Unscripted Mistakes and Bloopers Left in Movies
Making a movie is the culmination of months of preparation and planning. The final film that viewers see in theaters or in their homes has been worked on for months, sometimes years. The hope is that every detail is perfect and the energy put in provides a rewarding experience for everyone. But through all the planning, mistakes happen. Sometimes these changes are bad, but there are many times when mistakes and bloopers left in movies actually make the movie better! There have been notable exceptions when things meant to stay behind the scenes ended up staying in the movie because it was just too darn good to cut. In some of your favorite films, like Rain Man, Blade Runner, The Godfather, The Dark Knight, and The Wolf of Wall Street, moments that were never supposed to see the light of day were actually left in after the final cut. Sometimes it's the actors making a huge blunder, other times it's the artist taking creative liberty with the script, and on some occasions actors fart at the worst possible times! These bloopers were left in movies because they actually improved the film! Be sure to SHARE this great movie trivia with your friends!
'The Silence of the Lambs' - Hissing Sound
In its two-hour runtime, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is only on screen for 25 minutes, but his performance instantly became iconic, catapulting the character to universal fame and earning Hopkins an Academy Award for Best Actor. Lecter steals every scene he's in, especially the one where he delivers his masterful line, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." Lecter pauses, then makes a ghastly slurping sound. The added sound effect wasn't in the script and hadn't been rehearsed. Hopkins made it up. The camera cuts to FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), who remains stunned and speechless. Foster didn't know how to react, and it just fit too well in the scene to be cut.
'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' - 'I Know.'
It's difficult to put into words the impact that Star Wars has had on cinema and the greater pop culture world. With classic heroes and villains, political intrigue, and fantastic creatures from all corners of the universe, the movies have become universal in so many senses. Fans of all stripes have their favorite movie and moments, but it's widely regarded that The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the bunch. Expertly deepening the Star Wars canon, Empire gave us some of the most memorable scenes and lines from the entire franchise. But one famous scene was made up on the spot by Harrison Ford. Just before Han Solo (Ford) is to be frozen in carbonite, Leia (Carrie Fisher) confesses that she loves him. In the script, Han was simply supposed to say, "I love you too," but Ford didn't feel that fit well with his character and approached director George Lucas about it. Lucas told Ford to say whatever he liked. So with the cameras rolling, Fisher delivers her line and Ford responds with the perfect Solo response: "I know."
'The Other Guys' - Lion vs. Tuna
The Other Guys has become a comedy classic and remains one of Will Ferrell's best comedic performances. To get a sense of how on top of his game Ferrell was during filming, you need only look at the "Lion vs. Tuna" scene shortly into the movie. Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) tells Allen Gamble (Ferrell) that if Gamble were a tuna and Hoitz was a lion, Hoitz would swim out to the middle of the ocean and "freakin' eat you!!" According to the script, Gamble wasn't supposed to respond, but Ferrell took the moment to explain how dumb it would be for a lion to swim out in the ocean, as the tuna would turn on the lions and learn to hunt them. Wahlberg, unprepared for Ferrell's long explanation, grabs his coffee cup and just throws it all over him.
'The 'Burbs' - Gurney Throw
An examination of modern suburban dysfunction, The 'Burbs has become a classic comedy thriller with an astounding A-list cast. After the climactic house fire, Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) launches into a tirade about how they had been wrong about their neighbors, the Klopeks, and that it was actually Peterson and the other neighbors who were the "lunatics." As Peterson proclaims, "Take me to the hospital," he collapses on a nearby ambulance gurney. When nothing happens, he flails, stands back up, and picks up the entire gurney, tossing it into the back of the ambulance. He then hilariously throws himself on top of it. The gurney toss was never mentioned in the script; Hanks thought of it on the spot during filming.
'Fast & Furious 6' - Forehead Comeback
The Fast & Furious franchise has been tearing up box office charts since 2001. The crime dramas have gotten bigger and bigger with each new sequel, including with the addition of new stars. The biggest high-profile change came in Fast Five, when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson joined the cast as U.S. Diplomatic Secret Service agent Luke Hobbs. Johnson has starred in every sequel since, but perhaps his best line came in an unscripted moment from Fast & Furious 6. As Hobbs arrives at a cookout, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) says, "Hey Mia, you better hide your baby oil." In the script, Hobbs isn't supposed to respond, but Johnson improvised and said, "You better hide that big-a** forehead." Chris "Ludacris" Bridges spits out his drink, which is his actual reaction to the unscripted line. The take was so good that it was an easy decision to leave it in the final cut.
'The Wolf of Wall Street' - Chest Beating
The Wolf of Wall Street has a number of memorable performances and scenes (Margot Robbie...) and perhaps one of the most popular (non-Margot Robbie) scenes is the lunch between Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey), where Hanna teaches the green Wall Street broker the name of the game. The lunch begins with Hanna pounding his chest and performing some sort of ritual song. The chest pounding wasn't in the original script, but was actually something McConaughey was doing in-between takes to relax. McConaughey decided to use the pantomime in the scene, and you can see DiCaprio looking around at the crew off camera, wondering if they were rolling. They were and the scene was kept.
'American Beauty' - Dinner Plate
American Beauty has become something of a polarizing film 20 years after its release. Some say its Best Picture Oscar wasn't warranted, while other critics say the overall product still holds up. One thing many can agree on is the Oscar-worthy performances from the film's two main stars, Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey. (Spacey won the Academy Award while Bening lost to Hilary Swank.) And to understand why Spacey was deserving of the award, we only need to look at this improvised scene. In the last uncomfortable family dinner scene, Lester Burnham (Spacey) snaps and stalks around the table to get the plate of asparagus (which he had asked for several times, being ignored each time). When Carolyn Burnham (Bening) begins again to drunkenly ridicule him, Lester stands and whips the plate of asparagus against the wall. In the script, Lester is supposed to smash the plate to the floor, which the actors would have been expecting. However, Spacey improvised and violently threw it against the wall behind actress Thora Birch. The shocked reactions from the cast are genuine, as neither actress expected the move.
'Rain Man' - Passing Gas
Dustin Hoffman's Academy Award-winning performance in Rain Man comes with many-a-serious moments, but one of the most beloved and hilarious was never supposed to even happen. When Charlie (Tom Cruise) and Raymond (Hoffman) are in a phone booth making a call, Ray suddenly says, "Uh oh, fart." Charlie looks at Ray incredulous, asking, "Did you fart, Ray?" Charlie attempts to open the phone booth, but can't and is stuck in there with the smell. Hoffman meant it as a joke and never thought it'd be used in the film, but neither he nor Cruise broke character, and since it worked so well it was left in.
'Full Metal Jacket' - R. Lee Ermey
Full Metal Jacket still stands as one of the most enthralling and affecting film studies of war. Garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, one might be surprised to learn that the film's most famous character (arguably) never had his lines scripted. R. Lee Ermey was hired for the production crew as a technical advisor, as he had been a Parris Island Marine drill instructor in real life. He ended up playing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, the tough-talking, ball-busting boot camp leader. When it came time to capture Ermey's style on camera, director Stanley Kubrick noticed it was Ermey who did it best. He put Ermey in front of the camera and just told him to do what he'd do at any boot camp. The result was an iconic performance.
'The Usual Suspects' - Laughing Lineup
The Usual Suspects stands as one of the greatest crime capers in cinema history, likely because of its incredible twist ending. (Don't worry, no spoilers here if you haven't seen it.) One of the most enduring images from the film – probably because it's from the poster – is the lineup scene. In the scene, the five "suspects" are brought into the police station and asked to read a line on a card: "Hand me the keys, you f**king c**ksucker." As the men read the line, they begin to laugh, and it seems as if it's their reaction to the funny ways they're each reading the line. However, behind-the-scenes interviews revealed that it wasn't the line reading cracking everyone up. It was one of the men who kept ripping farts. The laughter just happened to work perfectly and was kept in the film.
'Django Unchained' - DiCaprio Slices His Hand
Quentin Tarantino's films are widely recognized for their brilliant performances by cast members in the director's uber-violent stories, and 2012's Django Unchained is no exception. Starring Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz, the film features an ensemble of A-list talent, including Leonardo DiCaprio as the slave-owning Calvin Candie. When Django (Foxx) and Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) go to Candie to retrieve Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington), things get heated quickly when Candie realizes the duo's deception and becomes enraged. Candie slaps his hand down on the table and shatters a glass. As Candie's assistant retrieves Django and Schultz's weapons, Candie looks at his hand and the viewers can see it's bleeding. This was never part of the script. When DiCaprio slapped his hand on the table, he wasn't supposed to hit anything. Despite the gushing blood, DiCaprio never broke character and the cameras kept rolling. As the scene progresses, blood continues to envelope DiCaprio's hand, but he uses it to perfection when Broomhilda is brought out and sat in the chair beside Candie. Kerry Washington had no idea that DiCaprio was going to wipe anything on her, let alone his own blood. Her reaction is purely genuine. The scene was part of the reason why DiCaprio earned a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role.
'Thor: The Dark World' - Hanging up His Hammer
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been one of the most impressive and enduring feats in cinema history. Over 20 movies weave a truly harrowing storyline of one mad titan's goal of possessing all six Infinity Stones, to which he can alter reality and wipe out half the population of the universe. Most of the movies in the MCU are adored by fans and critics alike, but understandably, some films are just greater than others. One of the least popular of the franchise is Thor: The Dark World. While the action is great, the movie suffers from a clichéd villain, overly complicated plot line, and lack of fun that many Marvel movies usually dole out in spades. But one of the funniest moments in the movie came thanks to actor Chris Hemsworth, who was trying to add a little extra humor in. During his time on Earth, Thor goes to Jane Foster's apartment as the humans try to figure out how to defeat the villain, Malekith. As Jane bursts into the apartment, Thor follows behind and, noticing the coat rack by the door, hangs his fabled hammer, Mjolnir, on one of the hooks. It's a quick, funny moment that would begin to lay the groundwork for the hilarious antics of Thor: Ragnarok.
'Blade Runner' - Daryl Hannah Trips
By many measures, Blade Runner is the best sci-fi film ever made. With an incredible storyline and special effects that surprisingly still hold up, it's still regarded as an all-time great. The movie is full of surprises, and a couple of scenes in particular were not originally in the script. The first takes place when Pris (Daryl Hannah) meets J.F. Sebastian. In the scene, Pris is startled by Sebastian and attempts to flee. As she does, she slips and falls into a vehicle, shattering the window. Pris recovers and realizes that Sebastian means her no harm, and retrieves her handbag from him. The entire scene happens seamlessly and as you watch, you think it must have been scripted. Nope. Pris was not supposed to slip into the vehicle and break the window. In fact, Daryl Hannah sliced off a piece of her elbow in the accident and needed to go to the hospital. But she never broke character and finished the shot. The next Blade Runner unscripted moment is one of the most iconic in film history...
'Blade Runner' - Greatest Line in Sci-Fi History
While Daryl Hannah's inadvertent slip worked well in that scene, it's hard to overstate how important this other Blade Runner unscripted moment was to making the movie such a classic. During the climax, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) fights for his life against the replicant Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer). But as Batty's final seconds dwindle away, he instead saves Deckard. The original script called for a longer soliloquy, but the night before filming, Hauer altered his last lines without telling director Ridley Scott. Hauer's rendition, adding in the line, "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain," ends up perfectly fitting into the scene as rain pours down, as well as with the film's motifs to succinctly humanize the replicants. The full rendition is as follows: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."
'Mrs. Doubtfire' - Coffee With Cream
Losing Robin Williams at such a young age was a devastating blow to the comedy and entertainment world. But looking back on his films and standup specials, they still delight on levels that few comedians can rival. In one of his most beloved roles, Williams played Daniel Hillard, who's going through a messy divorce and dons the guise of nanny Mrs. Doubtfire in an attempt to be near his children. In one of the most memorable scenes, in order to keep his identity hidden, Hillard presses his face into a cake in the fridge. The "HELLOOOO!" is quoted by many today, but it was another line in that moment that was improvised. As Mrs. Doubtfire prepares tea for Mrs. Sellner, the cake icing is quickly melting off Doubtfire's face. The icing wasn't supposed to melt that fast, but the warm studio lights were causing issues. At one point, the icing drips right into Sellner's tea and Williams, unscripted, added the line, "Oh, there you go. You've got your cream and your sugar now."
'Rocky' - Training Montage
The Rocky movies are some of the most beloved sports movies in cinema history. Following the rags-to-riches story of down-and-out boxer Rocky Balboa, the films were both critical and commercial successes. Some of the most beloved moments from the films are the various training montages that happen prior to the third act. One moment in the original Rocky training montage is added from an unexpected source: a pedestrian on the side of the road. Because of the small budget, the studio couldn't hire lots of extras. So in many of the scenes, people in the background are just regular Philadelphia residents unaware that they're going to be in an iconic movie. When Rocky is running through the market, a man tosses him an orange and Rocky turns to catch it. The moment happened unplanned on the spot, but was kept in the film.
'Guardians of the Galaxy' - Dropping the Orb
Fans of Chris Pratt during his breakout role on NBC's Parks and Recreation were maybe a little shocked when he was cast as the cosmic superhero Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Pratt's character on Parks and Recreation was a chubby buffoon, but when production images from the set leaked and it showed a jacked Pratt, fans' fears were assuaged. Then, when the film came out, it became apparent why Pratt was perfect for the role. The humor throughout the entire film helped make it a huge financial success, and Pratt's comedic timing shined through. But of course, one of his funniest moments was completely unplanned. After the heroes escape from the Xandar prison, they take the mysterious orb in their possession to The Collector. When Star-Lord is about to hand the orb to The Collector, he drops it on the ground, and quickly picks it up. Pratt wasn't supposed to drop it, but since he never broke character and it just fit so well, director James Gunn kept it in the final cut.
'Pretty Woman' - The Morphing Croissant
Pretty Woman is one of the most famous romantic comedies of all time. There is one pretty obvious error in the movie, though. Julia Roberts’ character is seen eating a croissant for breakfast, but then out of nowhere, it changes into a pancake. The blunder often goes unnoticed and it never held the movie back from reaching the status of a "classic".
'The Dark Knight' - Joker Clapping
While not everyone loves superhero movies, The Dark Knight seems to be the one superhero movie that transcends normal movie demographics and can appeal to any movie lover. That's all helped by the scene-stealing and Oscar-winning performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Much has been made of Ledger's dedication to the role (and all his roles, in general). Ledger was said to immerse himself so deeply into the role by secluding himself inside a room for 30 days without exiting or speaking to anyone, and rumors persist today that Ledger stayed in character from the first day of shooting to the last. (This last rumor is untrue, as numerous reports have said Ledger would joke around and skateboard on set between takes.) Just as the Joker is known to be unpredictable, Ledger did some unexpected things on set, one of which would become one of his best moments on film. During the scene where the Joker is captured and Lieutenant Gordon is promoted to Commissioner, the police precinct erupts in applause, as does the Joker as he insidiously stares down Gordon. Ledger was not supposed to react in the scene, but his mocking clap played so well that it was kept in the movie.
'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' - Wax Scene
The classic scene from The 40-Year-Old Virgin where Andy (Steve Carell) has his chest waxed wasn't necessarily a blooper or mistake. Usually, a movie studio would use some sort of makeup or special effects to complete a scene like this, but before filming, Carell thought it would be most impactful if they actually waxed his chest. He had never done it before, so he didn't know what to expect. So while the scene was in the script originally, how they pulled it off was completely made-up, and the reactions from Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Romany Malco are real as they watch Carell cry out in pain.
'The Godfather' - Petting the Cat
The Godfather is widely considered by many to be the greatest film in cinema history, with only a few movies that can rival it. (We'd say Citizen Kane and Casablanca might be the only other films to top it.) With an incredible cast of actors, including the likes of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, The Godfather continues to find new fans with each generation of movie viewers. Brando's performance in particular (which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor) is routinely considered one of the greatest individual movie performances ever. While Brando generally commands the screen whenever he appears, it was another "character" that helped turn one scene into a true classic. In the opening scene, Don Vito Corleone (Brando) is asked a brutal favor. The request is to kill two men, and while the subject matter quickly establishes that Corleone is the head of a crime family, he sits stoically in his study, lovingly petting a cat in his lap. The thing is, nobody on set knew where the cat had come from. Some reports indicate it was a stray that came on set and happened to jump into Brando's lap just before filming started. Other reports say director Francis Ford Coppola decided at the last minute to include the animal. Either way, watching Corleone pet the cat while talking about committing crimes show a compassionate side of the mob boss.
'Scream' - 'Apollo 13' Reference
Scream took pop culture by storm in 1996 thanks to the film's picture of traditional horror movie themes with a very 90s sense of biting sarcasm and pop culture commentary that breaks the fourth wall at times. One of the most memorable pop cultural references in the film, is delivered by Matthew Lilliard near the climax. When his character Stuart realizes a gun is missing, he utters the phrase "Ah... Houston, we have a problem” referencing the 1995 film Apollo 13. The line was an ad-lib from Lillard.
'Dirty Dancing' - The Crawl
Dirty Dancing lit many a teenage heart a flutter in 1987 thanks to the relationship between Johnny (Patrick Swayze) and Baby (Jennifer Grey). One of the films most sensual scenes festers the two seductively crawling towards each other during a dance number. Initially, the move wasn't part of the choreography. Instead, the two were just working out prior to filming. The director saw the crawl and, realizing it's potential, quickly worked it into the scene.
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' - Jim Carrey's Real Confusion
During the filming of the mind-bending film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the production team wanted to up the realism for star Jim Carrey. During a scene where Ket Winslet's character disappears, the producers had her slip off the set when Carey was distracted, then captures his legitimate surprise that she wasn't there.
'Titanic' - 'King of the World'
Perhaps the most famous line in Titanic was an ad-lib brought on by a terrible day on set. Director James Cameron was unhappy with everything the crew had shot of Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack on the bow of the ship. He somewhat flippantly told Leo to deliver the line "I'm king of the world" in the next take. Suffice to say, it went well, and was used in the film.
'The Princess Diaries' - Mia's Tumble
In 2001's The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway portrays Mia Thermopolis, a stereotypically nerdy girl who learns she's actually a princess. At one point in the film, Hathaway was filming a scene where Mia and a friend where walking across some bleachers. Hathaway lost her footing and fell over accidentally. After making sure the actress was alright, the creative team realized the tumble fit her character perfectly and it stayed in the film.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ton Stark Eating
Over the course of a decade, Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark/Iron Man over the course of 8 films, becoming an icon in the process. One of Downey's on-set ticks was to constantly be snacking on food he hid around set. The snacks eventually bled their way into the films themselves, and became a key trait of the character.
'Forrest Gump' - Forrest's Unique Greeting
Tom Hanks' Oscar Winning performance as the title character in Forrest Gump has sent numerous lines straight into the pop culture consciousness. One of the most memorable, "My name’s Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump", was actually an ad-lib that stemmed from Tom Hanks fumbling over his line.
'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' - The Flying Flag
At one point in the point in the second Lord of the Rings film, the character Eowyn stares into the distance from the top of a castle. During a pivotal moment in the scene, a flag rips off a battlement and slowly drifts away. While this may appear intentional to further the metaphor of the scene, the flag flew actually away by accident. However, it fit the tone of the scene so well that it was left in.
'Raiders of the Lost Ark' - Gun vs Sword
In one of the most iconic scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones is confronted by a skilled swordsman who performs numerous tricks with his blade to intimidate the archeologist. In response, Jones simply shoots his enemy dead. The moment has become iconic, but it was never supposed to happen. Originally, a highly choreographed battle was supposed to be filmed featuring Jones using his whip vs the sword. However, Harrison Ford was feeling under the weather, so the entire fight was scrapped and replaced by the simple shooting.
'Scent of a Woman' - Falling Over a Garbage Can
Some actors really dedicate themselves to their craft - so much so that it negatively impacts their daily life off-screen. Al Pacino is one such actor for his role in Scent of a Woman (1992) as Frank Slade, a blind retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. To prepare for his portrayal of a blind man, Pacino didn't allow his eyes to focus on anything, with the goal of simulating blindness. In fact, he got so good at this that the scene where Frank falls over a garbage can was purely an accident because he couldn't see anything in front of him!
'The Hateful Eight' - Kurt Russell Smashes an Antique Guitar
In The Hateful Eight, Kurt Russell's character (John "The Hangman" Ruth) is meant to smash a replica of an antique Martin guitar from the 1870s, valued at about $40,000. The idea was to switch the antique guitar out for a replica off-camera - only, Russell never got the memo and ended up smashing the real thing against a pole. Needless to say, Daisy's (Jennifer Jason Leigh) shocked reaction in the scene is genuine. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Martin Guitar Museum (which lent out the guitar) no longer allows film crews to borrow props.
'Star Wars: A New Hope' - Stormtrooper Head Bonk
There's a scene in A New Hope where one of the stormtroopers bonks his head against a door frame. This was completely by accident, and three subsequent takes were captured where no head bonking occurred, but George Lucas ultimately decided to go with the former. In 1997 the film was remastered, this time with a sound effect added to the infamous head bonk. Additionally, in Attack of the Clones Lucas added yet another head bonk scene as a nod to the original, this time with Jango Fett.
'Midnight Cowboy' - 'I'm Walkin' Here!'
Believe it or not, one of the most quoted lines in movie history was completely improvised. Midnight Cowboy's crew didn't have any sort of permit to shut down a busy street in New York City, so they decided to film Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voigt's characters walking down the sidewalk from a van inconspicuously parked across the street. After 15 takes, it seemed like they finally got the footage they wanted, that is, until a taxi ran a red light, nearly hitting the two actors. Hoffman made the split-second decision not to break character and shouted the iconic line, "I'm walkin' here!" that we all know and love to this day.
'Zoolander' - Ben Stiller Forgets His Line
World-famous model Derek Zoolander isn't exactly known for his intellect, and this particular blooper exemplified that perfectly. When J.P. Prewett (played by David Duchovny) tries to explain to Zoolander that male models make the best brainwashed assassins, Zoolander seemingly doesn't quite grasp what he's saying. Although it feels fitting for the character, Ben Stiller simply forgot his next line and repeated what J.P. had just asked. Luckily Duchovny played along and the scene worked out perfectly!
'The Dark Knight' - The Joker's Explosions Never Detonate
Here's another unscripted blooper in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger's Joker presses a trigger button expecting an explosive to detonate right then. However, nothing happens so The Joker improvises and ends up pressing the button several times. Although this wasn't written in the script, it fit so well that Nolan decided to keep it in. Of course, the explosives did eventually detonate as The Joker walks out of the hospital in his nurse costume.
'Mission: Impossible 2' - Ethan Hunt Gets Kicked in the Face
Tom Cruise and the rest of the Mission: Impossible cast worked hard to make sure all of their stunts were as realistic as possible. One such stunt was arguably a little too realistic, however. During filming of the final scene, a fellow stuntman told Cruise not to pull back. Well, he obeyed and ended up actually getting kicked in the jaw. If it seems like Cruise's reaction in the scene is genuine, that's because it very much is and he really did get kicked.
'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' - Broken Coffee Table
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) is a British black comedy heist film about a card shark (played by Nick Moran) who loses a large sum of money to a crime lord in a game of Brag and has to figure out a way to pay off his debt. In one particular scene, Nick "the Greek" (played by Stephen Marcus) breaks a coffee table with a juice glass. This part wasn't included in the script at all, so the surprised look on Marcus's face after the fact was indeed genuine.
'A Series of Unfortunate Events' - Jim Carrey Breaks the Fourth Wall
In the film adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Count Olaf (played by Jim Carrey) appears to glance at Klaus as he delivers the line, "Wait, let me do that one more time. Quickly, while it's fresh in my mind." Carrey never breaks character and the cameras kept rolling the entire time, so while it looks intentional, Carrey was actually looking behind the camera at a crew member for a line prompt. The adlib worked out because in this scene Count Olaf was attempting to show off his acting skills to the Baudelaire children.
'Raiders of the Lost Ark' - Fly on Face
During a scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a fly lands on the face of Indy's archaeology rival, Dr. René Belloq. It begins to crawl into the actor's (Paul Freeman) mouth and the scene cuts. All the while, Freeman never breaks character, making it seem like he had eaten the fly. But not to worry, as no flies were actually harmed during the making of the film; Freeman later clarified that the bug had simply flown away.
'Casino Royale' - Walking out of the Ocean
Daniel Craig established himself as an international heartthrob in Casino Royale, and this particular scene had a lot to do with that. James Bond walks out of the ocean wearing, shall we say, rather skimpy swim shorts, but this wasn't actually supposed to happen at all. The script dictated that Craig was to dive into the water and swim off, but as he dove he hit an underwater sandbank, prompting him to stand up and begin walking back to shore.
'The Martian' - Donald Glover Falls to the Ground
In the 2015 science fiction film The Martian, Donald Glover plays Rich Purnell, a JPL astrodynamicist. With just six minutes of screen time Glover's role is fairly small, but one scene in particular proved quite memorable to audiences: Rich gets out of his chair to get more coffee but ends up falling down. The fall was a complete accident, but fit Glover's clumsy character so well that Ridley Scott decided to keep it in the film.
'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' - Gandalf Bumps His Head
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf hits his head on a ceiling beam as he walks around Bilbo Baggins's home. Seeing as hobbits are rather small beings, it makes sense that a man of Gandalf's size wouldn't quite fit into a hobbit's home. Ian McKellen hitting his head wasn't actually part of the script, but it worked so well in the scene that Director Peter Jackson opted to leave it in the final version!
'Back to the Future Part II' - A Stuntwoman Gets Seriously Injured
When you sign up for a career as a stuntperson, you unfortunately have to accept the fact that at some point you could be seriously injured. That being said, it's certainly always a tragedy when anything like that happens, as one professional stuntwoman found out the hard way. On the set of Back to the Future Part II, Cheryl Wheeler-Dixon was supposed to fly through the courthouse window along with the rest of Biff's gang, but instead she ended up accidentally smacking into a pillar and falling 30 feet to the ground. Luckily she survived the fall but suffered some serious injuries. This particular scene was only filmed once (thankfully), and as such the actual fall made it into the final cut.
'Braveheart' - Rubber Axe
Brendan Gleeson portrays the character Hamish in Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995). In one particular scene you can see Hamish carrying an axe into battle, but if you look closely you can clearly see that the axe is made of rubber as it wobbles around. Sure, not the worst offense on this list seeing as the film crew clearly cares about the cast's safety, but a little disappointing if you pay enough attention to the scene!
'The Wizard of Oz' - The Disappearance of the Ruby Slippers
The Wizard of Oz is without a doubt one of the most iconic films of all time, but considering the fact that it came out in 1939, there are quite a few campy elements and glaring mistakes. One of such mistakes occurs when Dorothy runs over to help the Scarecrow, who had fallen down onto the yellow brick road after provoking the apple tree to throw apples at him. Here, you can see that Dorothy's iconic ruby red slippers are nowhere to be found and instead she's donning a pair of black lace-up saddle shoes.
'Pretty Woman' - The Necklace Box and Walkman
Here's another completely unscripted scene in Pretty Woman: Edward (Richard Gere) offers Vivian (Julia Roberts) a necklace, but then shuts the box on her fingers. Although this wasn't in the script, Gere did it intentionally as a joke, so Roberts's surprised reaction is completely genuine. Since this movie seems to be full of unscripted quirks, here's yet another: in the scene where Vivian is taking a bath and singing, a walkman can be seen lying on the right side of the bathtub with the headphone wires sitting on the edge of the tub. However, when the camera cuts from Edward back to Vivian, the walkman is suddenly seen in a completely different place with the wires dangling in the water.
'Being John Malkovich' - Getting Pelted With a Beer Can
During filming of Being John Malkovich, Malkovich himself gets pelted with a half-full can of beer while walking down the street. "This was not in our script at all," said director Spike Jonze during a DVD commentary of the film. "We had some extras that had snuck some beer onto set, and it had gotten pretty lit ... Fortunately it wasn't the driver, just the passenger, and he throws the can at Malkovich and has the famous line 'Hey Malkovich, think fast!' He now has his [Screen Actors Guild] card because of it and we had to bump his pay from about $100 to $700 a day - he has Mr. Malkovich's reaction to thank for that."
'A Clockwork Orange' - Eyeball Injury
A Clockwork Orange is chock-full of disturbing scenes, one of which involves head droog Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) being strapped to a chair with his eyes clamped open while he's forced to watch deranged video footage as part of the "Ludovico technique." In order to make the scene a little more tolerable for McDowell, local anesthesia was administered to his eye region, but his corneas were still scratched repeatedly (ouch). Fortunately for McDowell, there were no attempts to re-shoot the scene.
'Terminator 2: Judgement Day' - A Windshield Magically Repairs Itself
Terminator 2: Judgment Day contains more than a few small errors, but in one particular scene the T-1000 smashes through a helicopter windshield, naturally leaving a large hole in the glass. But in a subsequent shot that's zoomed out from the helicopter when it's going after the Terminator and Sarah Connor down a highway, we can see that the windshield has somehow magically repaired itself. Look, we get that there are a lot of minute details that go into the production of a film, but how no one notices these things is beyond us!