11 Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka Entrance
When Gene Wilder was offered the role of Willy Wonka, he agreed to take it only if he could make his entrance limping with a cane, then suddenly lose the cane, stumble, and turn the fall into a somersault. He wanted the crowd to believe he was frail right up until that flip. Wilder explained that from that moment on, no one would know if his character was lying or telling the truth.
12 Eddie Murphy’s Million-Dollar Singing Bet
Eddie Murphy recorded the 1985 song “Party All the Time” after making a $1 million bet with his idol Richard Pryor that he could sing. He put the track on his debut album, How Could It Be, and dedicated the record to Pryor in the liner notes. The dedication reads, “To Richard Pryor, my idol with whom I have a $1,000,000 bet. No Mother Fu*ker, I didn’t forget.”
13 Clint Eastwood’s Ice Cream Mayoralty
In the 1980s, Clint Eastwood became mayor of a tiny town, Carmel-by-the-Sea, in California, running largely because he wanted to lift a local ban on public ice cream sales. While still working on movie sets, he flew home for weekly council meetings and wrote a column in the town paper to stay plugged into local issues. A nearby hotel even changed its slogan to “make my stay” in a playful nod to his screen persona.
14 Jesse Ventura’s Rigged Biceps Contest
While filming Predator, Jesse Ventura was thrilled when the wardrobe department told him his arms were an inch bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. Confident, he suggested they measure their arms, with a bottle of champagne on the line for the winner. Ventura lost the bet, only to later find out that Arnold had set up the wardrobe department to trick him from the start.
15 Alan Alda’s Fallen Rum Cake
Actor Alan Alda met his future wife, Arlene Weiss, at a dinner party in New York when they were the only two guests willing to eat a rum cake that had fallen on the kitchen floor. They laughed over the mishap, bonded, and soon began dating. The couple married in 1957 and stayed together for more than 60 years.
16 Danny DeVito Dubs Six Languages
In 2012, Danny DeVito voiced the titular character in The Lorax and personally dubbed his role in Russian, German, Italian, Catalan, and Castilian Spanish, even though he did not speak any of those languages. He worked phonetically in each version, matching timing and emotion line by line.
17 Johnny Depp’s Earpiece Line Feeding
In 2017 court filings, Johnny Depp’s former business managers alleged that for years he paid a tech company hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep a sound engineer on retainer to feed him his lines through a concealed earpiece so he would not have to memorize them. They cited the earpiece arrangement as an example of what they called his extravagant spending and refusal to learn scripts as part of a broader legal battle over his finances.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
18 Jason Alexander Sings George Off-Key
Jason Alexander, a trained Broadway singer, originally recorded George Costanza’s famous answering machine song on Seinfeld so well that it sounded like a professional jingle. Larry David thought it was unbelievable for George, so he told Alexander to re-record it and intentionally sing badly. The final version that aired was a deliberately off-key performance designed to match the character’s awkward persona.
19 Steve McQueen’s Secret Charity Demands
Steve McQueen developed a reputation for demanding free items in bulk from studios when he signed on to movies, asking for things like electric razors and jeans as part of his deal. For years it looked like self-indulgence, but it later emerged that he quietly sent those goods to Boys Republic, the reformatory school he had been sent to as a teenager. The habit turned out to be his way of giving back to the institution that had helped shape him.
20 Adam Sandler’s Brutal Billy Dodgeball
While filming the dodgeball scenes in Billy Madison, Adam Sandler actually pelted the child actors with real throws and hit them hard enough that he made one of the kids cry. The angry parents confronted him, and he replied, “Didn’t they read the script?” only for one parent to snap back, “They’re six, they don’t read yet.”
RE: Fact #31 (Heath Ledger Rejects Oscar Joke) – Heath Ledger was a real fu*king man. The world lost a real one, way too soon. RIP big dog.
RE: Fact #19 (Steve McQueen’s Secret Charity Demands) – I actually used to sub at BR, and man, I can’t say enough good things about that school. The staff and counselors there were just awesome, really professional too. And the school lunches? Seriously good! They’ve got a culinary academy right on campus, so the students whip up all the meals and desserts themselves. Plus, the campus itself is gorgeous. They even have a Rec room named after McQueen, complete with tables for both pool and ping pong.
RE: Fact #11 (Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka Entrance) – It ended up being among the greatest character entrances ever seen in films. Gene Wilder truly was a goddamn treasure.
I just watched Bonnie and Clyde again for the first time since childhood. I didn’t realize he appeared in that movie.
The studio insisted he do additional takes because they preferred a different approach, but he intentionally ruined them.
Harrison Ford seemingly pulled a similar move for his Blade Runner voice-over work. Despite that, they still included those recordings.
RE: Fact #50 (Jackson, Wood Skip Oscars Party) – Nah, not true. Jackson actually showed up at the Governor’s Ball before heading to the One Ring party, and after that, he went to a few other events, like the New Line party. But he made it clear that the One Ring party was a top priority—just a way to say thanks to the fans.
RE: Fact #10 (Jack Black’s Rocket-Scientist Mom) – So she was an engineer on Pioneer, Apollo, and Hubble, she wrote and published books on women in STEM and the environment, she danced ballet for the New York Met, and she fought for better workplace conditions for women. Seriously, try keeping up with that! No wonder Jack Black is just, well, Jack Black.
It’s just wild how much people can accomplish in their lives. Meanwhile, you’ve got folks like me who can barely manage to shower every single day. Dang.
If it wasn’t for all us regular folks, then the people who are considered ‘above average’ would just be average themselves.
Being the fourth kid of such a super brilliant and motivated woman, he probably had to be really talented and hilarious just to get noticed. How lucky for all of us! Haha.
And it’s not just Jack Black! Neil Siegel, his brother, also followed in her footsteps, becoming a computer scientist and systems engineer, working for aerospace companies, and even fixing the Hunter UAV program. Plus, I heard he’s a really good musician too.
RE: Fact #6 (Eli Wallach Sleeps With Eastwood) – If you ever told people you were with Blondie during the seventies, you’d absolutely earn some serious admiration.
RE: Fact #26 (Danny Trejo’s Second-Chancer Food Empire) – I heard him mention in an interview that he literally forgets how many films he’s been in. He’ll just be watching something and suddenly he’ll pop up in a cameo or a smaller role and totally go, ‘Oh sh*t, I completely forgot I was in this!’
RE: Fact #12 (Eddie Murphy’s Million-Dollar Singing Bet) – I teach special education, specifically preschool. For toilet training, I sing this song every single day, changing it to ‘POTTY all the time’.
RE: Fact #2 (Alec Guinness’s Star Wars Deal) – David Prowse made a huge blunder when he accepted the Darth Vader part in the third film. He agreed to receive a percentage of *Return of the Jedi*’s net profits. Because of how Hollywood does its bookkeeping, that movie has yet to officially show any profit, so Prowse never saw money from that specific part of his deal.
Ah, Hollywood accounting. That’s exactly why you absolutely must insist on gross earnings, not net ones.
Be clear it’s gross revenue or income you want, not gross profit or any kind of net income.
RE: Fact #16 (Danny DeVito Dubs Six Languages) – that’s pretty cool, DeVito talking about working with two coaches in each language, saying it was exhilarating but also super intimidating, like wanting to climb Mount Everest or something, and getting to that point where you’re like ‘holy sh*tballs, am I really doing this?’
sean conary only did the english version of dragon heart, didn’t get paid for the other language versions, so devito’s probably getting paid for all of them, smart move
Danny’s basically become Frank Reynolds in real life, love it
or maybe it’s the other way around, Frank Reynolds became Danny
i’m picturing him scratching his ear like crazy during this interview
RE: Fact #22 (Bruce Willis’s Risky Die Hard) – Die Hard was also written as a continuation of a 1968 film where Frank Sinatra played John.
And, according to his contract, they legally had to offer him the role first. He turned it down, of course.
To be fair, it’s more that the novel Die Hard is based on is a sequel to another book. That other book was adapted into a movie with Frank Sinatra. The character’s name isn’t even the same, though.
RE: Fact #14 (Jesse Ventura’s Rigged Biceps Contest) – Jesse Ventura really fu*ked with Arnold too. He even had this wake-up service ring him up a quarter-hour before Arnold each morning. That way, he could get to the gym first, splash some water on himself, and make it look like he was wrapping up his entire routine before Arnold even got there. Arnold kept getting up earlier and earlier, but Jesse still managed to beat him every time.
The funniest thing about it is that Ventura was pretty much just pranking himself.
RE: Fact #49 (Patrick Stewart’s Invented Obituary Days) – He was just making up stories and they didn’t fire him? That must be such a relief.
RE: Fact #21 (Burt Reynolds’ Helicopter Manure Revenge) – Honestly, it just sounds like something the Enquirer would totally invent about him.
Hey, maybe that was the whole idea, right? Who’d even believe the Enquirer if they tried to report something like that?
RE: Fact #15 (Alan Alda’s Fallen Rum Cake) – I totally love Alan Alda. He seems like such a genuinely nice, deep-thinking, and hilarious guy. I’ve had a big crush on Hawkeye for as long as I can remember, practically my whole life.
RE: Fact #19 (Steve McQueen’s Secret Charity Demands) – I think Robin Williams did something pretty similar too. He’d donate all sorts of essentials, like toiletries, plus clothes such as pants and socks, to homeless shelters near wherever he was shooting films.
RE: Fact #26 (Danny Trejo’s Second-Chancer Food Empire) – I actually met him a few months ago when I brought my car to the local mechanic’s shop here in LA. He’s incredibly humble and speaks really softly. After I shook his hand and said I was a huge fan, he invited me to walk with him to go see his classic car. I spent a good twenty minutes with Machete, just talking about vehicles and hanging out like friends.
RE: Fact #50 (Jackson, Wood Skip Oscars Party) – The Return of the King’s haul of 11 statuettes matched what Ben Hur pulled in 1960 and Titanic did in 1998. But neither of those films won every award they were nominated for. Still, it’s hard to believe just how well it did.
Best book to movie adaptation I’ve ever seen.
If Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas never happened, I’d totally agree with you.
RE: Fact #4 (Jonah Hill’s $60,000 Scorsese Gamble) – It’s probably smart for him to keep moving away from those teen comedies. He’s a really good performer.
But he was in Moneyball already.
I actually rewatched Moneyball not long ago and was really surprised by how great it turned out to be. Jonah does an amazing job in his part, and he totally shines alongside Pitt whenever they’re on screen together. Yeah, I know it was a success and got some Academy Award attention. I was just saying I hadn’t watched it in ages, and I truly liked seeing it again.
It definitely still strikes me as odd when I hear someone say ‘Jonah Hill, two-time Oscar nominee.’
RE: Fact #20 (Adam Sandler’s Brutal Billy Dodgeball) – But seriously, what about you, you fu*king a**hole? Didn’t you bother to read what your kid was getting involved in?
You expect the script to detail the speed of the throws?
I’d really love to meet the person who can throw dodgeballs slowly. That’d be wild as sh*t.
As a parent, I’d definitely speak up and ask, ‘My kid’s doing dodgeball, so how will that go?’
What six-year-old can’t read? The scene’s actual lines are: O’Doyle tosses the dodgeball at Billy as he enters the playground. Billy Madison snags it one-handed and says, ‘Now you’re all in big, BIG trouble,’ then hits the kids using them. This is Billy Madison, not some serious art film. Any child and their folks should easily grasp what’s happening.
Oh yeah, I’m letting my kid be in an Adam Sandler flick! And you really think I can read?
Billy Madison, though… that was a fantastic film.
This was back when Sandler’s movies were good, though.
RE: Fact #2 (Alec Guinness’s Star Wars Deal) – Wow, that’s a massive amount, for sure. Usually, though, a deal like that would be pretty risky because most intellectual properties don’t turn into cultural giants. Like, back in the late 50s/60s, the guy who designed Barbie took just one percent in royalties. Mattel really didn’t think much of realistic girl dolls back then. They totally fu*ked up that decision.
Donald Sutherland had an offer for a small part in *Animal House*: union minimum daily pay plus two percent of the gross. But Sutherland figured the movie would completely bomb, so he ended up negotiating for a flat fee of $35,000 instead. The guy missed out on a $2.8 million payday just for two days of work. Oh, and rumor says that during discussions, John Landis might’ve even offered Sutherland fifteen percent of the gross, trying to get him to accept less cash upfront because the film’s budget was incredibly tight.
Even if the movie only made $1,750,001, he still would have earned more than $35,000. Why on earth wouldn’t he have taken that deal?
RE: Fact #10 (Jack Black’s Rocket-Scientist Mom) – Wow, this is a seriously cool thing I just found out today. I had no idea about any of this.
Oh, and don’t forget she also helped create nuclear ICBMs! Pretty wild, right?!
So she made nukes, and then she made Jack Black. What an absolutely legendary person.
The best things you learn often sound like something someone just made up, but then they turn out to be completely true.
RE: Fact #27 (Burt Reynolds’ Not-So-Heroic Waterfall) – Yeah, knowing what kind of guy Burt Reynolds was back in the 70s, he wasn’t going to let the director win that fight. Sure enough, he went full throttle for his right to go canoeing down that waterfall scene in the movie. Unfortunately, that kind of boldness got him into the ER — after doing the stunt, he was all messed up. Norm MacDonald picked up on the story from Burt’s own version: he said his shoulder hit a rock and his head hit another. Then he remembered being way downstream, all his clothes ripped off. […] The next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital, John Frankenheimer at his bedside. And Burt asked, “How did it look on the dailies?” And Frankenheimer said, “It looked like a dummy falling over a waterfall.” For folks who haven’t seen the film, it’s solid. The dueling banjo scene? Pure gold.
RE: Fact #22 (Bruce Willis’s Risky Die Hard) – Could any German speakers tell me if ‘Die Hard’ translates to ‘The Hard’ in German? That would seriously change the whole movie!
The movie is actually called ‘stirb langsam’ in German.
I’m fairly certain they call it ‘The Murder of the Hero Hans Gruber by the Coward John McClane’ in Germany.
I know it’s just a joke, but in the German dub, the bad guys aren’t German at all. Hans Gruber is named Jack Gruber, and the terrorists are from some unknown European country, probably Ireland.
RE: Fact #28 (Roger Moore Quits Granddad Bond) – Roger Moore was older than Sean Connery, even though he took over as the younger Bond.
RE: Fact #37 (R. Lee Ermey Beats Kubrick) – Also, a big sign of how successful it was, he ended up getting cast as Sarge in Toy Story.
RE: Fact #39 (Arnold Schwarzenegger Dismisses Terminator Role) – I think this is more interesting. The studio originally wanted O.J. Simpson for the role, but Cameron didn’t think Simpson would be believable as a killer.
Yeah, I laughed at that too. The thing is, he was actually suggested for the role of Kyle Reese, and Cameron thought he was too nice for the part.
I’ve always wondered if OJ Simpson has CTE. His big shifts in behavior kinda match up with what you’d see from someone with brain injury.
I always tell younger folks who didn’t grow up during that time that back then, he was globally seen as a “really good guy.” Now? He’s basically just known as “an NFL murderer.” Kids from New York to Florida to California used to wear his jersey with big smiles, running the ball against imaginary tacklers, dodging a pole, ducking a branch, or hurdling a rock. He was incredibly charming and talented, and somehow always felt approachable and humble. It’s silly to compare anyone—especially Simpson—to Muhammad Ali these days, but there was a time when Simpson broke through that high barrier of prime-time TV, one of the few who truly crossed race and class lines. His talent, and how people from all walks of life saw him, is why his trial became such a big deal.
RE: Fact #16 (Danny DeVito Dubs Six Languages) – kind of like how they kept donald duck’s voice consistent in old disney cartoons, same voice actor for all dubs, scripts written out phonetically, but apparently it didn’t really work, my friends who don’t speak english thought he was just talking gibberish
RE: Fact #23 (Don Cheadle’s Two-Hour Marvel Ultimatum) – That story totally came up on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me! Seriously, you should check out that episode. He was absolutely hilarious.
I can just picture the executive on that call, totally giving a silent signal, two fingers up, like ‘Yep, give Don his two hours.’
Yeah, he totally nailed it. Seriously, one of the best folks they’ve ever had on as a guest.
But what about Paula Poundstone, after her like, 427th time showing up?
RE: Fact #21 (Burt Reynolds’ Helicopter Manure Revenge) – Burt Reynolds said about marrying Loni Anderson, “I have no idea what came over me. I handed her a credit card that had sixty grand on it, and she blew through it all in just thirty minutes.” His memoir is honestly fantastic.
There’s also this story about Hal Needham, who directed Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run. Film critics totally trashed him, saying his movies were only for idiots – that’s my take on it – so Needham bought a full-page ad in Variety. It featured some of the nastiest reviews, with him just lounging in a wheelbarrow piled high with cash.
Seriously, Reynolds’ memoir is definitely worth getting. I listened to the audiobook, and it was incredible. They really don’t make people like Burt anymore, and that’s a genuine pity.
Here’s my favorite Burt Reynolds story: By the late eighties, everyone in Hollywood pretty much knew, though it wasn’t official, that Burt was losing his hair and wore a hairpiece. Nobody confirmed it, but nobody denied it either. Anyway, he was on The Tonight Show one night, and Johnny Carson just went there. He said, “There’s been so much talk about this, so I just want to clear it up once and for all: is that hair actually yours?” And Burt’s comeback? “Of course it is! If you pay three thousand dollars for something, it’s absolutely yours.”
Pontiac apparently promised Burt Reynolds a brand new Trans Am every single year, for life. But they stopped after just six years. Turns out, it wasn’t Burt’s life they meant, it was the life of the Pontiac CEO, who passed away. Still, his Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit boosted sales by seventy percent!
Wonder if Pontiac ever saw any money from all those toy sales? Because honestly, everyone I knew had one.
RE: Fact #28 (Roger Moore Quits Granddad Bond) – His last bond girl was Tanya Roberts, and her mom was younger than him. That really bothered him, so he just quit after A View to a Kill.
RE: Fact #45 (Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Cluster) – Three actors from Predator ended up becoming governors of an American state. That’s gotta be even more unlikely.
RE: Fact #11 (Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka Entrance) – The film doesn’t stick closely to the book, but holy smokes, Wilder absolutely nailed the spirit and vibe of the novel through his performance.
Here’s a rare case where I actually enjoy the film more than the original story. And that’s coming from me, someone who read every single Roald Dahl book growing up, plus his adult novels later as a teenager. Seriously, this entire discussion is wonderful; there’s so much thoughtful media commentary happening on factrepublic. Much appreciated <3
I’ve always wanted them to adapt the follow-up story. It’s completely insane. And yes, everyone, I understand Snowpiercer exists.
I’ve consistently hoped they’d adapt that follow-up book. It’s truly insane. Thinking about the technology available back when the initial movie was released, it would have been quite difficult. A lot of the novel’s events likely presented too many challenges for practical effects. But perhaps, just like much classic sci-fi, if the acting was compelling enough, people would’ve overlooked the low-tech style. And actually, the second book might have given Wilder a chance to really delve into the ominous sadness and megalomania his original Wonka portrayal only hinted at in the film.
RE: Fact #25 (Bryan Cranston’s Humming Royalty Parties) – I totally recommend his book, ‘A Life in Parts.’ He even narrates it himself! He really goes into all this stuff in detail, plus a bunch of other interesting things from his life.
I saw this at the airport and totally wanted to snatch it up! But I just put it on my ‘gotta buy’ list instead. So, picture this: I was just chilling, waiting for my flight, when Bryan Cranston’s book totally caught my eye. I really like him, so I stopped for a bit, thinking if I should just get it. But then, plot twist! I decided to just remember the book for later and not pay those insane airport prices! Then I just walked away. The end of my epic tale.
RE: Fact #49 (Patrick Stewart’s Invented Obituary Days) – I don’t buy that. If he was lying in the newspaper, he’d have been fired twice and eventually become Prime Minister.
RE: Fact #29 (Carl Weathers Insults Stallone, Wins) – I got a friend who always says celebrities are so used to people sucking up to them that the only way they notice someone is if they treat them like crap and make fun of them. I’m gonna have to tell him there’s at least one example that backs that up.
Isn’t this the first Rocky movie? Stallone wasn’t really a celebrity back then. The story really interests me because he totally understood it. One of the reasons Rocky works so well is that Stallone was actually that character. He lived it.
One of the reasons Rocky works so well is that Stallone was actually that guy. He lived it. Before he sold the script for Rocky, he was homeless and sold his dog for $50. During the script negotiations, he was offered a lot more money, but the studio wanted to cast someone else as Rocky. Stallone eventually got his way. A week after selling his dog, he sold the script and bought it back for $3000. That’s the same dog you see in the movie. Also, Stallone was in a porno before Rocky, something like “Party at Kitty and Stud’s”.
RE: Fact #25 (Bryan Cranston’s Humming Royalty Parties) – Just found out I’m not smart enough for show business.
RE: Fact #45 (Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Cluster) – I’m here for the speculative theories. Edit: it’s true what they say, no one speculates like the internet! Coke, heroin, viruses, oh my! Honestly, some really awesome replies and links, and a few weird anecdotal comments. Maybe this hivemind thing really is worth the price of admission. Thanks everyone for turning this kinda flippant comment into some funny, thoughtful, and informative stuff!
Exposure to paraquat, that herbicide now linked to Parkinson’s, is probably a pretty strong guess for me. I don’t know if they use it for landscaping around that area or if it’s water contamination there.
People with the genetic flaw that leads to Parkinson’s were actually something the casting team liked. The show couldn’t cause Parkinson’s, but it might have accidentally picked a bunch of people with that trait just because of what they were looking for in actors. That’s the weirdest thing I can think of right now.
Love it! What could be a possible trait they’re looking for in these pre-Parkinson’s folks?
Fun idea, but it wasn’t a 125-person cast! Can you imagine? They’re just picking four out of the 125 people who were on the crew in some way. Only the actors get picked for their looks—everyone else, like cameramen, writers, caterers, assistants, costumers, lighting folks, etc—gets left out.
it’s not statistically significant, but what if we go wild with some fun speculation? There’s decent evidence that Parkinson’s might be caused by a prion or have a prion-like mechanism. According to this theory, gut bacteria randomly produce a misfolded protein—maybe just one molecule. If that protein gets absorbed into the vagus nerve, it copies itself and spreads to the brain, turning every normal alpha synuclein protein into a zombie-like enzyme that just keeps copying itself. Back to the wild stuff about movie sets—maybe the caterer accidentally fed the crew human brains. Or maybe a Parkinson’s patient was murdered and fed to hogs, which were then used for food. Some prions are super tough—they survive digestion, heat, and even bleach—so it’s not totally out of the question that this one could be contagious under certain conditions. Another prion causes a disease that looks a lot like Parkinson’s and is actually transmissible. Again, all just wild speculation. But hopefully, it’s at least educational.
This is the wild speculation everyone’s been waiting for.
You know, it’s funny you brought that up because Robert Willy Pickton, definitely one of Canada’s most infamous serial killers, used to feed his victims to his pigs. Those pigs were then sold and slaughtered for food. The Canadian government actually issued a warning back in 2004 about human meat showing up in the food supply. He was killing as early as the mid-70s.
I heard Michael J. Fox got Parkinson’s from eating ham made from a pig that was fed human brains.
RE: Fact #3 (Hugh Grant’s Fake Agent Ruse) – Actually, it was his agent who ended up getting caught with a prostitute.
Nope. His own agent was the one who snitched on him. Being the boss is rough, but sometimes you just have to make those tough calls. The people who bring in the money need to be controlled for the benefit of the company.
It feels so weirdly old-fashioned now that Hugh Grant just having consensual sex with a sex worker in a car was such a massive scandal back then. I mean, at the exact same time, folks like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby were getting away with fu*ked-up sh*t and nobody seemed to care.
The craziest thing about that whole Grant mess? He was dating Elizabeth Hurley back then, who was seriously one of the prettiest women anywhere. And the person he was caught with? Definitely not in the same league.
I was actually just thinking about this. I think the main reasons it blew up back then were, first, he got caught publicly, second, what he was doing felt super sleazy for the 90s, and third, it totally went against his whole clean-cut, charming guy image, plus his relationship with Liz Hurley. That was exactly the kind of juicy story that made everyone grab a tabloid magazine in the nineties. Now, with Cosby and Weinstein, and all their awful acts, they could always just brush off any accusations as a simple ‘he said, she said’ situation. They had money and power shielding them, and frankly, they still do! Folks were more likely to believe them than the women accusing them, because the setup seemed more believable. They exploited the notion that women might be willing to sleep with powerful men to commit their crimes without ever really facing justice.
RE: Fact #20 (Adam Sandler’s Brutal Billy Dodgeball) – If you can’t read the script, you probably can’t dodge a ball either.
RE: Fact #7 (Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn Family Decision) – Viggo actually bought the horse for one of his co-workers on set, too! She totally fell for it, but just couldn’t swing the cost.
He actually kept his own horses at her place. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he was sending over regular payments that helped cover what she spent.
But a horse is kinda like owning a boat, right? The actual purchase price is tiny next to all the ongoing expenses. Yeah, I know being on a farm helps with those costs, but most folks aren’t in that situation.
That co-worker was actually his riding instructor, so she definitely knew her stuff about horses. And apparently, that particular horse was a super pricey breed.
Hey, can you hook me up with a yacht purchase? I’ll totally handle the maintenance loans and just sell it after a year or two.
RE: Fact #44 (Danny DeVito’s Beautician-to-Actor Detour) – So why would he study makeup? He’s the definition of natural beauty.
You joke, but he actually was pretty handsome when he was young.
You joke? Who the hell would dare?
I just checked and man that guy went from 16 to 35 with no stops in between.
RE: Fact #40 (Brad Pitt’s Make Right Fiasco) – I work construction in New Orleans, and honestly, no homes can handle this climate if they’re left neglected for 16 years. There’s been multiple hurricanes since Katrina. I think there was some confusion about who’s supposed to maintain these buildings, if I remember right. Anyway, I’m not saying Brad Pitt did anything right, but realistically, his job was just to get capital and some publicity. It’s really embarrassing for those so-called famous architects and engineers.
16 years. The houses were mostly built in late 2011, and most of them didn’t even make it to 2018, when people started suing. One didn’t even last past 2013. By 2014, most of the houses had serious structural issues from wood rot—something even Pitt admitted. It sounds like they built the houses with wood that didn’t get the right chemical treatments, all in an effort to go green. But that just made the wood rot fast in the humidity. In fact, Make It Right has already admitted the problems with the materials they picked. While they started construction in 2008, by 2010 crews noticed the specialty lumber they’d chosen—TimberSIL—was already mildewing. They sued the manufacturer in 2015 for nearly $500,000, claiming it was the cost to replace rotting decks on 39 of the 109 houses. The suit was settled in 2017 for an undisclosed amount. [link]
All these new homes are framed with #2 pine except for the sills, subfloor, and stuff like that. I haven’t seen a house framed in pressure treated before. Some of the brad pitt ones didn’t use termite flashing, weren’t elevated right, or picked bad materials for the exterior cladding, and there were other obvious failure spots. But honestly, maintenance is the biggest issue. Things just break down super fast down here. A single catspaw vine could ruin a roof in ten years if you don’t deal with it.
Would my dream house of “a hollow concrete brick” actually work in New Orleans? Edit: To be clear, I’m not talking about a cinder block house. I literally mean casting a solid concrete monolith with no center—just a hollow space to live in.
That’s how they build fancy hotels in the Caribbean, so probably.
RE: Fact #46 (James Garner’s 50 Years High) – Something else I didn’t expect from Garner: “I tried a little bit of cocaine in the Eighties, thanks to John Belushi, but luckily I didn’t like it.”
RE: Fact #33 (Bill Murray’s O’Hare Pot Bust) – I get things were different back then, but making a joke about bombs in your luggage really doesn’t make it less likely they’ll search you.
RE: Fact #29 (Carl Weathers Insults Stallone, Wins) – And Stallone wasn’t really a real boxer either.
RE: Fact #40 (Brad Pitt’s Make Right Fiasco) – Isn’t it the engineers’ job to make it right?
Yeah structurally it’s true, but engineers don’t need to grade architects’ work. The architect’s got their own stamp too.
It really depends. I’m a design engineer, and most of my projects are about making the cheapest system that still meets building codes. That’s usually what the owner or architect wants. If engineers don’t meet code, yeah, they’re partially to blame. The local code authority should also be on the hook for not catching violations. Some people are also saying HVAC systems get designed wrong and cause black mold. That could be the HVAC engineer’s fault, but it could also be the architect’s or contractor’s if the house wasn’t built with a proper vapor barrier or insulation.
Anyone can build something that does its job fine. It takes an engineer to make the cheapest version that still does the job. I think I heard that somewhere.
RE: Fact #14 (Jesse Ventura’s Rigged Biceps Contest) – From what I’ve heard, Arnold really seems to get a kick out of playing tricks on folks.
In ‘Pumping Iron,’ he goes into detail about how he played a trick on this one bodybuilder at a competition. Arnold was already pretty famous back then, and this other guy was asking for some advice. So, Arnold told him that, in the US, everyone would go crazy, shouting and roaring like animals while they posed. He said the crowds there absolutely loved it, and the judges really appreciated how it made the competitors look like powerful, monstrous figures. Well, they ended up having to drag the guy right off the stage because everyone thought he’d gone completely insane, just running around yelling like an idiot.
That whole story was actually just made up for the documentary. It’s still pretty funny, though. Same goes for the part about Arnold missing his dad’s funeral to compete. He did say he was playing the villain character in ‘Pumping Iron,’ and he mentioned making up a lot of things for it. He didn’t specifically confirm that exact part was fabricated, but he definitely played up a character.
It wasn’t just some random person; it was Lou Ferrigno, the actual Incredible freakin’ Hulk! He was actually considered a real challenger to Arnold. He was a beast himself, but he was quite a bit taller than Arnold, which made him look even more enormous overall.
RE: Fact #28 (Roger Moore Quits Granddad Bond) – Check out Jane Seymour in Wedding Crashers or Jennifer Aniston right now and tell me a woman can’t be 50 and a Bond girl at the same time. Ageism is such a pain, especially for women.
RE: Fact #33 (Bill Murray’s O’Hare Pot Bust) – After grad school, Murray went to Regis University in Denver, Colorado, to take pre-med classes. He dropped out quick and headed back to Illinois. Decades later, in 2007, Regis gave him an honorary Doctor of Humanities. On September 21, 1970—his 20th birthday—the police arrested him at O’Hare Airport for trying to smuggle 10 lbs of cannabis. He said he meant to sell it. The drugs were found when he joked to the passenger next to him that he’d packed a bomb in his luggage. He got convicted and ended up on probation. Was he trying to deflect or just making a risqué joke?
RE: Fact #37 (R. Lee Ermey Beats Kubrick) – If there’s one thing military folks have done, it’s repeating the same thing over and over again.
Yeah, if they get reprimanded for not doing it right the first time after being shown how, then at least somewhere military discipline actually makes sense.
Even when you do it perfectly, they’ll still make you do it again, haha.
RE: Fact #22 (Bruce Willis’s Risky Die Hard) – Die Hard really unleashed Bruce Willis’s star power. He was great on TV, but it always felt like he had more to give. When he finally got to the big screen, he absolutely nailed every single part he tried, even flicks like Hudson Hawk and Blind Date.
RE: Fact #41 (Michael Cera’s Uncertain Awkward Acting) – Nobody even knows, not even Michael Cera.
The only acting I’ve ever seen him do was in This is the End, but he still played himself.
Like, when he’s on a cocaine binge? I guess that’s the original Michael Cera.
He was pretty good in Zombieland.
I saw him once at the Sundance film festival. He was so awkward, lol. Didn’t know if he was being funny or if that’s just how he is.