Who here is a huge movie buff? Oh my goodness, for as long as I remember, I've always been fascinated by movies. And, of course, I watched a ton of them. One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday was to go to the movie theater. I also rented and bought a ton of movies, too.
But even as avid film lovers, we can still miss some details while watching a flick for the first time. Isn't that right? So I thought it would be fun to share a few movie features we might have missed. Check these out.
"In the rooftop scene of Blade Runner 2049 (2017), The Japanese characters on top of K's apartment mean "Moebius Apartment" which is a homage to graphic artist Jean 'Moebius' Giraud (Moebius), whose work greatly inspired Ridley Scott on Blade Runner (1982)."
Such an awesome film, right?
"In Apocalypse Now (1979) director Francis Ford Coppola, along with production designer Dean Tavoularis and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, make a cameo appearance in which Coppola plays a TV newsreel director barking orders at Martin Sheen’s Captain Willard to not look at the camera."
Is that right? Shoot, I didn't realize that.
Somebody recently rewatched Scary Movie, and they never noticed this preview screen here, hee-hee. I can't say that I have either. But now that I see it, it makes me want to see the movie again. How about you?
"In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013), these pugs actually belong to Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh."
Aww, that's so cool, huh? If I were a movie director, I would put my dogs in the movie too, hee-hee.
"The security guards in Spies Like Us (1985) are played by famous film directors Joel Cohen and Sam Raimi."
You know what? We recently watched this movie, and I totally missed that. I guess they didn't stand out to me as much, ha, ha.
"In Free Guy (2021), the calendar in Guy's apartment is missing the number 4. This was added by the production designer, who wanted Guy's apartment to reflect his status as a 'half-developed character.'"
Okay, I admit I haven't seen this movie yet, so I'll be on the lookout for it.
"In The Princess And The Frog (2009), the villains' shadow turns this wallpaper to skulls and crossbones in this scene."
Oh my, how cool is that? I honestly would never have noticed that. At least I don't think so, haha. I have to pay more attention now.
"For this scene in Alien Resurrection (1997), Sigourney Weaver insisted on pulling off this basketball shot, and did, in fact, do it."
Wow, I have to say I'm impressed. Not only is Sigourney Weaver a great actress, but she nailed that shot too? That's bad ass!
"The skull in the logo for the Jackass (2002) movies is missing the same tooth as cast member Danger Ehren."
Ha, ha, I wonder if anybody actually noticed that besides all the die-hard fans, that is.
"In Spider-Man 2 (2004) MJ is in a play called The Importance of Being Earnest, a story about a man with major responsibilities who has an 'alter ego' that allows him to run away from those responsibilities and do what he wants. This is Peter Parker’s conflict throughout the movie."
I love how they worked that in.
"In Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), the poolside bartender is played by an actor credited under the nickname Dr. Toad, but his real name was Robert Todd Williams, and he was Robin Williams’ older brother. A vintner by trade in real-life, this was his only film appearance."
Man, why don't I have any actors in my family so they can get me into a movie?
"In Mean Girls (2004), Tim Meadows, who plays Principal Duvall, broke his wrist a week before filming started and had to wear a cast. This was written into the movie as Principal Duvall suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome."
Speaking of being in movies, did you know that I was an actual 'extra' in Mean Girls? Oh, yeah! They filmed in Toronto, and I was on the set a few times. Ah, good times.
"In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (2018), for a split second in the opening logos, the Columbia lady is knocked off her pedestal by a giant banana. This is a direct reference to the opening of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009), where the same thing happened."
Oh, my gosh, ha, ha!
"In Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), the Revelation 6:12 prophecy written on the junk in front of the farmhouse is the same Bible verse Ray quotes in Ghostbusters (1984)."
Here's another movie I haven't seen yet, but I'm a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters franchise, so it will be so fun to check it out.
"In Superman (1978), the person talking to Lois while completely ignoring Clark is a cameo by infamous film critic Rex Reed who plays himself in the film."
Oh, wow! It's so cool he got a role in the movie like that, huh?
"In Jim Hanson’s The Labyrinth (1986), baby Toby is played by Toby Froud, the son of Brian and Wendy Froud. Brian was the Conceptual designer for both Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal (1982) and Wendy is a puppeteer, sculptor, and artist who also worked on both movies."
That's such an interesting movie fact, huh?
"In Elf (2003) the Gimbel’s manager has a 'Wanda' name tag. The filmmakers hired Wanda Sykes for the role but she dropped out at the last minute. When Faizon Love came on for his scenes he chose to wear Wanda’s name tag."
OMG, I love Wanda Sykes!
"If you exclude all of the present-day scenes in Titanic (1998), leaving only those taking place in 1912, the film would run for 2 hours and 40 minutes – the exact time it took for the Titanic to sink. Needless to say, James Cameron is a perfectionist."
Oh, yes, he is!
Honestly, I could spend all day reading about this type of stuff. It's that fascinating to me. Are you very perceptive when watching films, or do you often miss details like these? The truth is that I get so sucked into the story that I tend not to notice small stuff like this.
