# Unintentional Movie Ironies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794 "2010-10-29T17:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/1 "2010-10-29T17:53:28Z")
In [The Prestige](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/), Andy Serkis’ character has the following line: > [@](#): > > I saw your show in London - you guessed what everyone had in their pockets! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/2 "2010-10-29T17:56:16Z")
Never spotted that. Nice 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/3 "2010-10-29T18:01:43Z")
I must be terribly dense. Can you help me out here? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/4 "2010-10-29T18:03:57Z")
Serkis played Gollum. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/5 "2010-10-29T18:07:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Serkis played Gollum. I don’t know if that was completely unintentional, though, since Serkis was already Gollum by then. _Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story_ has a mystical subplot about how an evil spirit is threatening him and then his son, only to be vanquished by Bruce in the end. Sadly, Brandon’s ultimate fate (on _The Crow_ set) demonstrates that perhaps the evil spirit did ultimately emerge victorious. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/6 "2010-10-29T18:08:28Z")
I kind of doubt that was unintentional, actually. It’s not like The Prestige was made before Serkis was cast as Gollum. Edit - Blast, ninja’d by the tricksy hobbitses… ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/7 "2010-10-29T19:17:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Serkis played Gollum. I get that, but how is it relevant? Because Bilbo hid the Ring in his pocket? I am not nearly the LOTR fan that most folklorists are. ---
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/8 "2010-10-29T19:29:46Z")
In Naked Gun 33 1/3, Frank Drebin retires from the police force and in his leaving speech says something like, “now, if I want to kill anyone, it will have to be in the privacy of my own home”. Not that funny a line. OJ Simpson is in the assembled throng nodding along though… ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/9 "2010-10-29T19:34:16Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I get that, but how is it relevant? Because Bilbo hid the Ring in his pocket? > > I am not nearly the LOTR fan that most folklorists are. In _The Hobbit_, Bilbo “wins” a riddle contest against Gollum when, feeling the Ring in his pocket, he absent-mindedly asks “What have I got in my pocket?” Gollum is unable to guess and has to show Bilbo how to excape from the caves he is lost in. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/10 "2010-10-29T19:40:56Z")
In **12 Monkeys** , Bruce Willis says “Everyone I see is dead.” This is pretty close to the famous line in **The Sixth Sense**. Of course, Kevin Costner in **Field of Dreams** says, basically, “I believe Oswald acted alone.” He later starred in **JFK**. More creepy is the Groucho Marx line to Thelma Todd: “You’ll have to stay in the garage overnight.” Todd was later found dead in a garage – where she probably was overnight. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/11 "2010-10-29T19:42:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I > > Of course, Kevin Costner in **Field of Dreams** says, basically, “I believe Oswald acted alone.” He later starred in **JFK**. That would be _Bull Durham_, and I’m quite sure it was intentional. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/12 "2010-10-29T19:52:26Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > That would be _Bull Durham_, and I’m quite sure it was intentional. What would be intentional about it? Bull Durham was made before JFK. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/13 "2010-10-29T19:59:53Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What would be intentional about it? Bull Durham was made before JFK. How about that? I guess I noticed it after JFK and assumed. Sorry, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/14 "2010-10-29T20:07:34Z")
Not a movie, but there are a lot of jokes involving Phil Hartman’s character, Bill McNeal, that are just creepy and sad now. Gun jokes, death jokes . . . I can’t think of specific examples right now, but some of them really make me cringe. Miss ya, Phil. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/15 "2010-10-29T20:48:22Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > In _The Hobbit_, Bilbo “wins” a riddle contest against Gollum when, feeling the Ring in his pocket, he absent-mindedly asks “What have I got in my pocket?” Gollum is unable to guess and has to show Bilbo how to excape from the caves he is lost in. And then Gollum spends the next few decades asking himself “What has he got in his pocketses?” ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/16 "2010-10-29T20:58:01Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > In _The Hobbit_, Bilbo “wins” a riddle contest against Gollum when, feeling the Ring in his pocket, he absent-mindedly asks “What have I got in my pocket?” Gollum is unable to guess and has to show Bilbo how to excape from the caves he is lost in. Got it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/17 "2010-10-29T21:00:34Z")
Not a movie, but there was an episode of Seinfeld where Elaine was trying to get her boyfriend to change his name from Joel Rifkin (who was an infamous serial killer at the time). One of the names she suggested was O.J. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/18 "2010-10-29T21:23:57Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Not a movie, but there are a lot of jokes involving Phil Hartman’s character, Bill McNeal, that are just creepy and sad now. Gun jokes, death jokes . . . I can’t think of specific examples right now, but some of them really make me cringe. > > Miss ya, Phil. Also not a movie, but I always found it ironic how many prescient lyrics John Lennon sang with the Beatles. “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” being the prime example. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/19 "2010-10-29T23:10:21Z")
In _Blazing Saddles_, Gene Wilder’s character tells the story about how he gave up his gunslinging days when a young boy challenged him to a duel, and then shot him. In _Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory_ (made three years earlier), when Wilder’s character first meets Mike Teevee (wearing an old west gunslinger costume), TeeVee draws on him and pretends to shoot him. > [@Scarlett67](#): > > Not a movie, but there are a lot of jokes involving Phil Hartman’s character, Bill McNeal, that are just creepy and sad now. Gun jokes, death jokes . . . I can’t think of specific examples right now, but some of them really make me cringe. > > Miss ya, Phil. I saw an episode recently where a psychic was visiting the station (part of the entertainment for Mr. James’s Halloween party). She told Bill’s future and predicted his death to be several decades away. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794/20 "2010-10-30T01:00:08Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > In _Blazing Saddles_, Gene Wilder’s character tells the story about how he gave up his gunslinging days when a young boy challenged him to a duel, and then shot him. > > In _Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory_ (made three years earlier), when Wilder’s character first meets Mike Teevee (wearing an old west gunslinger costume), TeeVee draws on him and pretends to shoot him. > > I saw an episode recently where a psychic was visiting the station (part of the entertainment for Mr. James’s Halloween party). She told Bill’s future and predicted his death to be several decades away. In that vein, there’s the famous SNL sketch from years back where John Belushi is visiting the graves of all the other original Not-Ready-For-Primetime players, and says that he’s the last surviving cast member from that group. In reality he was the first to die. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentional-movie-ironies/558794.md?page=2)