In Film, There Is More Than Meets The Eye
There are plenty of movies that are universally loved and have made their way into their audience's hearts worldwide. In spite of all this publicity, some secrets still lurk in the corners of these productions. Let’s see how many you know.
The Hateful Eight: Expired At 145
Mistakes are inevitable, and to err is human. Nevertheless, some mishaps are costlier than others. On the set of Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, a 145-year-old Martin acoustic guitar met its end. To make matters worse, the production had the guitar on loan from the Martin Guitar Museum.
Martin 2 1/2-20 1870s Hateful Eight Guitar Destroyed by Kurt Russell | NAMM 2024 by Premier Guitar
Oopsies!
In a scene where Jennifer Jason Leigh's prop guitar was supposed to be smashed by Kurt Russell's character, he accidentally destroyed the original, which was valued above $40,000. Russell was unaware of the substitution when he made that mistake, but Martin Guitar Museum never lent out its artifacts again.
The Hateful Eight Guitar Incident - Kurt Russell Destroyed An Antique Guitar by The Folan
Toy Story: The Name Switch
Andy's beloved toy nearly went by a different name from what we know him today. Drumrolls… That name was Lunar Larry. Larry was later renamed to pay tribute to the astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the moon. The name captured the character's space ranger essence.
Toy Story 3 In Real Life | Full-length Fan Film by Toy Story 3 IRL
A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., And WALL-E: One Meeting; 4 Movies
If you're looking for cases to support longer lunch hours at work, here's the perfect example. John Lasseter, Pixar's former animation director, met with three of his colleagues for lunch in 1994. While discussing ideas for the company's next project, they laid the groundwork for the films mentioned above.
WALL-E Clip - A New Day (2008) Pixar by JoBlo Animated Videos
Interstellar: The Real Deal
The vast cornfields that Cooper family own look surreal, and they really did add to the visual appeal of the science-fiction Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan. The cinematography genius did not want to use CGI to create the scene, so he grew corn—500 acres of it to be specific.
Interstellar - Christopher Nolan - Cornfield Drone Chase Scene [1080P HD] by Extractor
Fresh Creativity
Nolan's decision to plant $100,000 worth of corn and create the setting for the Cooper home was smart, and it offered the creative crew surprising advantages. They could freely shoot on the property, do stunts, and drive through the fields without hesitation.
THYX - Our Only Home - Interstellar IMAX by TANKESRED
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: Fake Or Real?
Tim Burton's 2005 adaptation of the novel Charlie And The Chocolate Factory was a massive commercial success, but this did not come easy. An anecdote that highlights the exceptional attention to detail in the film involves the scene in the chocolate factory that shows working squirrels.
Veruca Salt Song by Willy Wonka
Training Squirrels 101
As most movies do with CGI, you'd think that these animals were added through such means and special effects, wrong! The squirrels you see in this scene were actually alive and trained to sort through nuts for the duration of the shot. Talk about going the extra mile.
Veruca Salt Song by Willy Wonka
The Shawshank Redemption: The Crow Calls
Speaking of trained animals, the scene in The Shawshank Redemption, where Andy's dialogue in the library is followed by a squawk from Brooke's crow, was harder to shoot than it seems. There was no way to train the bird to caw on cue; therefore…
Timing It Just Right
It's alleged that Tim Robbins, the actor who played Andy, had to work around the obstacle by learning the squawking pattern of the crow in order to time the delivery of his dialogue to it. Just goes to show the dedication that goes into the art of filmmaking.
Halloween: William Shatner?
The iconic mask that is the trademark of Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise has a rather unprecedented origin. Tommy Lee Wallace, the production creator for the original film, procured a William Shatner mask from a Hollywood costume store.
William Shatner On Trick-Or-Treating With His Own Face Mask—BEST HALLOWEEN STORY EVER by Strombo
Reverse Cosmetic Surgery
The actual mask in itself cost the production house less than $2. To make it scarier, Wallace spray-painted it white, cut bigger eye-holes into it, and messed up its hair. This became the face of the infamous slasher. Funnily enough, Shatner donned the mask as his Halloween costume one year.
Halloween - The OG Michael Myers Featurette (HD) by Universal Pictures
The Matrix: Cloudy With A Chance Of Sushi
The "digital rain" that opens every film in The Matrix universe consists of characters scanned from Japanese cookbooks. Simon Whitely, the genius behind the code, used his wife's cookbooks for the same, saying, "I like to tell everybody that The Matrix's code is made out of Japanese sushi recipes."
Professional Protagonist
Most of the time, actors have stunt doubles who stand in for them in action sequences. Keanu Reeves, though, is built different and he performed 95% of the stunts in The Matrix himself, training in Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and marksmanship for three months before filming.
Neo vs Smith Clones [Part 2] | The Matrix Reloaded [Open Matte] by Flashback FM
Star Wars: The Pawfect Inspiration
Did you know that Chewbacca, Han Solo's co-pilot in the Star Wars franchise, had his origins in the writer's pet Alaskan Malamute? George Lucas, while penning the script for the original film, found inspiration for the Wookiee warrior in his extremely hairy and loyal dog.
Star Wars: Every time Chewbacca speaks by The Verge
Indiana Jones: Indiana's Namesake
Lucas is also the genesis of one of the most recognizable names in the fantasy adventure genre. Can you guess which one? Indiana Jones. This movie was named after Lucas's pooch. There is even a nod to the reference in The Last Crusade, where Indy's father states, "We named the dog Indiana."
Indiana Jones - Official Trailer by Paramount Movies
Spider-Man: Maguire In Mire
It's common knowledge that most movie scenes require a couple of shots to get right. Considering the action-packed nature of Spider-Man, it's foreseeable how many scenes went through multiple takes to make it to the final cut. But one sequence in particular was a tough nut to crack.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man - Best Scenes from Sam Raimi’s Trilogy by Marvel/DC: Comic Movies
156th Time's The Charm
The innocent-seeming scene was the one with Peter Parker and Mary Jane in the school cafeteria. Toby Maguire actually caught all the falling food without the use of any special effects, and he achieved it with a tray stuck to his hand and 156 takes.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man - Best Scenes from Sam Raimi’s Trilogy by Marvel/DC: Comic Movies
The Wizard Of Oz: Wizening The Wizard
In this masterpiece, Frank Morgan, who played the title role, and director Victor Fleming went thrift shopping for a coat. They were on a mission to find something tattered yet elegant. Their efforts paid off when they discovered the perfect coat, adding an authentic touch to the character's look.
A Coincidence For The Ages
Fun fact: the coat they found had originally belonged to L. Frank Baum—the writer of the original publication. Something that seemed like the pick of the lot was meant to be. After Morgan noticed a label with the name L. Frank Baum, he reached out to the author's wife and discovered that it indeed belonged to him!
Jaws: (Almost) Never Meant To Be
According to co-writer Carl Gottlieb, "You're going to need a bigger boat," originated as a catchphrase that was used whenever the production team for the movie Jaws faced any mishap or minor inconvenience. It all began when the support boat they were using on location was deemed too small.
Jaws: Shark with barrels HD CLIP by Binge Society
Game Recognize Game
Roy Scheider, who played Chief Brody on Jaws, picked up on the phrase and ad-libbed it several times during filming. The utterance at the moment when Brody first encounters the Great White shark made it to the final cut, and the rest is history.
Jaws: Shark with barrels HD CLIP by Binge Society
Fight Club: Not A Soap Opera
While filming the cult classic Fight Club, actors Brad Pitt and Edward Norton learnt how to make soap from scratch in real life. The reason is speculated to have something to do with their character's involvement in Tyler Durden's homemade soap business, but nobody knows for sure.
Fight Club Making Soap by Christian Butcher
Swooning Over Starbucks
The director of Fight Club, David Fincher, had also mentioned that he had hidden Starbucks cups throughout the film. He narrated his struggle to get good coffee in Los Angeles after moving there in 1984 and the subsequent boom of Starbucks, citing it as the reason behind the unusual addition.
The Meaning of: Starbucks in Fight Club by Bryan Seeker
Wayne's World: The Story Behind A Misconception
In Wayne's World, the scene where Wayne begins to play the Led Zeppelin song Stairway To Heaven and is stopped by the clerk has puzzled audiences for ages. It was initially believed that the guitar store banned the song since they were tired of hearing it, thus explaining the sign.
Wayne's World - Stairway to Heaven (fixed) by Kevin Suffecool
"No Stairway Denied"
However, the truth behind the incident is that the band's PR team decided against giving the production team rights to feature the song in the movie at the last minute. That's why Wayne says, "No stairway, denied." Pretty cool trivia, huh?
Wayne's World - Stairway to Heaven (fixed) by Kevin Suffecool
Hook: Kissing Under The Stars
Filmmaker George Lucas and actress-scriptwriter Carrie Fisher have shared many years of friendship, starting from when they first worked together on the Star Wars franchise. Fisher also worked behind the scenes in the movie Hook by doctoring the script.
Names Of The Faces
Steven Spielberg, the director, gave her a cameo for her uncredited contributions to the film. She and Lucas are seen as a couple who levitate as they share a kiss, thanks to Tinkerbell's fairy dust. Their identities were not confirmed until 25 years after the release of Hook.
Jurassic Park: Sounds For Every Need
The sound designer for Jurassic Park, Gary Rydstrom, recorded the sounds of the various dinosaurs seen in the film from peculiar sources. On the suggestion of the employees working at Marine World in California, he used the noise made by mating tortoises as velociraptor barks.
Jurassic Park (1993) - Raptors in the Kitchen Scene | Movieclips by Movieclips
Quite Tame After All
Sound effects will either upgrade or rain down on your production, and there were more. Various domestic animals have contributed to the vocal profiles of the dinosaurs. Huffing horses, debarked dogs, whistling dolphins, and hissing geese. Rydstrom really took a trip to Old MacDonald's for this one.
The T. rex Escapes the Paddock in 4K HDR | Jurassic Park by Jurassic World
Coco: Puberty Problems
Pixar's Coco faced a hurdle while finding individuals to do the voiceovers in the animated film. The boy who was supposed to play Miguel hit puberty, which drastically changed his voice. Because of this, the production house replaced him with Anthony Gonzalez.
Coco Official US Teaser Trailer by Pixar and COCO Star Anthony Gonzalez Sings
Still Got Paid
The original voice actor still got a cameo, though, because why should anyone be punished for growing up? He voiced the stage hand, and he would later ask Miguel if he was ready to get on stage. Now, that's what's called fulfilling corporate social responsibility.
Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal - Un Poco Loco (From Coco) by DisneyMusicVEVO
Mission: Impossible
The espionage film's theme, composed by Lalo Schifrin, has an aptly secretive detail that was confirmed by actors Simon Pegg and Rebecca Fergusson, who star in it. In the theme song, he put in two dashes (--) and two dots (..), which spells out "MI" in Morse code.
Morse Code De-mystified
This is thanks to the song opening with two long notes and two short notes in succession. When put together, the letter "M" is spelled with the two long notes, which represent two dashes, and "I" is spelled with the two short notes that represent dots.
Mission Impossible 2 - Intro - Rock Climbing Scene by Valarian
The Godfather: To Catch A Cat
An unsuspecting feline that was caught roaming on the sets of The Godfather ended up being a featured extra on the film. Director Francis Coppola spotted the animal running around the Paramount studio, and was struck by a sudden idea to add some pizzazz in the opening scene.
Bernard Gotfryd, Wikimedia Commons
Corleone's Got Claws
In a stroke of genius, he took the cat and placed it in Marlon Brando's hands. Coppola knew exactly what he was doing since petting the feline heightened the aura of the mob boss during his conversation with Bonasera. The cat would purr loudly, sometimes masking Brando's lines.
THE GODFATHER | Opening Scene | Paramount Movies by Paramount Movies
Casablanca: Witty Wordplay
One is bound to think that memorable lines from movies are gems of words strung together by scriptwriters burning their midnight oil. This may be true in most cases, but some massively popular film dialogues were actually not a part of the script.
Casablanca (4/6) Movie CLIP - I Still Love You (1942) HD by Movieclips
Ingenuity Of The Moment
For instance, Humphrey Bogart, who played Rick Blaine in Casablanca, was teaching Ingrid Bergman how to play poker on set when he'd say, "Here's looking at you, kid." This line was later incorporated into the movie. Cameron also made up the lines "I'm the king of the world!" in Titanic.
Here's looking at you kid – Casablanca 1942 by Jean Belmondo
Singin' In The Rain: Never Back Down Kelly
Singing in the rain is definitely not a faster route to being cured of illness, but Gene Kelly pushed through his fever to record his musical number in the film. According to Patricia Kelly, the singer's wife, this involved trying to bake his fever out in the sunlight.
Singing in the Rain - Singin' in the Rain (6/8) Movie CLIP (1952) HD by Movieclips
Don't Catch A Cold
After his sunbathing session, he'd return to the set to finish the shoot. This went on multiple times. His attempts proved successful, as the number was shot in about two days. Not bad at all for the production, but certainly not good for the health of a recovering performer.
Singing in the Rain - Singin' in the Rain (6/8) Movie CLIP (1952) HD by Movieclips
The Washington Post: An Eye For Detail
While documenting the story behind The Washington Post breaking the Watergate scandal, one of the features that was paid special attention to was the construction of the newsroom. Apparently, loads of money was spent in order to recreate the inner sanctum of the newspaper's offices.
The Post | Tom Hanks As Ben Bradlee | 20th Century FOX by 20th Century Studios
True To The Trash
Every last detail, even down to the clutter of the office space, was sourced with incredible accuracy. According to the newspaper, the production team even had The Washington Post trash shipped to Hollywood to accomplish this task. This attention to detail highlighted the story's scandalous reality.
Star Wars: Familiar Faces In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Many actors in Star Wars don't reveal their identities on screen, but some make surprise appearances. For example, Daniel Craig secretly played a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens. Although his face isn't visible, his voice is distinguishable when Rey uses the Force to make his character release her from captivity.
Star Wars - Daniel Craig as Stormtrooper | offical FIRST LOOK clip (2016) by moviemaniacsDE
Titanic: Titanic's Ice-Cold Authenticity
In Titanic, director James Cameron insisted on filming scenes in chilled water. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet braved the low temperatures, which added to the emotional weight of their performances. Winslet reported discomfort on set, but both actors pushed through, creating one of the film's most powerful moments.
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