I have read that in the final scene (?) of The Getaway, the director told Slim Pickens to just “wing it”.
[QUOTE=astorian]
I’m not saying you have to believe it, and I’m not sure how much of it I believe myself- I merely note that Burt Reynolds has been telling such stories for years. One such account is here.
If this is true, Bill McKinney was nutso and John Boorman let him go way over the top to get the scene the way he wanted it.
In fairness, McKinney denies it completely. But I have a friend who met McKinney on the set of “Ned Blessing,” and she says McKinney STILL got a kick out of reenacting the rape scene to break up his cast-mates during the long stretches of down time on TV and movie sets.
[/QUOTE]
Wow. That is more than a little bit scary.
[QUOTE=Soul]
In the original filming of The Empire Strikes Back, the fellow who played Vader (his name escapes me, but I’m talking about the physical actor, not Jones’ voiceover) originally said “Luke, I killed your father,” not “Luke, I am your father.” The rest of the cast wasn’t let in on it until the final edit was completed. No cite, unfortunately, just something I read long ago. If I recall correctly, this was done because Vader’s true identity was such a crucial plot point that Lucas wanted to do everything in his power to avoid any sort of leaks.
[/QUOTE]
The way I heard it, what David Prowse (the guy in the Vader suit) said was “Obi-Wan killed your father.” Remember, Luke already believed Vader killed his father, because that’s what Obi-Wan told him.
As noted above, Mark Hamill was told the truth right before filming the scene. He’s commented that he probably would have played the scene differently if he’d had more time to think about it.
[QUOTE=ivylass]
Not to nitpick. EJ, but that doesn’t sound quite right. First off, it’s a movie, so it’s not like they’re going to be really killed. Second off, if “gas” were going to come out of the nozzles, the actresses would need to know that so they could act accordingly.
Unless you meant the sudden blackout is what startled them into screaming.
[/QUOTE]
IIRC the story correctly, the actors were told that the scene was taking place in a gas chamber, and the water was the surprise.
My understanding of the Empire story is that only Prowse didn’t know what was really happening in that scene, and that was because he was a notorious blabbermouth whom Lucas knew would never be able to keep the big secret.
IIRC in The Big Sleep, the author of the book was confused about who killed whom. What chance did the cast have? I am not sure this fills the question that was asked though.
According to Wikipedia (so take it for what you think it’s worth), the cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show was not informed about what was under the table they were sitting at during the Dinner Party, so their reactions when the tablecloth was pulled were more genuine. Though of course, this is less about lack of plot knowledge and more about lack of prop knowledge.
In The Hudsucker Proxy, Tim Robbins adlibbed his character’s college fight song in the scene where his new secretary claims to be an alum from the same school. Jennifer Jason Leigh’s somewhat clumsy attempt to go along with it was both authentic and entirely in character.
[QUOTE=Omniscient]
I find this story difficult to believe. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the scene, but as I recall it Hurt is laying on the bed and the apparatus/puppeteer that runs the Alien is inside the gurney. All in all, this must have taken quite a bit of time to get staged and any actors in the room must have been able to see that it wasn’t just Hurt laying there.
It makes for a interesting story, and it could be possible that the actors hadn’t seen any dress rehearsals prior to that first scene, but they’d have to be pretty daft to be totally caught by surprise at what happened. The blood and actual appearance of the puppet may have been new, but they wouldn’t have had the same shock that the audience had at the entire display.
[/QUOTE]
It’s actually the dining table that he’s lying on, but otherwise, I think you’re right. The early part of the scene, with the crew chatting over a meal and up to Kane choking and throwing a fit across the table, was ad-libbed. When the actors came onto set to film the chest-bursting section, John Hurt was rigged up into the table with a false chest-piece, there were hoses around the set to containers of fake blood, and the crew were all dressed in white smocks. So they knew roughly what was going on, but not what the alien would look like or what it would do: Scott wanted to get their natural reactions.
^^^That’s what I’ve read as well. They knew an alien was coming out of his chest–the massive sparaying of blood was what was the surprise.
Most of these movie legends turn out to be just that–legends that have been enhanced.
Example–for years Star Trek fans went on about the lady who gives Chekov and Uhura directions to the “nuclear weseels” in “The Voyage Home.” Supposedly, she was an innocent passerby who wondered into the scene. Nope, she recently gave an interview. Seems, she lived down the street–her car got towed for parking where they would be shooting, and, wanting money to get it back, she went down and joined the crowd of extras. Like the other extras, she was told not to speak to Nichols and Koenig, but to give them crazy looks. Knowing she would get more money if she spoke, she drawled away at them. Though the other extras were pissed, Nimoy liked it, kept it. I assume she got her car out of the pound as well.
But, it makes a better story if she just wondered by and naturally made her way into a movie.
Sir Rhosis
[QUOTE=Omniscient]
… as I recall it Hurt is laying on the bed and the apparatus/puppeteer that runs the Alien is inside the gurney. …
[/QUOTE]
It was the dining table in the ships mess.
Legend has it that Veronica Cartwright was so shocked by being sprayed by the blood she fainted.
If you listen to the scene it sounds like Cartwright’s scream was added in in post.
CMC +fnord!
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas]
When Rosemary makes the phone call to Donald Baumgart in “Rosemary’s Baby,” Mia Farrow didn’t know that the voice on the other end of the line was that of her good friend Tony Curtis. He had been visiting the studio that day, Mia hadn’t seen him, so director Roman Polaski asked him to do it. The puzzled look on Rosemary’s face is quite genuine, and it’s really Mia wondering why the voice sounds so familiar.
[/QUOTE]
Cool.
It’s a long time since I’ve seen Rosemary’s Baby but when I catch it again I’ll remember this. Presumably the scene wasn’t completed in one take, otherwise Mia may have ended up talking to Curtis rather than to ‘Baumgart’.
I find this easy to believe of a man whose website can be found at www.squeallikeapig.com 
VCNJ~
[QUOTE=astorian]
I’m not saying you have to believe it, and I’m not sure how much of it I believe myself- I merely note that Burt Reynolds has been telling such stories for years. One such account is here.
If this is true, Bill McKinney was nutso and John Boorman let him go way over the top to get the scene the way he wanted it.
In fairness, McKinney denies it completely. But I have a friend who met McKinney on the set of “Ned Blessing,” and she says McKinney STILL got a kick out of reenacting the rape scene to break up his cast-mates during the long stretches of down time on TV and movie sets.
[/QUOTE]
In Gone With the Wind, after Bonnie is born, Mammy and Rhett toast to her health with whiskey. In all the rehearsals, the whiskey of course, was iced tea. When it came time to shoot, Clark Gable replaced the tea with real whiskey, much to Hattie McDaniel’s surprise.
In Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, we don’t find out who Richard the Lionhearted is Sean Connery until the wedding scene between Robin Hood and Maid Marian. I wonder if the actors knew who was going to show up?
[QUOTE=ivylass]
In Gone With the Wind, after Bonnie is born, Mammy and Rhett toast to her health with whiskey. In all the rehearsals, the whiskey of course, was iced tea. When it came time to shoot, Clark Gable replaced the tea with real whiskey, much to Hattie McDaniel’s surprise.
In Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, we don’t find out who Richard the Lionhearted is Sean Connery until the wedding scene between Robin Hood and Maid Marian. I wonder if the actors knew who was going to show up?
[/QUOTE]
There’s an old joke in the West End about the difference between American theatre and British theatre. It says that the primary difference is: in America, when an actor is seen drinking whiskey, it’s really tea. In England, when an actor is seen drinking tea, it’s really whiskey.
[QUOTE=crowmanyclouds]
Legend has it that Veronica Cartwright was so shocked by being sprayed by the blood she fainted.
+fnord!
[/QUOTE]
She was freaked out, no doubt about it. And grossed out, by the look of her face and the moan she lets out (I wonder if it smelled gross too?).
According to some documentary, In the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the kids had never seen the room with the chocolate river, so their reactions are real.
The death of Henry Blake in MAS*H (okay, it’s not a movie, so sue me). The characters said goodbye to Henry without the actors knowing that he would be killed. Then they shot a scene at the end where Radar comes into the surgery and tells them that Henry was killed. The actors didn’t know about this in advance, and reacted accordingly. Sadly, someone dropped a prop, and they had to reshoot.
[QUOTE=Peter Morris]
The death of Henry Blake in MAS*H
[/QUOTE]
See posts 3, 13, 22, 23, and 26 above.
D’oh. I skimmed through the thread, and missed it.
[QUOTE=Voyager]
I agree that it was a great way to handle it - though Mclean Stevenson was pissed about being killed off for good.
[/QUOTE]
Don’t think so, I never heard that. But I have heard that Richard Hooker, the author of the original novel, was pretty pissed at his character being killed without his permission.
Remember the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) shoots the Arab swordsman?
According to the script, there was supposed to be lengthy fight scene between Ford and the swordsman (played by Terry Richards). Richards trained with a sword for months before the shooting, as he believed the scene would help boost his career.
On the day of the shoot for the Big Fight, Ford had a severe bout of dysentery, and wanted the scene over quickly. So on the first take he whips out his gun and “shoots” Richards. Apparently, Richards did not know Ford was going to do this, and (thinking it was a joke) fell to the ground as if he was hit by a bullet. When the director called it a wrap, Richards was reportedly very upset, since he believed (as mentioned) the fight scene would be a career boost for him.
From IMDB’s page on The Usual Suspects Gabriel Byrne, when asked at a film festival, “Who is Keyser Soze?” replied, “During shooting and until watching the film tonight, I thought I was!”