Film Trivia

I Am Legend
Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise were both considered for the role of Robert Neville in Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend (2007)

Top Gun
So many of The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program staff members and fighter pilots loved the movie Top Gun (1986) so much that the school gives a $5 fine to anyone in the staff that quotes the movie.

Goodfellas
Throughout Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) the word "fuck" is used 321 times. That is an average of 2.04 fucks per minute. Most of half of them are said by Joe Pesci.

Edward Scissorhands
The idea for Edward Scissorhands (1990) was inspired by a drawing that Tim Burton had done as a teenager. When writing up the story for Edward’s Inventor, Burton specifically thought of Vincent Price. This would be Price's final film and his last screen appearance before his death.

Inglourious Basterds 
There is only 30% of Inglourious Basterds (2009) that is spoken in English. The language which dominates the film is either French or German and with a little Italian.

Academy Awards Trivia
The only three movies that won the most Oscars were Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Titanic (1997) and Ben-Hur (1959). Each of these movies won 11 awards.

The Shinning
The infamous 'Heere's Johnny!' scene took 3 days to film and the use of 60 doors.

Rocky
The first sports film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Oblivion 
The Tower 49 set was an actual functioning home. The giant set was surrounded by huge screens that projected a pre-recorded footage of the view from the summit of Haleakala volcano in Maui. Director Joseph Kosinski did this so the huge structure actually looked perched above the clouds

Speed
During the filming for Speed (1994), there was no stunt double for Keanu Reeves and he decided to do all the stunts himself. Sandra Bullock actually took a bus driving test and passed so she could actually drive while filming.

Atonement
The scene where the Allied troops gathered on the beach at Dunkirk, waiting to be evacuated was shot in one tracking sequence that lasted for five minutes. With more than a 1,000 extras and only two days to film the scene, the cast and crew only had one day to rehearse. 

The Village
To help the cast grasp a better understanding of the time period in The Village (2004) M. Night Shyamalan decided to put the entire crew and extras through a 19th century boot camp. 

Scarface
Coming from Cuba, making Spanish his first language, to stay in character Al Pacino asked director of photography John A. Alonzo to speak to him only in Spanish. However throughout the entire film, Tony Montana only speaks one line of Spanish.

Back to the Future Part II
Elijah Wood's first movie appearance was in Back to the Future Part II (1989) as one of the two video gamers (boy on the left) that Marty McFly speaks to in the diner near the beginning of the film.

Titanic
Titanic (1997) was viewed so many times in theatres that paramount had to send out replacement reels to theatres because they had literally worn out their copies.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off
John Hughes considered, John Cusack, Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp for the lead role of Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). Matthew Broderick got the role and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
During the filming for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) it was quite often the crew would fly to remote shoot locations by helicopter. Sean Bean (Boromir) was afraid of flying and would only do it when absolutely necessary. Quite often Sean would actually spend two hours every morning hiking and climbing from the base of the mountain to the set near the top. He did this dressed as Boromir with the shield and sword. 

Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction
In Reservoir Dogs (1992) Michael Madsen’s character Mr. Blonde's real name is Vic Vega. This is the same surname as Vince Vega, John Travolta's from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).Tarantino revealed that Vic and Vince are brothers and had intended to do a prequel called "Double V Vega” which would star the Vega Brothers. However both actors had conflicting schedules and got too old to reprise their roles. 

Saving Private Ryan
The two "German" soldiers who are shot but trying to surrender were speaking Czech saying "Please don't shoot me, I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone, I am Czech!". These men represented the members of what the Germans called Ost [East] Battalions. Most of these men were Czech and Polish prisoners from European countries, invaded by Germany and forced into the German army.

Twelve Monkeys & The Kid & Looper
It seems that Bruce Willis’ characters seem to always time travel and encounter his younger self. The first was Twelve Monkeys (1995), the second was The Kid (2000) and last was Looper (2012).

Aliens & Batman
After filming finished for Aliens (1986), The Alien nest set was kept and later used as the Axis Chemicals set for Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).  

Eastern Promises
After shooting in Eastern Promises (2007) Viggo Mortensen and some crew members went to a Russian restaurant in London. Without washing his tattoos or removing his costume the restaurant fell silent out of fear. People became very frightened of Mortensen, assuming he was a real member of the Russian Mafia.

Into The Wild
 To achieve the starved look at the ending of Into the Wild (2007), Emile Hirsch lost 40 pounds to play the role as Chris McCandless. 

The Master & Walk The Line
During the jail cell scene in The Master (2012), Joaquin Phoenix actually broke a real toilet. The entire burst of rage was improvised. This is not the first time Phoenix improvised a surge of frenzy. In Walk The Line (2005) when Johnny Cash pulls the sink off the wall was again not scripted. Joaquin Phoenix actually pulled it off the wall. 

Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino was so disappointed with John Travolta’s career that he wanted to rebuild his acting reputation. Tarantino decided to cast Travolta in Pulp Fiction (1994) to fix his failing acting career which earned Travolta an Oscar nomination.  He then later received a number of big movie offers like Face/Off (1997)

Lord of the rings
Viggo Mortensen bonded with his horse so much during the filming of the Lord of the rings series that after the third film was completed, he purchased the horse from the production company. 

The Exorcist
During the filming of The Exorcist (1973), actress Linda Blair received so many death threats from religious extremists who believed the film "glorified Satan", that Warner Bros. hired bodyguards to protect her for six months after the film's release.

Shutter Island
Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) traumatic event of his involvement of killing Nazi guards at Dachau concentration camp is an actual historical event known as the Dachau liberation reprisals. On the 29th of April 1945, the US army liberated Dachau concentration camp, American soldiers than wounded and killed German camp guards and German prisoners of war.

Drive
After Ryan Gosling replaced Hugh Jackman for the lead role in Drive (2011), to prepare for his role and become more attuned for his character, Gosling restored the 1973 Chevy Malibu that his character uses in the film. 

The Shawshank Redemption
Stephen King liked the script for The Shawshank Redemption so much that he sold the film rights for his novella for only a dollar.

The Matrix & Dark City
The Matrix (1999) used the same exterior sets in Dark City (1998). The streets, buildings and even the same rooftop that Trinity runs across at the beginning of the film is the same one that John Murdoch runs across in Dark City.

Das Boot & Raiders of the Lost Ark
While filming Das Boot (1981) director Wolfgang Petersen insisted on filming inside a real submarine, to help the actors grasp the claustrophobic conditions of a real U-boat. The same submarine models built for Das Boot was also used for Steven Spielberg Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

The Silence of the Lambs
During the first meeting between Lecter and Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins's on the spot improvised the mocking of Starling’s southern accent. Foster's horrified reaction was actually genuine because she felt she was being personally attacked. 

Taxi Driver
While writing Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader kept motivated and inspired by keeping a loaded gun on his desk. This motivation and inspiration helped Schrader write the script in five days.

Fight Club
Edward Norton actually hit Brad Pitt in the ear in Fight Club. Originally Norton was going to fake hit Pitt but David Fincher told Norton to actually hit him. After Norton hit him in the scene, you can see him smiling and laughing while Pitt is in pain.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Peter Cushing who played Grand Moff Tarkin in the first Star Wars trilogy passed away in 1994. However at the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) Tarkin can be seen at the end of the film with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Animation director Rob Coleman wanted to pay homage to Cushing and create a digital version or use unused footage. They eventually decided to cast actor Wayne Pygram, who was fitted with prosthetic make-up.  

 Back To The Future Part III
Michael J. Fox was nearly killed in the scene when Mad Dog tried to lynch Marty. Fox was told to place his hand between the rope and neck when dropped but he miscalculated the timing and was actually being choked by the rope. No body noticed until Fox passed out.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
An insurance company gave Michael Bay 532 cars free of charge to destroy for the production of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). However none of the vehicles actually worked due to flood-damage and had to be moved around by crane or by the crew pushing them into place.

Pitch Black & Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
The desert scenes they filmed Pitch Black (2000) on was the same location they filmed Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

28 Weeks Later & Children Of Men
In 28 Weeks Later the opening scene where Don (Robert Carlyle), his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) and four other survivors are hiding in a barricaded cottage is the same farm that appears in Children of Men (2006).

The Pianist
For the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist (2002), Adrien Brody lost 14 kg. His diet consisted of two boiled eggs and green tea for breakfast, a little chicken for lunch and a small piece of fish or chicken with steamed vegetables. By the end of the 6 week diet his weight was 73 kg.

28 Days Later
Director Danny Boyle wanted Ewan McGregor to play Jim in 28 Days Later. But after being axed from The Beach in favour of Leonardo DiCaprio back in 2000. Mcgregor was still angry with Boyle and refused to work with him. The role then was offered to Ryan Gosling, who had a scheduling conflict.

Snatch
A double was used when Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) approached the car where Vinny and Sol are sitting outside Brick-Top's Bookies, about to give him the diamond. Jones hadn't showed up for shooting that day because he was in jail for a bar fight the night before.

First Blood
When First Blood was in the earlier stages of development, Warner Bros. had considered making Rambo portrayed by Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman and even Al Pacino 

Waterworld
Prior to Titanic (1997), Waterworld (1995) was one of the most expensive movies ever made during the 90’s. Its estimated budget was $175 million but if it was produced today it would have been $270 million. Even though the movie was one of the biggest box-office flops of all time, Waterworld made a modest profit of $264 million.

Land Of The Dead
George A. Romero was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead (2004) that he asked the pair to appear as a cameo in Land Of The Dead (2005). Both Simon and Edgar appear as the chained up photo booth zombies in the bar room sequence.

Star Wars
David Prowse played the role of Darth Vader on set but the voice was a pre-recorded voice of James Earl Jones in a recorded studio. David was so convinced the film would be a flop with the studio unsure about the film and most of the cast was thrown by the strange dialogue and story that often lead to tension or awkwardness on set that David refused to allow his name in the original credits.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
The iconic scene in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy shoots a marauding and flamboyant swordsman was not in the original script! Harrison Ford was supposed to use his whip  to disarm the attacker and have a big fight scene. However due to food poisoning, Ford was too sick to perform the stunt.  After several unsuccessful attempts, Ford just said “Can’t I just shoot the sucker”. Spielberg loved the idea and immediately shot the scene. 

The Amityville Horror
At the time of its release The Amityville Horror (1979) was one of the most successful independent films. It became such a huge box office success that the film earned more than $86 million in the USA alone.

Pearl Harbor
Michael Bay’s action sequence where the Japanese attacks Pearl Harbor earned a place in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for the movie with the most explosives used.

Cast Away
In Robert Zemeckis Cast Away (2000), One of the three volleyballs used in the film was sold at a auction for $18,000

Home Alone
After the fall of communism in Poland, one of the first films to be aired was Home Alone (1990). It has been aired every year since 1990 and is considered a traditional Christmas movie. In 2011 the movie aired on December 23rd with an audience of over 5 million, making it the most popular show aired during the Christmas season in Poland. 

Black Hawk Down
The scenes with the monitors behind Major General Garrison (Sam Shepard) are actual satellite images of the battle. Even the radio chatter was actual radio transmissions made during the battle.

American Psycho
Did you know that Mary Harron backed out of directing American Psycho when the studio hired Leonardo DiCaprio to take the role as Patrick Bateman? She originally wanted Christian Bale as the maniac broker from New York but the studio wanted DiCaprio. Oliver Stone stepped in to direct but after protest from feminist groups DiCaprio dropped out and issues with the script Stone pulled out also. Harron then returned back with Bale taking the lead role.

Total Recall, Highlander II: The Quickening, Starship Troopers & The Machinist
It seems that Michael Ironside always takes on the role where his character will lose a limb. In Total Recall (1990) he losses both his arms while fighting on an elevator with Schwarzenegger. Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) Ironside gets his hands and head cut off. In Starship Troopers (1997) he plays a battle scarred war soldier with a robotic arm that eventually losses his legs. The most gruesome of all is in The Machinist (2004). While working on a heavy duty piece of machinery a freak accident leads to his skin tearing, muscles ripping off, bones cracking and breaking and tendons stretching and snapping.

The Machinist & Rescue Dawn & The Fighter
For the The Machinist (2004), Christian Bale weighed only 55kg. He regained the weight just in time for his role in Batman Begins (2005). However he would lose the weight again and weigh only 61kg for the role in Rescue Dawn (2006). Even between The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Bale would yet again lose his weight and weigh 66kg for The Fighter (2010).

Fight Club
Throughout Fight Club Brad Pitt’s character keeps flashing in and out of existence at the beginning. In the scene when Edward Norton is eating the mint chocolate at the hotel, a promotional video of the Bridgeworth Suites is playing on the television. If you look to the right of the commercial you can see that Brad Pitt is one of the hotel employees.

Batman Returns
During the filming for Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992) Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costume had to be vacuum sealed once she was fitted into it for each scene. The costume was so tight that she only had a short amount of time to perform before she passed out.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day
In the final scene where the T1000 is imitating Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), No special or mirror effects was used. In fact Linda Hamilton's twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren was used as a double to stand in. 

Kiss of The Dragon
In Chris Nahon’s Kiss of the Dragon (2001) Nahon had to slow down the the final fight scene between Jet Li and Cyril Raffaelli because they were moving too fast for the camera to keep up.

Predator
Did you know that Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast to play the Predator creature back in 1987? But due to working difficulties he was dropped and was replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. In the documentary "If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It” there even a quick shot of Van Damme playing the Predator. 

Armageddon
When Rockhound (Steve Buscemi) gets space dementia and the shuttle crew wraps him in duct tape in Michael Bay’s Armageddon (1998) that is the actual protocol for NASA astronauts for immobilizing a crazed crew member.

Has Anybody Seen My Gal
Back in 1952 James Dean’s first ever movie appearance was a tiny part at the soda counter scene in Douglas Sirk’s Has Anybody Seen My Gal

Toy Story 3
Did you notice in Toy Story 3 that the garbage man is wearing a skull t-shirt and that he is actually grown up Sid from the original Toy Story 

Starship Troopers
Paul Verhoeven military science fiction action film Starship Troopers is actually based on the novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein. The novel has been exposed for many controversies for allegations of pro-militarism, fascism, utopianism, racism and creating its own political ideology that encourages a Military Junta system. 

Bloodsport
Ever wondered why the video game character Johnny Cage from Mortal Kombat greatly resembled Jean Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport 1988? Originally the creators of Mortal Kombat Ed Boon and John Tobias wanted Van Damme to star in their first 1992 MK release. However plans fell through as Jean Claude had a contract platform with the Sega Mega Drive console. The creatures then had to rename the character Johnny Cage. 

Gattaca
Though Gattaca is based some time in the near future, the buildings in the film are actually quite dated. Many buildings represent an era where “Brutalist architecture” flourished from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

The Fifth Element
Did you know in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element the hero Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) and the villain Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) never meet throughout the film. They never even communicate in any way and in fact, they are unaware of each other's degree of any involvement.

Zoolander 2 & Justin Theroux

Director of Zoolander 2 Justin Theroux is also an actor who is best known for Adam Kesher in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. He was also in English rock band Muse music video Hysteria who trashes the hotel room. 


Resident Evil
Director of Night of the Living Dead George A. Romero was originally going to write and direct Resident Evil back in 2002. Due to creative differences over the script Romero left the project and Paul W.S. Anderson signed on to write and direct the movie. 

Platoon
The Platoon movie poster that depicts Elias iconic moment with his hands in the air is a recreation of Art Greenspon 1968 photograph of the medical evacuation through the jungle foliage to pick up casualties during a five-day patrol of Hue in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Police Story
The scene where the henchmen crashed through the bus window and fell onto the concrete floor was actually a stunt mishap. The stuntmen were suppose to fall onto the car but due to the air brakes, the bus stopped earlier and the men landed on the floor severely injuring them.

The Crow
Lead actor Brandon Lee was accidentally killed during the filming of The Crow in 1994. He was shot and killed as a result of negligence during filming on set when the chamber of the gun was loaded with a dummy bullet but with a live powder charge and primer. This caused the .44 Magnum dummy bullet to be fired out of the barrel with virtually the same force as a real bullet.

A Nightmare on Elm Street
The 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street was Johnny Depp’s first film. On the day of auditions Johnny Depp accompanied his friend Jackie Earle Haley. Depp was spotted by director Wes Craven and was chosen to take role instead of Haley. Johnny Depp got the role and the iconic death of being pulled into his bed and blood comes pouring out.

The Matrix
Did you know that actor Jean Reno was approached to play Agent Smith in The Matrix. He tuned down the role and instead took a role in Gozilla as French Secret Service agent Philippe Roaché. 

Saw franchise
Starting from 2004 too 2010, The Saw franchise made worldwide just under a billion dollars. This makes Saw the highest earning horror franchise globally.

Die Hard
Die Hard originated from the failed script of Commando 2. Director John McTiernan was originally going to make a sequel Commando, However after Arnold Schwarzenegger turned the role down. Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson all declined but eventually Bruce Willis accepted the role. Commando 2 was dropped and Die Hard was born.

GoldenEye
During the production of GoldenEye, several changes had to be made to the scripts plot. The reason was that the film was virtually identical to Arnold Schwarzenegge True Lies which was being released around the same time.

Gangs Of New York
In Gangs of New York the film ends with a shot of the New York skyline slowly evolving to modern day New York with iconic attractions being built, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Empire State Building to the World Trade Center. Even though the film was finished after the World Trade Center were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001. Director Martin Scorsese chose to end the skyline sequence with the towers standing because the movie is about the people who built New York, not those who tried to destroy it.

Schindler's List
During the filming of Schindler's List, survivor Mila Pfefferberg was introduced to Ralph Fiennes on the set. Ralph Fiennes looked so much like the SS commandant Amon Goeth of the concentration camp in Płaszów that he reminded her too much of the real Amon Goeth and began shaking uncontrollably.

Collateral
To really grasp the skills as a professional contract killer, Tom Cruise had to be able to get in and out of anywhere without anyone recognizing him or remembering him. To prepare as the role as the ruthless hitman Vincent in Michael Mann’s 2004 Collateral, Tom Cruise had to make FedEx deliveries in a crowded LA markets without anyone recognizing him as Tom Cruise. 

Manhattan
Writer and director Woody Allen disliked Manhattan so much that he offered to direct another film for United Artists Corporation for free, on the terms that they don’t release the picture. The film received positive reviews and earned $39.9 million in its entire run, making the film the 17th highest-grossing picture in 1979. Till this day Manhattan is classed as one of many Woody Allen’s masterpiece.

Inception
Christopher Nolan first pitched Inception to Warner Bros just after completing his third feature film Insomnia. The Studio approved of the film, however film was not even written yet. Nolan thought it would be more suitable for his working style if he wrote Inception as a spec script. Thinking it would only take a few months to complete, it eventually took eight years to finish.

The Thing
Before the days of CGI, the scene where Dr. Copper (Richard Dysart) was using the chest defibrillation and his arms were severed off. To create a more realistic and horrifying effect the director John Carpenter got a real-life double with both arms amputated to stand-in and was asked to wear a mask that looks like Copper’s face. The scene was so gory and terrifying that all the attention was focused on the bloody stumps instead of the unrealistic face mask.

Office Space
We all remember Office Space for its witty one liner humour and brilliant dialogue. So who would have thought that the iconic red stapler coveted by Milton would be one of the biggest selling props. After the film was released, the manufacturer Swingline received so many requests for the red stapler that even though Swingline stopped making the red stapler they decided to start offering the colour red once more.

V For Vendetta
 22,000 dominoes was used when V tips over the black and red dominoes that eventually formed a giant letter V. Over 200 hours and 4 professional domino assemblers was used to create the iconic moment, even though the scene itself lasted only 30 seconds.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off
During his small cameo role as the punk kid at the police station, Charlie Sheen stayed awake for 48 hours straight to achieve the wasted and drugged up look.

There Will Be Blood
During the filming of There Will Be Blood, the film No Country For Old Men was also at the Texas location close by. The icon moment of the burning of the oil In There Will Be Blood, the smoke ruined the filming for the Coen brother’s set in No Country and forced to delay the shoot for a day.

Donnie Darko
We all remember, or try to understand Donnie Darko. However we all do remember the Gary Jules' cover of Mad World which became a UK Christmas hit number 1. Did you know that the song was a last minute replacement, that Richard Kelly couldn't get the rights to his first choice, U2's MLK.

Alien Resurrection
Sigourney Weaver is not only “The Sci-fi Queen” but now the queen of basketball, or at least shooting without looking. In Alien Resurrection (1997) the basketball court scene Sigourney really did pull off that basketball shot.

The Road
Many scenes were filmed in several different states and the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina & the erupted location of the Mount St. Helens helped director John Hillcoat grasp the visual devastation of the world.

The Godfather
The reason why Jon Marley's scream was so real and horrifying in the iconic bedroom scene in the first Godfather was that a real horses head was used. He wasn't told that the plastic prop they had earlier was replaced.

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