Actor Jake Gyllenhaal tried out for the part of Frodo in the Lord of the Rings but was not even aware he had to have a British accent for the role, resulting in one of the worst auditions they had. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bp/jake-gyllenhaal-says-audition-frodo-hot-mess-201512105.html
Movies
WTF Fun Fact – Mr. Miyagi Childhood
Noriyuki βPatβ Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 classic Karate Kid, was 2 years old when he contracted spinal tuberculosis and was confined to a bed in a sanitarium for 9 years. When experimental medicine finally cured him, he was sent to live in an internment camp in Arizona with his family. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://people.com/archive/after-a-lifetime-of-misfortune-karate-kids-noriyuki-pat-morita-battles-his-way-to-a-happy-ending-vol-25-no-26/
WTF Fun Fact – Academy Awards Mystery Oscar
The Academy Awards originally handed out a golden statue called the Academy Award of Merit in 1929. However, the origination of how it became known as an Oscar is a mystery. One story claims that the then Academy librarian, Margaret Herrick, thought the statue resembled her uncle Oscar. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/origins-oscar-how-prized-statue-870191
WTF Fun Fact – Makeup On A Shoestring Budget
Robin Mathews won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling for the 2013 movie Dallas Buyers Club which had a makeup budget of only $250 for the entire 28 days of production. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/02/dallas-buyers-club-makeup-oscar-nomination
WTF Fun Fact – Mr. Potato Head
Don Rickles, the voice of Mr. Potato Head, passed away before he was able to record any dialogue for Toy Story 4. Rather than replace him, Disney reviewed 25 years of material from the first three films, video games, and other media and were able to assemble enough dialogue to cover the entire film. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://ew.com/movies/2019/03/28/toy-story-4-potato-head/
WTF Fun Fact – The Untrained Godfather
Mario Puzo, the author of The Godfather books who helped adapt them to film, had no formal training and had never written a screenplay before. After winning two Oscars for the first two movies, he decided to buy a book to help him learn to how to screenwrite. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701492922/a-look-back-at-the-godfather-with-mario-puzo-and-francis-ford-coppola
WTF Fun Fact – Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd has both Tourette’s and Asperger’s and was born with webbed toes and two different colored eyes. He also has an obsession with police and ghosts, which is how the idea of Ghostbusters came to be. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.montgomeryacademyonline.org/blog/dan-aykroyd-battling-with-aspergers-and-tourettes1651/
WTF Fun Fact – No Mafia In The Godfather
The movie The Godfather does not contain the words ‘mafia’ or ‘la cosa nostra’ because of a deal struck between the producer and the mafia. β WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://mentalfloss.com/article/93739/when-mob-protested-godfather
WTF Fun Fact – The Matrix Sushi Recipes
The Matrix production designer Simon Whiteley confirmed that the green falling code in the Matrix is loads of sushi recipes. β WTF Fun Facts