Now that most people consume their movie content in front of their computer screen and not on the big screen, the cinematic world may seem less exciting than it really is. But there’s much more to moviemaking than meets the eye. Hopefully, these 14 shocking facts about the films you know will help renew your love of cinema!
#1 The second feature in the Toy Story saga was almost deleted
In a freak accident, someone entered a command that caused the deletion of 90% of the work the people at Pixar have done on the film Toy Story 2. the backup system had also failed, but luckily the technical director had a copy she used for working from home.
#2 Isla Fisher almost drowned during the shooting of “Now You See Me”
The scene shows the magician submerged and chained in a giant water tank. one of the chains got stuck and Fisher was helped out of the dangerous situation. But not immediately. “Everyone just though I was doing fabulous acting”, she said.
#3 Leonardo DiCaprio’s charcoal drawing of Kate Winslet in “Titanic” was drawn by the movie’s director
The provocative piece of art was created by James Cameron. The scene is best known for the famous quote that has been used in countless memes – “Draw me like you of your French girls”.
#4 In “The Wizard of Oz”, a dog made more money than some human actors
Actually, the animal earned more than double what the actors made. The dog playing Toto, Dorothy’s pet, earned 125$ per week, while the Munchkins earned only 50$ per week.
#5 In “A Star is Born”, Bradley Cooper modeled his dialect on Sam Elliot’s, long before Elliot was ever hired
Cooper based his character on the famous actor, Sam Elliot, and spent months perfecting his dialect to mimic Elliot’s voice. Only later in the production did Cooper ask Elliot to play his onscreen brother, and luckily, he joined the team.
#6 Some famous British rock stars are in the “Harry Potter” movies
The Harry Potter franchise famously showcases dozens of the best and most celebrated British actors, but only few know that some Rock icons from the kingdom are also in it. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway appear in the film, as well as Pulp’s Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker.
#7 In 1989’s “Batman”, Bill Murray, Kevin Costner, Pierce Brosnan and Mel Gibson Were Considered for the Role of Batman
All of these famous actors were on the shortlist for the iconic role, but director Tim Burton eventually chose Michael Keaton for the job. Jack Nicholson also gave an amazing performance in this one, as The Joker.
#8 A real animal is the inspiration behind Chewbacca
George Lucas is the mastermind behind the entire Star Wars franchise, and it turns out one of the saga’s most beloved characters is inspired by his pet. Lucas has an Alaskan Malamute, a dog he described as “bigger than a human being and very long-haired”. His relationship with the dog is the inspiration behind Han Solo’s with Chewbacca.
#9 In “Avengers: Endgame”, Tony Stark’s death scene was completely improvised
Only a few people were on set for the shooting of Robert Downey Jr.’s character. They were given a general outline for the events, but their dialogues were improvised. Tom Holland later said that this was a “really, really interesting way” to shoot the important scene.
#10 In “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” they had to blow up a bridge. Twice.
The western classic is packed with action scenes, including a dramatic one when two characters blow up a bridge. Unfortunately, the dynamite was detonated before the camera crew was ready for it, and so the whole structure had to be rebuilt for take two.
#11 In “Titanic”, the total duration of all scenes set in 1912 is as long as the time It took the ship to sink
Those scenes sum up to two hours and forty minutes. Interestingly, that’s how long it took the actual boat to sink from the moment of impact with that notorious glacier.
#12 In The “Wolf of Wall Street” Jonah Hill was hospitalized due to his snorting of fake drugs
The Wolf of Wall Street shows the rich stockbrokers living a crazy and hectic lifestyle, full of drugs and drinking. Of course those were fake – they used a powder of crushed vitamin. In fact, actor Jonah Hill snorted so much of it that he got bronchitis for a month and a half.
#13 Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story” was originally called Lunar Larry
The original concept for one of the most successful animated film sagas of all time was quite different from what we know and love. Not only was Woody planned to be the bad guy, but his friend was named Lunar Larry. Luckily, his name was later changed to Buzz in honor of the astronaut Buzz Alrdin.
#14 The Matrix Code Originates from a Cookbook
Everybody who has seen the movie will remember those complicated green symbols sliding down the screen. But it turns out the enigmatic text was scanned from Japanese sushi recipes.