FILM · 2000 · CANADA
The Skulls
21 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (21)
- #001
The Skull and Bones Society, on which the film is based, gives each class a watch, though not with the full branding ceremony. After the film was shot, Joshua Jackson obtained one of the real watches and gave it to director Rob Cohen.
- #002
Hill Harper's character Will, Luke's roommate in the film, is modeled on director Rob Cohen's real-life Harvard roommate.
- #003
The castle seen in the background as the Skulls members set out toward the initiate is Singer Castle on Dark Island. The island owned by the Skull and Bones Society is called Deer Island. Both islands are in the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River.
- #004
Yale is never named in the film, but there are many references: in the boat race, every team is named after its school except "The Bulldogs" (they are the Yale team); the characters wear a Y on their sports jerseys; The Skulls is said to have "322 alumni worldwide," and Yale's secret society Skull & Bones uses the number 322 as an identifier in most of its symbols; the characters are seen celebrating in a pizza parlor they call "Mory's" while drinking from a large golden cup — Mory's is a real place and the song and large golden cup tradition are accurate, but it is a formal restaurant, not a pizza parlor, and Mory's real cups are traditionally silver; the new Skulls are sent to a "Snake & Skeleton" raid, and there is a Yale secret society called "Book & Snake"; some campus shots appear to deliberately mimic Yale buildings, with a tower that closely resembles Harkness Tower and a dining hall that resembles the one at Saybrook College.
- #005
This was Malin Akerman's debut.
- #006
The boxing coach was played by Paul Walker's father, Paul Walker III.
- #007
James Van Der Beek was considered for the role of Luke McNamara.
- #008
The wristwatch given to each new member of the Skulls is a Breitling Old Navitimer.
- #009
The single-person boat used for rowing is called a skull, and it is pronounced the same way as "skull."
- #010
At the university (actually the University of Toronto), you can see the lights of the Sutton Hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the background (in red letters).
- #011
The boathouse in the opening scene is an Ivy League boathouse… Dartmouth College on the Connecticut River in Hanover, NH.
- #012
The film appears on film critic Roger Ebert's "Most Hated" list.
- #013
Joshua Jackson was considered for the role of Mox in Varsity Blues (1999), which was played by James Van Der Beek. A year later, James Van Der Beek was considered for the role of Luke McNamara, which went to Jackson. This is significant because of the time they spent together on Dawson's Creek.
- #014
When screenwriter John Pogue wrote the script, he wrote it more seriously, in the style of Dead Poets Society (1989).
- #015
A few months later, William Petersen, who played Levritt, appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015) as Dr. Gil Grissom. Hill Harper, who played Will Beckford, also appeared in CSI: NY (2004-2013) as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes.
- #016
John Pogue was set to make his directorial debut on the film, but the directing duties were given to Rob Cohen instead. At a time when Cohen was unavailable, Pogue took over directing second unit work.
- #017
When the group examines the videotape, the video appears to be slightly time-lapsed but the audio is fine. Such sped-up videos are rarely accompanied by audio. Also, the wide shot that is zoomed out is quite pixelated, but as it zooms in the video resolution becomes better. It is a fact that you can never put video data where it never existed. Image enhancement can estimate data by analyzing surrounding pixels, but even in 2020 this process is still flawed. This film dates from 2000, when even "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" was a new series and the video enhancement it (literally) performed was beyond even NASA's reach.
- #018
Both Paul Walker and Steve Harris later appeared in "Takers."
- #019
Christopher McDonald's role in the film was reduced.
- #020
The new members' brands are on their left hands, the hands on which they wear their watches.
- #021
The Skulls received Italian censorship visa # 94663, delivered on 14 July 2000.
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