Everybody’s got a secret, including some of the biggest filmmakers in Hollywood.
Even as millions of moviegoers enjoy their projects in the theater, there are some things
the movie doesn’t reveal on the surface.
Most will never stop to think about or realize some shocking behind-the-scenes revelations…
until now.
Here are Screen Rant’s 10 amazing secrets about popular films.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
A criticism about modern action movies is that they’re sensory overload, flooding
the screen with CGI and too many special effects to keep track of.
Some aren’t sure what they’re supposed to pay attention to.
That isn’t a problem with Kingsman.
When constructing the action sequences, director Matthew Vaughn framed it so that all of the
action is framed centrally, meaning that the viewer’s eyes never have to leave the middle
of the frame.
That’s a nice touch that makes Kingsman easier to watch, even if our brains didn’t
realize why everything was pleasant to follow.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Whenever a franchise reboots and recasts a legendary role like Mad Max, there’s sure
to be some audience skepticism – even when the filmmakers land a talent like Tom Hardy.
But before he took the part, Hardy had his doubts as well, and even had lunch with Mel
Gibson, the original Max, to discuss the possibility.
During their time, Gibson told Hardy he was fine with Hardy taking up the role and gave
him his blessing.
That was enough to convince Hardy it was the right move, and he proved to be a strong choice
to headline the series for years to come.
Furious 7
The Fast & Furious series is known for featuring cars… lots and lots of cars.
Dominic Toretto and his crew are always shifting gears and driving fast to where they need
to go, often complete death-defying stunts so they can accomplish their mission.
They’re also rather destructive.
For Furious 7, more than 230 cars were destroyed during production, creating headaches and
nightmares for various insurance agencies.
We’re all for emphasizing practical effects, but this is an instance where some CGI may
have been better.
That seems like a lot of vehicular carnage for a single film, regardless of how popular
it is.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Fans enjoy watching the enormous green rage monster known as the Hulk smash everything
on screen.
But did you know he was supposed to be a different color?
Originally, Marvel had intended Hulk to be gray in the comics, but the company’s printers
couldn’t get the color right, and the character came off as green on certain pages.
Marvel eventually switched Hulk’s primary color to green as if nothing else ever happened,
and when their printing capabilities improved, they established Gray Hulk as another persona
Bruce Banner could transform into.
Joss Whedon thought of using Gray Hulk in Age of Ultron, so perhaps he’ll be in the
MCU one day.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Daisy Ridley’s Rey is now one of the most popular faces in the franchise and a hero
fans can’t wait to see again.
They have Ridley’s director to thank for how things turned out.
On her first day on the set, J.J.
Abrams told Ridley that her performance was wooden and nearly caused the actress to have
a panic attack.
Whatever coaching Abrams provided seemed to work, since the newcomer Ridley was praised
by many critics and quickly became a household name.
If Abrams didn’t step in, perhaps the entire sequel trilogy gets derailed before it even
kicks off.
Jurassic World
Usually when a Hollywood blockbuster features tons of product placement, it’s at the order
of the studio looking for a little help in covering costs.
But things were handled a little differently for Jurassic World.
Director Colin Trevorrow was the mastermind behind the decision, seeing it as an amusing
way to satirize the corporatization of popular culture.
Just about everything has a sponsor these days, grounding the dinosaur adventure in
a world that the audience is very familiar with – and it provided a fair share of laughs.
We doubt Verizon Wireless wants any part of the Indominus rex now.
Spectre
When a new James Bond film is coming through the pipeline, one thing viewers want to know
is the musical artist providing the opening credits song.
Spectre went with Sam Smith’s “Writing on the Wall,” but they could have gone in
a different direction.
Grammy winning band Radiohead recorded a title song called “Spectre,” which was released
after the film came out.
Both tunes have their fans, but it’s hard to argue with the filmmakers’ judgment.
Smith got nominated for an Oscar for his work, adding his name to the long list of accolades
for original Bond songs.
Creed
One of the most famous sequences in the Rocky spinoff is Adonis Johnson’s first professional
fight, which appears to be shot in one continuous take.
Directors are known for using some digital trickery to hide edited cuts to create the
illusion of a single take, but Creed’s cinematographer says this is the real deal with no post-production
stitching involved.
During production, Ryan Coogler shot 13 takes of the scene, eventually using the 11th in
the final film.
The fights in Creed were very much acclaimed, and with hard work like this, it’s easy
to see why.
The Martian
A big part of this film’s story is astronaut Mark Watney coping with isolation while stranded
on Mars, and director Ridley Scott went the extra mile to hammer that aspect home.
Scott stated that Matt Damon’s solo scenes were shot for five weeks straight, and then
the actor was relieved from the production schedule.
As a result of this tactic, Damon did not meet most of his co-stars until the cast reunited
to promote the film.
That may seem odd, but it fit the nature of the narrative and The Martian garnered widespread
critical acclaim, so it’s hard to argue with Scott’s handling of his stars.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
It was well documented before this film’s release that Tom Cruise performed Ethan Hunt’s
daring plane stunt at the beginning for real, taking off with an actual airplane.
But Cruise’s daredevil nature didn’t stop there.
Always one up for the extreme, Cruise did all of his own stunt driving as well, most
prominently in Rogue Nation’s Morocco car chase sequence.
Cruise’s efforts even influenced his co-star Simon Pegg, who also did his own stunts.
Pegg said being around Cruise made him feel “obliged” to do things for real, and moviegoers
were very pleased with the results.
Who knows what they’ll deliver next?
Those are our picks for amazing secrets of popular movies.
Are there any we missed?
Which ones are your favorites?
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