These days, directors and producers have taught us to look for easter eggs—tiny gags and references hidden into the movie that serve no other function than to wink and say, "See what we did there?" While we all talk about these hidden gems like well-informed cinephiles, the fact is that your favourite film is likely concealing a much larger cache of secrets.

1. That Charcoal of Naked Kate Winslet was drawn by James Cameron in Titanic.

James Cameron, the director of Titanic, drew that little sensational charcoal picture of a topless Kate Winslet in the film. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself if you want things done well.

2. Toy Story 2 Was Nearly Destroyed

A command put in the "master machine" where Toy Story 2's animation was stored erased 90% of the work done by the Pixar team.

Fortunately, the film's technical director had a duplicate of the picture that she had been working on from home, and it was restored in large part.

3. After the success of Ratatouille, pet rats were high in demand.

Following the popularity of the 2007 film based on the charming, culinary-inspired vermin, children all around the world asked their parents, "Is it possible to obtain one? I assure you that I will take care of it."

After the film's debut, at least one domestic pet store observed a 50 per cent increase in pet rat sales. We're curious as to how many of those rats become parents right away...

4. The Wallet in Pulp Fiction Was Quentin Tarantino's.

The filmmaker picked up Jules' wallet in Pulp Fiction, which reads "Bad #&$&*@$," since it was a homage to the 1971 picture Shaft. In the 2000 remake of Shaft, Samuel L. Jackson would go on to portray the character that inspired the pocketbook.

5. Up had a total of 10,297 balloons.

Every single one of the balloons in Up was made by the animators that worked on the film. Jon Reisch, the film's effects artist, told Tech Radar, "Balloons are strewn throughout the whole canopy. We didn't only create a model of the outside shell." They even obtained a precise count of how many balloons there were: 10,297.

6. Jurassic Park Raptors Sound Like Tortoises Mating

The horrific sounds generated by Jurassic Park's raptors were inspired by recordings of tortoises mating. Horses breathing and geese hissing were also tried out, but the tortoises proved to be the most evocative.

7. Paranormal Activity is the most profitable film of all time.

The 2007 film Paranormal Activity had a return on investment of 19,758 per cent thanks to its modest budget and massive box office success, easily outperforming the next most lucrative picture (2015 horror film The Gallows, with an ROI of 6,843 per cent). It only cost $60,000 to produce and another $400,000 to advertise, yet it grossed more than $89 million.

8. Brit Rock Appearances in Harry Potter

The Harry Potter film franchise has almost every British character actor in cinema, as well as a few British rock artists.

Pulp members Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey, as well as Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway, play The Weird Sisters in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

9. American Psycho Was Inspired by Tom Cruise

Christian Bale said he was inspired by a Cruise interview on David Letterman's show when he was struck by the actor's "really intense friendship with nothing behind the eyes," as American Psycho director Mary Harron described it.

10. Sushi Is Where The Matrix Code Is Found

Those complex-looking green digits scrolling down the screen in The Matrix may look like mysterious code, but in fact, they were symbols from a sushi cookbook, scanned by the movie's production designer.

CITATION

Daniel, Alex. “30 Movie Facts That Will Blow Your Mind.” Best Life, 7 June 2018, https://bestlifeonline.com/movie-facts/.