10+ Movie Secrets Actors and Directors Don’t Usually Talk About

Films
3 years ago

Creating a movie is a long and very difficult process. Not even the biggest movie fans know about all the intricacies of this creative process. For example, have you ever thought about why movie trailers are filled with spoilers? Why do movie creators give away their secrets before the premiere? We became interested in this topic and we’ve found many other interesting answers to the questions that bother movie fans.

Bright Side got a peek behind the scenes in Hollywood and tried to find out more about the secrets movie creators use when producing their films for an audience.

  • There are several sets of clothes for movies in case they get ruined or dirty. Also, extra clothes are needed for stunt doubles. By the way, sometimes, actors bring their own personal belongings on the set. And it doesn’t matter how famous they are. For example, most of the clothes Dude wore in The Big Lebowski belonged to Jeff Bridges himself.
  • When they need to film a scene with amputated limbs, actors wear green socks on their limbs and then those parts are deleted in post-production.
  • Scenes with music often have sound added in post-production. In the shooting process, they use a lot of cameras and it’s impossible to edit the material so that the sound is perfect. Also, any extra noise on set will be a problem, especially if there are lines of dialogue between the characters.
  • It’s too risky to rely on weather forecasts when shooting movies. This is why special effects come into play to create the weather a film needs.
  • Rain is made with water sprinkled from extreme heights from hoses connected to fire hydrants.
  • Snow is made of paper or plastic. Sometimes, they use soap-based products put into a special machine that turns the product into snowflakes.
  • In order to imitate fog, chemicals are often used. Mixing dry ice and water is a quick way to make fog in a pinch.
  • Any extra cameras or phones are prohibited on set. This is done in order to avoid any leaks regarding the plot before the release of the film.
  • Have you ever noticed that actors look far more attractive on-screen than they do in real life? There’s a simple explanation for this: digital retouching. It’s an expensive technology and it’s only used in high-budget films. Professionals remove wrinkles and pimples from the actors’ faces, make their noses smaller, and make their legs longer.
  • Today, actors don’t need to lose dozens of pounds for their roles or work out in the gym for months. Of course, there are still actors who do all of these things. But in many cases, actors’ faces are just added to the bodies of other people, or their bodies are edited in all kinds of ways. For example, in Homeland, the creators hid the fact that lead actress Claire Danes was pregnant.
  • Movie fans still think about the long legs that belonged to Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street. Many people think that her body was altered. But there are no official comments from the creators of the film, so we’re left to guess.
  • Actors have to be careful with their clothes since changing their outfits, even a little bit, can cause a continuity issue on film. Clothes might even have to be safely and securely stored in between shoots to avoid continuity issues.
  • During the shooting process, the actors’ makeup has to be tweaked quite often. But during some scenes, makeup artists just can’t be near them. In these situations, actors have to fix their own makeup themselves. They have a set of napkins, powder, and lipstick.
  • In order to increase their height, some actors wear platform shoes. Robert De Niro wore these shoes while filming The Irishman, as did Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace in order to be as tall as Gemma Arterton.

  • The quality of the food and menu on a set depends on the budget for the film. Not only are the main stars fed, but also the extras. And they often eat together, so extras could easily meet Johnny Depp or Jennifer Lawrence.
  • Stunt doubles don’t have to look like the actors. Aside from doing very dangerous stunts, they are often hired in order to portray a part of the body of some actor or because they have some unique skills. For example, in the famous scene where Jack is drawing Rose, the drawing hand is not DiCaprio’s but actually James Cameron’s, the director of the film, who is also a talented artist.
  • Trailers for movies are done by special marketing agencies. This process can take up to 18 months and involve several companies that compete to make the best trailer. Very often the trailers are finished before the films are. This is why there are often some shots that are not used in the final version of the film. Also, trailers are tested on focus groups, shown to potential viewers of different ages, and altered if necessary.
  • By the way, before, movie makers had about 2 minutes to catch the attention to viewers, but now, thanks to the development of the internet, they only have 5 seconds to attract their viewers. This is why all the most captivating shots are shown at the beginning of the trailers. Otherwise, the entire trailer will be tabled.
  • Everyone wonders: Why are there spoilers in trailers that give away all the surprises? How are there no people who could help to avoid this? Of course, there are people, but the companies responsible for making the trailers want to put as much interesting stuff into them as possible, just to attract viewers to theaters and they don’t worry about important plot points. Also, the directors of the trailers often don’t watch the movies and just make the trailers blindly. They have no idea that in trying to make it more appealing, they might spoil something important.

Which movie scenes would you like to learn more about? Which tricks surprised you more than others? Tell us in the comment section below!

Preview photo credit LRNYC / MEGA / East News

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Ah trailers...a lot of them show you just about the whole story. It's a wonder people even want to watch said movie afterwards.

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