21 Funny Behind-The-Scenes Movie Facts That I Just Adore

TIL not to mess with penguins.

1. According to Cary Elwes' book about the making of The Princess Bride, in the scene where Count Rugen knocks Westley unconscious, Christopher Guest hit him so hard that he actually passed out and had to be taken to the emergency room.

In The Princess Bride (1987), when Count Rugen knocks out Westley, Carey Elwes was really knocked unconscious. Christopher Guest told Elwes he didn't want to hurt him, but Elwes told him to go for it, and he did. That take ended up in the movie. from MovieDetails

2. According to the documentary I Am Heath Ledger, the real reason Heath Ledger licked his lips so much as the Joker in _The Dark Knight _was to keep his makeup from coming off.

In The Dark Knight (2008), Joker is constantly licking his lips. This is actually because of the prosthetic scars that Heath Ledger wore. They kept falling off, so Heath would lick his lips to keep them in place. Gradually, it became a part of the Joker’s character. from MovieDetails

3. The ridiculous yet iconic "she talks in her sleep" line from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was improvised. 

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Sean Connery improvised the “She talks in her sleep” line. The film crew had to stop filming because they were laughing so hard. from MovieDetails

4. Liam Neeson took a role in A Million Ways to Die in the West because of a Family Guy joke about him being in a Western with an Irish accent.

When Liam Neeson was asked to play the antagonist in A Million Ways to die in the West (2014) (directed by Seth McFarlane) he accepted due to a scene in Family Guy where Peter says “Imagine Liam Neeson in a Western! Ha! With that funny accent of his!” from MovieDetails

5. For their fight scene in Troy, Brad Pitt and Eric Bana agreed to pay each other for each time they accidentally hurt the other — Pitt had to pay $750, while Bana had to pay $200.

In Troy (2004), Brad Pitt and Eric Bana did not use stunt doubles for their epic duel. They made a gentleman's agreement to pay for every accidental hit. $50 for each light hit, $100 for each hard blow. Pitt ended up paying Bana $750. Bana didn't owe Pitt anything from MovieDetails

6. Drew Barrymore accidentally called 911 several times while filming the opening scene of Scream.

Whilst filming Scream (1996) Drew Barrymore accidently called 911 for real several times. The prop master had forgotten to unplug the phone before filming. Barrymore would call, scream and hang up. In the middle of one take the police rang back in confusion to ask why they kept calling. from MovieDetails

7. In Baby Driver, director Edgar Wright wanted to use Michael Myers masks, but couldn't get the rights — so he used masks of actor Mike Myers' face instead.

In Baby Driver (2017) this bank robbery scene was supposed to include the Michael Myers from Halloween (1978) but the studio couldn’t get the rights. Edger Write reaches out to Mike Myers and asked if they could use his likeness for the masks. He thought it would be funny and said yes. from MovieDetails

8. After Michael Cera told Rihanna he was going to slap her butt for real in This Is the End, Rihanna said she would slap his face for real too. After six takes, he said he didn't think he could do another.

In This Is This End Michael Cera asked Rihanna if he could actually slap her butt in a scene to which Rihanna agreed as long as she could slap him harder in he face. from MovieDetails

9. Costume designer Penny Rose revealed that she had to start making Johnny Depp's pirate hats out of rubber after he kept throwing the leather ones overboard in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

In POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), most of Jack Sparrow’s hats are made of rubber. This is because Johnny Depp kept losing them and throwing them overboard. After he lost ten leather hats, the costume designer started making them out of rubber so that they would float instead of sink. from MovieDetails

10. Much of the animation of Toothless in the How to Train Your Dragon series was based on supervising animator Gabe Hordos' rescue cat.

Paramount Pictures[

11. The scene where Buddy runs around New York in Elf was improvised, and most of the people didn't know they were in a movie. 

In Elf (2003), Will Ferrell, Jon Favreau, and a single cameraman ran through New York on the final day of shooting and interacted with random people on the streets to film the "Buddy discovers New York" montage. from MovieDetails

12. The people in the Italian market during the training scene in Rocky_ _also didn't know a movie was being filmed, and someone just happened to toss Sylvester an orange as he was running, which he happened to catch — and the take ended up in the film.

In Rocky (1976), when he runs through the Italian marketplace, the people's amused expressions as they look on is genuine, as they had no idea why a man was running back and forth being followed by a van. The man who throws him the orange was completely improvised. from MovieDetails

13. Jim Carrey often method acts, meaning he's in character even when he's not filming. In fact, he once took an entire phone call to discuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas (his next role) while in character as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. Ron Howard just went along with it.

Universal Pictures

14. Fans confuse Michael Gambon (who played Dumbledore in Harry Potter after Richard Harris died) for Ian McKellen so often that he's just taken to signing McKellen's name when it happens.

Mike Marsland / WireImage via Getty Images, David M. Benett / Getty Images for Paul Smith

15. In fact, McKellen was asked if he would take on the role of Dumbledore after Harris died, and he said yes — though they never followed up. According to McKellen, Harris told him before he died that he thought McKellen was a "rubbish" actor.