TedStixon

Trivia: After Wes Craven decided to cast an actual actor as Freddy instead of a stuntman, famed and prolific British actor David Warner was initially cast in the part, and even did some (really cool and creepy) makeup effects tests that can be found online. Unfortunately, Warner had to drop out of the part when scheduling conflicts arose at the last minute, which lead to Craven casting Robert Englund.

TedStixon

Trivia: Of all people, famed director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, etc.) is reportedly a huge fan of the character and this film, and would constantly quote jokes from it on the set of "The Dark Knight Rises." He almost attended the cast table-read for the 2021 sequel series on streaming service Peacock, but was unable to. He sent the director an e-mail to read before the table reading, jokingly saying that the world was "watching" and "waiting" for more MacGruber.

TedStixon

Trivia: The film was originally conceived by filmmaker Paul Verhoeven and effects artist Phil Tippet while they were working on "RoboCop." They envisioned the film as a stop-motion feature that'd be more like a nature-documentary than a traditional narrative. It would have be darker, more violent and more realistic, and would end with the extinction of the dinosaurs after an asteroid hits Earth. Eventually, they left the project, and it was re-written as a more benevolent, family-friendly movie.

TedStixon

Trivia: Co-stars James Remar and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa were both in the "Mortal Kombat" film franchise. Tagawa played the lead villain "Shang Tsung" in 1995's "Mortal Kombat," which came out a year before "The Phantom." And Remar played Lord Raiden, one of the lead heroes, in "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation," which came out one year after "The Phantom" in 1997.

TedStixon

Trivia: The film was originally written as a bit of a comedic spoof of superhero and adventure stories by "Gremlins" director Joe Dante and famed screenwriter Jeffrey Boam. Dante was planning on directing it. However, the movie was paused due to budget concerns, and Dante left the project. When it was put back into production, the script was re-written by several ghost writers, and director Simon Wincer decided to play the comedy 100% straight, which original director Dante felt was a huge mistake.

TedStixon

Trivia: "Small Soldiers" was initially made as a dark, edgy satirical movie for teenagers and young adults. However, due to sponsors, tie-ins and studio demands, at the last minute director Joe Dante was forced to edit the movie to try and make it appeal to kids. This is part of the reason why the film's tone is all over the place, and it sometimes feels very silly and child-friendly... while at other times it feels a creepy and inappropriate. It's a bit of a Frankenstein monster.

TedStixon

Trivia: If you pay attention, there's a nice subtle detail... you can see that both Vincent and Cole have white patches in their hair. While it has never been definitively proven, there is a belief that periods of extreme stress or fear can affect hair pigmentation and make it turn white. One study actually did observe the effect in mice that were placed in high-stress situations for periods of time. Since Vincent and Cole are both terrified of the ghosts they see, they have similar white patches.

TedStixon

Trivia: The first draft was very different. Malcolm was a world-weary forensic photographer working on a serial killer case, and Cole was his son. When Malcolm discovers that his son can see dead people, they would team up to have Cole speak with the ghosts of the killer's victims to try to figure out who the killer was. It was very much a police thriller... just with a supernatural twist. Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan completely overhauled the story into a horror-drama during multiple rewrites.

TedStixon

Trivia: The original pitch for the film was very different. John Belushi's brother Jim Belushi was initially supposed to star in the film as "Zee Blues," a long-lost third Blues Brother. The film would have been a tribute to the original that followed Elwood, Zee and "Mighty" Mack as they reunite the band to try to raise money to fix up the orphanage, which had fallen into disrepair. The character Buster also didn't exist in the original story. The studio rejected the pitch.

TedStixon

I Robot, You Jane - S1-E8

Trivia: The demon's name is Moloch, a word found several times in the Hebrew Bible that is commonly associated with either a type of deity, or as a term referring to a type of sacrifice. The name was also chosen in part because in addition to its mythological connotations, it's also similar to the word "malloc," which is a function in C-based computing languages that has to do with allotting unused memory. The fact the term connected to both the mythological and technological made it fit perfectly.

TedStixon

Trivia: Michelle Pfeiffer actually became quite skilled with her bullwhip behind the scenes. In fact, the scene where she whips the heads off the mannequins one after another was 100% real, and accomplished in only one take with multiple cameras set up. As soon as "cut" was called, the entire crew burst into applause, shocked by how precisely and perfectly she nailed the scene.

TedStixon

Trivia: Final film of famed production designer Allan Cameron. Cameron got his start on television, and went on to be well-known for his work in sci-fi, action and fantasy films, such as 1999's "The Mummy," "Starship Troopers," "Willow" and "Highlander." He sadly passed away a few years after the film's release.

TedStixon

I Robot, You Jane - S1-E8

Trivia: The voice on the radio near the end of the episode (when Jenny Calendar visits Giles) is series creator Joss Whedon.

TedStixon

I Robot, You Jane - S1-E8

Trivia: The lead monk at the beginning of the episode is named "Thelonious." This is a not-so-subtle nod to renowned jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.

TedStixon

Trivia: Toni Collette reportedly didn't realise the movie was a horror film until she finally saw a cut of it. She was so emotionally affected by the script and her character, she assumed it was a straight-up drama with a supernatural twist. When she finally saw the movie, she realised how scary it was.

TedStixon

Trivia: Toni Collette actually auditioned for this movie as an afterthought. She was in town auditioning for another movie, and auditioned for "The Sixth Sense" on a whim. She lost the other part, and got the part of Cole's mother, earning her great feedback and praise.

TedStixon

Trivia: Funnily enough, despite having one of the most famous twists of all time, the soundtrack album actually completely spoils it - the final track is literally called "Malcolm is Dead." Anyone who saw the track listing before the movie would have it ruined for them.

TedStixon

Trivia: Part of the reason Haley Joel Osment won his part was because he impressed director M. Night Shyamalan during the audition with his dedication to the movie - he mentioned offhand that he "read it three times last night." Shyamalan asked if he meant his lines... to which Osment replied that no, he read the entire script front-to-back three times the night before.

TedStixon

Trivia: Jonah Hill was reportedly up for the role of either Penguin or the Riddler, but he dropped out early in production.

TedStixon

Trivia: Robert Pattinson auditioned for the role by wearing Val Kilmer's batsuit from the film "Batman Forever." Warner Bros. had several old batsuits in storage that have been used when new actors screentest for the role. In fact, one of Kilmer's batsuits was also used when Christian Bale auditioned for the part for Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins."

TedStixon