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33 Random Bits of Trivia About Some of the Biggest Directors in Hollywood

None of them would yell ‘Cut!’ during this list

33 Random Bits of Trivia About Some of the Biggest Directors in Hollywood

May 09, 2025

These directors inspired us to direct this list of facts about them. It’s more of an artsy piece that doesn’t really have a beginning, middle or end, but when it’s done, you’ll definitely walk away having learned a thing or two.

And… action!

33

Quentin Tarantino (Again)

Quentin Tarantino owns the copyright on his films. According to his contract, the studios gradually cede ownership to Tarantino over time, which, amon

32

Martin Scorsese (Again)

Martin Scorsese hates it when actors emphasize something by moving their eyebrows. He does not allow eyebrow movement — Source: BBC

31

Michael Bay

The Ninja Turtles were almost aliens in Michael Bay's 2014 movie, but were saved by fan complaints. Michael Bay told the world that in his new movie t

30

Adam McKay

CRACKED.COM . AND NAT - ON EVER THE BUNK BEDS FROM STEP BROTHERS At first it was Reilly, Ferrell, and | just laughing, says director Adam McKay. We sat around for three or four days and just wrote scene ideas, images, attitudes, locations (like) 'I would love to see a movie where bunk beds collapse. — Source

29

Ernest Dickerson

One of the original directors left his mark (for free). Se7en was going to be directed by Ernest Dickerson, who'd later work on The Walking Dead and The Wire. Dickerson convinced the studio to show only the aftermath of the murders, not the murders themselves. They liked the idea - and then went with a bigger director. Today, Dickerson considers he saved the movie, but ruined his own chances at directing. PRiDE SETEN CRACKED.COM — Cinemablend, Wikipedia

28

Quentin Tarantino

Directors and their beginnings Then vs. Now ICE Quentin Tarantino The Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill director began by watching movies at a video store. His first film was My Best Friend's Birthday, a dark comedy that almost burned completely in a fire lab-except not really. Tarantino just told that story because he didn't like the result, and only edited the 36 minutes he did. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

27

Alejandro González Iñarritu

Easter Eggs of Oscar-winning movies 2015 Picture Director Original Screenplay Cinematography Birdman Tamales. There's a specific audio of a tamale man calling out that director Alejandro González Iñárritu puts in all his movies, including this meta- superhero film starring Michael Keaton. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Christian Science Monitor

26

F. Gary Gray

The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray put in an homage to his first film, Friday. It's when Tej says Hey Miss Parker, and it's kind of his substitute for a director cameo (which he doesn't like to do, because he's a terrible actor, he says) - in Friday, Ice Cube and Chris Tucker call out Hey Miss Parker to a girl in their neighborhood. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Movies With Cool Hidden Shout-Outs To Other Movies

25

J.J. Abrams

Super 8 was based on J.J. Abrams' early filmmaking days. Не and Matt Reeves entered a Los Angeles Super 8 film festival with a movie that got Steven Spielberg's attention, and Spielberg asked the two to restore his own early films. The fact that he was giving these movies to kids he didn't know was insane to me, he says. CRACKED.COM — The Hollywood Reporter

24

Joe Russo

In an early draft of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos himself was the narrator. And the movie was actually non-linear - it had backstories for the Black Order, and they were all introduced in very cool sequences, according to co-director Joe Russo. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Jerry Lewis

GRAGKED.COM JERRY LEWIS was a filmmaking innovator. While making his first movie as a director, Lewis had the idea of mounting a video camera next to the film camera, allowing him to review takes instantly. This technique is still widely used. — 24 'Wait-A-Minute-What?' Celeb Facts

22

Judd Apatow

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS Apatow's directing philosophy? 'NEVER SAY CUT' CRACKED.co Most films shoot between 300,000 and 400,000 feet of film. To encourage improvisation, Apatow would let the cameras roll long after the scripted lines were read. For 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow shot more than one million feet of film, prompting the stock provider to buy champagne for the cast. — Movieweb

21

Kevin Smith

CRACKED.COM Quick STOP GROCERIES CLORKS The Quick Stop used for the film is a real store that director Kevin Smith worked at during filming. The crew was only permitted to film after hours as to not interfere with the store's customers. Quick STOP GROCERIES To get around this obstacle, Smith rewrote the film to have a joke where someone shoves gum in the locks of the store's shutters. This way they could have the shutters closed whenever they shot inside and make it look like it was set during the day. 364 — Source: 26 Movie And TV Locations True Stories IRL

20

Rian Johnson

RIAN JOHNSON'S HAND IS IN THE LAST JEDI. CRACKED.COM The gloved hand grabbing Han Solo's dice at the end of the movie doesn't actually belong to Mark Hamill - it's the hand of the director, Rian Johnson. — Source: 16 Directors That Cameod In Their Own Movies

19

William Friedkin

William Peter Blatty is a concerned film produce in The Exorcist. Blatty, the author of the novel the film is based on, plays a produce working on the movie set Regan's mom is starring in. He tries to get the director's attention and asks, Is this scene really essential, Burke? In real life, the film's director (William Friedkin) wanted to make a film that was slightly critical of the Catholic church, while Blatty wanted to show reverence for his religion. The final product ended up striking a nice balance between the two. CRACKED.COM — Source: 12 Creators Who Had Brilliant Cameos in Their Own Work

18

John Waters

WHO WAS DAVID WISE? JOHN WATERS WAS AN EARLY (VERY EARLY) FAN OF DAVID WISE. Wise was barely eight when he made an animated movie titled Short Circuit. The movie was shown internationally, and John Waters would project it alongside his first films. According to Wise, Waters was a fan of my work, which was pretty much the polar opposite of his. — Sources: David Wise on Twitter, Exploratorium, John Waters FAQ by Dale Sherman (via Google Books)

17

Denis Villeneuve

Arrival's aliens could have looked like enormous, floating blue flowers. That was one early idea that director Denis Villeneuve liked, but it got ditched (early on, Villeneuve also thought that horses' eyes could be a good inspiration). CRACKED.COM — Source: Vulture

16

Bong Joon-ho

In the ending of Snowpiercer, they shot under the floor at one point. It was in the battering ram scene when they plow ahead from the tail section. Director Bong Joon-ho and the director of photography were beneath the floor. CRACKED.COM — Source: Vulture

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15

Katsuhiro Otomo

TWICE THE AMOUNT OF SHOTS CRACKED.COM The average film has 1,250 individual shots, whereas Akira almost doubles that at 2, 212. Moreover, the movie contains a staggering 160,000 single pictures, 2-3 times more than normal, which is a LOT of animated body horror for 80's audiences. — Source: Geek Tyrant

14

Jake Kasdan

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THERE WAS A TON OF WORK PUT INTO SET DESIGN. WALKHARD Director Jake Kasdan says that compared to a regular comedy, the movie put much more effort into designing very detailed and authentic sets. Seven hotel rooms and three music studios for different time periods were built for the film. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

13

Martin Scorsese

Marlon Brando discouraged Scorsese from filming Goodfellas. Scorsese was hesitant about making another crime film after Mean Streets, and Brando told him that he really shouldn't. GoodFellas Behind the Scenes Luckily, fellow director Michael Powell encouraged him to make the movie. — Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet

12

Gina Prince-Bythewood

LOVE & BASKETBALL Gina rince-Bythewood was much harder on the mother character in the original draft. The movie is semi-autobiographical and the writer-director says it made her work through her relationship with her mom. My dad was my biggest cheerleader. My mom would come to games occasionally, but she would — Source

11

John Carpenter

Halloween (2018) recorded and snuck a sonG into the film that featured in the original. 99.7 MHR 0c- In the original 1978 movie, Laurie Strode sings — Cinemablend

10

George Lucas

George Lucas rebuilt the entire Jabba's Palace set for the Return of the Jedi special edition. To film a few extra seconds for Oola's death scene, he — Source: 6 Scenes In Famous Movies That Were Insanely Hard To Film

9

Frank Thomas

33 Random Bits of Trivia About Some of the Biggest Directors in Hollywood — Source: Yahoo Entertainment

8

Ridley Scott (Again)

33 Random Bits of Trivia About Some of the Biggest Directors in Hollywood — Source: Entertainment

7

Wes Anderson (Again)

Director Wes Anderson is known for his attention to detail and in his stop-motion animated film 'Isle of Dogs (2018). the movie cRan required hundred

6

Ridley Scott

33 Random Bits of Trivia About Some of the Biggest Directors in Hollywood — Source: IMDB

5

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Alien/Human Hybrid THE CHARACTER WE KNOW THE EARLY DRAFT chilling, a billion creepy, times fleshy creepier Resurrection Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet wa — Source: Unnatural Mutation - Creature Design. Alien Resurrection, Quadrilogy edition, 2003.

4

Wolfgang Peterson

Randy Newman wrote the original score for Air Force One. Director Wolfgang Petersen scrapped his work, calling it almost parody. Newman turned aroun

3

Lars von Trier

Danish film director Lars von Trier made some intolerable statements about Hitler at the 2011 Cannes film festival. I understand Hitler... I sympat

2

James Gunn

For Guardians of the Galaxy 2, they had to reshoot Quill's eulogy, then insert the footage into the eulogy scene. Director James Gunn thought Chris Pr

1

Wes Anderson

Movie: The Grand Budapest Hotel Inspiration: Austro-Hungarian and Prussian photochrom pictures. Director Wes Anderson used photochrom pictures (black-

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