Everybody has a favorite film. Whether it’s a cult classic or an indie flick, no matter how many times you sit down to watch it, the narrative still sweeps you off your feet. Would you feel the same way if you saw behind the scenes?
Titanic
Regardless of whether or not there was room for Jack on that door, the scene becomes much less dramatic when you realize it was filmed in a pool.
Star Wars
In real life, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) were great friends. Fisher stood at 5’1″ while Mayhew towered over her at a whopping 7’2″.
Inception
It turns out the set of Inception was just as topsy-turvy as the film itself. Although the green screen was responsible for a number of effects, the set itself was also mobile when necessary.
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Even the Knights of the Round Table like to kick it during their free time. Apparently, it wasn’t uncommon to see actors playing soccer on the set.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
When he’s not haunting everyone’s worst nightmares, Freddy Krueger spends his free time Netflix and chilling.
Jaws
The 1975 classic hit film Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel of the same name. The movie accrued $470.7 million at the box offices, which blew the previous record for the highest-grossing film out of the water. Luckily for Steven, Jaws the great white shark didn’t seem to be particularly hungry on this day.
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back, along with all the other Star Wars films, was known for the trademark text that rolled across the screen at the beginning of each movie. The year 1980 was truly encapsulated in the photo above, featuring a physical copy of the introductory screen with a camera hanging above to make the effect look superfluous.
The Dark Knight
The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, had a good time hanging around on set while filming a scene for The Dark Knight.
Indiana Jones
Between takes on the set of Temple of Doom, the scorching Sri Lankan temperature had the cast and crew hiding in the shade for some much-needed relief.
Spiderman
Even superheroes need a quick bathroom break from saving the world.
The Birds
1963 classic The Birds may have made these feathered friends seem scary, but they seem pretty docile here with a smiling Hitchcock.
Metropolis
Even the Maschinenmensch needed to cool down between takes of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
Star Wars
The actors behind the C-3PO and R2D2 shared a laugh together on the set of Star Wars.
Jurassic Park III
This behind-the-scenes photo from the set of Jurassic Park III is either hilarious or terrifying. You decide.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Steven Spielberg decided to joke around on set and pretend to give E.T. a bath.
300: Rise of an Empire
What appeared to be a vast landscape in 300: Rise of an Empire was actually a green screen, filmed inside a studio.
Pulp Fiction
Even if Samuel L. Jackson and Sylvester Stalone played dangerous killers in the film, they were able to goof off with Quentin Tarantino on set.
Back to the Future
The awesome DeLorean didn’t look quite so impressive behind the scenes. A small model was used to film the scenes with special effects.
Life of Pi
The ocean set from Life of Pi wasn’t quite as vast and endless as it appeared on the big screen. In fact, there wasn’t even any water.
Ben Hur
Released in 1959, the cast of Ben-Hur cruised around the desert set on Vespas to get a break from the heat.
Lord of the Rings
Ian McKellen is pictured here on the set of Lord of the Rings besides his stunt and riding doubles.
The Shining
While the infamous twins in The Shining really creeped fans out, they were definitely less spooky behind the scenes.
Star Wars
In between takes, these cast members look more like members of the Beatles than a group of Stormtroopers. Talk about a sign of the times!
Kill Bill
Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu hug it out—even if one of the ladies is missing a chunk of her head.
Django Unchained
Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to see this scene from Django Unchained from another point of view, perched on a ladder beside the director.
X-Men
Special FX artists worked their magic on Wolverine behind the scenes of X-Men.
Titanic
Titanic behind the scenes demanded lots of technical prowess. In fact, for the shots of the ship sinking, set designers actually had to build a model of the ship of a 90-degree angle.
The Hulk
Mark Ruffalo wasn’t just wearing his best Hulk face while filming this scene—he was also decked out in a motion-capture suit. Audience members would only see Mark as the green menace—not a normal-sized guy in skintight lycra.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy film based on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel of the same name. Bill Murray is seen here on set with his character Badger.
Star Wars
You likely recognize Yoda, an iconic character from the Star Wars trilogy. What you might not already know is that Yoda was just an animatronic puppet who was carried around the set like a toddler.
X-Men
After visiting the X-Men set, Psy renamed Gangnam Style to Wolverine Style.
Skyfall
Javier Bardem slides down an Underground escalator on the set of the 2012 Bond film, Skyfall.
Ghostbusters
When the Ghostbusters weren’t taking care of business, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd hung out on set together.
Harry Potter
Gandalf logged on to the World Wizarding Web to check his Twitter.
Star Wars
Apparently, fans of the Star Wars franchise come in all shapes and sizes—when the Muppets visited Mark Hamill on set, they were starstruck by Yoda and Luke Skywalker.
The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal Lecter may be eating his way through the guards, but he still has room for seconds. Here, Anthony Hopkins is fed french fries while stuck in a straightjacket.
The Hobbit
The Hobbit is a fantasy series based on the 1937 novel of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien. While filming in New Zealand, inclement weather forced Gandalf under an umbrella.
Godzilla
Godzilla terrorized the town even with only half his costume on.
Top Gun
Tom Cruise flips the bird on the set of Top Gun.
Star Wars
Princess Leia moonlights as a cocktail server on-set, handing one of her costars a cold one after a long day of filming.
Titanic
Behind the scenes, Jack and Rose weren’t quite so intense. Here, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are hanging out in an elevator on the set of Titanic.
Fight Club
Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, and other cast members shared a drink on the set of Fight Club.
Conan the Barbarian
Wilt Chamberlain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Andre the Giant are pictured here goofing off behind the scenes of Conan the Destroyer, sequel to Conan the Barbarian.
Star Wars
During a Star Wars outtake, Chewie got a little too friendly with Princess Leia…he’s lucky Han Solo didn’t walk in on this.
MGM Logo
Shooting the original MGM logo in 1924 was no easy feat. This was one job that required the real deal: an actual lion.
Star Wars
Behind the scenes, R2D2 needed to recharge—but not with batteries. The actor inside the robot took a break to snack on a sandwich between takes.
The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger pops an ollie right over Batman on the set of The Dark Knight.
Jaws
Getting eaten by a shark is exhausting work—for both the victim and the shark, apparently.
Star Wars
The actors behind the C-3PO and R2D2 shared a laugh together on the set of Star Wars.
Alien
Even though the monster from Alien was a terrifying, inhuman creature, the man behind the mask wasn’t so scary.
Planet of the Apes
Transforming Andy Serkis from a man to an ape was no walk in the park. Here, he’s seen monkeying around on the set of Planet of the Apes.
The Matrix
The Matrix changed the game for special effects. Here, Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving are shooting a complicated fight scene.
Lord of the Rings
If Frodo had been able to jump on a helicopter to Mordor, his journey would have taken half the time.
Harry Potter
He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named hammered out details between takes.
The Walking Dead
Losing a limb on the big screen isn’t as painful as it looks.
Harry Potter
Behind the scenes of the sixth Harry Potter film, Bellatrix Lestrange had to check her email on a MacBook Pro.
Titanic
All of us are still wondering why Rose didn’t make room for Jack on that wooden door.
The Terminator
Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron joke around on the set of Judgement Day.
Star Wars
C-3PO apparently gets thirsty just like the rest of us. Robots can be dehydrated, too!
Scarface
Al Pacino cracks a smile across from Michelle Pfeiffer on the set of Scarface.
The Dark Knight Rises
Despite being enemies on the big screen, Bane and Batman were buds behind the scenes. Between takes, Tom Hardy and Christian Bale joked around and had everybody on set laughing.