30 Easter Eggs and Behind-the-Scenes Facts About ‘The Shining’ That Were Harder to Find Than the Exit to A Hedge Maze

All facts and no play make Jack a bright boy!
30 Easter Eggs and Behind-the-Scenes Facts About ‘The Shining’ That Were Harder to Find Than the Exit to A Hedge Maze
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Crack open a cold bottle of red rum and sit down for a nice hearty batch of Shining Easter eggs. 

Well, unfortunately for us, the eggs themselves weren’t shining. That would’ve made them a lot easier to find. Instead, we had to sift through a pretty dark movie, and we didn’t realize how hard it is to focus when you’re utterly terrified. 

Anywho, we somehow made it out of this one alive, and wanted to spare you the terror by just displaying these here for you. You’re welcome.

Danny Lloyd Never Got the Tricycle As Promised

DANNY LLOYD WAS PROMISED THE TRICYCLE, BUT NEVER GOT IT. THE SHiNiNG A crew member said Lloyd could have the tricycle once filming was done. They never gave it to him. Lloyd called in it 2017 a lesson in the hollowness of grownup promises. CRACKED.COM

The Shooting Schedule

THE SHOOTING WENT WAY OVER SCHEDULE. THE SHiNiNG The movie was supposed to be shot over 17 weeks. Kubrick's trademark fastidiousness turned that into a full year. CRACKED.COM

Shooting The Maze Scenes

THE MAZE SCENES WERE HELL. THE SHiNiNG The set was hot, the fake snow was difficult to run on, and the smoke pumped in to make the environment misty made it hard to breathe. At one point, the crew resorted to wearing gas masks. CRACKED.COM

Slim Pickens

THE SHiNiNG SLIM PICKENS ALMOST PLAYED DICK HALLORANN. Pickens said that he'd take the role, as long as his scenes were shot in under 100 takes-not exactly something Stanley Kubrick would commit to. CRACKED.COM

Lost in the Maze

THE CREW KEPT GETTING LOST IN THE HEDGE MAZE. THE SHiNiNG The maze was a set made with pine boughs stapled to plywood, but it was still maze-like. The crew was given a map, and even so they got lost several times while shooting. CRACKED.COM

Danny Lloyd

THE SHiNiNG DANNY LLOYD HAD NO IDEA НЕ WAS IN A HORROR MOVIE. Kubrick decided not to tell the five-year- old what the movie was about. Lloyd thought the film was just about a family. CRACKED.COM

Jessica Lange

THE SHiNiNG KUBRICK TURNED DOWN CASTING JESSICA LANGE. Lange was suggested for the role of Wendy Torrance, but she didn't fit Kubrick's idea of Wendy as a fragile, codependent woman. (Stephen King hated that Kubrick turned the character into that.) CRACKED.COM

Scatman Crothers

SCATMAN CROTHERS HAD LONG WANTED TO BE DICK HALLORANN. Crothers read the novel before the adaptation happened, and thought that Hallorann would be a great character for him to play. Не was disappointed when Kubrick chose to kill him. THE SHiNiNG CRACKED.COM

Cheese Sandwiches

JACK NICHOLSON ATE ONLY CHEESE SANDWICHES FOR TWO WEEKS. THE SHiNiNG Nicholson hates cheese sandwiches-so Kubrick had him eat nothing but that, to push him into Jack Torrance's murderous rage. CRACKED.COM

The Most Takes

CRACKED.COM THE SHINING MADE IT TO THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS. THE SHiNiNG The scene where Danny and Hallorann discuss the titular shining reportedly took 148 takes- more than any other scene with dialogue ever.

Kubrick’s First Choice

JACK NICHOLSON WAS KUBRICK'S FIRST CHOICE TO PLAY JACK TORRANCE. THE SHiNiNG Stephen King didn't like him, though. Не thought Nicholson made Jack look deranged to begin with, undermining the point that he was just a regular guy before the Overlook. CRACKED.COM

Typing ‘All Work and No Play’

ALL WORK and NO play UA all work a ALL WORK AND K All work a NO PLAY WAS k All work a REALLY TYPED f Alll COUNTLESS TIMES. Jack work and по Retd makes All work and noplay makes Jack a TTU ROAD CULTU KTV ford ЩАДСО GOOD All work and no play makes Jack THE SHiNiNG ly mak ES and jack a Kubrick made his secretary, Margaret Warrington, a really dull gal, by having her type Jack's mantra on about 500 sheets of paper- and then again in four other languages, for foreign releases of the movie. CRACKED.COM

Dick Hallorann

DICK HALLORANN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HERO. THE SHiNiNG In the original script, Halorann does manage to save Danny and Wendy. But then Kubrick thought that, this being a horror movie, someone had to die-and he picked the black guy. CRACKED.COM

Shelley Duvall’s Experience

IT WASN'T A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR SHELLEY DUVALL. THE SHiNiNG An emotionally and physically taxing role, compounded by an abusive director, made Duvall have a really shitty time. She considered quitting acting after the movie was done. CRACKED.COM

The Shining

THE FINGER WIGGLING WAS DANNY LLOYD'S IDEA. THE SHiNiNG Lloyd came up with Tony's finger- talking during his audition, and Kubrick liked it enough to keep it. CRACKED.COM

The Debunked Easter Egg

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG An Easter egg, debunked. USA People have said that Danny's Apollo 11 jersey was Kubrick's way of addressing the conspiracy connecting him to the supposed fake moon landing. The jersey was actually knitted by a friend of the costume designer, Milena Canonero, and when Kubrick said he wanted Danny to wear something handmade, Canonero brought the jersey to the set. GRACKED.COM

Retracing Steps

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Retracing steps Danny flees his dad in the maze by retracing his steps and confusing Jack Torrence in the process. Retracing steps is a known Native American scout method. GRACKED.COM

Danny’s Tricycle

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Danny's tricycle Danny riding his tricycle on the carpet down the halls echoes Damian riding his tricycle in The Omen. GRACKED.COM

Danny’s Room

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Dopey in Danny's room In the beginning of the film we see the cartoon of Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but later on that sticker disappears. It signifies Danny's change from dopey to enlightened. GRACKED.COM

The ‘Here’s Johnny’ Reference

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Here's Johnny! Not only did Jack Nicholson ad lib the line, but it was a reference to the opening of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. GRACKED.COM

Nosferatu Reference

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror A scene where Wendy walks up the stairs shows her shadow on the wall, much like in the 1922 German film. GRACKED.COM

No Hedge Maze at the Start

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG There is no maze at the start. The opening scene ends with an overhead shot of the Overlook Hotel in a mountainous area and, while there are trees, the hedge maze isn't there. Yet. GRACKED.COM

‘Keep America Beautiful’

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Keep America Beautiful KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL ! When Wendy tells Danny The loser has to keep America clean, it's a reference to the various PSAs about anti-littering in the U.S. Many people use the Crying Indian PSA as reference here, but there's also a PSA from 1961 that says keeping America clean is a family affair, and shows a kid with their parents walking along - a a stark contrast to Wendy and Danny going out without Jack. GRACKED.COM

Jack’s Colored Clothing

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Jack's colored clothes In the first part of the film, Jack wears a lot of green, but following the dream in which he cuts Wendy and Danny into pieces, he dons his red jacket for the rest of the film, signifying how his nature has changed. GRACKED.COM

‘Day of Wrath’

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Day of Wrath The movie's main title music is taken from Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), a Latin sequence and Gregorian chant from the Requiem Mass for the Dead. It has also been used to describe Judgement day. Given the references to Native Americans as well as the Holocaust in the movie, the song makes sense in context. GRACKED.COM

Inspired by David Lynch

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Thanks, David Lynch Kubrick was a big fan of Lynch's Eraserhead, and paid homage to the film by using similar sound, lingering shots, and modeling the bathroom scene of Room 237 to the apartment 27 in Lynch's film. GRACKED.COM

The Playgirl Magazine

easter eggstra meanings and references The Playgirl magazine THE SHiNiNG PLAYGIRL INTERVIEW: THE SELLING OF 31 STARSKY в HUTCHS) سترج DAVID SOUL Book INCEST: Why Parents Sleep الزرقة With Their Children NEW 7-DAY WONDER DIET Rade-Yourself Sex Quiz DO YOU COMMUNICATE IN BED? HOW YOUR TAX DOLLARS GIVE NEW IDENTITIES TO CONVICTED CRIMINALS TV COMMERCING Celebrities Pics Their Favorite HOW TO AVO 4 DEAD-ENDYRAFE HAPPY NEW YEAR! Gupermarket Sex Fantasy While Jack Torrence is waiting in the lobby of the Overlook Hotel, he's reading a copy of a magazine not usually found in the lobby of a hotel. There have been

The Silence

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG The Silence Ingmar Bergman's 1963 film sees a bored boy roaming the halls of an empty hotel, sans ghosts. GRACKED.COM

Redrum

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Danny says redrum 42 times. REGRUM The number 42 is scattered throughout the movie, from Danny's shirt to the Summer of '42 on the TV screen. It's believed that this is a reference to the Holocaust and the Final Solution that was rolled out in 1942. GRACKED.COM

Axe Scene Inspiration

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG The famous axe scene was inspired by The Phantom Carriage. The iconic 1921 silent film sees a drunken man taking an axe to the door with his wife and children on the other side. Even the pace of the door smashing is the same as the scene in Kubrick's movie. It's also believed that the 1919 film Broken Blossoms served as inspiration. GRACKED.COM

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