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38 Facts About Movies That Are Like a Large Bowl of Buttered Popcorn for the Brain

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38

The Babadook The movie terrified the director of The Exorcist. William Friedkin championed the Australian film, tweeting, It will scare the hell out of you as it did me. CRACKED.COM — Source

37

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are the movie's godparents. Wilson loved Nia Vardalos' one-woman show, and through her, her husband Tom Hanks produced Vardalos' script into a movie. CRACKED.COM — Source

36

V for Vendetta

CRACKED.COM V for Vendetta The movie was almost made in the '90s. Hilary Henkin, writer of movies like Road House and Wag the Dog, wrote a script in the early '90s which the Los Angeles Times called Les Misérables meets A Clockwork Orange. It was never produced, though. — Source

35

CRACKED.COM Black Panther Wesley Snipes tried to get a Black Panther movie made in 1992. During the height of his popularity, Snipes helped write a script for a movie featuring him as the superhero, but couldn't get any studio's attention. — Source

34

Here's J Cake The Conversation Francis Ford Coppola wanted to do the movie before The Godfather. Coppola's company American Zoetrope was on financial thin ice, so he did The Godfather for the paycheck. It paid off and due to The Godfather's success, Paramount bankrolled of The Conversation. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Save the Last Dance

Save the Last Dance Julia Stiles did most of the dancing herself. Stiles trained and did all of the hip-hop dances, along with most of the ballet. She did have a double do the en pointe ballet dancing, though. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

Coco The movie tugged the hearts of Chinese censors. While ghosts and other supernatural stuff aren't allowed in China, the country's film board was reportedly so moved by the story that they allowed the film to be shown without any cuts. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

CRACKED.COM Bubba Но-Тер The film was shot in 30 days. In order to stay within the thin budget, filming the movie was economical and swift. It took around a full month to complete the Elvis vs. Mummy story. — Source

30

Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde Elle was named after the fashion magazine. Author Amanda Brown would spend her time reading Elle while in law school. When she came up with the story, her main character's name was obvious. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Zoolander Mugatu was named after a Star Trek monster. Will Ferrell's fashion villain got his name from the mugato, a white-haired creature from an episode of the original series. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story The movie was shot with old-school lenses. In order to give the movie a similar vibe to the original films from the 1970s and 1980s, director Gareth Edwards and cinematographer Greig Fraser used the lenses from the time for the movie. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

KE POL ICE CE Training Day Enimem was approached for a lead role. The rapper turned down the part that eventually went to Ethan Hawke. Не ended up starring in 8 Mile the following year. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Taken

Taken Liam Neeson took the role for a vacation. Neeson didn't expect the movie to blow up in popularity like it did, but liked the idea of getting to hang out in Paris while learning martial arts. It paid off more than he expected. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

CRACKED.COM Unbreakable The movie had a bigger budget than the sequels. Usually sequels have larger budgets than the originals, but while Unbreakable had a $75 million budget, the budget for Split was $9 million, and $20 million for Glass. 4 COALITION EVIL! — Source

24

CRACKED.COM The Prestige The screenplay took five years to write. Due to Insomnia (the movie, not the affliction), director/writer Christopher Nolan couldn't commit to writing The Prestige, so he shared writing duties with his brother Jonathan. The two would trade drafts back and forth between projects until it was finished. — Source

23

CRACKED.COM Masters of the Universe Dolph Lundgren hates his performance. Lundgren was fresh from his breakout role as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, so many were skeptical that he could carry a feature as a lead. In hindsight, Lundgren agrees, frequently stating in interviews that his accent and inexperience hurt the film. — Source

22

We Need to Know What Was Said, Exactly

CRACKED.COM TSN E OF Idiocracy The movie was inspired by a trip to Disneyland. Inspiration was sparked when Mike Judge witnessed an obscenity-ridden argument between two parents waiting in line for the Alice in Wonderland ride.

21

Howard the Duck Velordern George Lucas wanted the movie to be animated. Lucas saw the benefits of making it a cartoon, but Universal wanted the movie to be released in the summer of 1986 and animation would have taken too long. In hindsight, this was a quacked up move. CRACKED.COM — Source

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20

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES DARK CITY 1998 THE MOVIE STARTED A TRADITION OF JENNIFER CONNELLY STANDING ON PIERS. The pier scene is the only one not shot in interior sets, and Connelly would go on to stand on even more piers in 2000's Requiem for a Dream and 2003's House of Sand and Fog. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR 1999 THE MOVIE ADAPTS AN EARLY FICTIONAL DEPICTION OF VIRTUAL REALITY. Despite coming out at a time that made it look like a cheap Matrix knockoff, the movie has genre cred, being a loose adaptation of Daniel F. Galouye's 1964 novel Simulacron-3 (which had been previously adapted as a 1973 German movie World on a Wire). CRACKED.COM — Source

18

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES CLASSA LEVE S A LEVEL S CLASS AILE AVALON 2001 AL CLASS IT'S AN ARTSY ACTION FILM. The movie balances impressive action sequences with contemplative scenes set to opera music, and won a bunch of awards in Europe. The tone was ruined by a trash pseudo-sequel titled Assault Girls. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES DARK CITY 1998 THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS OF THE MOVIE. The theatrical cut's short running time and mystery- revealing voiceover were mandated by studio suits, who thought people would not get it. The 2008 director's cut keeps the mystery, and offers an extra 15 minutes of dark, trippy goodness. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES EXISTENZ 1999 THE MOVIE WAS TOO COMPLEX FOR MGM. The studio declined to produce the movie despite Cronenberg's previous successes and Jude Law being in his most '90s heartthrob phase, so it wasdone as an indie film with a budget of just $15 million. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES DARK CITY 1998 THE SETS WERE REUSED BY THE MATRIX. It's not a coincidence that both movies look alike- many of the sets are the same. Both even feature rooftop chases on the exact same rooftops. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES ABRE LOS OJOS 1997 THE CLUB SCENE HAS A MUSICAL EASTER EGG. The song that plays is Massive Attack's Risingson, which features the repeated lyrics dream on, echoing the movie's theme of fantasy blurring with reality. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES - - TM - Many Storyboard Proper - No & of .. - - You Were I - - - Caller Green with DE and feeding Steve Service 4 the Colle - THE MATRIX 1999 THE WACHOWSKIS CREATED AN ENTIRE GRAPHIC NOVEL TO PITCH THE MOVIE. In order to justify the budget they needed, the Wachowskis hired two comic book artists to do a 600-page, shot-by-shot storyboard. You can find it in the book The Art of The Matrix. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES VANILLA SKY 2001 TOM CRUISE OPTIONED THE ORIGINAL RIGHT AWAY. Cruise was impressed by Alejandro Amenábar's Abre los ojos, and wanted to remake it as soon as he saw it. Then he invited Cameron Crowe in, who welcomed the chance to work with his Almost Famous crew. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES DARK CITY 1998 THE MOVIE'S UNIQUE LOOK BLENDS SEVERAL INFLUENCES. Director Alex Proyas has related the movie's sci-fi elements to Akira, its horror feel to The Twilight Zone, and the general film noir aesthetic to The Maltese Falcon and old-timey German films like Metropolis, Nosferatu, and М. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Existenz

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES EXISTENZ 1999 JENNIFER JASON LEIGH CHOSE CRONENBERG OVER KUBRICK. The reshoot schedules for Existenz and Eyes Wide Shut overlapped, and Leigh chose the former. Her role in Kubrick's movie was recast and reshot with Swedish actress Marie Richardson. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Vanilla Sky

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES VANILLA SKY 2001 THE MOVIE WAS PANNED, BUT WON AWARDS. A critic called it an example of Tom Cruise's cosmic narcissism. Still, Cruise got a Saturn Award for his performance, while Cameron Diaz got two awards. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES ABRE LOS OJOS 1997 M BIS TT IIS Vol as io 33 ателятио ледя rear 292-H autor a the 21:0S:80 GUA-do 08 DAAMI ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR CONSIDERS IT HIS WORST MOVIE. It was written by teenagers, we knew nothing about life, he said. About the remake starring Tom Cruise, he added, There are many mistakes in my movie, and they copied them all. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Avalon

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES AVALON 2001 IT'S A POLISH-LANGUAGE, JAPANESE-POLISH MOVIE. Poland matched the settings director Mamoru Oshii had envisioned for his movie, and their armed forces charged him no additional fees to lend him their tanks, attack helicopters, and assored weaponry. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES EXISTENZ 1999 IT WAS DAVID CRONENBER'S FIRST FULLY ORIGINAL SCRIPT SINCE VIDEODROME. In the intervening 16 years, Cronenberg's movies were all remakes (The Fly) or adaptations (М. Butterfly, The Dead Zone, Crash, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch). CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Dark City

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES DARK CITY 1998 DR. SCHREBER IS KIEFER SUTHERLAND'S FAVORITE ROLE. Sutherland's career wasn't too hot when he auditioned for the movie-which he did on the spot, right after meeting director Alex Proyas in a hotel lobby. Не would later remember the movie as one of his favorite work experiences. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Vanilla Sky

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES VANILLA SKY 2001 STEVEN SPIELBERG HAS A CAMEO. Spielberg hugs Tom Cruise's character during his birthday party (while wearing a Pre-Crime cap from Minority Report). CRACKED.COM — Source

3

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES AVALON 2001 THE SET DESIGN CONNECTS THE MOVIE TO 12 MONKEYS. The half steampunk, half cyberpunk VR chairs were inspired by La Jetée, a 1962 French cult film which was the base for Terry Gilliam's movie about a time- traveling Bruce Willis. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES THE MATRIX 1999 WILL SMITH TURNED DOWN PLAYING NEO. Apparently, the Wachowskis just rambled about bullet-time, Smith wasn't crazy about the heavy wire work, and he didn't want to be typecast as a sci-fi guy. The entire pitch meeting just tanked, and Smith just went on to do Wild Wild West. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

VIRTUAL REALITY MOVIES EXISTENZ 1999 THE MOVIE WAS INSPIRED BY SALMAN RUSHDIE. Cronenberg interviewed Rushdie in 1995, while he was hiding due to a fatwa on his life due to his book The Satanic Verses. Cronenberg then thought of a similar fatwa, but against a video game designer. CRACKED.COM — Source

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