Step Brothers
In preparation for his role as Brennan Huff Ferrell watched ice hockey and ate Doritos.
Sniper 2
Tom Berenger opted to take a crate of quality scotch whisky as his fee for reprising Thomas Beckett.
Sniper 3
Tom Berenger halved his standard fee for the second sequel to the unexpected B movie success, but instead of less liquor he took a crate of scotch whisky worth half the price.
Far and Away
The brand of box that Tom Cruise stood atop in scenes alongside Nicole Kidman was Heinz. The brand of box that they placed upon her head for love scenes was Arnotts.
Se7en
Gwenyth Paltrow was so excited to appear in a film that was both credible and commercial that she deliriously suggested that she ‘method’ the final sequences even though she didn’t need to be present. 43% of the cast disagreed, alas she was too weak because of her ridiculous fad diet to carry out her idea.
Austin Powers
NBA sideline reporter Craig Sager was the costumer’s inspiration behind Austin Powers’ wardrobe for the entire trilogy. Danny De Vito for Mini Me.
Transformers 3
Shia LeBeouf ad-libbed the line “Oh my God, they’re Transformers 3!” was omitted from the final edits, despite the fact that he repeated the line throughout filming.
Hotel Rwanda
Originally a comedy starring Rob Schneider and Will Ferrell. A casting change altered the film’s final tone, with most dick jokes and obnoxious inane yelling changes instead to scenes involving genocide.
American Pie
The infamous ‘Pie love’ scene and plot point was unscripted. Jason Biggs was supposed to ‘lose it’ with Tara Reid, but instead decided he’d rather plunge his genitalia into steaming blistering pie filler than simulate relations with Reid.
One Fine Day
After One Fine Day George Clooney decided he could no longer act in rom-coms, because he worries that his audience will not believe that his co-star is good enough for him regardless of who that might be.
Wild, Wild West
Originally a practical joke, a one page script with “Untitled Will Smith Project” written in crayon and the phrase ‘gient mechanikel spidar’ was pushed under Smith’s door, but before the still chuckling pranksters had managed to run to the gate Smith had greenlit the project and given them associate producer roles. The film was a #1 hit with no rewrites deemed necessary.
Blades of Glory
In preparation for his role as Chazz Michael Michaels Ferrell drank cheap Mexican beer and ate cookie dough.
Snatch
Brad Pitt’s thick ‘Geordie’ accent wasn’t a funny mistake. Pitt actually thought he was speaking the national language of Wales: French.
Charlie St Cloud
Zac Efron asked for two mirrors while on set. One to let him see how good he was looking, with the second there only to reflect his image to satellites in space to let the world bask in his pre-pubescent perfection.
Sex and the City
Originally slated as Cocoon 3, the script was hastily adapted when the three leading men, Paul Newman, Charlton Heston and Heath Ledger all died suddenly in 2008.
Land of the Lost
In preparation for his role as Dr Rick Marshall Ferrell apparently banged his head against a wall for three months solid before licking 500 stamps and trying to post his cat.
Out of Sight
Jennifer Lopez’ shorts in the film are said to be more memorable than the rest of her career. When tested they also had a higher IQ.
The Passion of the Christ
Mel Gibson’s inspiration for the film struck one day while he was absent-mindedly whipping Jews in his Palisades mansion.
She’s out of my League
Developed as an animated film with the central relationship between a Barbie doll and a toothbrush, changed during filming when live action stand ins Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve were deemed even more unlikely to eventuate. With so many scenes already shot the eventual challenge was CGI-ing out the ping-pong balls stuck to Baruchel in every scene.
Buried
Wasn’t originally planned to take place in one underground location, but a test audience poll found that an overwhelming proportion of viewers preferred Ryan Reynolds in a coffin. It was later discovered that a disguised Scar-Jo attended and voted 23,498 times.
Anchorman 2
In preparation for his role as Ron Burgundy Ferrell is understood to have woken up one day and decided he needed more cars. He asked for half of his fee in Yahtzee boards and MC Hammer pants.
Deuce Bigalow 3
Rob Schneider is rumoured to be aggressively shopping a new follow up script to his signature role, written on brown paper sandwich bags with a $50 note stapled to it and a personal plea from Schneider that someone – anyone – take him seriously for a change.
The Blues Brothers
In reality only one police car was damaged in filming chase scenes. It was just filmed from many angles to give the illusion of there being more vehicles.
Star Wars
The Death Star in the prequels was actually played by Andy Serkis – that man can play anything…
King Kong
There were numerous incidents during filmed when King Kong’s animal instincts took over and he tried to ‘force intimacy’ with actress Naomi Watts. The crew had the same issues with Jack Black.
I know who killed me
Lindsay Lohan drew inspiration for her role as a scraggly, trashy stripper by googling her own name and intoning “I am Lindsay Lohan” repeatedly in whichever public toilet she happened to be blowing strangers in.
The Jackal
Bruce Willis dyed his hair prior to filming to make his character Carlos stand out. He was livid when he discovered there was no nude scene to prove it.
Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins was so determined to remain in character as Hannibal Lector even when not filming. He insisted on nibbling the ears and elbows of other cast members. To this day Jodie Foster claims that this was the behind her decision to become a lesbian.
A Mighty Heart
The extras in one crowd scene consisted solely of Angelina Jolie’s children. The per diem’s earned in this one scene allowed her to buy another one.
I am Legend
The inspiration for the blood sucking pasty undead creatures putting humanity on the brink of extinction was a Victoria Beckham portrait.
Avatar
Filmed as a Smurfs live action animated combo until poor storage in a humid room stretched the film. James Cameron decided he could make do.
The Skeleton Key
No-one actually told Kate Hudson that she was appearing in a horror film. Her scared and confused expressions were actually her wondering when Matthew McConaughey was showing up.
