Sacha Baron Cohen once received a letter from a lawyer informing him that he was being sued for $100,000 because of his role in Borat, at the end of the letter the lawyer added “P.S. Loved the movie. Can you sign a poster for my son Jeremy?”
films
George Lucas wanted to be a racecar…
George Lucas wanted to be a racecar driver when he was a teenager. In 1962, he suffered a terrible car accident when another driver broadsided him. He required emergency medical treatment. The incident caused him to lose interest in racing, but inspired him to pursue other interests.
When the Australian film The Story…
When the Australian film The Story of the Kelly Gang (the first-ever full length narrative feature film) was released in 1906, the screenings of the silent film were accompanied by live sound effects, including blank cartridges as gunshots and coconut shells beaten together to simulate hoofbeats.
80’s actress Jennifer Grey…
80’s actress Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing film) credits a nose job with ruining her career. Of the experience she said, “I went in the operating room a celebrity—and came out anonymous.
A significant amount of money was…
A significant amount of money was saved during the making of the movie The Mask because Jim Carey’s body movements were so flexible and cartoonish, they didn’t see the need to enhance them digitally.
The Lakota language, spoken by the Lakota people…
The Lakota language, spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux Native American tribes, is gendered and that for ‘Dances With Wolves,’ Kevin Costner and many Native actors spoke the female-gendered language because the language tutor on set was a woman.
“Wonderwall“ is a movie from 1968 about…
“Wonderwall“ is a movie from 1968 about a lonely professor and his increasing obsession with his female neighbour, a fashion model whose life he spies on via a hole in the wall. George Harrison from the Beatles wrote the film music which in turn inspired the hit song “Wonderwall“ from Oasis.
To raise funds to produce the first…
To raise funds to produce the first Mad Max film, director George Miller went out on emergency medical calls. The budget was still too low, so some of the crew was paid in “slabs” (24-packs) of beer, and some of the props were stolen in the early morning and returned before anyone noticed.
The scenes of Kazakhstan in Borat…
The scenes of Kazakhstan in Borat, were shot in Glod, a tiny village in Romania. All the extras are villagers of Glod who got paid to be in the film and were told it was a documentary. They felt insulted by their portrayal, tried to sue the producers and threaten to kill Borat for insulting them.
William Castle, a b-movie maker…
William Castle, a b-movie maker, allowed audiences refunds if a movie was too scary. Many abused it, angering Castle. The abuse stopped when he made refund seekers go to a “Coward’s Corner” in the theater as a record screamed “Watch the chicken!” and a yellow light followed across the theater. In addition, Castle made them sign a Coward’s Certificate to get the money.
Following the 1973 release of The Exorcist…
Following the 1973 release of The Exorcist, six people who saw it had to be admitted to a Chicago hospital “straight from the theater.” Psychiatrist James Bozzuto examined four of them and concluded they were suffering from “cinematic neurosis” — a term he coined. Basically, this was neurosis caused by watching a movie. Symptoms of this condition included “anxiety, helplessness, sleeplessness and repetitive post-traumatic dreams.”
A chocolate river existed in 1971…
A chocolate river existed in 1971. The famous chocolate river from the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory film was made with 15,000 gallons of water mixed with chocolate and cream. The river spoiled fairly quickly due to the cream and the cast said it stank.