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Curated playlist

BAFTA winners (films)

  • Aliens (film)Aliens opens with a woman who has been asleep for 57 years. James Cameron's 1986 film sends Ellen Ripley back to danger.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingMany stars turned down Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring. Sean Connery said he did not understand the plot.
  • Blade RunnerBlade Runner exists in seven versions, but Ridley Scott controls only one.
  • Star Wars (film)George Lucas forgot Star Wars was opening the day it came out. That night, he saw crowds lined up outside a theater.
  • The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight, a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, begins with a bank robbery that turns on its own crew. The bank belongs to the mafia in Gotham City. The masked robbers betray and kill one another until a single man…
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Return of the King won all eleven Oscars it was nominated for. No fantasy film had won Best Picture before it.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersGollum was first planned as a voice only, played by Andy Serkis. Actors did better with him on set.
  • Once Upon a Time in HollywoodOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood is a 2019 film by Quentin Tarantino, and its ending was guarded like a state secret. Tarantino kept the only copy of the third act locked in a safe. Besides Tarantino himself, only Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot…
  • Return of the JediReturn of the Jedi was briefly renamed Revenge of the Jedi. Lucas reverted it after posters were printed.
  • InceptionInception's crew built a hotel corridor that rotated a full 360 degrees. It was planned at 40 feet, then grew to 100.
  • The Empire Strikes BackOn the set of The Empire Strikes Back, the actor playing Vader was given a fake line.
  • Apollo 13 (film)The Apollo 13 film's famous line "Failure is not an option" was never spoken by Gene Kranz during the real mission.
  • Dune (2021 film)Dune, the 2021 film directed by Denis Villeneuve, began with a filmmaker who doubted he would ever get to make it. In September 2016 the Canadian director said, "a longstanding dream of mine is to adapt Dune, but it's a long process to get…
  • Avatar (2009 film)Avatar, the 2009 science fiction film from director James Cameron, began with a dream he had when he was 19 years old. In the dream, he saw a bioluminescent forest. Its trees were made of fiber-optic strands, fan lizards moved through the…
  • Interstellar (film)Interstellar, the 2014 science fiction epic directed by Christopher Nolan, was filmed under a decoy name: Flora's Letter. Flora is one of Nolan's four children with producer Emma Thomas. Nolan is famous for guarding his productions, and…
  • Taxi DriverPaul Schrader wrote Taxi Driver in ten days while living in his car. He had been through a divorce and a breakup.
  • The GodfatherMarlon Brando stuffed cotton balls in his cheeks to audition for The Godfather. Paramount resisted casting him.
  • Star Wars: The Force AwakensIn early drafts of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Luke took over every scene. So he became the one being sought.
  • Cold Mountain (film)The film Cold Mountain nearly died when MGM pulled out mid-shoot. A $10 million tax break saved it.
  • The Name of the Rose (film)In the 1986 film The Name of the Rose, an old monk poisons a book about comedy to stop laughter from teaching.
  • Wicked (2024 film)Wicked, the 2024 musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, drew some unwelcome aerial visitors early in production. Paparazzi flew over the Munchkinland set in Ivinghoe, England, by hang glider, with GoPro cameras strapped to their…
  • The Day After TomorrowTo wreck New York in The Day After Tomorrow, artists built a 13-block digital model of Manhattan.
  • Groundhog Day (film)A wild groundhog bit Bill Murray twice on the same knuckle while making Groundhog Day. Its name was Scooter.
  • Lincoln (film)In the film Lincoln, agents offer federal jobs to win votes to end slavery. The amendment passed by two votes.

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