50 movie trivia facts you (probably) don't know

31. American Psycho (1998)

Did you know? After catching an episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, on which Tom Cruise guest-starred, Christian Bale decided to base his portrayal of Patrick Bateman on the actor. According to director Mary Harron, Bale said it was Cruise's "very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes" that he thought would be perfect for Bateman. 

30. Goodfellas (1990)

Did you know? While Harry Met Sally director Nora Ephron was married to Goodfellas writer Nicholas Pileggi, she was inspired by some of Henry Hill's experiences in witness protection and channeled them into a screenplay for a comedy - the Steve Martin-Rick Moranis movie My Blue Heaven, which ended up being released only a month after Scorsese's film.

29. The Godfather (1972)

Did you know? Although popular myth has long-since implied that Marlon Brando padded his cheeks with cotton wool to nail the unforgettable speech pattern of Vito Corleone, he did so only for the audition. Before the actual filming began, he had a mouthpiece specially created by a dentist to give him the same effect.

28. Annie Hall (1977)

Did you know? It's common knowledge that Woody Allen's movies have a tendency to delve into the fraught side of the human psyche. He originally had intended this for Annie Hall to be a much darker drama called Anhedonia, named after the psychological condition of being unable to experience pleasure. One of those early subplots later became the basis for Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery.

27. The Exorcist (1973)

Did you know? The actress who voiced the demon, Mercedes McCambridge, went full-on method to get Pazuzu's voice just right. Before stepping into the vocal booth she chugged down raw eggs, chain smoked and knocked back whiskey, all to make her sound harsher than normal, and during the actual recordings she was bound to a chair. The maddest part? She refused to receive a credit.

26. Thelma and Louise (1991)

Did you know? The final shot of the movie is prefaced by a sweet moment between the two leads: they kiss. Director Ridley Scott had already vetoed the idea of Louise (Susan Sarandon) kissing Thelma (Geena Davis) at the end, but Sarandon did it anyway without telling him. It was the last shot on the last day, and Scott had no choice but to use it.

25. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Did you know? Morgan Freeman's line to Tim Robbins as he's describing his character - "Maybe it's 'cause I'm an Irishman" - was not written to be a joke. Even after Freeman was cast in the role, the script carried over that detail from Stephen King's source novella, where Red really is Irish.

24. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Did you know? Having gone out of his way to make the film's gunshots loud, director-star Warren Beatty was a little puzzled while watching the movie at the British premiere. Why? The projectionist at the cinema was deliberately lowering the volume because he thought the sound was poorly mixed.

23. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Did you know? The FX bods at Industrial Light & Magic had fun at George Lucas' expense when choosing which random objects they'd fling into the asteroid field: the most amusing items include a potato and a shoe.

22. Fargo (1996)

Did you know? Roderick Jaynes was nominated for the Best Editor Oscar for Fargo. This, after over a decade of stellar work cutting together the Coen brothers films and penning introductions to the printed versions of their screenplays. Entertainment Weekly also included him in its 50 Smartest People in Hollywood list. But he doesn't exist. "He" is a pseudonym used by the Coen brothers. Jaynes went on to get nominated for No Country For Old Men.

21. The Social Network (2010)

Did you know? Rather than use split-screen, David Fincher shot most of the Winklevii's scenes with two actors - Armie Hammer and Josh Pence - and digitally grafted the former's face onto the latter in post-production. The two actors went to twin boot camp to match up their body language, while Pence's face got a cameo during a party scene.