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Curated playlist

American independent films

  • The TerminatorThe Terminator began as a fever dream in Rome. Director James Cameron, ill, dreamed of a metal torso crawling from fire.
  • RoboCopRoboCop's leading actor was fired partway through filming. The 1987 film's suit was too bulky for him to move in.
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was filmed in a working psychiatric hospital. Real patients joined the crew.
  • Waking LifeWaking Life opens with a boy floating up from a driveway into the sky. Linklater's 2001 film is animated.
  • Synecdoche, New YorkRoger Ebert named Synecdoche, New York the best film of the decade in 2009. Another critic gave it a D+.
  • Annie HallAnnie Hall began as a murder mystery, not a romantic comedy. Woody Allen's 1977 film dropped the murder plot.
  • Ex Machina (film)In Ex Machina, an office contest prize turns out to be a test of a robot.
  • Apollo 18 (film)The horror film Apollo 18 ends with a real fact about missing Moon rocks.
  • Everything Everywhere All at OnceEverything Everywhere All at Once began as a script for a male lead, written with Jackie Chan in mind.
  • Easy RiderRip Torn walked away from Easy Rider after an argument with Dennis Hopper. Hopper then called Jack Nicholson.
  • Life in a Day (2011 film)Life in a Day was cut from 80,000 clips sent in by people in 192 nations. The 2011 film ran 94 minutes.
  • Hardware WarsHardware Wars, a 1978 Star Wars parody, starred a steam iron as a spaceship. It cost eight thousand dollars.
  • Harold and MaudeHarold and Maude opens with a young man hanging himself, but he is faking it. The 1971 comedy became a cult favorite.

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