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26 Trivia Tidbits About Movies and TV Shows

The good, the bad and the interesting

26 Trivia Tidbits About Movies and TV Shows

April 28, 2024

The best part about movie and TV facts is that you can like the fact without having to like the movie or show. In fact, there might be a few times during this list when you’ll think, “Oh that’s how that piece of garbage was made. Interesting.”

These facts are win-win, baby!

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26

The Dayman song was a riff on Queen's Flash Gordon Theme Song. Glenn Howerton was playing in a band that opened with the Queen song so it was fresh in his head. It was a one-off joke that went very far. BEHIND THE SCENES CRACKED.COM — Source

25

The cast ramped up the cussing on purpose. CRACKED.COM During production, they heard the studio was angling to get a PG-13 rating. They started spouting more profanity to make that a much harder sell, and managed to keep the R rating. — Source

24

LINDA CARDENELLI WAS 24 WHEN SHE PLAYED 16-YEAR-OLD LINDSAY CRACKED.COM She was the oldest teen actor in the show. John Francis Daley was the youngest, at 14. — Source

23

BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS Apatow worried that Steve would lose a BODY PART CRACKED COM We were looking for who was a professional waxer, says Apatow. Somebody said 'this is the person. And the woman who claimed to know how to wax I think lied. She put the wax over Steve's nipple and we almost lost a nipple. That's all I'm going to say. — Source

22

Jason Segel wrote a DRACULA PUPPET MUSICAL in real life. In his early twenties, Segel wrote songs for the super serious musical. WHEN НЕ PLAYED SOME OF THE SONGS TO JUDD APATOW, НЕ WAS TOLD TO NEVER EVER PLAY IT FOR ANOTHER HUMAN BEING AGAIN. BEHIND THE SCENES I FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL CRACKED.COM — Source

21

This Is Spinal Tap Every tour stop was actually in Los Angeles. CRACKED.COM They did a good job of hiding the City of Angels, but eagle-eyed fans have spotted palm trees in one scene set in New York. — Source

20

BEHINO-THE-SCENES SFACTS That was a helluva throw from UNCLE RICO CRACKED.COM Не actually nailed bike-riding Napoleon in the face with Kip's steak. The impact gave Heder two black eyes that you can see in multiple scenes. The steak fling is especially impressive considering actor Jon Gries is a vegan. — Source

19

The theme song was different every episode. Jonathan Wolff re-recorded the song to match Seinfeld's monologue. And that slap bass was actually a synth. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

BEHIND-THE-SCENES SFACTS Jack Black scared the heck out of the PARENTS CRACKED.COM The moms were spooked by the rampaging wild man they knew from Orange County and Tenacious D. My mom was just terrified that he was going to be a terrible influence on me, says Jordan-Claire Green. But Black quickly won them over: Не was just amazing. — Source

17

You probably know Kenny Baker played R2-D2. But did you know he also played an Ewok? In fact, he was the original choice to play Wicket, Leia's young Ewok friend, but he got sick. The role of Wicket went to Warwick Davis, and Baker wound up playing the Ewok who hijacks a speeder bike. CRACKED.COM http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kenny_Baker — Source

16

Vader's I am your father line was a shock to everyone. Including the Star Wars cast. On the set, actor David Prowse said Obi-wan killed your father. Mark Hamill didn't know what the actual line was going to be until moments before the scene was filmed, and afterward he was sworn to secrecy. Director Irvin Kershner warned Hamill that if the secret got out, he'd know who leaked it. CRACKED.COM http://www.soundandvision.com/news/100104hamil/OZEVRFbjcqdv4DDv.97 — Source

15

Grand Moff Tarkin was a cruel, angry man. Maybe it's because his feet hurt. The wardrobe department supplied Peter Cushing with boots that were too small, so he only wore them in shots where his feet showed. The rest of the time, he wore bedroom slippers. Those slippers are currently in a museum. http://thecushingcollection.tumbir.com/post/1198825847 CRACKED.COM 85/peter-cushings-carpet-slippers-on-display-in-the — Source

14

A BASEBALL GLOVE ON SOMEONE'S HEAD INSPIRED LANDO'S HELMET. The idea for Lando's skiff guard helmet came to the designer after he put a baseball glove on an engineer's head while playing ball at Skywalker Ranch. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

ELLO ASTY IS A BEASTIE BOYS TRIBUTE. PUIL beastie boys: hello nasty REMASTERED EDITION INCLUDES: Bonus disc of b-sides unreleased tracks PARENTSU ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENT Beastie Boys fanboy J.J. Abrams decided to name one of the Resistance pilots in tribute to them. Не did so by removing the first letters from their 1998 album Hello Nasty. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Rocky and Adrian's lovely first date owes its magic to the movie running out of money. EL VISITOR THE IMPROVISATION: Rocky's ice rink date scene was supposed to have 300 extras. But the movie burned through cash too fast, so Rocky and Adrian had to be in an empty ice rink. THE RESULT: A surprisingly intimate atmosphere that made for one of the best ever movie first dates. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

The costumes of 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles almost kept it from getting made. W - THE IMPROVISATION: The producers couldn't get actors to wear the sweaty, heavy Turtle suits. So they hired much cheaper Hong Kong stuntmen. THE RESULT: A hugely successful TMNT film that's a minor cult classic today. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

The Purge's budget went from $8 million to $2.5 million. THE IMPROVISATION: The producer realized the movie shouldn't be that expensive, as it's set in one house. Не even got Ethan Hawke to take no salary (but a profit percentage) and crash on his couch during filming. THE RESULT: A surprise hit that kicked off a hugely popular horror franchise. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

26 Trivia Tidbits About Movies and TV Shows — Source

8

The Incredible Hulk TV show was too cheap to spend money on shooting planes and trucks. Footage from Steven Spielberg's Duel, used in S1E9 of The Incredible Hulk THE IMPROVISATION: They just picked up that footage from other movies. These were well-known films from just a few years before. The network owned the rights, and they didn't care that it was obvious. THE RESULT: An action-packed first season that made the show a hit from the start. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

There was absolutely no narrative reason for The Walking Dead to spend a season on a farm. THE IMPROVISATION: The network axed the Season 2 budget before even airing the pilot. So, to save money, the show was stuck with using Hershel's farm as much as possible. THE RESULT: A critically acclaimed season with a finale that was the network's most-watched episode ever at the time. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

The window shutters in Clerks had to be locked to hide the fact that it was night outside. Quick STOP GROCERIES I ASSURE YOU WERE OPEN! AB65703 THE IMPROVISATION: Kevin Smith only had permission to film at night, and had to keep the windows closed. To explain this, he decided the store's shutter locks would be jammed shut in the movie. THE RESULT: The (now iconic) sign saying, I assure you we're open! CRACKED.COM — Source

5

In the 1960s Batman series, Batman and Robin buckled their seatbelts before taking off in the Batmobile. This occurred after a complaint by the National Safety Council & the Dynamic Duo set a good example thereafter. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

4

When The Hobbit came out, fans reported feeling literally sick after viewing it. Apparently the trilogy's 48-per-second frame rate causes nausea. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

3

On Groundhog Day, Bill Murray hired an assistant just to troll everyone. The production team couldn't get a hold of him when they needed to, so they asked him to hire an assistant to make things easier. Не agreed, but hired someone who was deaf and only spoke American sign language (which neither Murray or anyone else on set spoke). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Joel Schumacher wanted to cast Drew Barrymore and Rosanna Arquette in a sequel to The Lost Boys. It'd be called The Lost Girls, and he wanted to do it because girl vampires on motorcycles would be sexy and funny and something that I'd like to see. But the movie just never made it out of development hell. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Whitney Houston was originally going to be titular character in Cinderella. The movie took years to finally make, and everyone agreed Whitney, 34, was too old so Whitney made the call to the Moesha star Brandy. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

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