1. Actor Jon Heder was only paid $1,000 to be in Napoleon Dynamite originally.
Napoleon Dynamite was the surprise hit film of 2004. Jon Heder played the title role and was only paid $1,000 originally. However, when the film turned out to be the huge hit that it was, he renegotiated his compensation so that he would get a cut of the film's profits. This was a brilliant move on his end considering the film would later gross over $46 million worldwide, not to mention a cult following to this day. Heder never has to work again if he does not want to.
2. In the newer Star Trek films, the futuristic sound of the doors opening on board is actually the sound of a toilet flushing on a Russian train.
The sound of a door opening on a futuristic aircraft does not exist unless we create it. So, in order to make the sound that the doors make in Star Trek, the production recorded the sound of a flushing toilet on a Russian train. Believe it or not, that is the sound it makes due to the high speed. We will never be able to listen to that sound again without visualizing a toilet flushing.
3. If you added the duration of the scenes in Titanic that were set in 1912, you would get two hours and 40 minutes, exactly the timing of how long it took the real Titanic to sink.
Titanic was one of the biggest hits in cinematic history, not to mention one of the highest-grossing films of all times. There are a lot of little details that the film held that we did not know until director David Cameron revealed them. One of the revelations was that if you calculate the minutes the film takes place in 1912, you will find that it is a total of two hours and 40 minutes, which is exactly how long it took for the Titanic to sink that fateful night.
4. The drawing that Jack does of Rose aboard the Titanic was actually done by James Cameron, the film's director.
Another Titanic fact for you. Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Jack, was obviously not the one to draw Rose despite it being shown as if it were. However, while that is not so much a surprise, what is one is that the person who did draw her was none other than the films iconic director, James Cameron. Kate Winslet was still laying there nude through it all, so for her it was just as awkward as it would have been for Leo.
5. The costume department on Star Wars: The Force Awakens used vodka and tea tree oil to clean the Wookie suits.
Acting on set inside a giant furry costume means that there is no doubt that sweat is involved. There were several Wookie costumes for the actor to be in but each one needed cleaning often considering how hot it was inside. In order to clean the costumes, the costumes department used vodka and tea tree oil as well as cut the suits open and re-sewed them back together once they were dry to make sure they were properly cleaned for the next time it would be used.
6. The girl from The Ring, Samara, and Lilo & Stitch's Lilo are voiced by the same girl, Daveigh Chase.
In a disturbing turn of events, the girl who played Samara in the horror film The Ring and prevented us all from watching television for a while there, also voiced the role of the sweet Lilo in Lilo & Stitch! It is hard to imagine how one girl could manage to do both roles but that is what good acting looks like folks, or at the very least a versatile actress to say the least.
7. Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Barbie from Toy Story 3 are both voiced by Jodi Benson.
Jodi Benson has been in the industry for many years given that she has voiced both of these characters. Ariel of The Little Mermaid happened in 1986, Barbie of the Toy Story films happened in 1999 and 2010, respectfully. Her singing and voice acting chops are unparalleled and have kept Jodi in high demand in an industry that is known for kicking people off faster than they could ever imagine. In 2011, Jodi won a Disney Legend Award for her work.
8. Marlon Brando put weights under him during the scene in The Godfather where he is taken upstairs to make it heavier for the other actors.
Marlon Brando can do no wrong, but he can sure pull a prank to make people's life harder. During the filming of the legendary film The Godfather, there was a scene where Vito Corleone is taken up his stairs at home by two men. It was during this very scene that Brando decided to have some fun and put weights under him to make it that much harder for his fellow actors to carry him up the stairs.
9. During the many scenes in The Wolf of Wall Street when the actors were snorting substances, they were actually snorting crushed vitamin powder.
There were many scenes in the film The Wolf of Wall Street that are too inappropriate to speak of. However, the fact that many of them include what is meant to portray as illegal substances is just fact. However, what many people do not know is that the actors were actually sniffing vitamin powder rather than pretending to snort, and that actor Jonah Hill actually got so sick from it that production needed to send him to the emergency room!
10. Michael Jackson attempted to buy Marvel so that he could star in the Spider-Man movies.
When you are Michael Jackson, it seems you think you can do it all. However, when Michael Jackson wanted to buy none other than Marvel Studios so that he could be able to play the starring role in the Spider-Man films. We had no idea Michael was such a huge fan of the comic, but this means a lot! However, while he did want to buy Marvel, he was unsuccessful as it was surely not for sale as there is no price that could meet the revenue that they were getting from their films.
11. As part of his contract during the James Bond films, Pierce Brosnan was not allowed to be on screen wearing a tux. So in The Thomas Crown Affair, he wore a white tie.
There were many little things that actor Pierce Brosnan has to make sure to listen to when it came to his contact as James Bond. One of those little details was that he was not allowed to be on screen wearing a tuxedo other than when he was James Bond. That being the case, when he played in The Thomas Crown Affair, he had to opt for a white bow tie rather than a black one or a regular tie - anything resembling a tuxedo.
12. The mask that Michael Myers wears in Halloween is actually a spray-painted Captain Kirk mask.
The face of Michael Myers is one that haunts people everywhere. He walks around without expression in the film because he is wearing a mask that no one has been able to take off of him. What we had no idea and that we only now learned is that the mask is actually a Captain Kirk mask that had been airbrushed! We will never be able to look at Captain Kirk the same way again.
13. Ryan Gosling hated Rachel McAdams so much when they met on the set of The Notebook that he tried to get her fired.
This one is kind of ironic considering they went on to date for a few years, but when Ryan Gosling met Rachel McAdams for the first time as they were set to costar in The Notebook, he did not like her one little bit. He did not like her so much that he actually tried to get her replaced in the film entirely. Thankfully, that did not work as the film went on to be a huge hit and the roles were cast perfectly. Not to mention the fact that he sure did warm up to her eventually.
14. Gene Kelly had a 103 degree fever when he sang the title song Singin' in the Rain.
Talk about a professional! Gene Kelly was an icon in Hollywood. It was much of his work ethic and raw talent that kept him working and relevant in the industry. Speaking of his work ethic, when he was set to sing the title song to the film Singin' in the Rain, Kelly actually had a bout of sickness and was sporting a fever of 103 degrees! However, he did not let that stop him one bit and he went on to sing it with the fever and all.
15. Buzz Lightyear was originally named Lunar Larry.
Could you imagine Buzz Lightyear as anything other than Buzz Lightyear? We sure cannot but that was almost the case as his original name was Lunar Larry! The concept of the film was vastly different as it was being prepared over time. The earlier concepts of the cartoons showed both Buzz and Woody as very different than what Pixar ended up showing the world (and thank goodness for that!). Buzz was renamed in honor of Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, for obvious reasons.
16. Melissa McCarthy actually styled her character in Bridesmaids after Guy Fieri.
Melissa McCarthy played one of the main roles in Bridesmaids, the 2011 hit film by producer Judd Apatow. Melissa played the more masculine character of Megan price. In an effort to make it as believable as possible, Melissa took inspiration from none other than American restauranteur Guy Fieri. His look is one that is very specific to him and Melissa wanted to talk like him, look like him, and carry herself in the same way since she considered him funny as well as successful.
17. When the original Clue film was released, theaters were randomly given one of three possible endings.
The film Clue, based on the popular board game, came out in 1985 with a star studded cast and audiences who were all too excited about it. What many people are not aware of is that there are three different endings to the film and that theaters were each given one of the three possible endings but did not know which one, meaning audiences could go to difference theaters and see the film end three different ways.
18. When they were cast for Fast and Furious, neither Jordana Brewster nor Michelle Rodriguez had their driver's licenses.
The Fast and Furious films are one of the most popular film franchises around. There are nine films as of yet and there are sure to be more. Considering these films are all about driving and the automotive world, many are surprised to learn that both Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez did not have their drivers licenses when they got the their roles in the first film. They have gotten them since, considering they each had some serious driving scenes in the film.
19. The cake in Sixteen Candles is actually cardboard.
The cake may have looked too delicious to eat but it was in fact too fake to eat. The famous scene from Sixteen Candles had girls everywhere believe in love again at a hard time in their lives. The candles on the cake were real but the cake itself was cardboard so that it would sustain itself through the many takes it would take to film this scene to perfection. A real cake would have melted, or possibly have been too tempting for the cast.
20. The communicator device in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is actually the base of a Gillette women's razor.
This one is probably the funniest thing we learned about Star Wars, or any movie for that matter. During the filming of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the communicator device that they were using was in fact a Gillette women's razor without the razor head attached! We cannot unsee this now and are going to rewatch it all and laugh as Liam Neeson holds it up to his mouth to speak.
21. Dooley Wilson, who played Sam the pianist in Casablanca, did not know how to play the piano in real life as he was a drummer.
Casablanca is a classic American film from 1942. The romantic drama is a hit to this day. The film was set during the Second World War and focuses on love, war, and hard choices. One of the characters was played by Dooley Wilson. He played the role of a pianist of all things despite the fact that he did not now how to play the piano at all! He was actually a drummer and so faked his playing on screen yet knew how to move to the rhythm to make it all believable.