebrity spokespeople! Every mention of the movie, every interview with an actor, will be a chance to move merch [= merchandising]. It takes the whole famous-person-with-a-fashion-line . . . to a more abstract, conceptual level.".
 * Second movie from the 20th Century Fox studio in recent years to allegedly utilize the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981) for material or marketing in one of their pictures. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), one of the primates kicks a car off a bridge, the same type of way that James Bond (Roger Moore) did in For Your Eyes Only (1981). Secondly, In Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), one of the major release movie posters utilizes a close-up of a woman's legs in the foreground with a character juxtaposed in the background between them, just as with the main movie poster for that Bond film.
 * In the scene where Arthur and Agent Hart are reviewing Professor Arnold's (Mark Hamill's) file on the mirror screen in the Kingsmen conference room, Arnold's education includes Imperial University. Hamill plays Luke Skywalker, who fought against the Imperial army in the original trilogy.
 * The last name of the film's main villain is Valentine. Coincidentally, the film's United States release was on Valentine's Day weekend.
 * This movie and Testament of Youth (2014) are the first theatrical feature films of Welsh actor Taron Egerton.
 * The place where the top secret headquarters of the Kingsman Secret Service was situated was on elite men's fashion street Savile Row.
 * The comic book was originally suppose to be about the U.S. Secret Service who call themselves "UNCLE SAM".
 * The character James Arnold was also named after James Arnold Taylor, a fellow voice-artist and close friend of Mark Hamill and Mark Millar.
 * Considering that a bespoke shop is a cover for the agency, Michael Caine, who appears in this film is a close friend of former footballer Mike Summerbee whom they worked in Victory and became a tailor after retirement.
 * Actor Colin Firth joined the film's cast to top-bill the picture on 29th April 2013.
 * The Kingsmen's costume designer, Arianne Phillips, teamed up with online fashion retail Mrporter.com in creating a collection of suits as the ones worn by the actors in the film.
 * Samuel L. Jackson's character is called Valentine which is the same surname as Eddie Murphy's character in Trading Places, a film referenced in Kingsman. Also, Jackson's first screen role was in an Eddie Murphy film, Coming to America.
 * The plane shown as being flown by the Swedish Prime Minister, is not an accurate representation of the actual plane flown by the Prime Minister, who in reality flies a white painter Gulfstream.
 * Samuel L. Jackson's character's name is Valentine. "Kingsmen" came out on Valentine's Day weekend.
 * The production of this picture was first announced during late 2012.
 * Many movie posters for the film are reminiscent in design style of the iconic James Bond film for For Your Eyes Only (1981). This type of poster design with a woman's legs and thighs in the foreground and a man (Bond) between them in the background has also been used for Abel Ferrara's Ms .45 (1981) (aka Angel of Vengeance) and the French poster for Transporter 2 (2005) amongst a few others.
 * James Bond star Daniel Craig was once directed by Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)'s director Matthew Vaughn in Layer Cake (2004). That was the film Craig had last appeared in before it was announced that he would be the new James Bond in Casino Royale (2006).
 * This is the third Matthew Vaugn film to have Henry Jackman compose a score to
 * It was originally announced on 20th May 2014 that Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson would be writing and composing the music for this picture but later on 11th July 2014 it was reported that Gary Barlow would be the film's composer.
 * During the dinner scene between Valentine and Harry Hart, there is a decisive build up to the meal that would be served under the silver tray. It winds up being a McDonalds buffet. This is a nod to the Bond film, "Octopussy", in which the film's main antagonist, Kamal Kahn, portrayed by Louis Jordan, removed the silver tray to reveal a severed, cooked goat's head, whose eye ball he proceeds to eat right in front of Bond as a scare tactic. Ironically, Louis Jordan passed away the opening weekend of this film.
 * The song featured on the trailer is David Bowie's "Suffragette City" (1972) which was originally released on Bowie's "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" 1972 album then as a single in 1976.
 * Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) is being released in the same 2015 year as such other big spy espionage films as Spy (2015), Spectre (2015), Mission: Impossible 5 (2015) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015).
 * The song that's played during the movie's closing credits is Take That's "Get Ready for It" and has been taken from their 007th studio album entitled "III" (2014).
 * The promotional trade paperback book was launched to tie-in with the film on 14th January 2015.
 * The movie's name Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) has two similarities with the James Bond film title of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Both refer to a "regal" character and both refer to an intelligence "secret service".
 * Part of a 2000s-2010s Hollywood cycle of cinema movie adaptations of comic books and graphic novels.
 * Colin firth's character is codenamed galahad. The videogame The order 1886, which was released in early 2015 like kingsman, has a main character who's name is galahad
 * The code-name of Harry Hart (Colin Firth) was "Galahad".
 * In the "Secret Service" comic, Gazelle is a young man with artificial legs. In the film, Gazelle is a female acrobatic dancer with artificial legs.
 * Aaron Taylor-Johnson was offered the lead role but he declined.
 * Emma Watson and Bella Heathcote were considered the role that went to Sophie Cookson.
 * The final choices for the role of Gary Unwin were Jack O'Connell, John Boyega and Taron Egerton. Matthew Vaughn casted Egerton because "had a like-ability about him which was so unique."
 * Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise and Idris Elba were considered for the role of Valentine which in the end was cast with Samuel L. Jackson.
 * Football legend David Beckham, singer Elton John and Skyfall song-stress Adele were all set to make cameos.
 * In the film, the character of Dr. James Arnold is played by Mark Hamill. In the comic series, Mark Hamill is the first celebrity kidnapped by Dr. Arnold.
 * Director Matthew Vaughn withdrew from directing X-Men: Days of Future Past in order to direct this movie instead.
 * Second film directed by Matthew Vaughn to be based on existing source material by Mark Millar. The first was Kick-Ass.
 * Several people involved in this film have worked on other comic book adaptations as well. Director Matthew Vaughan directed X-Men: First Class, Samuel L. Jackson played Nick Fury in several films, and Michael Caine and Mark Hamill have both appeared in Batman adaptations, as Alfred Pennyworth and The Joker, respectively.
 * Both Mark Hamill and Samuel L. Jackson have both portrayed Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies. Hamill played Luke Skywalker and Jackson played Mace Windu.
 * The film was made and released about three years after its source comic book "The Secret Service" written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons was first published in 2012.
 * Two of the film's cast have notable espionage film experience. Colin Firth has recently starred in John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy whilst Michael Caine had portrayed three times the famous 60s spy character of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain.
 * Director Matthew Vaughan previously directed Mark Hamill's cousin, Kevin Bacon, in X-Men: First Class. Bacon's character's name was Sebastian Shaw, the same as the actor who played Hamill's father in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
 * James Bond star Daniel Craig was once directed by Kingsman: The Secret Service's director Matthew Vaughn in Layer Cake. That was the film Craig had last appeared in before it was announced that he would be the new James Bond in Casino Royale.
 * The production of this picture was first announced during late 2012.
 * Actor Mark Hamill once played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope a character whose last name is similar to the title of the James Bond film Skyfall.
 * This spy film's lead actor Colin Firth once starred alongside Quantum of Solace Bond Girl Gemma Arterton in St. Trinian's.
 * Actor Colin Firth joined the film's cast to top-bill the picture on 29th April 2013.
 * The movie's name Kingsman: The Secret Service has two similarities with the James Bond film title of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Both refer to a "regal" character and both refer to an intelligence "service".
 * The nickname of Gary Unwin is "Eggsy".
 * Second film with the word "King" in the title for the film's lead actor Colin Firth who previously won a Best Actor Academy Award for The King's Speech. The two pictures were both made and released about five years apart.
 * In the big church sequence finale, Colin Firth's Galahad / Harry Hart character kills seventy-nine people.
 * The code 2625 for the Princess' jail cell is, according to Urban Dictionary, the code for Anal Sex.
 * The three highest billed actors in the cast- Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine- all get killed off.
 * Writer/director Matthew Vaughn originally wanted the Kingsman agents to kill the dogs, but co-writer Jane Goldman felt it risked losing the audience. Eventually they came up with a compromise of using blanks instead. Harry's 'stuffed dog' scene was kept in, but he explains it died of pancreatitis years later.
 * The end joke is intended as an R-rated version of the classic Bond movie end jokes. Matthew Vaughn said: "The whole movie is a post modern love letter to spy films and as a kid watching Moonraker (1979), I hear "Bond is about to attempt re-entry, Sir". I remember that line. So we've blown peoples heads up, we've had massacres in churches, we've pushed the boundaries, we should at least have the classic spy movie end joke and do the R-rated version."
 * Aside from Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin's mother attempting to harm her daughter, there is never any violence directed at or around a child in any of the heavy fighting scenes. All locations of fighting are strictly with adults against other adults. It is also noted that there are no children that fall victim to the "kill-switch" devices implanted by villain Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson).
 * Specifically, the world-domination scheme of the film's arch villain Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) is that it posits that the global population has swelled to uncontrollable levels, so it requires culling. His deadly plan is to produce SIM cards that he will distribute freely around the world, and which will both stimulate aggression and reduce inhibition. They'll literally cause people to tear each other apart, save for a select few chosen for their intelligence, power and beauty. With protective chips implanted into the heads of these elite, Valentine has rounded them up and transported them to his secret base. Source comic-book writer Mark Millar has said: "I borrowed' the idea from a professor I met from Glasgow University. He had explained to me that if the Reptilian complex at the very base of the human brain was activated, we would be extremely territorial and aggressive, and ultimately destroy each other. There's a radio frequency that drives everyone nuts".
 * Because of the brutality and and violent nature of the church massacre scene, it was deleted in the Vietnam version of the film
 * Despite the many connections this film shares with the spy films of old, it also pays homage to the original Star Wars. The young heroes, Luke and Eggsy, are brought into a heroic legacy by their wise older mentors, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Harry Hart. Both heroes are following in the footsteps of their fallen fathers, and both rescue a princess from a prison cell in the villain's lair. As well, both Mark Hamill and Samuel L. Jackson both star in the Star Wars Franchise.
 * The concept of giving trainees a puppy at the beginning of their training and having them kill it as the last step also appears in the Song of Ice and Fire novels as a part of the training of the Unsullied.
 * The clock Valentine runs during the during the movies climax is the "V-day" clock likely referencing a dooms day clock. However, if successful V-day, or Valentines day would be a worldwide massacre or a "Valentines Day Massacre" so it could also be a reference to the infamous massacre in Chicago.

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