35 Amazing TV and Movie Moments That Were Thrown Together at the Last Minute on the Cheap

Some wildly successful behind-the-scenes improv
35 Amazing TV and Movie Moments That Were Thrown Together at the Last Minute on the Cheap

Everyone gushes over a comedic actor’s ability to improv hilarious lines that end up in a movie. We have a ton of lists on the subject, because yes, they’re just that impressive. But we rarely talk about those in-the-moment decisions that producers and directors make to keep the train rolling. 

When productions get low on funds and they can’t cry to executives for more, they drum up less expensive shots that are still somehow highly effective. And hey, that quick thinking probably saved them from going into OT — yet another cost that they can’t afford.

Lost

Because it blew its budget, Lost locked up a bunch of major characters in cages. THE IMPROVISATION: The producers saved most of the third season's budget for its final half - so Kate, Jack, and Sawyer had to be stuck in cages for the first half. THE RESULT: A spectacular season finale with the show's best twist. CRACKED.COM

Godzilla

The monster of Gojira, the granddaddy of Godzilla films, was supposed to be a giant octopus. THE IMPROVISATION: The movie's special effects wizard really wanted to make a giant stop-motion octopus, but there was no time or money. So, he just put a guy in a rubber lizard suit. THE RESULT: Godzilla, who became the definition of city-crushing monster. CRACKED.COM

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane had to depict obscene wealth, but it had a shoestring budget. THE IMPROVISATION: Orson Welles got super creative, coming up with tricks like filming rooms from the floor to make them look big and using props to strategically hide areas. THE RESULT: Other directors picked up all those tricks later on, and they're used so much that we don't even notice them today. CRACKED.COM

Breaking Bad

Vince Gilligan planned on setting Breaking Bad in Riverside, CA. THE IMPROVISATION: They shot the pilot in Albuquerque, NM, because it was the only location they could afford. THE RESULT: A New Mexico look and feel that, in Gilligan's words, made the show a contemporary Western. CRACKED.COM

Doctor Who

Doctor Who's TARDIS was originally supposed to change shape regularly to fit in with its surroundings. POLICE es BOX GIO TO THE IMPROVISATION: The series creators realized that would cost too much, and nixed the idea. They decided the TARDIS' chameleon circuit would be permanently broken, leaving the TARDIS forever stuck as a police box. THE RESULT: One of the most recognizable sci-fi ship designs on TV, ever. CRACKED.COM

Clueless

The plan for dressing the main cast of Clueless was to have them all in designer couture. THE IMPROVISATION: The budget for that didn't pan out, so the costume designer just bought a bunch of clothes at the mall. THE RESULT: The movie helped bury grunge fashion and made preppy style look cool. CRACKED.COM

Batman

A 1960s Batman episode had Batman, Robin, and Batgirl fight all their villains at once. THE IMPROVISATION: There was no money to actually show that, so the villains turned invisible and the trio punched air. Then they turned off the light to even the odds, leaving the screen black. THE RESULT: An episode in which the show topped itself in campy hilarity. CRACKED.COM

Back to the Future

To get home in Back to the Future, Marty was supposed to drive into a nuclear explosion. PRINTS THE IMPROVISATION: The original plan of sending Marty into a Nevada test nuke blast would be incredibly expensive in 1985, so the writers came up with a cheaper scene at the clock tower. THE RESULT: Probably one of the most famous climaxes in film history. CRACKED.COM

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock shot Psycho as an episode of his TV show. THE IMPROVISATION: Hitchcock shot Psycho with the crew and assets of his TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents, because the studio didn't want to give him a cent for a new movie. THE RESULT: An instant classic that influenced pretty much all later horror films. CRACKED.COM

Rocky

Rocky and Adrian's lovely first date owes its magic to the movie running out of money. NE 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

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Instead of spending money on music for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the director made it himself. THE IMPROVISATION: With a sound recordist, he did things like screaming into a cardboard tube, torturing an upright bass, and playing broken instruments. THE RESULT: One of the scariest movie soundtracks of all time. It's the equivalent of pouring terror straight into your ears. CRACKED.COM

The Purge

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

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Again)

35 Amazing TV and Movie Moments That Were Thrown Together at the Last Minute on the Cheap

The Hulk

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

Planet of the Apes

The original setting of Planet of the Apes was completely modern. THE IMPROVISATION: There were supposed to be monkeys watching movies, shopping, driving-everything. But the producers didn't want to pay for that, and they got a new writer, who created a new setting. THE RESULT: The barren wasteland with the iconic half-buried Statue of Liberty. CRACKED.COM

The Walking Dead

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

Terminator

James Cameron didn't have a filming permit for The Terminator, so the crew had to avoid cops. THE IMPROVISATION: They shot at night so they had less chance of running into police. And to save extra money, they used convenient clouds of pesticide as fog. THE RESULT: A dark neo-noir visual style that helped make the movie a classic. CRACKED.COM

Clerks

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! AB6703 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

Night of the Living Dead

Zombies act the way they do in Night of the Living Dead because the movie couldn't afford special effects. There was no money for effects showing dead people rising from graves, so the filmmakers came up with the ideas that only recently dead people could become zombies and that humans would turn into zombies by getting bitten. CRACKED.COM

Deadpool 2

Ryan Reynolds voiced Juggernaut in Deadpool 2 because they couldn't get anyone else. We didn't settle on that just because it was quality, we settled on that because we just didn't have any more budget left for other actors to jump in, he said. CRACKED.COM

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad's episode Fly was the product of the show going over its budget. Just moving production trucks to a new location cost $25,000-35,000, and they couldn't afford that, so they needed an episode contained in just one place. CRACKED.COM

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail was supposed to end with a big battle (but it cost too much). HO VE POLICE The ending was supposed to show the French, the knights of Camelot, and the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog duking it out, but the Pythons decided that having police arrest King Arthur would be both cheaper and funnier. CRACKED.COM

Dr. No

The spider scene is Dr. No could have been pretty forgettable if they'd had more money. The production designer only had £775 to build that set, so he went with something cheap but memorable - a grid that cast a shadow that's kind of like a web. CRACKED.COM

The Princess Bride

They came up with the Pit of Despair in The Princess Bride to save money. The book had the Zoo of Death in that scene, but that would have been too expensive, so they needed to figure out a new idea. CRACKED.COM

Shaun of the Dead

Edgar Wright couldn't afford the music he wanted in the Winchester scene in Shaun of the Dead. Не wanted Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares to You (that's what he played while they were filming), but it cost way too much, so he settled for Chicago's If You Leave Me Now. It gets a big laugh he says. CRACKED.COM

Fast & Furious 6

The tank scene in Fast & Furious 6 was supposed to be set in London. They would have used a set with a fake Piccadilly Circus and then put in CGI buildings later, but they went with an open highway instead since that was much cheaper. CRACKED.COM

John Wick

John Wick's car fight on the docks was a solution to a budget issue. They wanted a big car chase through the city, but there was no money for that, so they shot a car fu scene in which Wick fights bad guys in two SUVs with his car and gun. CRACKED.COM

Deadpool

Deadpool's non-linear plot was just a way to save on filming action scene. They didn't have the money for a big action scene at the start plus more action scenes throughout the first act, so they shot just one and broke it up with flashbacks. CRACKED.COM

What We Do in the Shadows

They put a bat fight in What We Do in the Shadows because they couldn't afford actors fighting. Deacon and Nick were supposed to be in human form during their fight in the air, but the movie had no money for the wire work needed to keep them in the air r - so they changed into bats. CRACKED.COM

Birdman

Birdman's Times Square scene looks so real because it was. MAGICAL TOTAL SPELL They didn't have the money to shut down Times Square and put in a ton of extras, so they had Michael Keaton run through a real crowd. CRACKED.COM

Austin Powers

Dr. Evil has ill-tempered sea bass in Austin Powers because the movie couldn't afford sharks. After they got the sea bass instead of sharks, Mike Myers asked the effects team what they could do, and their response was We can make the water bubble...' CRACKED.COM

Star Wars

Alderaan got blown up in Star Wars because Alderaan scenes were too expensive. George Lucas' initial idea was for Alderaan to be the site of the prison Leia would get rescued from, but he didn't have as much money as he wanted, so he just put all those scenes on the Death Star. CRACKED.COM

Halloween

Halloween's premise was just a way to save money. John Carpenter wanted to make a horror movie where the monster was some guy wearing coveralls, because that'd be really cheap. CRACKED.COM

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