Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Many questions about Fargo

The duck stamps, Prince, and the true story inspiration for the movie

Dear Matthew Alice: In the movie Fargo, Margie’s husband, Norm, is painting in a competition for wildlife postage stamps. Is this something artists get paid for or work worth doing because of the honor of being selected? — Ed Vogel, downtown

Hey, Matt: I saw Fargo last week, and I noticed in the credits for the “Victim in the Field” there was no name, just a symbol. It looked remarkably like the symbol used by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, except sideways. Is he now appearing in movies as a bit actor? Does he have a younger brother (perhaps the Actor Formerly Known as Prince’s Brother)? Who is this mysterious person? — Jim McGhee, SDSU

Sponsored
Sponsored

Dear Matt: In Fargo, there’s a character who runs from an overturned car into a snow field and is shot dead by another character. The credits show this character to be none other than his royal badness, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Why would he do such a small part in such a small film? Why, Matt? Why? I must know. Maybe you could ask Duncan for us, pleeeez. — Pat A., Ocean Beach

Matthew: Can you find any details about this “true” story the Coens claim is the inspiration for Fargo? — Duncan Shepherd

The Coen kids sure have the neighborhood in an uproar. I assume they’re snickering and counting their money while we try to unravel all the practical jokes. In general it seems that not much of Fargo is what it claims to be — first and foremost, the Victim in the Field, supposedly known as Prince. It’s not Prince. What little is visible of the figure on-screen suggests the actor is a porky white guy, not a svelte black guy, no matter what the credits say. (The Pillsbury Dough Boy as Victim in the Field? Pillsbury’s as much a Minnesota native as Prince or the Coens.) Assuming we can believe anything Joel and Ethan Coen say about Fargo, in an Entertainment Weekly interview they identified the victim as J. Todd Anderson, the artist who did the film’s storyboards. They offered a convoluted explanation for why the credits show an ankh-like, Prince-like symbol on its side (shot dead?) instead of Anderson’s name. Basically, it was a little Coen hometown joke. They don’t anticipate being sued.

Norm’s ducks are another blend of the real and the not-so-very. He enters his painting in a competition apparently sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. In the real, that is, non-Coen world, the U.S. Department of the Interior sponsors an annual duck stamp competition. Duck hunters are required to buy a federal permit in the form of an illustrated stamp; the proceeds go to save game-bird habitat. Each year artists submit duck-related paintings to the interior department, and the winning entry becomes the illustration on the stamp. It’s very competitive, and it’s a prestigious award among wildlife illustrators that can mean a million dollars or so to the winner in stamp-related merchandising. As for the Coens’ connection, a big chunk of the habitat saved with duck stamp dollars is in Minnesota; 10 percent of the stamps are bought in Minnesota each year; and for the last two years, the winning duck stamp artists have been Minnesotans. For the purposes of the film, though, it was simpler (and ultimately funnier) to have Norm compete for a spot on regular postage stamps.

Is Fargo based on a true story? The jury’s still out, but the question has been pursued diligently by news sources, gleaners of regional crime statistics, and other interested parties across the country, and nobody’s identified any such crime so far. But isn’t all this realitybending exactly what Coenheads expect from the guys? It’s all just part of the fun.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

Dear Matthew Alice: In the movie Fargo, Margie’s husband, Norm, is painting in a competition for wildlife postage stamps. Is this something artists get paid for or work worth doing because of the honor of being selected? — Ed Vogel, downtown

Hey, Matt: I saw Fargo last week, and I noticed in the credits for the “Victim in the Field” there was no name, just a symbol. It looked remarkably like the symbol used by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, except sideways. Is he now appearing in movies as a bit actor? Does he have a younger brother (perhaps the Actor Formerly Known as Prince’s Brother)? Who is this mysterious person? — Jim McGhee, SDSU

Sponsored
Sponsored

Dear Matt: In Fargo, there’s a character who runs from an overturned car into a snow field and is shot dead by another character. The credits show this character to be none other than his royal badness, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Why would he do such a small part in such a small film? Why, Matt? Why? I must know. Maybe you could ask Duncan for us, pleeeez. — Pat A., Ocean Beach

Matthew: Can you find any details about this “true” story the Coens claim is the inspiration for Fargo? — Duncan Shepherd

The Coen kids sure have the neighborhood in an uproar. I assume they’re snickering and counting their money while we try to unravel all the practical jokes. In general it seems that not much of Fargo is what it claims to be — first and foremost, the Victim in the Field, supposedly known as Prince. It’s not Prince. What little is visible of the figure on-screen suggests the actor is a porky white guy, not a svelte black guy, no matter what the credits say. (The Pillsbury Dough Boy as Victim in the Field? Pillsbury’s as much a Minnesota native as Prince or the Coens.) Assuming we can believe anything Joel and Ethan Coen say about Fargo, in an Entertainment Weekly interview they identified the victim as J. Todd Anderson, the artist who did the film’s storyboards. They offered a convoluted explanation for why the credits show an ankh-like, Prince-like symbol on its side (shot dead?) instead of Anderson’s name. Basically, it was a little Coen hometown joke. They don’t anticipate being sued.

Norm’s ducks are another blend of the real and the not-so-very. He enters his painting in a competition apparently sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. In the real, that is, non-Coen world, the U.S. Department of the Interior sponsors an annual duck stamp competition. Duck hunters are required to buy a federal permit in the form of an illustrated stamp; the proceeds go to save game-bird habitat. Each year artists submit duck-related paintings to the interior department, and the winning entry becomes the illustration on the stamp. It’s very competitive, and it’s a prestigious award among wildlife illustrators that can mean a million dollars or so to the winner in stamp-related merchandising. As for the Coens’ connection, a big chunk of the habitat saved with duck stamp dollars is in Minnesota; 10 percent of the stamps are bought in Minnesota each year; and for the last two years, the winning duck stamp artists have been Minnesotans. For the purposes of the film, though, it was simpler (and ultimately funnier) to have Norm compete for a spot on regular postage stamps.

Is Fargo based on a true story? The jury’s still out, but the question has been pursued diligently by news sources, gleaners of regional crime statistics, and other interested parties across the country, and nobody’s identified any such crime so far. But isn’t all this realitybending exactly what Coenheads expect from the guys? It’s all just part of the fun.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024’s Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos – Play BTC Casino Games Online

Best Bitcoin Casinos (2024): Top 10 Crypto Casino Sites for BIG Payouts
Next Article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.