1.
The iconic scene in Clueless, where Cher is being mugged and hesitates lying on the ground because she is wearing an Alaïa dress, is inspired by something that really happened.
2.
Mulholland Drive was originally conceived and shot as a television pilot, not a feature film.
3.
When Back to the Future first hit theaters in 1985, it didn’t end with the words “To Be Continued.”
5.
World War II is what forced Disney to re-release a movie from “the vault” for the first time.
6.
In Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the scene where Indy shoots the swordsman was not improvised because Harrison Ford was tired of doing takes of it and refused to do anymore.
7.
The opening scene in Scream was originally supposed to be a one-act play.
8.
It’s suspected that John Wayne might have died of cancer that was a result of his filming the 1956 movie, The Conqueror.
9.
The idea for Space Jam originated from the success of a 1992 Nike commercial — called “Hare Jordan” — that featured Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny teaming up to play basketball together to take down some bullies.
10.
American Gigolo launched the international career of then-unknown fashion designer Giorgio Armani.
11.
Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis paid for two Forrest Gump scenes (one was the scene where Forrest runs across the US) to be filmed out of their own pockets.
12.
Bela Lugosi, now famous for defining the role of Dracula, wasn’t actually the studio’s first pick for the part.
13.
The producer of Gone With the Wind, David O. Selznick, got special permission from the Motion Picture Association Production Code to use the word “damn” at the end of the film.
14.
The iconic Star Wars opening crawl was not written by George Lucas. According to director Brian De Palma, he and screenwriter Jay Cocks wrote it after a disastrous first screening of a rough cut of the film.
15.
George Lucas helped complete Jurassic Park, and while working on the movie’s post-production, he was inspired to start developing the Star Wars prequels.
18.
Anne Hathaway was actually the ninth choice to play Andy in The Devil Wears Prada.
21.
The first movie ever made about the Titanic was released just a month after the real ship sank, and starred an actual survivor of the disaster.
22.
And lastly, in 1960, Psycho changed how people watched movies in theaters — and it’s how we watch them today.