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‘Face/Off’: the script so nice they sold it twice

40 Flavorful Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia That Are Like the Giblets of the Internet

November 20, 2024

You know when someone sends you a funny video, and they sit there and watch you watch it? Quentin Tarantino did that, but with the whole Once Upon a Time in Hollywood script, to three of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

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40

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood sat on a script for years until he was old enough to play the lead role. of li cente THE 48TH CRACKED.COM Eastwood bought David Webb Peoples' script for 'The Unforgiven' in 1976 and waited for 15 years un- til he was old enough to play the lead role of Wil- liam Munny at age 61. — Source

39

David Fincher

David Fincher was convinced to make Se7en after the studio sent him the wrong script. The studio didn't want the head-in-the-box ending but accidentally sent Fincher a script with the scene left in. The producer still objected to it, but Brad Pitt refused to act in the film unless the scene was kept. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

38

Gremlins

Gremlins The origins of Gremlins- Part III Screenwriter Chris Columbus initially wrote Gremlins as a spec script, and was inspired by the mice running around his apartment in Manhattan where he was an NYU grad student. The spec script found its way to Steven Spielberg's desk, and the rest is history. CRACKED.COM — Source: IndieWire

37

Booksmart

SLS BOOKSMART THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE SCRIPT WAS WRITTEN IN 2009. The script was on the Black List in 2009, and just gathered dust until the movie was finally made and released in 2019. CRACKED.COM — Source

36

Batman Returns

CRACKED.COM Batman Returns In an early. draft of the script, the Penguin and Max Shreck were brothers. — Clip on YouTube

35

Face/Off

FACE/OFF THE SCRIPT WAS SOLD TWICE. Mike Werb and Michael Colleary sold the script to Warner Bros. in 1991, but the project was shelved because the studio thought it looked like Demolition Man. By 1994, the rights had expired, and a Paramount exec who remembered it bought it yet again from the two Mikes. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Mental Floss, Wikipedia
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

34

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Tarantino kept the script in a safe. by ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD CRACKED.COM After being burned by a big leak of The Hateful Eight script, he decided to keep this one locked away. Only Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie got to read the full script, and Tarantino watched them read it the whole time. — Source

33

J. Peterman

Seinfeld's lawyers allowed the real J. Peterman to review the script for every episode that featured him. The show lawyers ар- proached the real John Ре- terman after the first epi- sode and allowed him to review each script before it aired. That same year, the J. Peterman Company posted a $400,000 loss. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Retail Dive

32

Don Rickles

DON RICKLES didn't want to be a mean guy CRACKED CON The script called for Homer to disrupt Rickles' comedy act, leading to a fight that ends up in court. Rickles, notorious for carving up his audience, hated the script because he wanted to be known as a sweetheart. — WhatCulture

31

Independence Day

13 Fascinating Nuggets Of Movie And General Trivia - Today we celebrate our Independence Day wasn't in Independence Day's script. — Source: Film School Rejects

30

Jar-Jar Binks

JarJar Binks Is the galaxy's most annoying sidekick. He almost had his own annoying sidekick. Yup, Jar-Jar originally had a chunky, slobbering best bu

29

Newman

Sitcom Neighbors Carter F Seinfeld Hello, Newman. Originally a sidekick for Kramer's hairbrained schemes, Newman became a villainous foil for Jerry - so much so that you probably read Newman in Jerry's contemptuous voice. CRACKED — NBC
Bustle

28

Donkey

Obnoxious Sidekicks Shrek Movies Donkey Donkey could be a little much, but he was fun in Shrek. Then came Shrek 2. Then Shrek the Third. Followed by Shrek Forever After. With each entry, this sidekick kept evolving from annoying but fun to just plain annoying. CRACKED.COM

27

Deadpool

Similar to the Deadpool 2 movies, Deadpool in the comics has a sidekick. CRACKED.COM Bob, an agent of Hydra, joined Hydra for a steady job and dental plan. Не has no superpowers or combat training and Deadpool brings him on dangerous missions for his own amusement. — Cinemablend

26

Beast Boy

BEAST BOY CRACKED.COM Marvel And DC should compare notes. DC's young, green Beast Boy is sadly not the sidekick of X-Men's big, blue Beast. Experimental animal DNA allowed Beast Boy to morph into almost any animal, and I wonder if he every chooses platypus. — Source: DCcomics

25

Spider-Man

A PROFESSOR SPIDER- OCTOPUS WAS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED. DAGOSTING PRK Before Sam Raimi took over, Spider-Man went through a lot of hands, including James Cameron's. In an early script, Professor Octopus is bitten by the same radioactive spider as Peter Parker and also calls himself Spider-Man. And he has a sidekick. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Famous Movies That Were Nearly Awful

24

Aladdin

Capuchin monkeys wash with pee ALADDIN CRACKED.COM Abu is Aladdin's adorable sidekick, always sitting on his shoulder. Which is less cute when you learn his breed of monkey pees on their hands to wash their feet. — Source: NBC News

23

Danny DeVito

DANNY DEVITO SEINFELD Jason Alexander revealed that several actors (Chris Rock!) were considered for George, including an offer to Danny Devito. For whatever reason, Che] didn't take it, says the grateful Alexander. He probably didn't want to take a sidekick role. — E Online

22

Sidekick Jail

Asian characters in movies are primarily stuck in Sidekick Jail, cast only to help out the white hero. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Buffy

Buffy CRACKEDCON be mire Siauer Alyson Hannigan was the perfect casting choice for Buffy's shy, nerdy sidekick, Willow Rosenberg.... ...but the origin

20

Tinkerbell

MYTH: Marilyn Monroe inspired Tinkerbell The popular story that Tinkerbell in Disney's Peter Pan was based on Marilyn Monroe isn't true; the character was actually inspired by actress Margaret Kerry. CRACKED — Source

19

House of the Dragon

Pop culture inspirations House of the Dragon A GAY BERLIN NIGHTCLUB inspired the memorable brothel scene, which received positive feedback from viewers for its approach to sex and power. Director Claire Kilner was inspired by her own experience visiting the nightclub in her twenties. CRACKED — HBO
Queerty

18

Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson was inspired to act by a Malaria-induced hallucination. CRACKED.COM She contracted Malaria while living in South Africa, and in her ensuing fever dreams, saw herself as a really good actress who also won an Oscar. That inspired her to leave the family business -- dog-showers, one step above carnies .. behind, and pursue acting. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

17

This Is Spinal Tap

This Is Biinlidl Tin A bit from the movie inspired the Harry Potter films. The mysterious deaths of the band's drummers inspired J.K. Rowling to quietly replace the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in every book.

16

Man of Steel

DC's Man of Steel ended up directly inspired Marvel's The Eternals. The Eternal Ikaris is basically a riff on Superman, and director Chloe Zhao said that Of all modern interpretations of Superman, this is Zack Snyder's with 'Man Of Steel' which inspired me the most because he approached this myth in an authentic and very real way. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Pirates of the Caribbean

MONKEY ISLAND Monkey Island was inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, and vice versa. In 2000, ILM began conceptualizing a movie based on The Curse of Monkey Island, which was inspired by the Disneyland ride. The movie never got made, but writer Ted Elliott went on to write Curse of the Black Pearl. CRACKED.COM — 21 Games We Grew Up On (With Weird Backstories)

14

Inception

Christopher Nolan has said that Inception was very much inspired by the James Bond movies. — Source

13

South Park

BEHIND-THE-SCENESp FACTS THE ART STYLE WAS INSPIRED BY TERRY GILLIAM. SOUTH PARK The art style of the earlier seasons was inspired by Gilliam's Monty Python animation. Both Trey Parker and Matt Stone were huge Python fans since childhood. — YouTube

12

J.J. Abrams

J.J. ABRAMS' TEACHER INSPIRED MAZ KANATA. The character of Maz Kanata, who provided inspiration for Rey, was herself inspired by J.J. Abrams' English

11

Rick and Morty

Surprising Sources Of Inspiration For Your Fav Characters - Birdperson in Rick and Morty is inspired by Buck Rogers's sidekick. — Source: Film School Rejects, Fandom.com

10

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg did Jaws because the original director flunked basic sea biology. Director Dick Richards was fired because he kept calling the shark a whale during planning meetings. Let this be a lesson, kids: Don't sleep through class, and you may one day change movies forever. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts That Quenched Our Thirst for Knowledge

9

Lewis Black

CRACKED Lewis Black was a Yale educated playwright. With a master's in Drama from Yale, he became a playwright and artistic director of West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theater Bar in NYC. Не began stand-up by warming up crowds before plays. — College Consensus / Ticketmaster

8

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

NOSTALGIA SEQUELS Ghostbusters: Afterlife THE DIRECTOR WAS A PART OF THE GHOSTBUSTERS UNIVERSE. The movie was helmed by Jason Reitman, son of original director Ivan Reitman. Jason is the kid who tells the 'Busters, my dad says you guys are full of crap in Ghostbusters II. CRACKED.COM — Sources: On the Bright, Ghostbusters/YouTube

7

Wesley Snipes

CRACKED.COM wesley snipes sued the director of Blade: Trinity. Snipes sued both director David Goyer and New Line Cinema for harassment. — Source: Showbiz CheatSheet

6

Nightmare on Elm Street

A producer insisted on the cheesy ending of Nightmare on Elm Street. SO THE DIRECTOR PUT HIM IN FULL BONDAGE GEAR. Writer/director Wes Craven had planned a solid ending for Nightmare, until producer Bob Shaye insisted on the open-ended rubber-mannequin ending it wound up with. In the next film, Shaye demanded a role onscreen. So the director made him the bartender in a leather bar. GRACKED.COM http://www. dailymotion .om/video/x4sy4i2_nightmare-ending-2_fun — Source: 15 Things Created As Revenge

5

Star Wars Holiday Special

THE DIRECTOR LEFT EARLY INTO PRODUCTION.
Director David Acomba quit after shooting the Jefferson Starship number (or was fired; accounts differ). His — Source: Vanity Fair, StarWars.com (archived)

4

Stardust

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS The director was sick of children's movies Director Matthew Vaughn told Char- lie Cox that after watching enough movies with his children, I want to make a kids' film for adults an adult film for kids. — Source: Vanity Fair

3

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Source: YouTube

2

Princess Diaries

The granddaughter of Princess Diaries' director demanded he add a damn castle. The film was originally supposed to end with Mia flying off to Genovia. But the granddaughter demanded audiences be allowed tO see the castle Mia eventually inhabits. So the director bought some stock castle footage and threw a

1

Andy Serkis

Lord of the Rings Stars' Side Projects Andy Serkis Serkis' weirdest side-project has to be his work as a director. Не worked as the second-unit director for the Hobbit movies, directed 2018's Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, and is now preparing an adaptation of Orwell's Animal Farm. However, his strangest gig as a director has to be the 2021's Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which is... not good. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

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