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40 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia We Read Under Our Covers While Our Parents Thought We Were Asleep

November 14, 2024

Why do so many American actors show up to auditions for British-coded series without a British accent?

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40

Leela

Stupid plots that became reality On Futurama Zapp Brannigan mistakenly names Leela as Miss Universe 3001. In reality Steve Harvey mistakenly named Miss Colombia as Miss Universe 2015. MADE UNITESSE THE CRACKED.COM — 20th Television, Miss Universe/FOX
Screen Rant

39

Leonardo DiCaprio

ROMEO + JULIET Leonardo Dicaprio had to persuade the studio to give him the role. DiCaprio wasn't that big of a name yet C (Titanic came out a year after Romeo + Juliet), and the studio wasn't convinced about him. So the young actor flew to Australia on his own — SF Gate

38

His Dark Materials

Cartoon Bears IOREK BYRNISON WAS DESIGNED TWICE BY THE SAME VFX STUDIO. The armored talking bear from 2019's His Dark Materials was animated to life by Framestore, the same studio that designed and animated him for 2007's The Golden Compass. CRACKED.COM — Source: Winter is Coming

37

It’s A Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life isn't just a classic - it's actually also a studio-killing flop. The movie bombed when it was released and bankrupted its studio. It only started to be considered a classic decades later. CRACKED.COM — Source

36

Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson fought with the studio over the budget of The Lord of the Rings. One time, he refused to even take a call from the studio when they threatened to sue him, saying he won't interrupt his day with a phone call like that. CRACKED.COM — Source

35

Run Lola Run

TIME LOOP MOVIES RUN LOLA RUN THERE WAS NO STUDIO MEDDLING. Director Tom Tykwer could do the movie he wanted without answering to any studio suit-because he was the studio suit. Не was a founder of the film's production company, X-Filme Creative Pool. CRACKED.COM

34

Ruby Rose

Apparently, Ruby Rose got kicked off of the Batwoman TV show. She also made a bunch of serious allegations against the studio, while the studio said there were complaints about workplace behavior against her. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Bender

BENDER STAYS ALIVE AND IN HIS PRIME. 123 STUDIO Rebirth Bender dances in a place called Studio 122133 the prime factorization of Studio 54. 122'33=1X2X27=54 — Sources: The Infosphere, Math is Fun

32

Star Trek

OTAR TREK was saved by writing letters to the studio. Now Paramount's leading franchise, Star Trek was saved in its second season by thousands of fans

31

Trident Studios

The studio recordings HEy for JUDE and BOHEMIAN RttApsoDy Were done on the same piano. It was the 100-year-old Bechstein Grand Piano at Trident Studio

30

Ke Huy Quan

GRACKED KE HUY QUAN JUST TAGGED ALONG. A teacher convinced her student to audition in an open casting call, and the boy's brother tagged along. They asked the brother, Ke Huy Quan, to audition, and loved him. Не met Spielberg the next day, and began shooting Temple of Doom 3 weeks later. — YouTube / Geek Tyrant

29

Tim Roth

Tim Roth thought he'd be crap during his Reservoir Dogs audition, So Quentin Tarantino got him drunk. Roth read the script for Tarantino's debut fil

28

George Clooney

George Clooney lied to the exact wrong person. CRACKED.COM At an audition, he claimed to have been in Cat People. The casting director at that audition? Also the casting director of Cat People. — Source: 20 Actors Who (May Have) Lied To Get The Part

27

Emily Hampshire

Emily Hampshire blacked out while auditioning for Stevie. CRACKED.COM She was pretty much at rock bottom when she booked the audition: out of work, getting divorced, and breaking out in hives at every audition. Dan and Eugene loved her audition, but Hampshire says she doesn't remember a single moment of it. — Source: 14 ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Behind-The-Scenes Facts That Are A Little Bit Cray-Cray

26

Chris Colfer

Same series, almost a different role GLEE CHRIS COLFER as Artie Abrams Colfer's audition changed the show entirely. After losing his audition for Artie, the character of Kurt Hummel was created just for him. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Hollywood Reporter

25

Sean Penn

Sean Penn's audition for Fast Times at Ridgemont High totally bombed. He was sure he'd get the job, so he did the audition pretty arrogantly, and bombed. He only got the job because a director ran after him to tell him to try again. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Hollywood Reporter

24

Elizabeth Olsen

Elizabeth Olsen's audition for Game of Thrones was her most awkward. N They asked her to audition as Dany with and without a British accent, delivering the speech right after she emerges from the fire in season 1. It was terrible, she says. CRACKED.COM — Source: Vulture

23

Jake Gyllenhaal

No one told Jake Gyllenhaal he was supposed to prepare an accent for his Lord of the Rings audition. Gyllenhaal apparently had no idea what he was supposed to do for the audition. literally turned to me and said, 'You are the worst actor I've ever seen. Did — Business Insider

22

Beyonce

Beyonce lost out on playing Tiana in The Princess and the Frog because she didn't audition. She wanted the role, but refused to audition -- so the studio just passed on her. NOW YOU KNOW — Source: Page Six

21

William Hung

CON In 2004. despite William Hung's failure to impress the judges in an American Idol audition. his jovial attitude made him (and his audition footage

20

In Living Color

IN LIVING COLOR CRACKED In Living Color was an Emmy-winning sketch-comedy show on FOX for 5 seasons. It launched stars like Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez. — TV Guide / YT

19

The Felonious Fart Song

COMEDIANS WERE ARRESTED FOR A FART SONG IN 1981. CRACKED Dallas police arrested comedy team Bowley & Wilson on stage after a woman complained that her 16 year old daughter was exposed to vulgarity. Comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff said, They were facing a year in prison for doing 'The Fart Song. — Source

18

Demetri Martin

CRACKED Demetri Martin left NYU Law School for The Comedy Cellar. After turning down Harvard twice, and leaving Yale for a full scholarship to NYU Law, Martin saw the Comedy Cellar right across the street, dropped out and never looked back. — Source

17

Humo

Belgian comedy magazine Humo ran a 9/11 ad in 2004. - A - - - - - - - - Back when the site of the World Trade Center was still an empty lot called Ground Zero, Humo tried to milk comedy from the tragedy. Their ad showed pilots about to crash into the WTC because they were too busy reading Humo. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Hot Rod

Hot Rod's only sin was getting released in 2007. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM Eyes HOT ROD Not only does it star today's comedy mainstays, like Bill Hader, Danny McBride and The Lonely Island, but its style of random and CRACKED.COM wonderfully bizarre comedy is something that's currently incredibly popular, and is present in most comedy movies and shows. — Source: 20 Underrated Things & Three Reasons To Check Them All Out

15

Mike Myers & Dana Carvey

CRACKED MIKE MYERS & DANA CARVEY LLY LM Carvey accused Myers of stealing Dr. Evil's voice and pinky-to-the-mouth gesture from him. Carvey later said, We were like siblings a little bit, and we were never meant to be a comedy team. — People / Rolling Stone / Billboard

14

Ricky Gervais

Comedy Late Bloomers Ricky Gervais was 40 when The Office premiered. Originally a singer in the new wave pop group Seona Dancing, Gervais began writing comedy with Stephen Merchant in his 30s before The Office premiered in 2001. CRACKED — BBC
Harvard Business Review

13

Jerry Seinfeld

Sandwiches Named After Celebrities THE JERRY SEINFELD COMEDY SPECIAL New York's Peanut Butter & Co. offers this simple dish created by Seinfeld himself. Seinfeld credits this open-faced H&H bagel with peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon for helping him survive his early years as a struggling comedian. CRACKED.COM — Source: New York Magazine

12

Steve Martin

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988) TWO CON MEN MAKE A WAGER TO SEE WHO CAN SWINDLE A WOMAN OUT OF HER RICHES FIRST. WHY IT WORKS: Steve Martin vamps and Michael Caine charms us as two of the most despicable men in comedy film history.

11

Scott Aukerman

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM Scott Aukerman fought Secret Wars. SECRET WARS J RNAL The host of Comedy Bang! Bang! brings a comic book sensibility to his funny stuff, trying to harness the kind of imagination and emotions that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee had when they were creating the Marvel Universe when I'm writing comedy too. — Fast Company

10

Jamie Foxx

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM JAMIE FOXX Jamie Foxx is the kind of person who you'd hate to be related to because he's just too good at everything. Singing, dancing, standup, dramatic roles, and sketch comedy. We GET it, Jamie.

9

Rodney Dangerfield

Comedy Late Bloomers Rodney Dangerfield got noticed at 45 years old. Не actually began comedy at 19, but quit to support his family. After 15 years of selling aluminum siding, he gave comedy another try and booked The Ed Sullivan Show at 45. CRACKED — Public Domain/Wiki Commons
Ed Sullivan Show

8

David Zucker

David Zucker, comedy legend Best: Airplane! More laughs per minute than AlRMi any other movie, this spoof is everything that every comedy should striv

7

Dot Comedy

Disastrous Comedy 2000 Dot Comedy As the internet was still this new and exciting thing, ABC tried to capitalize by having a terribly unfunny host show off silly computer products, like a mouse that doubles as a deodorant stick. It aired one episode and was canceled two days later. CRACKED — Source

6

Joker

Todd Phillips made Joker because comedy didn't work anymore, he says. The possibility of overwhelming social media criticism turned him off of doing comedy, but he wanted to do something else irreverent. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

The State

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS NYU film and drama nerds became THE STATE 1339 CRACKED.COM The members of the MTV comedy troupe all met when they were freshmen and sophomores at NYU. After the group broke up, members went on to star in comedy hits like Reno 911, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Wet Hot American Summer. — David Wain

4

Jim Norton

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM JIM NORTON THINKS THAT DOING COMEDY WON'T HELP IF, SAY, YOU'RE DEPRESSED. al Channels Coast to Cozst % Commercial-Free Mus MUS In fact, he says, you should realize that doing comedy is only going to make your depression worse. You'll walk up onstage, the crowd won't like you, you'll go home, you'll be suicidal, you'll get addicted to it, and you'll make it a lifestyle. — Source

3

Brad Paisley

BRAD PAISLEY You're doing stand-up now? asked David Hasselhoff the on set of Brad Paisley's Comedy Rodeo. Not exactly, but he's hosting comedy shows and belting out groaners like Ode de Toilet (The Toilet Seat Song). — Entertainment Weekly

2

Yuk Yuk’s

Comedy hotbeds YUK YUK YUK'S The stand-up comedy club was founded by Mark Breslin in 1976. Since then, most Canadian comedy greats got their start at Yuk's. Norm MacDonald, Jim Carrey, Seth Rogen, Howie Mandel, Russell Peters, Tom Green, and many more. CRACKED — Yuk Yuk’s Blog
The Globe and Mail

1

Premium Blend

PREMIUM BLEND Stand-up comedy was cheap and early Comedy Central needed cheap programming. Premium Blend featured short sets by soon-to-be-famous comics, launching acts like Mitch Hedberg, B.J. Novak, and Demetri Martin into their own Comedy Central Presents specials. CRACKED.COM — IMDB

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