Movies aren’t made overnight. They undergo a lot of production, casting, filming, and editing to get to the final product. Over that time, a lot of things can go wrong, or in some cases, very right! The cast and crew have shared a lot of wacky hijinks and surprising secrets about getting the perfect picture on the screen. Read on to find out some of the wildest secrets of these industry favorites...
The Hangover
Ed Helms character was written to lose a tooth, and lucky for them, Ed Helms was already missing one! He took out his incisor for the part.
Cast Away
Tom Hanks hit highs and lows during this filming. He gained weight to appear middle-aged and lazy during the first half of the movie, then lost fifty pounds in a year to shoot the island scenes. He also grew his hair long.
The Terminator
Arnold Schwarzenegger worked with guns every day for a month when he was practicing this part. He also spent days in a shooting range practicing with different weapons and firing them without blinking and not even looking at them when reloading. He learned weapons reassembly and weapons stripping blindfolded. Eventually, it was natural to him.
The Maze Runner
Snake wranglers were hired for the set to make sure the actors weren’t exposed to any slithering creatures in the fields and forests. They found a five foot rattlesnake and 25 other venomous snakes before the filming even began.
Candyman
The bee’s in the Candyman movie are actually very real. They were bred just to film this scene. The directors needed them to look old enough to be bees, but young enough that they couldn’t sting quite yet, which is exactly 12 hours old.
Captain America
Hayley Atwell was caught by surprise when Chris Evans emerges from the pods. She was so shocked by his physique she almost broke character!
Bridget Jones's Diary
Renee Zellweger gained 25 pounds for her role but she actually went undercover in a British publishing house to prep for the role. She took a different name and worked a normal 9 to 5 (although she kept a picture of boyfriend Jim Carrey on her desk).
Iron Man
Paul Bethany voiced the J.A.R.V.I.S., but he’s never even seen the famous film. He claimed it was his easiest job ever, working for only two hours and receiving a huge payment. He says it felt like he’d done a robbery.
The Mummy
Brendan Fraser almost died on the set of The Mummy. His character is hanged during one portion of the movie. He stopped breathing and had to be revived.
It
The Duffer Brothers, who later created Stranger Things, were overlooked at first, but after their spooky show’s success, they teamed up with Finn Wolfhard to cast and make the movie.
Prometheus
Marc Streitenfeld had the orchestra play his composition of the movie backward to amplify the creepy and unsettling mood. Then they played it “backward” in the final cut off, just to make everything sound a little bit off.
12 Years a Slave
Michael Fassbender had his makeup artist put alcohol on his mustache so that his co-stars would react to the smell in a natural way. He really committed to the alcoholic role.
The Imitation Game
Cumberbatch got super into his role as Alan Turing. He even once had a breakdown over the character, claiming it was because “being an actor or a person that had grown incredibly fond of the character and thinking of what he had suffered and how that had affected him.”
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them
Actors in this film were required to take wand classes where they learned how to hold and use a wand correctly to make it looked normal and natural.
Get Out
Jordan Peele gave Daniel Kaluuya immediately after his first audition. He was so convinced of Kaluuya’s performance and says he nailed every scene in which his character cried.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
The underwater room scene was actually super scary due to a malfunction. The computer accidentally released the water at the wrong time, and several people dove in to save others trapped inside the water. Everything on set was ruined, cameras and equipment included.
Rocky IV
Sylvester Stallone wanted the fight scenes to be very realistic. Dolph Lundgren was instructed to actually hit Stallone during these fights. Stallone ended up in intensive care for four days due to a harsh punch to the chest.
I Am Legend
Will Smith accidentally revealed the end of the film during a press conference in Japan. Warner Bros asked all the reporters not to spoil the ending, to which they all complied, no payout required.
Jurassic Park
The Velociraptors from Jurassic Park have some interesting origins. The sounds they make actually come from tortoises mating with each other. Very weird.
The Devil Wears Prada
When Anne Hathaway got cast in the film, Meryl Streep told her “I think you’re perfect for the role. I’m so happy we’re going to be working together. That’s the last nice thing I’ll say to you.” Additionally it is the most expensively-costumed film ever because many fashion designers allowed their products to be used in the film.
Forest Gump
In his contract, Tom Hanks requested that he not be paid up front, but instead receive a percentage of the movie’s final profits. He made about 40 million dollars for the role. Not too bad!
Django Unchained
The scene where Calvin smashes his palm with a glass on the kitchen table was a total accident. He stayed in character and continued with the scene. It was so iconic that producers knew they had to keep it in the final cut. The room came to a standing ovation for his work when the scene finished.
The Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio is a known vegetarian, but he chose to get really into this role by chewing on a bison’s liver. He also learned how to shoot a musket, speak Pawnee, speak Arikara, build a fire, and ancient healing techniques!
The Theory of Everything
Stephen Hawking was super helpful in the creation of the movie, even giving producers the rights to copyrighted computer voice and his real Companion of Honor medal. He also gave his signed thesis as a prop. He said that sometimes he forgot that it wasn’t him on the screen!
Slumdog Millionaire
Director Danny Boyle put the young child actors money in a trust that was not released until they were 16 and done with school. This way they wouldn’t drop out to pursue acting exclusively. He even hired a driver to take them to school until they were 16.
Man of Steel
Henry Cavill, though requested, refused to take steroids for the role of Superman. He instead just worked out super hard. He refused to be photoshopped or touched up as well.
The Terminator
During a lunch break, Arnold Schwarzenegger went out to grab a bite to eat. He didn’t realize that he was still in full Terminator gear, including the clothes, exposed jawbone, and no eye.
Saving Private Ryan
During the production of the movie, Tom Sizemore battled harsh drug addiction. Spielberg told the actor that he would be blood tested every day of filming. If he failed at all, he would be cut from the film and recast, no matter how far the shooting had gone.
Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot filmed some of her stunt scenes while five months pregnant. They could spot her bump on screen, so costume designers were able to make a suit that allows editors to green screen around her belly.
Star Trek
Did you know that the U. S. S Enterprise doors opening is the sound of a toilet flushing on a Russian train? That is some clever, and very strange, sound design!
Armageddon
NASA is a big fan of this movie, and even goes as far as to show new training astronauts this film! The task is to spot as many errors with the movie as possible. To date, there have been 168 mistakes found.
The Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne only met to prolific Hawking once, but they spoke for three hours. During which, Hawking said maybe only eight sentences. “I just didn’t feel like I could ask him intimate things,” said Redmayne. He lost 15 pounds for the role, met with 40 ALS patients, kept a timeline of Hawkings declining muscles and contorted his face in the mirror for hours. He stayed in character during hunched over and motionless scenes, permanently damaging his spine.
Maleficent
Angelina Jolie unintentionally scared the kids on set due to her costume. One child said, “Mommy, please get the mean witch to stop talking to me.” Young Aurora, her daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, was the only child not afraid of the villain.
Shawshank Redemption
Tim Robbins perfectly memorized the squawking patterns of the crows to say his line “Hey, Jake. Where’s Brooks?” He’s waiting for the bird to squawk when he approaches the bird.
The Martian
Mark’s reaction to hearing his colleague's voice was actually very genuine. It was done in one take! He apparently was super in his head during the scene and it was filmed after all other actors had wrapped. Matt Damon really felt for the character’s loneliness and teared up.
Interstellar
The cornfields were actually grown by Christopher Nolan. Afterward, the corn was sold for profit. He grew about five hundred acres of corn.
Into the Woods
During filming, Meryl Streep jumped on a table and caught her foot in the witch costume. She almost fell off the table, but then, a pregnant Emily Blunt caught Streep in her arms and saved her life!
Pretty Woman
The audience really feels for Vivian when Edward snaps the necklace case closed, but they don’t know this secret: that scene was totally improvised. Richard Gere really did surprise Julia Roberts with that move!
John Wick: Chapter 2
Keanu Reeves famously does all his own stunts, but did you know that most of the combat moves in John Wick: Chapter 2 were done totally on his own... Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, marksmanship, and driving courses were all part of his personal training.
Guardians of the Galaxy
After filming was complete, star actor Chris Pratt stole his Star-Lord costume from the set. He was hoping to use it to visit kids in the hospital who wanted to meet the Guardian. Producers were still mad though!
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Sean Bean, who played Boromir, was terrified of flying and only did it if absolutely necessary. He ended up climbing a mountain every morning for two hours rather than take a helicopter up. He did it all in costume.
Black Swan
Natalie Portman took dance lessons for over a year to prepare for her iconic ballerina role. She paid for the lessons herself until the film could find the funding.
Titanic
The scenes of 1912 add up to two hours and forty minutes of content, which is exactly how long it took the ship to sink. The iceberg hit lasted 37 seconds in real life and on-screen!
The Godfather
The cat featured in this famous film was actually found in the Paramount parking lot by Francis Ford Coppola. The cat was so happy that it started purring in some scenes. Some of Marlon Brando’s lines got messed up and the look became iconic!
Fight Club
A small but fun fact about Fight Club is that Brad Pitt and Edward Norton actually learned how to make soap during filming.
Schindler's List
Schindler’s List was quite a feat of feature filming. They hired over 20,000 extras. Locals sold their old clothing to the actors to make some extra money. Everybody wins!
I Am Legend
Will Smith’s dog in the movie almost became his real life dog! He tried to buy her from the trainer, but she couldn’t put a price on the canine companion.
The Matrix
Woo-Ping Yuen was supposed to be in charge of the combat for the Matrix. He refused unless he got an insane amount of money, which he got. He requested that he got control of the actors before shooting even started. Good thing he did because this film is known for those action shots!!
Titanic
Kate Winslet wanted to break the ice between her and Leonardo DiCaprio before their nude scene, so she beat him to the punch. When the two first met, she flashed him. Not awkward anymore!
Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club was a move that struggled to make a profit, much less break even. Their makeup budget was a depressing $250, but they still won an Oscar for the cosmetology of the film.
The Chronicles of Narnia
The reactions to Mr. Tumnus were very real. The kids weren’t allowed to see the goat-man until filming. They were actually scared upon first meeting! The reaction to the Narnia scene was also real.
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 was accidentally deleted when the movie had been 90% completed. The back-up server had also failed, and no one could access the missing files. Luckily, one of the technical directors had a copy she had been working on from home, and the film was saved.
The Godfather
Marlon Brando put weights under his body to make carrying him more difficult. It was a prank that backfired when they were forced to reshoot!
The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger got really into character. He locked himself in a room alone for six weeks. He wanted to get into the Joker’s mind. He used the time to practice the voices and tics of the iconic villain
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The movie states that the Cathedral was under construction. Here’s a fun fact, it really was! Since it was filmed in St. Paul’s Cathedral, the actual building was actually undergoing repairs and producers just went with it. They gave construction workers appropriate clothes so they could film and work all at once!
What We Do In The Shadows
Stu Rutherford is the real name of the hilarious, ancient, and creepy vampire named Stu! He was an average joe, a business analyst for a company that was hired to work on the computers for the film. The directors gave him a small role. As it turns out, his part was a fan favorite!
Logan
Charles Xavier was the result of Patrick Stewart’s extreme weight loss. This transition was very difficult for him as he claimed he had been the same weight since teenage years and never gained or lost weight extensively.
2001: Space Odessy
Stanley Kubrick destroyed most of the props and sets after the film was finished. His reasoning was that he didn't want them to get reused in any ‘lesser’ sci-fi films.
Inglorious Basterds
Eli Roth’s “The Bear Jew” character was violent and mean. He claims that he got into character with wool underwear. “Being in wool underwear will make you want to kill anything.” Also, his girlfriend would add Hannah Montana songs to his iPod so that when he heard it, he would get mad.
Psycho
At the time of the shooting, there were some interesting film standards. Psycho was the first movie in the USA to have a toilet flushing on-screen!