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30 Little-Known Facts About Hit Movies and Shows

These facts are all the entertainment on a fraction of the budget

30 Little-Known Facts About Hit Movies and Shows

June 19, 2024

Hey there, Hollywood. Do us a favor and check out this list of facts that we produced on a shoestring budget. Now imagine what kind of list we could make with a real budget. We know this isn’t an episode of Shark Tank, but since this is the first time we’ve had a general meeting with Hollywood itself, we thought we’d shoot our shot. So what seems fair? Ten million? Twenty million?

You know what? We can talk after you read these gems.

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30

John Candy

JOHN CANDY feared a heart attack like his dad's. WAGONS EAST CRACKED.COM According to Candy's kids, Wagons was his least enjoyable experience making a movie. Fellow actors said he looked so tired. Не died in his sleep of a heart attack after a day of filming. — Source

29

ELIZABETH TAYLOR ended her career as a cartoon mom. THE FLINTSTONES CRACKED.COM Appearing as a caricature of her once glamorous self, Taylor battled Fred Flintstone as his battle-axe mother-in-law. Likely not the last performance she wanted inscribed on her, er, tombstone. — Source

28

PAUL WALKER was partly digital in his final film FURIOUS 7 CRACKED.COM It took state-of-the-art 2013 CGI (and Walker's brothers as stand-ins) to complete Walker's final performance. Amazingly, missing dialogue was pieced together from the actor's previously recorded lines. — Source

27

HENRY FONDA scored his first Oscar ON GOLDEN POND CRACKED.COM Fonda's kid Jane purchased the play On Golden Pond specifically to work out some real-life father/daughter issues. Onscreen wife Katherine Hepburn gave Spencer Tracy's lucky hat to Fonda, who wore it for the film. — Source

26

Worst TV Finales Two and a Half Men Charlie Sheen was absent for the last seasons after a public meltdown. Then, in the last episode, a Sheen stand-in returns home and is crushed by a piano, only for the real Chuck Lorre to say Sheen's Winning! catchphrase (and be crushed by a piano as well). Chuck Lorre CRACKED.COM — Source

25

BUSY PHILIPPS AND JAMES FRANCO DIDN'T GET ALONG CRACKED.COM Philipps says that Franco was a bully and physically assaulted her on-set. — Source

24

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS JOHN С. REILLY SANG ALL OF HIS SONGS. WALK HARD Reilly put a huge amount of effort into becoming Dewey Cox. Не would be on set all day and then record songs during the night. I was really determined not to be treated like an actor playing a musician. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Office Space

David Herman got fired from MADtv to appear in the movie. CRACKED.COM Не wasn't technically allowed to take the role while he was still a cast member, but he felt it was the right move for his career. So he loudly yelled all his lines at MADtv table reads until they fired him. — Source

22

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

There was a lot of IMPROV on set. Director Nick Stoller said he'd guess there was about 30 to 40 percent improvisation in the movie and that the filming was a collaborative experience. ALL IN ALL THEY SHOT 1.2 MILLION FEET OF FILM-SO MUCH THAT KODAK GAVE THEM BOTTLES OF DOM PERIGNON. BEHIND THE SCENES | FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Swingline didn't sell red staplers at the time. CRACKED.COM Mike Judge had to make his own prop stapler. Не even approached them about a product placement deal, but they didn't see any value in it. Three years after the film was released, they caved and began selling a Red Rio model. — Source

20

BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS THE MOVIE WAS ADAM SCOTT'S FIRST VENTURE INTO COMEDY. STEP BROTHERS Despite mainly being known as a comedic actor, Scott didn't start his career that way. Step Brothers was his first time starring in a comedy and he says the experience helped him prepare for future projects like Party Down and Parks and Recreation. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS Once filming, they still had to WRITE THE SONGS SHICE SAAGE CRACKED.COM That was scary, because you're working on a time limit, says Black. And you know, I'm a songwriter. We put out an album with Tenacious D, but we had 10 years to f***in' put that thing together and only a few months to write all the songs in the movie! — Source

18

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS OLIVIA WILDE HELPED MAKE THE SHOW A REALITY. R #SE НЕ R TED LASSO After Ted Lasso's short-lived commercial debut, Sudeikis didn't really have future plans for the character. Не says it was Wilde who told him that he should turn the concept into a TV show. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

BEHINO-THE-SOENESPACTS Learning to drive a race car is TERRIFYING في to wonder TALLADEGA NIGHTS CRACKED.COM THE BALLAD OF BICKY BOBBY After a single scary lap at racing speeds, Ferrell and McKay were ready to call it a day. Reilly insisted they keep going: Guys, we can't be wusses here. We can't make a NASCAR movie and not actually experience being in a race car. — Source

16

30 Rock

Jon Hamm auditioned for the role of Jack Donaghy 3B Не had to settle for playing Liz Lemon's pretty boyfriend. BEHIND-THE-SCENES CRACKED.COM — Source

15

CRACKED.COM sigourney weaver actually made that shot in Alien Resurrection. It took a few takes, but there were no tricks. — Source

14

CRACKED.COM Blanche from The Golden Girls wasn't going to have that accent. Rue McClanahan decided she needed it, though. — Source

13

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

CRACKED.COM Buffy's xander almost played Firefly's Malcolm Reynolds. Nicholas Brendon was Joss Whedon's first choice for the role of Captain Reynolds. — Source

12

CRACKED.COM PAN'S LABYRINTH FLAMES AND SPARKS WERE DIGITAL TO PREVENT FIRES. Because of a drought in the film's shooting location of Segovia, Spain, the timber was dry enough to risk a blazing fire. For this reason, most sparks and fire were added in post and green moss was used to cover the brown, dead vegetation. — Source

11

CRACKED.COM LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS SIX PUPPETS OF AUDREY II WERE MADE. Six different animatronic puppets were used to show the growth of the mean green mother from outer space. The smallest Audrey II was four inches tall, and the largest was 12 feet tall. — Source

10

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST THE ACTORS LIVED IN THE PSYCHIATRIC WARD DURING SHOOTING. All of the actors who played patients actually stayed in the sleep quarters at the Oregon State Hospital, to get a sense of what it was like to be hospitalized. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

300 GERARD BUTLER'S STUNT DOUBLE PLAYED HIS FATHER. During flashbacks to King Leonidas' childhood, Butler's stuntman Tim Conolly played Leonidas's father, which helped the family resemblance. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

The Blues Brothers had a cocaine budget. It was used for rewards and for night stimulation, said Dan Aykroyd in an interview. According to him, cocaine was a common Hollywood currency at the time. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Leonardo DiCaprio

CRACKED.COM Leonardo Dicaprio really cut his hand in Django Unchained. The glass in DiCaprio's hand was never intended to break, but he just used it to enhance his performance. After the take, the crew applauded his performance... then got him medical attention. — Source

6

Titanic

CRACKED.COM James cameron made the charcoal drawing of kate winslet in Titanic. In addition to a talented director, Cameron is a talented artist as well. The nude portrait of Rose, and all the other artwork drawn by Jack, was actually Cameron's work. — Source

5

Gene Hackman was going to direct silence of the Lambs. The actor snapped up the film rights to the book, with the intention of making his directorial debut. After several questionable decisions, Hackman decided that he just didn't want the rights anymore. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

BEHINO-THE-SCENES SUPERBAD FACTS Seth Rogen's real pop played the MAD DAD CRACKED.COM In his first- and last-ever screen role, Seth Rogen's father played the baseball-bat-wielding dad who chases Seth and Evan through the suburban backyard. Nice throw, Mark Rogen. — Source

3

Princess Bride

André's stuntman was a foot shorter than him CRACKED.COM Because of back problems, 7' 5 André needed to use a 6' 5 stuntman for scenes with Elwes on his back. — Source

2

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS Who is to blame for painful screams of KELLY CLARKSON! Ameri 2 NIGHT FIN TOMOR CRACKED.COM Clarkson confronted Judd Apatow on her TV show and he promptly passed the buck. I'm going to blame Seth Rogen. We had a piece of paper with all the curses for Steve to scream when he gets waxed. And on the side with the clean curses, it says 'Kelly Clarkson' in Seth's handwriting. — Source

1

The set for Werewolf Bar Mitzvah took 3 days to build. Tracy Jordan Werewolf Bar Mitzvah An Evening with Tracy Jordan Geffen Records It was only on screen for 6 seconds. BEHIND-THE-SCENES CRACKED.COM — Source

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