31 Spinal Tap’s Improvised Dialogue
In “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984), the actors improvised virtually all the dialogue. They received outlines indicating where scenes would begin and end, but they created everything else. To capture natural reactions, the filmmakers often used the first take in the film.
32 Swayze and Grey’s Laughter Struggles
In “Dirty Dancing” (1987), Patrick Swayze found Jennifer Grey’s frequent laughter during a ticklish scene unprofessional. They filmed the scene where she raises her arm and he strokes her side 20 times, with Grey bursting into laughter each time.
33 Kubrick’s Swift Departure from Ireland
While filming “Barry Lyndon” in Ireland in 1974, director Stanley Kubrick received a call warning him that the IRA had him on a hit list. The IRA gave him 24 hours to leave the country, but he left within 12 hours, leaving only one-third of the film completed.
34 Eastwood’s Directorial Takeover
During the filming of “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (1976), Clint Eastwood convinced the producer to fire the director and took over the role himself. Consequently, the Directors Guild of America established the Eastwood Rule, prohibiting an actor or producer from firing the director and then becoming the director.
35 Dead Poets Society Proposal
Disney attempted to change “Dead Poets Society” (1989) into a film about dancing rather than poetry and proposed renaming it “Sultans of Swing.”
36 Tense Encounter with Peter Weller
While filming “Firstborn” (1984), 12-year-old Corey Haim complimented the acting performance of 41-year-old Peter Weller. Weller responded by throwing Haim against a wall and demanded that Haim never speak to him after a take, leaving Haim terrified.
37 Realistic Tension in Captain Phillips
For “Captain Phillips” (2013), the director ensured Tom Hanks and the actors playing Somali pirates did not meet before filming. This decision aimed to create genuine tension and hostility between the pirates and the crew.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
38 Marjoe Gortner’s Revealing Documentary
Evangelical preacher Marjoe Gortner exposed the scams he and others like him used by inviting a crew to document his behind-the-scenes activities. He even showed them the sacks full of cash he earned nightly. The resulting film, “Marjoe,” won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
39 Spielberg’s Final Scene Tradition
Steven Spielberg was absent during the shooting of the final scene in “Jaws” (1975) because he feared the crew would throw him into the water. Since then, he has maintained a tradition of being absent during the final scene of his films.
40 Real Crash Landing in Tora Tora Tora
The famous B-17 crash landing scene in “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970) was not old stock footage. During filming, the aircraft experienced an actual landing gear failure, and the crew captured the emergency landing. Since no one was injured, they used the footage in the movie.
RE: Fact #8 (Misconception Behind Leatherface’s Origin) – The source says it was partially based on Ed Gein
RE: Fact #13 (Martin Sheen’s Unscripted Breakdown) – It gets even wilder. It was Martin Sheen’s 36th birthday, he was totally wasted and going through a really rough time. The whole movie shoot was a mess. He punched a mirror, sliced his hand open, and Coppola called cut. Sheen pleaded with him to keep rolling, to work through it, and he did. So, what you see in the movie – that’s real blood, and Sheen was genuinely losing it.
RE: Fact #17 (Lithgow Secures Harvard for Filming) – I’ve always been a big fan of John Lithgow. Turns out he’s a really nice guy too! His Smartless interview was awesome.
Back in ’99, I went skiing near Whitefish at Big Mountain. The first night, I saw him at dinner! I was thirteen and obsessed with 3rd Rock from the Sun. I didn’t say anything, but the next day, while I was getting my skis, he asked if I knew who he was and wanted an autograph. I mumbled something about not wanting to bother him, but he insisted and even got my whole family in a picture! I gotta find that photo. He was really cool.
3rd Rock from the Sun is still my all-time favorite performance of his.
RE: Fact #35 (Dead Poets Society Proposal) – One person’s rejected notes aren’t the same as “Disney tried to change everything,” though.
Probably some bigwig saw how much cash *Footloose* and *Dirty Dancing* raked in and thought, “Hey, let’s make another dance movie—they’re hot right now!”
Sultans of Swing is a really great song.
RE: Fact #1 (Apes Cast Self-Segregated on Set) – Babylon 5 used a lot of extras in alien makeup. Even the creator noticed that at lunch, the actors would all sit with the people playing the same alien race.
I was a film/TV extra for ages. It was a constant thing with costumes.
That figures, since you’re probably all working together.
We’re just looking for people who get us, even a little bit.
They probably whined about their makeup/costume a lot.
RE: Fact #25 (Reed’s Death Alters Gladiator Filming) – Before everyone jumps to “Oliver Reed was a raging alcoholic,” he’d actually been clean and then fell off the wagon. So it’s not some cheerful “died doing what he loved” kind of thing.
RE: Fact #15 (Affleck’s Armageddon Transformation) – Besides your body, skin, and grill, you’re perfect for the part!
RE: Fact #6 (Crimson Tide’s Submarine Chase) – It’s kind of like the *Dr. Strangelove* crew rebuilding a B-52 cockpit from a single photo and educated guesses about a B-29—and they nailed it!
The DOD almost thought their plans were leaked.
The CIA dropped by for a chat, just to make sure they weren’t getting their hands on anything secret.
In *Hunt for Red October*, Tom Clancy described some top-secret tech, which got him a visit from the FBI. They basically wanted to know how he knew about it, but then wouldn’t actually tell him what was classified!
RE: Fact #48 (Star Wars Soundtrack Spoiler) – Was it “Anakin Defeats Sebulba” or “Qui-Gon’s Noble End”, I’m wondering?
My uncle, a huge Star Wars and movie music nerd, was totally bummed when his Columbia House order of the “Qui-Gon’s Noble End” soundtrack arrived. He wasn’t happy with the songs on it at all!
The music gave it away for me, too. No big deal—spoilers don’t really matter, especially if it’s not a great story.
I saw “noble end” and thought, huh, maybe it hints at something, but it’s not exactly clear. Then, like it wasn’t obvious enough already… Qui-Gon’s funeral.
So, just in case that wasn’t clear enough, John Williams secretly added a song called, “Qui-Gon’s a Force ghost ’cause he’s dead. Darth Maul killed him, then Obi-Wan killed Maul with an awesome move. Anakin copied it, and that messed him up later in Revenge of the Sith.”
RE: Fact #11 (Hu Bo’s Tragic Film Journey) – It bugs me when people oversimplify suicide and say it’s just because of one thing. It’s way more complex than that – tons of stuff probably contributed. I doubt someone would kill themselves over a movie being cut short. I think people want a simple explanation for something so sad and confusing, something that makes sense.
He was depressed, and the movie was all about depression.
He had a bunch of problems, but this was a big one that really did him in.
His movie’s about depression, feeling alone, and being poor. It’s great and really resonates with people who get it.
RE: Fact #17 (Lithgow Secures Harvard for Filming) – Let them film, or Harry’s gonna wreck the place.
Harvard: “Right away, sir.”
RE: Fact #30 (American Me Consultants Murdered) – Just finished Trejo’s book, so let me explain this whole thing. Olmos wanted to make a movie about the Mexican Mafia, and did some research, focusing on one big shot. But the guy’s life wasn’t exciting enough, so Olmos spiced things up—like adding a teen rape scene.
Trejo asked if the Mafia okayed it, and Olmos and some consultants said yes. Anyone who knows anything about the Mexican Mafia knew that was a huge lie, and people were going to die because of it.
Trejo thinks the movie caused around 10 deaths, though officially only 3 were linked to it. He was told the actors would be safe, but the writers were a different story.
They also changed the ending—the main character was killed by his own crew in the movie, but really he was killed by rivals and was a hero to his people. They were playing with fire.
Seriously, read his book—it’s amazing.
RE: Fact #34 (Eastwood’s Directorial Takeover) – Things got tense between Eastwood and Kaufman during filming. Kaufman was a real stickler for detail, which rubbed Eastwood the wrong way, especially since they both liked Locke, and Kaufman seemed jealous of their connection. One night, Kaufman went off to find a beer can for a scene, but Eastwood, impatient because it was getting dark, told Surtees to just shoot it and then took off before Kaufman got back. They moved to Kanab, Utah soon after, and Eastwood had Kaufman fired by producer Bob Daley on October 24, 1975. The Directors Guild and other big Hollywood names were furious because Kaufman had already done a ton of work, including all the pre-production stuff. Warner Bros. and Eastwood wouldn’t budge, so they got hit with a hefty fine—around $60,000. This led to a new rule, the “Eastwood Rule,” stopping actors or producers from firing the director and then taking over themselves. After that, Eastwood directed the rest of the movie, with Daley as his number two. Since Kaufman had already done the planning, the team wrapped things up pretty quickly.
Pre-production in filmmaking is super important, even if it sounds dull. It’s where the director, AD, DP, and producer figure out the shot list, how long filming’ll take (including getting good shots), scheduling locations (especially tricky ones), working around actors’ schedules, and all while sticking to the budget. Basically, it’s a huge pain. Lots of film school grads skip it, winging it on set, which makes for a crazy stressful shoot.
But doing the pre-production work lets the director really control the film’s creative vision and be the auteur. That’s why the Director’s Guild would be ticked off if Eastwood took over a film someone else meticulously planned.
Hitchcock was the most detail-oriented pre-production guy ever. He storyboarded every single frame by hand! Supposedly, he’d doze off during filming because he’d planned everything out already.
If you’re curious about how the LOTR movies got made, the extended edition appendices are awesome. They cover everything from getting funding and the green light, all the way through to filming and everything in between. It’s a really interesting read.
RE: Fact #13 (Martin Sheen’s Unscripted Breakdown) – Sheen was doing a ton of drugs and had a heart attack while filming, around 36. He really went wild.
Working for Coppola was really stressful.
Filming a movie in a war zone was nuts! They borrowed helicopters from the dictator, and then he snatched them back to crush a rebellion. Crazy.
So, I’m kind of rewording things here, but those wild helicopter shots? They only happened if the Vietnamese air force showed up, and they were super unpredictable. He’d get a last-minute heads-up, like “Helicopters are here at 2pm!”, and then he’d have to rush to get everything set up. They’d zip in, do a quick flyby or two, and then be gone, so he didn’t get many chances.
RE: Fact #45 (Vanilla Sky Times Square Shutdown) – So I saw this thing about *Vanilla Sky* and decided to check it out. Then, there’s this scene where Tom Cruise is running through Times Square—completely empty! I was like, “Whoa, how’d they *do* that?” Turns out, they got the mayor to shut it down. Apparently, nobody had ever even *tried* before, and they turned down every request after the movie wrapped.
Reminds me of “28 Days Later”—apparently, they got that deserted London look by paying attractive people to get random folks out of the shot.
RE: Fact #32 (Swayze and Grey’s Laughter Struggles) – Swayze was totally professional on Dirty Dancing. He was a real perfectionist, and didn’t like his partner not taking it as seriously. That scene’s awesome.
Fun fact: When he did that final jump in the movie, he’d rolled his ankle so badly it was huge! But he toughed it out, nailed the landing, and the rest is history.
So you mean a total pro, right?
Nah, I just meant he was pretty much on par with other pros, loosely speaking, and that’s my final answer.
I double-checked to make sure I had it straight. Turns out, Grey didn’t even want the part—Swayze was the one who pushed for her.
RE: Fact #39 (Spielberg’s Final Scene Tradition) – Spielberg was totally bummed about how long filming Jaws took, saying he thought his career was done for. He’d heard whispers that he’d never work again because nobody had ever gone so far over schedule. They changed a couple of scenes after test screenings. The audience was so loud during the “bigger boat” line that you couldn’t hear it, so they made Brody’s reaction longer and turned the sound up. Spielberg also wanted another good scream, so he reshot the scene where Hooper finds the body, paying for it himself after the studio said no. They filmed the underwater part in a swimming pool, using a fake head and body in a wrecked boat. To make the water look murky, they dumped powdered milk into the pool and covered it with a tarp.
I think Kristy’s underwater nude swimming pic was taken in his pool.
RE: Fact #22 (Mortensen’s Tattoos Terrify Diners) – Wow, it’s Viggo Mortensen!
Viggo Mortensen: Don’t worry everyone, it’s just me, in makeup!
Acting.
I just become the character, you know?
Jon Lovitz gives a little smile to the camera.
He totally caused a scene filming Lord of the Rings, showing up at a local restaurant in full costume with Anduril! Couldn’t sit down with that huge sword in its sheath, so he just leaned it against the table.
And another time, with Sean Bean, during the Hobbit capture scene – Sean all decked out with arrows and the near-death makeup.
Good times. He’s a great actor.
Seriously, he’s totally loving scaring the locals with that movie makeup.
The police showed up, I think.
RE: Fact #20 (Far Cry Film’s Box Office Failure) – Uwe Boll’s known for making movies based on video games, and they’re almost all bad.
His movies get terrible IMDB ratings, I saw a few of them listed and wondered what’s up with the actors working with him.
That guy was a movie disaster! He single-handedly made video game movies terrible, and somehow kept getting hired for ages by video game studios. How’d that even happen?
It was a tax scam, see? German films got huge tax breaks for investors. Uwe got people to invest, pulled a fast one like in *The Producers*, and everyone cashed in. They eventually changed the law because of him.
Uwe Boll is terrible.
RE: Fact #47 (Mad Max Editing Triumph) – That IMAX movie was gorgeous. It’d be awesome if theaters did more special showings of classic films that really pop on a big screen.
I miss IMAX showing nature documentaries – those were awesome. I’d totally go see one, forget the movies.
The only IMAX around here is at the aquarium, so it’s mostly nature documentaries.
Man, I really want to see Interstellar in IMAX again.
IMAX Interstellar blew my mind—seriously, the best movie experience ever! It’s my all-time favorite, partly because my local IMAX in Regina, Saskatchewan did a renovation a few years back, and now the doors are too small to get the Interstellar film reel out. So, they just show it every year!
I saw Interstellar at a midnight IMAX showing – only one other dude was there! We sat pretty far apart, and got out around 3 AM. It was freezing and snowing, and I just stood outside watching the stars for half an hour afterwards. He was doing the same thing across the parking lot. Totally awesome.
RE: Fact #36 (Tense Encounter with Peter Weller) – I’d be totally freaked out if RoboCop bonzai tossed me against a wall.
RE: Fact #15 (Affleck’s Armageddon Transformation) – So, like, capped teeth? You know, the ones where they grind them down and put on the fake porcelain ones?
Yes
That’s a pretty scary job requirement.
They’re likely talking about veneers; those need way less grinding than crowns.
RE: Fact #18 (Lotus Boosted by “Pretty Woman”) – Ferrari and Porsche: Gotta protect the brand.
Lotus: Gotta move some cars.
Do you actually need the brand’s green light to use their stuff?
Nope. Background cars are just shown, no brand approval needed. Even the main character’s car is fine if it’s a regular car. But if the script needs a fancy car, the studio usually asks the brand to pay for it or lend it out. Even if the studio buys the cars themselves, using them wrong can still mess things up with the brand. Like, imagine if they used a Ferrari without asking—or asked and got a no—Ferrari might not work with that studio again. They could even go to a rival studio instead.
If you want their money, sure. If I use a Porsche in a blockbuster movie, they’ll be thrilled, maybe even shake my hand and get rich.
RE: Fact #22 (Mortensen’s Tattoos Terrify Diners) – I recall him telling that story. The restaurant wasn’t crowded; just an elderly couple who got freaked out when he sat down. They scarpered pretty quickly. He felt terrible about it and started covering his tattoos when he went out after that.
RE: Fact #25 (Reed’s Death Alters Gladiator Filming) – He died at a pub in Valetta, a tiny place but perfect for a beer. They’ve got pictures of him up and a little write-up about what happened. If you’re ever in Malta, it’s totally worth checking out.
Is it Ollie’s Last Pub now, or something?
Sailors call it Ollie’s, either Ollie’s pub or Ollie’s last pub, but that’s just a nickname, not the real name.
RE: Fact #37 (Realistic Tension in Captain Phillips) – Wouldn’t it have been awesome if real pirates showed up before the fake ones and played along until the whole “empty your pockets” bit?
That would’ve been epic.
It’s totally got that Steve Coogan Tropic Thunder vibe.
RE: Fact #19 (Knightley’s Youth in Iconic Films) – Hold up, wasn’t there a nude scene, or something crazy like that with her surrounded by guys with their bits hanging out, in that 2001 movie, *The Hole*?
So, I’m not saying it’s right, but some movies have underage nude scenes. Funny thing, I looked up one and Thora Birch was in it – she was underage in *American Beauty*, remember? You need parental permission to watch them, at least in the US.
Seriously, how did that not break any laws? I saw that movie when it came out and had no clue she was underage.
RE: Fact #2 (Valerian’s Record-Breaking Budget) – This is the first of maybe three movies I bailed on after half an hour. I just didn’t care about anyone, or what happened to them. Zero interest in finishing it.
The two leads looked like they were plucked from an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog – no chemistry, no charisma, no acting skills whatsoever.
RE: Fact #6 (Crimson Tide’s Submarine Chase) – If you haven’t seen this movie, you should totally check it out—it’s awesome! Denzel and Gene Hackman were fantastic, and the whole cast was amazing.
Totally agree! And the score’s amazing, especially for an action flick most people haven’t seen. Early Hans Zimmer, before he got, you know, repetitive.
RE: Fact #49 (Lionel Barrymore’s Painful “Wonderful Life”) – He’s probably most famous for being Drew Barrymore’s great-uncle.
RE: Fact #12 (Gummo (1997) Filming Hazmat Suit) – I recall seeing that in a derelict warehouse, crammed with old furniture they’d used to make a makeshift theater. Man, between the place and the movie, I’ve never been so desperate for a shower.
Yeah, as gross as that sounds, it’s actually the perfect place to watch that movie.
It’s just like showing Jaws at a water park.
RE: Fact #40 (Real Crash Landing in Tora Tora Tora) – So, in John Liu’s crazy “Made in China” movie, a plane crashed—with people in it!—during filming at an airport. He actually kept that footage in the movie.
RE: Fact #20 (Far Cry Film’s Box Office Failure) – That guy really loved making awful video game movies.
That actor’s even funnier, though. Everyone in Germany over 20 knows Til Schweiger—he’s notorious for terrible movies and even worse opinions, especially when he’s drunk. And back when he was big, he was *always* publicly drunk.
Wow, I’m surprised to hear that! He’s fantastic in *Inglorious Basterds*, one of my all-time faves. And *SLC Punk* too!
RE: Fact #33 (Kubrick’s Swift Departure from Ireland) – Why’d Kubrick get picked on?
It wasn’t Kubrick himself, but the whole production was about English nobles and had tons of British army scenes. It was a British production, and things were pretty strained back then.
Were the IRA really *that* militant against any art showing the English back then? Seems a bit much, especially since Kubrick was American.
I always figured it was just because he was making a movie in Ireland about the British army there.
RE: Fact #10 (Eva Longoria’s Investment in John Wick) – So, it wasn’t her actual agent. I’m curious why he contacted her. He called, saying she should invest her money – and she didn’t even know how movies got made! She didn’t understand “gap financing.” But looking back, she realized she loves investing in people. Even a chicken farm sounds good if the person is truly passionate and has done their research. Stahelski and Leitch? They put in the time, learned the ropes, knew what *not* to do. Their passion was clear, and she knew they’d deliver.
RE: Fact #4 (Charlie Cox’s Audition Misstep) – I heard they auditioned a ton of white guys under 40 for the part.
RE: Fact #40 (Real Crash Landing in Tora Tora Tora) – The plane crash at 1:05 wasn’t staged. Those were real remote-control planes, and the actors were really running!
RE: Fact #33 (Kubrick’s Swift Departure from Ireland) – The movie is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already!
We saw it on the big screen a few years back at a revival, and wow, it was amazing.
RE: Fact #2 (Valerian’s Record-Breaking Budget) – The bad casting, stiff acting, and lack of chemistry between the leads really hurt it.
RE: Fact #39 (Spielberg’s Final Scene Tradition) – So that’s how aliens got into Indiana Jones 4.
People get hung up on the aliens in that movie, but that’s not even one of the ten worst things about it.
Stevie’s gone! Grab the aliens!
RE: Fact #37 (Realistic Tension in Captain Phillips) – The Alien movie actors? They reportedly didn’t see the monster until they filmed the scene where their characters first saw it. That made their reactions seem super real.
Seeing the Wonka factory set for the first time, those kids in the movie—wow! Their faces really show how amazed they were by all that giant candy. And it’s great, they all look genuinely surprised, not forced.
Just like when Lucy first steps into the wardrobe in *The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe* and sees Narnia, it’s a wow moment.
RE: Fact #5 (Groundhog Day’s Delayed Explanation) – Phil was a real downer stuck in a time loop until he learned to chill out. Glad they kept it simple.
RE: Fact #31 (Spinal Tap’s Improvised Dialogue) – Lots of people rave about the “It goes to 11” scene, but my favorite part is when Nigel’s playing this gorgeous piano piece and Rob Reiner says, “Nigel, that’s a bit different from your usual stuff.” Nigel replies, “Yeah, it’s a little thing in D minor. Such a depressing key.” Rob says, “It’s beautiful,” and Nigel says he’s heavily influenced by Mozart and Beethoven, just lots of little interwoven melodies. Then Rob asks what it’s called, and Nigel says, “It’s called ‘Lick My Love Pump.'”
Wasn’t it Mozart and Bach? He called it a joke.
Mach.
RE: Fact #38 (Marjoe Gortner’s Revealing Documentary) – I gave a hand to a local TV preacher, helping count the cash from his rallies. The amount of money was insane – piles of cash from the rallies and even more in the mail! We had to thank each donor by name and then toss their money into a huge sack.
RE: Fact #4 (Charlie Cox’s Audition Misstep) – People rave about Daredevil, but his Boardwalk Empire part was awesome.
Crazy how nobody mentions his Stardust part.
Yeah, I do! That movie’s awesome.
Tristan?!
Boardwalk Empire was awesome! Buscemi was incredible, and Williams totally nailed Chalky White. Huston was perfect as Harrow – you could really feel the trauma. And Graham? He *is* Al Capone to me now. Seriously, it’s one of the best HBO shows ever, and it doesn’t get enough credit.
He was amazing in Boardwalk Empire and Kin.
RE: Fact #43 (Sahara Production Woes) – Great film!
The movie really didn’t do the book justice. If you liked the film, you should definitely check out Clive Cussler’s book; *Sahara* is one of his best.
Maybe folks think it’s about the Sahara Desert or some war flick, but it’s really a treasure hunt, like Indiana Jones.
It wasn’t quite like the Clive Cussler book, but it was still awesome.
Clive Cussler’s books are great. Some haven’t aged well, but they’re still a fun read.
It’s really similar to National Treasure, pacing and character stuff, I’d say it’s just as good as the first one.
RE: Fact #24 (Bourdain Praises “Ratatouille” Details) – That’s a fantastic film.
Sir Ian Holm as Chef Skinner is my all-time favorite. The guy’s amazing – Bilbo Baggins, an Oscar nominee for *Chariots of Fire*, a Tony winner… the list goes on and on! I think his Chef Skinner in *Ratatouille* should have won an Oscar.
Wow, I never noticed that before!
It takes more than just talent to be a great artist, but anyone can become one.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but honestly, most of that garbage probably means more to people than our reviews saying it’s trash.
RE: Fact #19 (Knightley’s Youth in Iconic Films) – Wow, I just noticed a ten-year age difference between those two actresses in Bend It Like Beckham—they were supposed to be the same age!
RE: Fact #33 (Kubrick’s Swift Departure from Ireland) – “Barry Lyndon” is a movie you should totally check out, mainly because it just *savors* everything. It’s like a super expensive art film, in the best and worst ways. The sets are amazing! The story itself feels a bit like a stuffy documentary, though.
I dug this bit from the Washington Post: “Calling ‘Barry Lyndon’ a masterpiece isn’t wrong, but it’s a kinda pointless masterpiece—more like a fancy art piece than a real movie. It’d probably be more enjoyable, and easier to appreciate, on a bookshelf next to a book on the Grand Tour than on the big screen.”
RE: Fact #29 (Johansson Loses Dragon Tattoo Role) – Wow, that’s a new one. Though I have never had that issue myself.
RE: Fact #11 (Hu Bo’s Tragic Film Journey) – Aw, man, I feel bad for him, but it does seem a little much, doesn’t it?
If you see the movie, he’s already pretty down in the dumps.
Hu Bo did everything on the film—he wrote, directed, and edited it all. He started making it in 2016 after taking his script to a film festival in Xining to get funding. Producer Liu Xuan saw his script and showed it to her husband, Wang Xiaoshuai, who ended up producing the movie. Apparently, Hu had a really hard time keeping control of the project and making enough money to get by. He said online it was humiliating, desperate, and powerless, and Wang even called the film a mess and criticized him online. That really damaged their relationship.
Things finally fell apart when Wang wanted Hu to cut the film down from over three hours to just two. People close to Hu said that pressure was a big reason why he killed himself after the film was done. Wang’s name was taken off the official credits, but his production company stayed on.
They need to talk beforehand about how much the producer gets to call the shots. If you’re cool with it being *their* movie as much as yours, it’ll be less stressful. You can always put out your own version later.
I have no idea how they could possibly cut two hours from that amazing movie—that’s just awful!
RE: Fact #32 (Swayze and Grey’s Laughter Struggles) – The movie crew bailed, and he was totally ticked off about it—that scene caused a huge fight between them. He thought she was super unprofessional and a pain to work with. Funny thing is, she loves that scene, saying it looks authentic, but even she admitted there was zero chemistry.
RE: Fact #10 (Eva Longoria’s Investment in John Wick) – Making movies is a crazy gamble. Even with a killer cast, director, and script, the pre-production costs alone can be insane. We might think it was a sure thing now, but until everything clicks, it’s like having all the best ingredients – you can still totally mess up the cookies.
RE: Fact #27 (Spielberg Keeps Back to the Future Title) – Movie bosses have been clueless since at least 1985.
Wait’ll you hear how the Terminator 2 trailers gave away the ending!
Those Batman v Superman trailers give away the whole movie! It’s pretty obvious they’ll fight because of Luthor, then team up with Wonder Woman. They even show Doomsday, so you figure that’s what they’re fighting and why they team up. Comic book fans probably guessed Superman would die. Honestly, it’s not that great a film anyway, so who cares about spoilers?
I came across this awesome article about a movie producer who really wanted a giant robot spider in a film. He kept pitching it, and finally, they let him do it in Wild Wild West. That’s the real reason there’s a huge spider-tank in a cowboy movie!
RE: Fact #15 (Affleck’s Armageddon Transformation) – Affleck was awesome in Phantoms.
RE: Fact #31 (Spinal Tap’s Improvised Dialogue) – It was crazy how much that stuff mirrored real-life tours; more than one band claimed they were ripping off their stuff.
I read this story about Steven Tyler from Aerosmith: he walked out of a theater during a scene where their characters were backstage, totally lost and couldn’t find the stage door. It seems something similar happened to Aerosmith before, and Tyler thought the producers were purposely making fun of him.
RE: Fact #28 (Reynolds Funds Deadpool Writers’ Presence) – Accountants should stick to running accounting firms.
No film crews or aerospace companies, for sure! Hey Boeing, how’s that space capsule coming along?
Public accounting life: accountants shouldn’t be running the show.
RE: Fact #16 (Costly Abandonment of “Batgirl”) – If Warner Bros hadn’t scrapped Batgirl, the DCEU might’ve been toast! That would’ve sucked, right?
I’ve been a comic book geek forever, and I keep watching these DCEU movies, figuring each one can’t possibly be worse than the last. I’m always wrong.
BvS is seriously one of the worst movies ever. It totally bombed.
RE: Fact #5 (Groundhog Day’s Delayed Explanation) – Harold said Phil knew for ten years, but the screenwriter claimed it was ten *thousand* years! That’s seriously nuts.
I get what the writer’s saying, and I agree. It’s crazy to think how much repetition you’d need to do that, to get so used to the routine that you could go through a whole day without even thinking about it.
He could pick up a bunch of new skills in a single day! Maybe chainsaw ice sculpting in the morning, then chatting with someone new over dinner to learn about them, and then squeezing in French and piano lessons. Learning everything at once instead of one thing at a time means he could become an expert in a year, not four.
Want to see this in action? Check out speedrunning communities in video games.
Wait, I thought it was supposed to be six weeks, like the groundhog’s whole “six more weeks of winter” thing. I’ve never actually checked though.
RE: Fact #21 (Cameron Sacrificed Salary for Titanic) – After Titanic became a huge hit, Fox and Paramount happily gave Cameron a massive payday – somewhere between $50 and $100 million, maybe even $97 million in the end.
Mr. Cameron really seems to have bet right on his films doing well.
Studios used to get it—treating successful directors right was a smart move, a tiny cost for huge returns. Avatar and its sequel made Fox tons of cash. Warner Brothers messed up with Christopher Nolan on Tenet, and his next movie, a three-hour R-rated biopic, almost made a billion bucks anyway.
Titanic was a huge deal; it more than doubled the previous record.
If Nolan dropped a six-billion-dollar movie today, every studio would be tripping over themselves to give him whatever he wants.
Nolan’s awesome and makes tons of money, but his films make, like, normal amounts of cash. Titanic and Avatar made insane amounts – before those movies, nobody thought that kind of money was even possible.
RE: Fact #26 (Hemsworth’s Modest Thor Earnings) – RDJ only got $500,000 for the first Iron Man movie. Chris Hemsworth raked in $20 million for Thor 2, and RDJ made $10 million for Iron Man 2. Before Thor, Hemsworth’s biggest gig was a tiny part in Star Trek – he played Kirk’s dad for like, ten minutes! And RDJ? He was kind of a Hollywood outcast before Iron Man. Hemsworth’s Thor paycheck isn’t that surprising, though.
Seriously, tons of Iron Man was improvised. Without RDJ, I probably wouldn’t have spent over a decade glued to that movie series.
Nah, not a *ton*, just some. Downy Jr. and Favreau said they tweaked some lines and had more leeway than they would’ve with, like, Kubrick or Lynch directing.
It’s crazy how people think Favreau and Jr. just showed up on a $150 million movie and improvised everything. Seriously? There are writers, and some of them are really good—that’s why they’re striking—and changing lines isn’t really improv, it’s more like interpreting the script differently.
RE: Fact #14 (Snipes’ Blade: Trinity Feud) – So, Patton Oswalt, who played researcher Hedges, spilled the tea in an interview. Apparently, one day on set—everyone got to choose their own outfits—this Black actor, kinda a club kid type, wore a shirt that said “Garbage” on it. Wesley Snipes saw it and totally flipped, yelling about racism and almost choking the director, David Goyer. Goyer got so scared of more drama that he hired biker bodyguards! Things got so tense that Snipes just used Post-it notes to communicate for the rest of filming. Snipes even confirmed the Post-it note story years later.
RE: Fact #50 (Final Destination Premonition Inspiration) – My grandma almost sent four of her five kids from Southampton to Canada on a ship during WWII. They were all packed and ready to go, but she had a bad feeling and kept them home. That ship got torpedoed – half the people on board died, most of them kids. I’m incredibly lucky she changed her mind; its why I am here.
RE: Fact #7 (A Goofy Movie’s Pixel Problem) – Honestly, it makes more sense to put out a summer vacation movie in April than right before Christmas, don’t you think?
Die Hard was pretty silly.
I’m only hearing Goofy’s howl as Hans takes a tumble.
I almost complained, but then I figured, hey, most people don’t celebrate Christmas in the summer.
My New Zealand roommate and I were talking about Christmas movies and songs. I wondered if he thought they were strange, all the snow and stuff, being from a different country. He agreed they’re a bit odd, but Christmas movies are more relatable than the music. He’d never heard of “Winter Wonderland,” but he likes movies like Elf just fine.
Honestly, Disney probably didn’t expect this movie to be a big hit in theaters, and it wasn’t. The Goofy Movie’s real popularity came from home videos and TV, which is pretty wild considering how huge it seemed back in the 90s.
RE: Fact #4 (Charlie Cox’s Audition Misstep) – Tom Holland needed acting lessons for Uncharted because he was so used to having his face covered that his body movements were way over the top. It’s an acting thing, I guess, but still pretty wild.
RE: Fact #28 (Reynolds Funds Deadpool Writers’ Presence) – The same thing happened with Animal House. They wouldn’t pay for writer Douglas Kenney to be on set, so John Landis gave him a small part so he could hang out.
RE: Fact #42 (Halloween Springtime Leaf Trick) – It’s the same old thing, again and again, just like those sequels.
RE: Fact #13 (Martin Sheen’s Unscripted Breakdown) – “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” is a seriously awesome movie—that’s where I first heard about it, ages ago. Check it out!
Seen Hearts of Darkness? It totally blows Apocalypse Now out of the water.
I was a big fan of his work on IMDB.
RE: Fact #1 (Apes Cast Self-Segregated on Set) – Roddy McDowell sometimes cruised around Hollywood in his ape suit, just for fun.
RE: Fact #14 (Snipes’ Blade: Trinity Feud) – I watched that movie way too much. I don’t know why.
Of all the Blade movies, Trinity’s not one I’d rewatch a ton, haha.
RE: Fact #38 (Marjoe Gortner’s Revealing Documentary) – I’m losing hope in people. You’re getting ripped off, you *know* you’re getting ripped off, there are even movies and documentaries about it showing exactly how it works, and it keeps hurting you! And you’re still defending it? These people are making millions. Seriously, America?
Houdini really wanted to believe in the power of the mind, but he was furious with mentalists who took advantage of people’s grief and faith. He constantly challenged them.
My best friend passed away, and his mom kept seeing a psychic. Every time, she’d tell me the psychic said my friend was there, saying hi. It totally crushed me, but what could I say? It’s a really hard time for her.
RE: Fact #48 (Star Wars Soundtrack Spoiler) – Weird Al’s song came out a month early and totally gave away the movie’s ending. He used online spoilers to write it, and it was spot on.
He also got to see it early.
Weird Al got most of his info for the song from online leaks. Lucasfilm said no to letting him see it early, so he paid to go to a charity preview. He’d gotten the plot so right, he only tweaked it a bit after seeing the early screening.
The song came out June 24, 1999.
The movie premiered a month earlier, May 19th, 1999, so that whole thing about his song coming out first? Nope, not true.
RE: Fact #11 (Hu Bo’s Tragic Film Journey) – It’s free on YouTube, if you’ve got four hours to spare.
RE: Fact #41 (Jaws Shark’s Jawsome Nickname) – That’s how Finding Nemo’s shark got his name.
RE: Fact #3 (Military Influence in Top Gun) – That seemed pretty clear to me.
It’s pretty clear once you realize the US military and Hollywood have been buddies for ages.
It’s pretty cool watching those young kids get it.
Yeah, it’s pretty clear. The first Top Gun movie really pumped up Navy recruitment. There are even documentaries with sailors saying they signed up because of the movie – some ended up as janitors, not pilots, but still, it was Top Gun that got them there.
I saw the first one in theaters, and there was a Navy recruiting booth right outside.
Not so much for *Iron Eagle*, though.
They totally talk about it in both movies. It’s common knowledge.
Whenever you see military stuff in a movie, the Pentagon’s already signed off on it.
RE: Fact #9 (Stiller’s Inspiration for Tropic Thunder) – He roasted everyone – the producers, directors, the whole shebang.
He’d often use the producers’ harsh words about his daily work to create lines for Bill Hader’s character. A lot of what Hader said was actually just the producers talking to Stiller, word-for-word!
That’s pretty funny, since Hader filmed all his scenes in a single day.
RE: Fact #22 (Mortensen’s Tattoos Terrify Diners) – It’s kind of like what happened with Ralph Fiennes on the Schindler’s List set. A Holocaust survivor who’d met the real Amon Göth freaked out because Ralph looked so much like him.
I’d hate to be an actor playing a real-life monster.
The key is to really leave yourself behind when you’re acting. On camera, you’re not yourself, you’re the character. You can be you again during breaks, but not when you’re playing someone else.
That guy, Amon Göth, was a real bad egg. There’s another guy, Goethe, but he was a famous poet.
RE: Fact #26 (Hemsworth’s Modest Thor Earnings) – Sean Astin got paid $250,000 for *Fellowship of the Ring*, but no ongoing royalties.
So, was that for all the Lord of the Rings movies, or just the first one? I thought everyone was pretty underpaid.
I’m curious to see what everyone else did after the Fellowship ended. That note about Sean not getting royalties makes me wonder if others got sweeter deals – better than just a salary, I mean.
They filmed all three at once, so that’s probably why it’s the same for all of them.
But he got to keep the potatoes.
Dan Quayle
Orlando Bloom feels the same way—it really launched his career and he’s super proud of it.
It was all about the exposure for him.
No way, he’s been in other movies?
I feel bad for Astin. Hemsworth or Bloom, those guys, it’s less about the money and more about boosting their careers. They can make $250,000, do a great job, and land a $10 million gig next time. But Sean Astin? He wasn’t going to become a huge star just from playing Sam.
RE: Fact #49 (Lionel Barrymore’s Painful “Wonderful Life”) – Donnelly says that to deal with the awful pain, Mayer got Barrymore $400 of cocaine daily – supposedly to help him sleep. I’m not sure how that worked, though.
RE: Fact #6 (Crimson Tide’s Submarine Chase) – I think most submarine movies are pretty good. Like *The Hunt for Red October*, *Das Boot*, *K-19*… even *U-571* was fun, even if it’s not totally historically accurate.
Building suspense is a piece of cake. Something goes wrong, communication cuts out, and bam—that moment where someone has to shut the hatch and leave someone behind.
That scene in Down Periscope with Kelsey Grammer trapping the cook in the flooded kitchen? Man, that was both hilarious and heartbreaking!