Top 10 Things Everyone Gets WRONG about Famous Movie Scenes

Top 10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Famous Movie Scenes

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top ten misconceptions about famous movie scenes.

#10: R. Lee Ermey’s Creative Insults

“Full Metal Jacket” (1987)
This is more of a series of scenes, but we’re still lumping them under the larger Sergeant Hartman umbrella. It’s said that R. Lee Ermey improvised most, if not all, of his creative insults for the film, having served as a real drill instructor in the 1960s. The latter fact is true. But the former? Eh, kinda. Stanley Kubrick realized how hilarious Ermey was, and he worked with him to craft memorable lines for the film. Ermey would make up funny lines, and Kubrick would transcribe the best ones into the script. So yes, most of those lines are his own. But no, he didn’t make them up on the spot.

#9: “I Didn’t Know You Could Read.”

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (2002)
This fun tidbit is the “Harry Potter” equivalent of Viggo Mortensen breaking his toe. But unlike that one, this fact isn’t true. Well, not entirely. The story goes that Tom Felton forgot his line and improvised this little ditty. Once again, there is a mixture of truth and falsehood here. Yes, the line was technically improvised. But not by Felton. Felton admits this in his memoir “Beyond the Wand,” claiming that director Chris Columbus asked him to improvise a line in response to Harry’s lie. Felton did three takes before Columbus whispered in his ear and suggested what is now in the film. All the credit went to Felton, but it was nice of him to come clean and reveal the truth!

#8: The Indianapolis Speech

“Jaws” (1975)
By this point, everyone knows that “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” is actually “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” But one pesky legend still persists, and that’s that Robert Shaw was drunk for his famous Indianapolis speech. This legend came about thanks to some genius acting on Shaw’s part and a misinterpretation of some behind-the-scenes lore. It’s true that Shaw performed the scene drunk - or, at least tried to. According to Steven Spielberg, he stumbled through a few lines, but it was messy and Spielberg quickly put an end to filming. They shot it again the next day when Shaw was sober, and this is the flawless version you see in the film.

#7: Jack Could’ve Fit on the Raft

“Titanic” (1997)
It’s been discussed again and again - Jack could have fit on the wood and lived into old age with Rose. Most people forget that Jack does attempt to climb on the wood, but it proves unstable and nearly capsizes Rose. And countless people - including the MythBusters and James Cameron himself - have tested the idea of both floating on the wood, even if he did manage to get up there. These tests have found that it would have sunk under their combined weight, dooming them both to freezing water and eventual death. Damn buoyancy! Yes, maybe they could have tied Rose’s lifejacket under the raft as the MythBusters did, but come on, there’s no way they are thinking of that in the stress of the moment.

#6: The Sunglasses

“Risky Business” (1983)
Quick, think of an image from “Risky Business!” Chances are you saw Tom Cruise sliding into frame wearing his pink button-up, socks, and sunglasses. Unfortunately, this is one of those classic Mandela effects. Tom Cruise is not wearing sunglasses in the scene, nor has he ever been wearing sunglasses in the scene. He is wearing sunglasses in the famous poster, and in the countless parodies of this scene, most characters are wearing them…for some reason. Alas, they just keep getting it wrong. It’s a classic example of pop culture taking something and warping it into something else in our collective memories.

#5: The Beer Can

“Being John Malkovich” (1999)
This is an example of a legend being even more famous than the movie itself! “Being John Malkovich,” while critically acclaimed, isn’t a hugely popular movie. But there is one hugely popular rumor, and that’s that a drunk extra threw an empty beer can at Malkovich as he was walking down the street. This rumor stems from an old YouTube video, supposedly taken from the director’s commentary in which Spike Jonze tells the story. Only, this video is fake and there is no director’s commentary on the DVD. Malkovich himself dispelled the myth on Reddit, claiming that it was performed by John Cusack’s writing partner.

#4: The Table Trick

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000)
There are some famous bits of trivia regarding this film, including Jim Carrey’s intense hatred of the makeup process and the famously improvised table trick. To refresh your memory, Carrey pulls the tablecloth, but everything on top remains on the table. This wasn’t supposed to happen, so Carrey rushes back into frame and scatters everything to the ground. We don’t know where this rumor came from, but it’s not true. If you look in the script, the joke is described in detail, including the comedic beat before The Grinch runs back into frame. Granted, it says “he kicks the table over,” whereas Carrey scatters everything, so there was a bit of improv. But the tablecloth trick was absolutely supposed to happen.

#3: The Famous Blood Rub

“Django Unchained” (2012)
Leo stunned audiences by playing Calvin Candie, the unhinged plantation owner who is in possession of Django’s wife Hildi. In what is probably the movie’s most famous scene, Calvin cuts his hand on a piece of glass and proceeds to rub his blood all over Hildi’s face. And herein comes a very famous bit of movie lore, with many people believing that Leo cut his hand and improvised the blood rub. It’s true that Leo cut his hand, but not that he smeared his blood on another actor’s face. Gross. They actually cut, cleaned him up, and created some fake blood so they could proceed with the scene without breaking a million health and safety laws.

#2: “Luke, I Am Your Father.”

“Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
Behold, the most famous Mandela effect in movie history. For whatever reason, be it flawed memory or countless pop culture parodies that get it slightly wrong, many people are of the opinion that Darth Vader says “Luke, I am your father.” Or at least “No, Luke. I am your father.” Only, Darth Vader does not, and never has said, “Luke.” The line is simply “No, I am your father,” in reference to Luke claiming that Darth Vader killed his dad. It’s funny how these things happen, but happen they do. And when they get in there, it’s hard to get them out!

#1: The Hospital Explosion

“The Dark Knight” (2008)
It’s perhaps the coolest bit of movie trivia ever. You all know the story - the pyrotechnics were not working properly, so Heath Ledger improvised the bit where he raises his arms in befuddlement and smacks on the detonator. We would all love for this to be true. But, as it’s on this list and in the number one spot, you know that we’re about to break your hearts. Alas, every second of this sequence was meticulously planned and choreographed. The so-called “failed” detonation. The Joker’s befuddlement. The smacking of the detonator. All of it was planned, and all of it was endlessly rehearsed. Still a great sequence though!

Did you believe any of these stories? Let us know in the comments below!