1.Universal Film Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated in New
York on April 30, 1912. Company legend says Carl Laemmle was inspired to name
his company Universal after seeing “Universal Pipe Fittings” written on a
passing delivery wagon.
2.The only physical damage made during the filming of National Lampoon’s
Animal House was when John Belushi made a hole in the wall with a
guitar. The actual Sigma Nu fraternity house (which subbed for the fictitious
Delta House) never repaired it, and instead framed the hole in honor of the
film.
3.The working title for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was “A Boy’s
Life.”
4.In the movie All Quiet on the Western Front, the Greek writing on
the blackboard in the schoolroom is the beginning of Homer’s Odyssey:
“Tell me, oh Muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide.”
5.In 1969, a then 22-year old Steven Spielberg was assigned to direct the
Universal Television series pilot, Night Gallery. It’s safe to say things
went pretty well for Steven after that.
6.The word “dude” in The Big Lebowski is used approximately 161
times in the movie: 160 times spoken and once in text (in the credits for “Gutterballs”
the second dream sequence). The F-word or a variation of the F-word is used 292
times. The Dude says “man” 147 times in the movie—that’s nearly 1.5 times a
minute.
7.The first feature filmed at Universal City was Damon and Pythias
in 1914.
8.President Ronald Reagan starred in the 1951 Universal feature film,
Bedtime for Bonzo.
9.Back to the Future’s
DeLorean time machine is actually a licensed, registered vehicle in the state of
California. While the vanity license plate used in the film says “OUTATIME,”
the DeLorean’s actual license plate reads 3CZV657.
10.The film A Beautiful Mind was shot in sequence in order to help
Russell Crowe better develop his character’s emotional and physical arc.
11.American Graffiti’s
budget was exactly $777,777.77, and it was delivered on time – and on budget.
12.In the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds, Tippi Hedren was
actually cut in the face by a bird during the shooting of one sequence.
13. Throughout his career, Rock Hudson appeared in 46 feature films with Universal including Pillow Talk, All That Heaven Allows and Magnificent Obsession.
In 1953, he was elected Mayor of Universal City.
14.The infamous apple pie in the movie American Pie was purchased by
the production from Costco.
15.In the movie The Breakfast Club, the students ate the following
for lunch: Andrew: A bag of chips, chocolate cookies, three sandwiches, milk, a
banana and an apple. Claire: Sushi. Allison: Sandwich with Pixie Stix and
Captain Crunch cereal. Brian: Soup, sandwich with peanut butter and jam and
apple juice. Bender: Nothing.
16.In Brokeback Mountain, the song Jack plays on his harmonica is “He
Was a Friend of Mine,” the same song Willie Nelson sings during the closing
credits.
17.The film Buck Privates took in $4 million at the U.S. Box Office
(at a time when theater admission ranged between 10 and 25 cents).
18.A sneak preview of the film Buck Privates was held in late January
1941 for soldiers at Fort MacArthur, California.
19.The Munster’s House on Colonial Street was originally built for the 1946
production, So Goes My Love.
20.The title of the movie Do The Right Thing comes from a Malcolm X
quote: “You’ve got to do the right thing.”
21.According to reports, during some of the Russian roulette scenes in the
movie The Deer Hunter, a live round was put into the gun to heighten the
actors’ tension per Robert De Niro’s suggestion. It was checked, however, to
make sure the bullet was not in the chamber before the trigger was pulled.
22.In the first scene of the movie Double Indemnity, when Walter
first kisses Phyllis, there is a wedding ring on Walter’s hand. Fred MacMurray
was married and the ring was not noticed until post-production.
23.When Bela Lugosi, star of the monster classic, Dracula, died in
1956, he was buried wearing a black silk cape similar to the one he wore in the
film.
24.At 29,500 sq. ft., Universal Studios’ Stage 12 is the 7th
largest soundstage in the world. It was originally built for the 1929 musical
Broadway.
25.Carl Laemmle Jr. offered James Whale a list of more than 30 film
adaptations he could direct and out of them all, Whale picked Frankenstein.
It was his transition from war movies to monster pics.
26.Today’s Universal City officially opened March 15, 1915. Nearly three
years after Universal Film Manufacturing Company was created. The first mayor
was Herbert Rawlinson.
27.Vans, the company behind the checkerboard shoes worn by Sean Penn (a.k.a.
Jeff Spicoli) in the cult movie classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High,
became a national brand after the film’s release in 1982.
28.Actor Charlton Heston “parted” the Red Sea attraction on the Universal
Studios Tour at the attraction’s grand opening in 1973.
29.Neither Michelle Rodriguez nor Jordana Brewster had drivers’ licenses or
even learners’ permits before production of the film in Fast and the Furious.
30.Universal pioneered the Academy Award-winning Sensurround Sound System
which made its first appearance in the 1974 movie, Earthquake. The
Sensurround system caused low-frequency audio waves to be felt by the audience
and created a visceral complement to the seismic tremors and destruction
depicted on screen..
31.In the movie Field of Dreams, both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are
among the thousands of extras in the Fenway Park scene. Over a decade later,
when Phil Alden Robinson worked with Affleck on the production of The Sum of
All Fears, Affleck said, “Nice working with you again.”
32.In the coliseum scenes in Gladiator, only the bottom two decks are
actually filled with people. The other thousands of spectators are
computer-animated.
33.Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey was the first actress at
Universal to receive a nomination for “Best Actress” at the Academy Awards.
34.William Powell from the 1936 film, My Man Godfrey was the first
actor at Universal to receive a nomination for “Best Actor” at the Academy
Awards.
35.The Universal sound technician, Jack Foley, developed the method of
creating and recording many of the natural, everyday sound effects in a film.
Today this method is named after him.
36.Universal’s first talking picture was Melody of Love.
37.The Universal Amphitheatre opened in 1972 with a staged concert version
of Jesus Christ Superstar. The film version was released in 1973.
38.The legendary thriller and suspense director Alfred Hitchcock did not win
any Academy Awards while working with Universal.
39.Thomas Edison presented Universal Studios with a plaque dedicating its
first electric studio on October 27, 1915.
40.In the infamous shower scene in Psycho, the sound of the
knife-stabbing actress Janet Leigh was made by plunging a knife into a melon.
41.The film Traffic in Souls is considered Universal’s first
full-length feature film.
42.The legendary studio head Irving Thalberg got his start in show business
as Carl Laemmle’s personal secretary in 1917.
43.ET: The Extra Terrestrial
is Universal Pictures’ all-time highest grossing film.
44.With the over-budget production of Show Boat, Carl Laemmle was
forced to sell Universal Studios to his creditors in 1936.
45.In 1995, Waterworld generated worldwide attention for being the
most expensive film made to date. Unable to live up to expectations at the box
office, the film eventually turned a profit due to strong home video sales and
inspired one of the most popular theme park attractions of all time.
46.About 25% of the film Jaws was shot from water level so audiences
could better relate to treading water.
47.In the film The Invisible Man, the director dressed Claude Rains
in black velvet and filmed him against a black velvet background to create the
effect that he wasn’t there.
48.Some of the props used in the 2005 version of King Kong were
original props from the 1933 version. These props came from Peter Jackson’s
personal collection and include the Skull Island spears and brightly painted
shield, and some of the drums from the sacrifice scene.
49.In Jurassic Park, a guitar string was used to make the water
ripple on the dash of the Ford Explorer by attaching it to the underside of the
dash beneath the glass.
50.Universal entered the 3-D market with the film, It Came from Outer
Space (1953)
51.Universal won its first Best Picture Academy Award for All Quiet on
the Western Front in 1930.
52.Steven Spielberg nicknamed the mechanical shark in the movie Jaws,
“Bruce.”
53.In the film The Incredible Shrinking Man, when Louise is on the
phone asking for the operator, the music playing on the radio is the theme song
to Written on the Wind, which was made at Universal the year prior.
54.The script Charlton Heston holds in the film Earthquake as he’s
running lines with Genevieve Bujold is actually the script for “Earthquake” and
on the page of the scene being shot.
55.It took two-and-a-half hours a day to apply Lon Chaney’s makeup in The
Hunchback of Notre Dame.
56.Legendary Universal Chairman Lew R. Wasserman received an Academy Award
in 1973 for his role as a
humanitarian.
57.With the film Meet the Fockers, the MPAA would not allow use of
the name ‘Focker’ unless the filmmakers could find an actual person with that
last name.
58.The first American film to show a toilet flushing on screen was Psycho.
59.While Jurassic Park was in post-production, Steven Spielberg began
working on Schindler’s List in Poland and worked via satellite, courtesy
of technology provided by George Lucas.
60.In the film, Scarface, an M16 assault rifle with an M203 40mm
grenade launcher attached to the barrel is Tony’s “little friend.”
61.The 1932 film Scarface was one of the first films to feature the Thompson
submachine gun, known historically as the “tommy gun.”
62.In the film Pillow Talk, Tony Randall was supposed to fake a
reaction to being decked in the face by one of the restaurant patrons. However,
during filming, the actor overestimated and actually knocked out Randall. The
shot was so well done— it was used in the film.
63.Alfred Hitchcock did not choose to conclude the film, The Birds, with the
usual “THE END” title because he wanted to leave the audience with the feeling
of unending terror and uncertainty.
64.Groucho Marx explained the title Duck Soup as follows: “Take two
turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one
taste, you’ll duck soup the rest of your life.”
65.For Despicable Me, the film’s directors Chris Renaud and Pierre
Coffin provide most of the voices for Gru’s minions.
66.In The Nutty Professor starring Eddie Murphy, the family dinner
scene was initially going to be cut out due to what was believed to be its lack
of relevance.
67.When the Universal Studios Tour opened to the general public in 1964, the
general admission price for one adult was $2.50.
68.The children who sang the song, “Every Sperm is Sacred” in the Monty
Python film, The Meaning of Life, later said they had no idea what sperm
was or what they were singing about.
69.In the film, My Little Chickadee, Cuthbert J. Twille (W.C. Fields)
says to Flower Belle (Mae West), “Why don’t you come up and see me
sometime?”—This is in reference to West’s famous line in the film She Done
Him Wrong.
70.The following institutions have existed at one time on the Universal
Studios lot—a school, zoo, and hospital.
71.The hair-washing scene in Out of Africa was shot very close to a
live, territorial hippopotamus. Meryl Streep was extremely nervous during its
filming.
72.The locusts in the 1999 film, The Mummy, were mostly
computer-generated, however, some live grasshoppers were used. Hours before
filming they were chilled in a refrigerator to make them more sluggish.
73.In Smokey and the Bandit, the Trans-Am featured in the bridge jump
scene was fitted with a more powerful Chevrolet engine.
74.The average shot length in the film Vertigo is 6.7
seconds.
75.The permanent set in Stage 28 was created to be a replica of the landmark
The Paris Opera House, for the classic film, The Phantom of the Opera.
76.When you hear the sound of the crowd cheering, “Spartacus! Spartacus!” in
the movie Spartacus, it was actually a pre-taped recording from a 1959
football game at Michigan State University’s Spartan Stadium.
77.In Sullivan’s Travels, director Preston Sturges can be seen in the
background on the set of ‘The Girls’ period movie.
78.The cake in the movie Sixteen Candles is made of cardboard.
79.The final speech by Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird was done
in one take.
80.The diner in the movie The Sting is the same diner interior used
in Back to the Future.
81.In 1928, famous cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, debuted at a
Universal-owned theater.
82.Elizabeth Taylor made her feature film debut in Universal’s 1942 film,
There’s One Born Every Minute.
83.Yes, at some point, some Universal executive, or team of executives,
thought 1986’s Howard the Duck was a good idea.
84.The dog chase scene at the beginning of the film Beethoven was
filmed on the Universal backlot.
85.The title of the film Streets of Fire starring Michael Paré and
Diane Lane, was drawn from a Bruce Springsteen song, from his album Darkness
on the Edge of Town. The song, unfortunately, does not appear in the film.
86.Robert Redford’s character in The Sting is named after blues
legend John Lee Hooker. The character’s name is Johnny Hooker.
87.1920’s Shipwrecked Among Cannibals was the first film to gross
$1,000,000 for Universal.
88.Prominent Universal Director Edward Laemmle was the nephew of Universal
Founder Carl Laemmle. He directed over 60 films (including shorts) for
Universal.
89.In The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the films that are watched by the
“employees” in the Smar-Tech store are all produced by Universal.
90.The Blues Brothers “Bluesmobile” is a 1974 Dodge Monaco.
91.Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
is only the second time Bela Lugosi would play “Dracula” in a feature film. (He
played other vampires in the interim, but not Dracula.)
92.In 1973’s High Plains Drifter starring Clint Eastwood, one of the
headstones in the graveyard bears the name Sergio Leone as a tribute.
93.On Golden Pond
was Henry Fonda’s final film, and the only one he starred in with his daughter
Jane.
94.Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
is the third major motion picture produced by Universal from
a book written by Theodore Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.
95.In 1992’s Scent of Woman, Al Pacino repeatedly shouts “Hoo-ah.” “Hoo-ah”
comes from the military acronym “HUA” which stands for “Heard, Understood,
Acknowledged.”
96.The car wash in Car Wash was named The Dee Luxe Car Wash.
97.1971’s Play Misty for Me was set in Carmel, CA, where Clint
Eastwood later lived and became mayor in 1986.
98.”The Bride” in “The Bride of Frankenstein” is the only one of Universal
Studios’ Classic Monsters to have never killed anyone.
99.Throughout its hundred year legacy, Universal brought to audiences the
first films of talents such as John Ford, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg,
Norman Jewison, Ben Stiller, Robert Zemeckis, John Hughes, Amy Heckerling, Spike
Jonze, Zack Snyder and Judd Apatow.
100.More than 100 million people from around the world have taken the
Universal Studios “studio tour.” While the tour officially began in 1964,
Universal has been welcoming the public to our studio since 1915 and the silent
era.
Glazed ceramic jar
Statue of King Ashurnasirpal II
