When was the last time you watched a movie, and you thought the moment caught on camera seemed quite realistic? Well, I guess that happens a lot, huh? So if you're a huge movie buff like me, I have a few interesting facts to share with you.
As it turns out, some moments captured on camera were actually authentic scenarios that played out. Let's take a look. Shall we?
"In Kingpin (1996) Bill Murray plays the infamous pro-bowler, Ernie McCracken. In addition to improvising nearly all of his lines, Murray actually bowled three strikes in a row on camera to a live audience in one take. Their thunderous applause was real."
Yay, Bill Murray! I would have loved to see that.
"Jon Heder drew all of the drawings in Napoleon Dynamite (2004)."
Oh my gosh, I admit I had no idea about this. Isn't that so neat? Well, there's a cool movie trivia for you. How do you like that?
"In Barfly (1987), during the scene in the bar when Henry (Mickey Rourke) meets Wanda (Faye Dunaway) for the first time, one of the bar patrons is played by Charles Bukowski, the real-life author of the semi-autobiographical story upon which the movie is based, in an uncredited cameo appearance."
Wow! That's pretty cool, no?
"In The Expendables 2 (2012) Dolph Lundgren's character, Gunnar, is said to have achieved a Master's in Chemical Engineering then quit to be a bouncer in an attempt to form a relationship with 'This girl.' All of which Dolph Lundgren actually did in real life. The girl was Grace Jones."
Talking about art imitating life, huh?
"In order to prepare for his role in Master and Commander (2003), Russell Crowe spent 3 months learning violin, calling it the hardest thing he’d ever done for a film. He later sold the 130-year-old violin used in the movie for £73,528."
Fun Fact: I wanted to learn how to play violin in high school but got stuck playing the French Horn instead, ha, ha. Not the same thing by far.
"In Batman (2022), the first clue that the Riddler sends is a card with a skeleton that says, 'From your secret friend.' This is a reference to an actual cipher that the real Zodiac Killer sent in 1978, which had a skeleton that says, 'From your secret pal.'"
Wow, that's pretty creepy, huh?
"In the opening scene of Interstellar (2014), with the exception of Ellen Burstyn, the people shown reminiscing about dust storms were not actors, but real-life witnesses to the actual Dust Bowl event that occurred in the 1930s. The footage was excerpted from Ken Burns’ documentary The Dust Bowl."
That's quite fascinating, no?
"In Up in the Air (2009), during the scene in which Natalie (Anna Kendrick) presents her 'glocal' concept in the company meeting, the man seated directly next to Ryan (George Clooney) is played by Walter Kirn, the real-life author of the book from which the movie was adapted."
I love when moviemakers invite the book authors to take part in the filming.
"For a most realistic portrayal of the real-life Gangster Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987), actor Robert De Niro tracked down Capone's former tailors to hand tailor the suits he wears in the movie."
I can totally see De Niro doing that. Am I right?
"In 127 Hours (2010), James Franco uses the same camera that Aron Ralston used when he was trapped by the boulder. Not just the same type of camera, but the actual exact camera Ralston had."
I still haven't seen this movie. I can't bring myself to watch it.
"In The Godfather (1972), Actor Al Martino has used connections from real-life organized crime boss Russell Bufalino in order to secure the part of Johnny Fontane. The same thing is shown in the film when Johnny Fontane asks Don Corleone to help him get a movie role."
Wow, I had no idea about this, ha, ha. It helps to know who you know, alright.
"In Encanto (2021), the multicolored water was inspired by a real place in Colombia...the Caño Cristales river. The river is commonly called the 'River of Five Colors' or the 'Liquid Rainbow,' and is noted for its striking colors."
Wow, that's so beautiful.
"In Who Framed Roger Rabbit?(1988), Roger has a photo of him and Jessica eating at the Brown Derby, a real restaurant chain in LA. Also, the wall behind them is filled with caricatures of people who worked on the movie."
What a cool movie fact, huh?
"Baby Driver (2017), Joesph, was written as a deaf African American man in his 80s. CJ Jones was the only performer to audition who is actually deaf. Edgar Wright said 'I started auditioning other very good actors who were pretending to be deaf, it made me feel immediately uncomfortable.'
Aww, that's so amazing for him to do that.
"In RoboCop (1987), the group of doctors that work to save Murphy when he is brought to the hospital were an actual ER trauma team from a Dallas hospital. Although they had scripted dialogue, they were allowed to ad-lib because director Paul Verhoeven thought they sounded more authentic."
Something like that definitely adds more authenticity, no?
"In Wolf of Wall Street (2013) the lady who got her head shaved actually used her real hair. The producers were even surprised by her willingness to do the scene."
OMG, what? That's going over and beyond for a movie role, huh?
"In one of the final scenes of the movie Freaky Friday (2003), Lindsay Lohan's character plays a guitar solo inside of Jamie Lee Curtis, playing her mother. In real life, Curtis actually learned and played the solo as showed in the film."
I love when actors do that.
"In The Wrestler (2008), they didn't shut down the deli counter while they filmed Randy working there. Those are real customers, and everything Mickey Rourke does is improvised."
Honestly, those improvised scenes usually turn out the best. Do you agree with me?
I'm such a sucker for stuff like that. Anything related to movies or actors, my ears always perk up. So do you know any cool real-life moviemaking facts? Well, I could give you a few from my time working as an extra on many movie sets. But I guess, for now, I'll keep it to myself, ha, ha.
