As I'm such a movie buff, I designed this new game for our forum: movie associations! It consists of posting a movie title that's somehow (it doesn't matter how far-fetched) connected to the previous post. Please try to briefly explain the connection (as you see it). Links, specially IMDB's, are most welcomed. I'll start and also post a first association as example.
I'll associate it with Blade Runner ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/) because chess is crucial to a full comprehension of both. (Note: also its release will also complete a round 'age' this year: 30!)
Got to get away from the Black links. I was hoping noone would pick up on his presence in T.T., as I thought he was the single actor who did his best to ruin the film, like he does every film. He's unbelievably overrated - I put him only a whisker above Adam Sandler cinematographically.
(Don't get me wrong, I love TRHPS, but I think it's in a league of its own, uncomparable to other movies, because it's that different. If you haven't seen 'This is Spinal Tap' or 'TRHPS' then I would highly recommend them)
aside - has anyone seen a website where the thesis "there are only 7 movie posters" (or some similarly low number) is proposed, and supported by montages of hundreds of different movie posters that are practically indistinguishable from each other. I did a bit of searching and couldn't find it.
(Spacey went to high school with and acted in high school plays with Mare Winningham. Mare's dad is a tennis player and I play tennis with him on occasion. How about that for a connection?! :) )
Virus -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus_%281980_film%29 -- Both had themes that depended on, you guessed it, viruses. A Japanese movie with a lot of American actors, but almost all scenes with the Japanese were edited out when shown in the U.S., pretty much ruining the movie. I can't seem to find it on IMDB.
@MRFvR - I don't recall chess being in any of the movies you mentioned. You must have a keen eye!
In Casablanca Bogart (who was a keen chess player) analyzes a French Defense game (with many Semiotics implications); in Blade Runner, there's a reproduction of the "Imortal Game" while Sebastian and Batty are going up in the elevator to meet Tyrell (again, many implications). The Thomas Crown Affair features the sexiest chess scene ever (and one of the most parodies - Austin Powers included). In Independence Day, Jeff Goldblum's character plays with his father in the cliché Washington Square Park and later uses the game as a metaphor to claim alien's intentions are no good.