Culture & entertainment
Discover facts about culture & entertainment. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Culture & entertainment
Filming the One Ring required more than forty rings.
Filming the One Ring required more than forty rings. Jens Hansen's workshop made variations for different wearers and shots, including an eight-inch version…
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Alfonso Cuaron demanded that the three main child actors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban write essays about their characters to help them understand their changing teenage motivations.
Alfonso Cuaron demanded that the three main child actors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban write essays about their characters to help them…
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Ryan Reynolds flat-out stole the incredibly expensive, custom-fitted Deadpool suit from the set on the very last day of filming because he had waited exactly ten years to get the movie made.
Ryan Reynolds flat-out stole the incredibly expensive, custom-fitted Deadpool suit from the set on the very last day of filming because he had waited exactly…
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Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, but he was forced to drop out after the production team coated him in pure aluminum dust, causing his lungs to fail.
Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, but he was forced to drop out after the production team coated him in…
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Post-production color grading on The Matrix specifically utilized a sickening green tint for every single scene set within the digital simulation to make the audience feel…
Post-production color grading on The Matrix specifically utilized a sickening green tint for every single scene set within the digital simulation to make the…
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Doctor Who's enormous scarf came from a knitter using all the wool.
Doctor Who's enormous scarf came from a knitter using all the wool. Tom Baker recalled that designer James Acheson gave Begonia Pope far more yarn than the…
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Promotional movie trailers were originally shown at the very end of a feature film rather than at the beginning, which is exactly why the industry coined the term "trailer" in…
Promotional movie trailers were originally shown at the very end of a feature film rather than at the beginning, which is exactly why the industry coined the…
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Bruce Lee's television sidekick was a showcase for a future star.
Bruce Lee's television sidekick was a showcase for a future star. As Kato in the 1966 Green Hornet series, Lee drove the Black Beauty and supplied…
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Snow White won Disney an Oscar with seven little companions.
Snow White won Disney an Oscar with seven little companions. At the 1939 ceremony, Shirley Temple presented Walt Disney with one full-size statuette and seven…
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Before Netflix launched, its team used the temporary name Kibble.
Before Netflix launched, its team used the temporary name Kibble. Co-founder Marc Randolph liked the dog-food lesson behind it: a product fails if its…
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Office Space famously featured a bright red Swingline stapler that literally did not exist in the real world before the cult classic movie was released to the public in 1999.
Office Space famously featured a bright red Swingline stapler that literally did not exist in the real world before the cult classic movie was released to the…
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Harry Potter author JK Rowling specifically created the terrifying, soul-sucking wraiths known as Dementors to serve as a literal physical manifestation of her own brutal struggles with clinical depression.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling specifically created the terrifying, soul-sucking wraiths known as Dementors to serve as a literal physical manifestation of…
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Disney absolutely refuses to release or even officially acknowledge their aggressively racist 1946 live-action animated hybrid film Song of the South, effectively locking it away…
Disney absolutely refuses to release or even officially acknowledge their aggressively racist 1946 live-action animated hybrid film Song of the South,…
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Harry Potter film producers originally tried to use real floating candles suspended by hundreds of wires for the Great Hall scenes in the first movie, but the heat from the…
Harry Potter film producers originally tried to use real floating candles suspended by hundreds of wires for the Great Hall scenes in the first movie, but the…
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Hugh Jackman is six feet two inches tall, which made him nearly a full foot taller than the comic book version of Wolverine, a character famous for being a short, angry Canadian standing at five feet three inches.
Hugh Jackman is six feet two inches tall, which made him nearly a full foot taller than the comic book version of Wolverine, a character famous for being a…
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Sean Bean has died on screen so many times in his acting career that a dedicated online campaign called Don't Kill Sean Bean was launched in 2014 to demand he survive at least one movie.
Sean Bean has died on screen so many times in his acting career that a dedicated online campaign called Don't Kill Sean Bean was launched in 2014 to demand he…
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South Park's creators wore dresses to the Oscars—and later said they took LSD.
South Park's creators wore dresses to the Oscars—and later said they took LSD. Trey Parker and Matt Stone attended the 2000 ceremony in outfits echoing famous…
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Space Jam's old website became part of the nostalgia.
Space Jam's old website became part of the nostalgia. When Warner Bros. promoted the 2021 sequel, the original film's 1996 site remained accessible at a…
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Grand Theft Auto franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue by basically providing a detailed sociological satire of American consumerism wrapped inside a murder simulator.
Grand Theft Auto franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue by basically providing a detailed sociological satire of American consumerism wrapped…
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Star Trek fans built their own publishing network before the web.
Star Trek fans built their own publishing network before the web. Spockanalia, first published in 1967, collected fan stories, art, poems, and discussion…
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Comedian Jim Carrey shattered the Hollywood salary ceiling in 1996 when he demanded and successfully received a completely unprecedented twenty million dollars to star in the incredibly dark comedy The Cable Guy.
Comedian Jim Carrey shattered the Hollywood salary ceiling in 1996 when he demanded and successfully received a completely unprecedented twenty million…
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Harrison Ford helped with Star Wars auditions before becoming Han Solo.
Harrison Ford helped with Star Wars auditions before becoming Han Solo. Ford had already worked with George Lucas on American Graffiti and was also earning…
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The Oscar's nickname has an origin story worthy of Hollywood.
The Oscar's nickname has an origin story worthy of Hollywood. One famous account credits Academy librarian Margaret Herrick with saying the statuette…
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R2-D2 began as a request for an American Graffiti sound reel.
R2-D2 began as a request for an American Graffiti sound reel. During a late-night mixing session, Walter Murch asked George Lucas for Reel 2, Dialog 2. Lucas…
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