Deliberate mistake: To make Jim Braddock look more heroic, Max Baer is portrayed as being very mean and hateful. In fact, the real Max Baer was an extremely pleasant man who was devastated when Frankie Campbell died after fighting him. Many boxing historians and sportswriters have complained about this inaccurate depiction of Baer.
Deliberate mistake: The same scene of William Bendix at bat swinging and missing is used repeatedly in the film.
Deliberate mistake: In the scene where Marie is trying on shoes, a pair of powder blue high top Converse sneakers can be seen next to her feet. It must have been done intentionally, but since there is no trace of modern apparel anywhere else in the film (the closest would be the mere mention of hot pink dress fabric but, as it's not shown, we don't know what exactly Marie calls "hot pink") these shoes (and the fabric) can't be considered part of a thematic element or artistic license. (00:55:35)
Deliberate mistake: Winners of the Nobel prize don't give an acceptance speech - they usually give a lecture before the award is given, and then at the most say "thank you," or in Nash's case "money would be nicer".
Deliberate mistake: In the funeral scene of Wallace's father and brother, the little girl picks a flower for young Wallace. Look closely when she picks the flower- its already been cut. [This was to make it easier for the little girl to pick it so not to hurt herself on the thorns.]. (00:11:20)
Deliberate mistake: When Reinaldo is narrating right after the police begin to crack down on the gay movement in Havana, he speaks of "sex as a weapon against the regimen". Shouldn't it be the regime? (00:44:20)
Deliberate mistake: When Alexander is giving his pre-battle speech at Gaugamela, some of the shots are 'flipped', which has the odd effect of suddenly making all of the phalanx pikemen left-handed.
Deliberate mistake: Joseph (John) Merrick's speech was never as audible as shown in the film, and several operations were needed before he could speak at all. Even after that, Frederick Treves often had to "translate" what Merrick said because the majority of people still had problems understanding him. [Probably changed to simplify the storytelling, but still inaccurate].
Deliberate mistake: This is being made as more of a movie than a documentary as it is using actors to portray Jesse Ventura and other wrestlers (like The Superstar Billy Graham). Needless to say because TBS is making the film, WCW Monday Nitro and Thunder were used to film the matches. As a result the rings contain logos for those events (neither the events nor the logos existed in Ventura's days as a wrestler). In addition the ring announcer is using a cordless microphone which was definitely not in use when Ventura fought the Superstar.
Deliberate mistake: Throughout the film, scenes of several Cole Porter productions are shown being performed. These scenes all contain a well-known musical number. Two scenes in particular (after the Alanis Morissette number and immediately after the "So in Love" duet) end with the lead singer/singers bowing to the audience and then waving the other cast members on stage to take a company bow. The problem is that neither of those numbers appear at the end of the shows being "performed." The "So in Love" duet, for example, most definitely appears in the musical "Kiss Me, Kate" well before the Act Two finale. I assume that these mistakes were filmed deliberately to emphasize the importance of the songs in question, but they are still errors.
Deliberate mistake: In order to get to Julius Caesar and evade her nasty brother Ptolemy's assassins, Cleopatra concealed herself in a rug that she has a slave carry to Caesar. Look at the furled rug the slave carries on his shoulder. Then watch Cleopatra fall out as the slave tosses the rug to the floor and unfurls it. The slave would have needed wall-to-wall carpeting to hide her.
Deliberate mistake: During the flight Hughes takes with Katherine Hepburn, they talk to each other in normal, conversational voices. A twin-piston-engined aircraft of that vintage (or any vintage for that matter) is LOUD. We should be able to hear roaring engines, and the two should have to shout at each other to be heard.
Deliberate mistake: The mirror that made Rocky's face look normal should've made his mom's face look different, but her face stayed the same.
Deliberate mistake: When the saloon patrons pour through the swinging doors in pursuit of Packer, the same people are seen repeatedly. A relatively small number of extras are running around to the rear of the set and re-entering through the back so that they will appear to be a larger crowd of people.
Deliberate mistake: The movie shows events between 1939 and 1945 but the children look the same at the beginning and the end, they don't grow up. Pay attention to Danka Dresner, Adam Levy and Olek Rosner.
Deliberate mistake: The eyewitness testimony that placed Oswald in the lunchroom at the book despository didn't come to light until the House Select Committee on Assassination in 1978, many years after the Shaw trial.
Deliberate mistake: When they arrive in Washington D.C., they are seen in a 1976 Dodge Dart taxicab, but the movie supposedly took place in 1974. There are several scenes where many cars used in the movie are post-1974.
Deliberate mistake: While on the sideline during a game, Sayers tells Piccolo that he should ask Dr. Fox to give him something for his hay fever, and Piccolo heads back to the field. The next close up of Sayers is a flipped shot; note the "40" on his jersey. (00:41:55)
Deliberate mistake: The song "If you give me your attention" (from "Princess Ida") and the Mikado's song (from "The Mikado," of course) are performed with their central verses omitted. This was no doubt to save time and, in the case of the Mikado's song, to avoid inclusion of the line "is blacked like a ni**er" (altered in 1948 to "is painted with vigour").
Deliberate mistake: During some shots seen from the camera when Aron is filming his diary the camera performs some subtle movements to keep him in frame. These movements are from a tripod as they're too subtle and controlled to be from someone operating the camera with one arm and moving around as much as James Franco was.