Movies & TV Facts for Kids
Behind-the-scenes facts from film and TV
Stunt performers risk their lives doing dangerous scenes in films, yet they are not eligible for Academy Award nominations. A campaign to create a stunt performance Oscar category has been ongoing for decades.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also wrote the music for 'Moana' and the Broadway show 'Hamilton,' wrote all the songs for Disney's 'Encanto' (2021). He has said 'What Else Can I Do?' was the hardest song he has ever written.
During the making of the original 'Planet of the Apes' (1968), actors wearing ape makeup ate lunch in separate cafeterias from the human actors. Director Franklin Schaffner said it was because when they ate together, the scene was too disturbing.
The Black Pearl in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was a real ship built for the film at a cost of over $10 million. After filming, the ship was maintained for years and used at various exhibitions and theme park events.
The 124 little people who played Munchkins in 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939) were paid $50 per week — less than the dog playing Toto, who earned $125 per week. The dog's trainer negotiated a better contract.
'Lilo and Stitch' (2002) was unusual for Disney at the time because it was set in a real modern location — Hawaii — rather than a fairy tale world. The filmmakers visited Hawaii multiple times and employed Hawaiian musicians to keep the culture authentic.
Almost every background in the Wachowski siblings' 'Speed Racer' (2008) was digitally created, with the actors filmed against green screens. The film used a visual style based on Japanese anime and oversaturated color.
Christopher Reeve gained 30 pounds of muscle in just two months to play Superman in the 1978 film. Before training, he was so thin that director Richard Donner initially doubted he could be convincing as the Man of Steel.
Most of the outdoor scenes in 'Braveheart' (1995), the film about Scottish hero William Wallace, were actually filmed in Ireland. This was mainly because Ireland offered more extras, better tax incentives, and better weather for filming.
Early film reels were made from highly flammable nitrate, and theater fires were common in the early 1900s. Some cinemas burned to the ground, killing audiences, before safer film stock became standard in the 1950s.