From bizarre behind-the-scenes stories to the unusual origins of iconic lines, the film world is full of fascinating facts.
Below, we’ve pulled together 14 of our favourites.
1. George Lucas’ dog inspired two beloved characters
When he was penning the script for Star Wars, George Lucas had an Alaskan Malamute who sat in the passenger seat of his car while he drove around. Sweet, loyal, and very hairy, she inspired the writer/director to create Chewbacca, Han Solo’s lovable co-pilot.
However, this wasn’t the only character she influenced – and since her name was Indiana, we don’t think we need to tell you who that was.
Lucas even included a joke in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a nod to the name’s origins. When Indy says he prefers to be called Indiana (not Junior), his father, played by Sean Connery, utters in his distinctive drawl, “We named the dog Indiana.”
2. Gene Kelly was ill when he filmed his famous Singin’ in the Rain scene
When filming the famous scene where he quite literally sings in the rain, Hollywood royalty Gene Kelly was actually very ill. In fact, he was running a temperature of around 39.5C. But since he was acting, choreographing, and directing the film, he couldn’t afford to be off sick.
His wife, Patricia Ward Kelly, told the Radio Times, “[The set] was all draped in black tarpaulin, so [Gene] would come outside of the tarpaulin into the daylight and just lie in the sunlight and just kind of bake this fever out of him, and go back in and start over again.”
Kelly’s perseverance paid off as the scene remains one of movie history’s most iconic moments.
3. Michael Myers’ mask is based on William Shatner’s face
Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise is one of the creepiest film characters around, mainly because of his rubber mask, which has a unique DIY origin story.
According to Collider, Tommy Lee Wallace, the production designer on the original film, was charged with making the mask on a tight budget. So, he visited a costume shop in Hollywood, where he bought a William Shatner mask for just $1.98. Shatner famously played Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series.
To achieve the spooky look we see in the film, Wallace spray-painted the mask white, cut out larger eyeholes, and messed up the hair. Hilariously, William Shatner says he wore it trick-or-treating years later.
4. A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and WALL-E were all brainstormed over a single lunch
Pixar is one of the world’s most successful animation studios, but did you know that four of their most famous films were brainstormed over a single lunchtime?
As Business Insider says, in the summer of 1994, animation director John Lasseter met with three other colleagues at a restaurant by their studio. Pixar’s feature film debut, Toy Story, was due to be released in a year, and they had to quickly come up with ideas for their next project.
During the lunch, they discussed early concepts for what would become A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and WALL-E.
Bonus fact: Did you know that Steve Jobs (of Apple fame) was one of Pixar’s founding directors?
5. Alan Rickman’s reaction to falling in Die Hard was real
Die Hard is widely considered one of the greatest action films of all time, in no small part due to Alan Rickman’s portrayal of the cool and calculated villain Hans Gruber. But did you know that the actor’s expression in his character’s iconic death scene is completely genuine?
When performing the stunt, the crew were supposed to drop Rickman 25m onto an airbag on the count of three. However, to get a real reaction out of him, they decided to release him a little early.
According to the Independent, Rickman wasn’t too pleased with the antics. But the results speak for themselves, and the image of Gruber falling to his death has since become legendary.
6. Humphrey Bogart improvised Casablanca’s most famous line
From “We’ll always have Paris” to “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Casablanca remains one of the most quotable films of all time. But its most famous line wasn’t actually in the script to start with.
According to the BBC, while Humphrey Bogart was teaching his co-star Ingrid Bergman how to play poker on set between takes, he’d say, “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Then, while filming, the actor decided to incorporate it into his scenes and cinema history was made.
What’s even more interesting is that plenty of other iconic quotes have similar stories behind them. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” became a popular phrase for things going wrong on the set of Jaws, so actor Roy Scheider decided to say it during a scene. As for Leo’s ‘king of the world’ line in Titanic, director James Cameron made it up on the spot while they were filming.
7. Heath Ledger’s lip-licking as the Joker was to keep his prosthetics on
Heath Ledger’s unsettling performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is widely considered one of the greatest to ever grace the silver screen. But it was also one marred by tragedy, as the young actor passed away six months before the film’s release, earning an Oscar posthumously.
To prepare for the role, Ledger locked himself in a hotel room for weeks to develop the character’s distinctive voice and mannerisms. But one of the Joker’s most terrifying ticks wasn’t a deliberate choice on the actor’s part.
As Rolling Stone tells us, while on set, the prosthetics Ledger wore on his mouth would loosen as he spoke. So, to keep them on, he would frequently lick his lips. Luckily, the trait suited the manic villain and was incorporated into the film.
8. Cary Elwes was knocked out while filming The Princess Bride
It turns out that acting can be a pretty dangerous occupation, as plenty of thespians have suffered serious injuries on set. For example, while filming the much-cherished fantasy adventure, The Princess Bride, Cary Elwes ended up in the hospital.
There’s a scene in the film when the villainous Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) knocks the hero, Westley (Elwes), out with the hilt of his sword. While filming, Elwes asked Guest to tap him gently on the head for real to help him react more believably. However, as Elwes writes in his book, things didn’t exactly go according to plan…
“Chris swung the heavy sword down toward my head. However, as fate would have it, it landed just a touch harder than either of us anticipated. And that, folks, was the last thing I remember from that day’s shoot.”
9. Bend It Like Beckham was the first Western film broadcast in North Korea
In North Korea, all media is strictly controlled. Televisions are pre-tuned to government channels that feature a variety of propaganda, and severe penalties are handed out to anyone caught accessing foreign media.
However, in 2010, Bend It Like Beckham became the first-ever Western film to be broadcast in North Korea. It tells the story of an 18-year-old British-Indian girl who defies her strict parents by joining a semi-professional football team.
The film was broadcast in North Korea to mark 10 years of diplomatic ties with Britain and was apparently chosen because of the two countries’ shared love of football. However, because it features a variety of topics considered taboo in North Korea, such as homosexuality and interracial relationships, it was heavily edited beforehand.
10. The bees in Candyman’s famous scene are real
Candyman was one of the creepiest films of the 90s. It’s about a young woman investigating a terrifying urban legend about a hook-handed spirit who appears when you say his name five times.
Of all the terrifying scenes in the film, one image that still lingers in horror fans’ minds is bees emerging from actor Tony Todd’s mouth. If you can believe it, this ghastly shot was achieved without effects by placing lots of live bees in Todd’s mouth.
According to the actor, he negotiated a $1,000 bonus for every time he got stung, which ended up being 23 times. “Everything that’s worth making has to involve some sort of pain,” he told The Guardian.
11. Woody Harrelson’s dad was a hitman
From Natural Born Killers to Seven Psychopaths, Woody Harrelson is famous for portraying twisted villains. But his criminal connection goes deeper than the roles he takes on.
Woody’s father, Charles V Harrelson, was actually a contract killer who received two life sentences after assassinating a district judge in 1979. Bizarrely, he also claimed to have shot JFK, becoming the subject of discussion among countless conspiracy theorists as a result.
To make things even stranger, Woody later starred in the film No Country For Old Men, which was based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. In the book, a character references his father’s hit, saying: “[A] while back in San Antonio they shot and killed a federal judge.”
12. Some of the dinosaur noises in Jurassic Park were the sounds of tortoises mating
Sound designer Gary Rydstrom took bizarre measures to create the velociraptor noises for Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. As he tells Vulture, “It’s somewhat embarrassing, but when the raptors bark at each other to communicate, it’s a tortoise having sex.”
While he was recording at Marine World, an animal theme park in California, the employees suggested that Rydstrom mic up a couple of tortoises getting frisky. But they aren’t the only animal noises used to help bring the prehistoric creatures to life. Horses breathing, dolphins squealing, and geese hissing are also featured throughout.
13. The snow in The Wizard of Oz was actually asbestos
Considering how jolly and beloved the film is, the behind-the-scenes stories from The Wizard of Oz are pretty horrifying, according to Aljean Harmetz’s book The Making of The Wizard of Oz.
For starters, the original Tin Man actor, Buddy Ebsen, was hospitalised after inhaling aluminium dust from his makeup (and swiftly replaced by the studio). Margaret Hamilton, who plays the Wicked Witch of the West, was accidentally set on fire too, receiving severe burns as a result.
To make the working conditions even more dangerous, the production team reportedly used white asbestos to simulate snow in the scene where Dorothy wakes up in a poppy field. After hearing these stories, we’ll never watch The Wizard of Oz in the same way again!
14. The crew of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly accidentally blew up a bridge
Sergio Leone’s acclaimed Spaghetti Western, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, is another mythic production surrounded by controversial tales. However, one that stands out is the story of the accidental bridge explosion.
According to Collider, when filming the scene where Tuco (Eli Wallach) and Blondie (Clint Eastwood) blow up a wooden bridge, the production team rigged it with explosives before waiting for the perfect light.
Leone planned to yell out the word ‘vaya’ (meaning ‘damn’ or ‘oh dear’) when the time was right. But unfortunately, a crew member shouted it while they were organising actors, and the bridge was blown up early. To add insult to injury, the cameras weren’t rolling, so the team had to build it again from scratch to get the shot.
Final thoughts…
While we couldn’t include all the fascinating film facts out there, we hope this list contains a few interesting tidbits you didn’t know – whether you’re a movie buff or not.
For more entertainment content, including film reviews and ideas for what to watch, why not head over to our film and television section? Or, you might like to sign up for the Music of the Silver Screen series running on Rest Less Events – you’ll go behind the camera to explore the history of film music, from the silent era to the present.
What’s your favourite fact on this list? Do you have any good ones of your own? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.