11 Untold Stories Behind the Scenes of Iconic Movies

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 2001，IMDB Rating: 7.3, IMDB Votes: 1674, ID: 0304142
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is about a young Harry Potter who is invited to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic. One of the biggest challenges the director faced was bringing the magical world to life on the big screen. From the bustle of Diagon Alley to the majesty of Hogwarts Castle, the design and construction of the set shows the production team’s extreme pursuit of details.
2. The Dark Knight 2008，IMDB Rating: 9.0, IMDB Votes: 2900367, ID: 0468569
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In The Dark Knight, Nolan insisted on making many of the action scenes as realistic as possible. The famous hospital explosion scene in the movie was done behind the scenes with real explosions rather than relying on CGI effects. Surprisingly, when part of the hospital explosion malfunctioned, Ledger kept his character’s cool and improvised on the spot, leading to an explosion scene that ended up being much more exciting.
3. Avatar 2009，IMDB Rating: 7.9, IMDB Votes: 1395874, ID: 0499549
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Avatar is a movie that redefined the boundaries of visual effects. An interesting behind-the-scenes story is about Zoe Saldana’s (who plays Neytiri) performance. She specialized in bow and arrow shooting and horseback riding in order to make her on-screen movements more in line with the nimble nature of the Na’vi. Her dedication and meticulous preparation made Cameron very pleased with her performance.
4. Inception 2010，IMDB Rating: 8.8, IMDB Votes: 2576244, ID: 1375666
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Inception is about dream thief Dom Cobb who implants or steals secrets from his targets’ subconscious by infiltrating their dreams. Director Nolan insisted on shooting the winter dream scenes on location in Norway to enhance the realism of the movie.
5. The Avengers 2012，IMDB Rating: 8.0, IMDB Votes: 1469097, ID: 0848228
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The Avengers is a movie that brings together many superheroes. At the end of the movie is a lighthearted egg. When the scene was actually filmed, the scene was shot only a few days before the movie’s release, and Chris Evans, who was in the middle of filming Snowpiercer, had to wear a fake chin to hide his beard, making the scene an instant fan favorite afterward.
6. Mad Max: Fury Road 2015，IMDB Rating: 8.1, IMDB Votes: 1119277, ID: 1392190
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Mad Max: Fury Road is about Max and Furiosa teaming up in a desolate wasteland world to fight against the rulers in an attempt to free imprisoned women. A memorable behind-the-scenes story is that the crew spent months in the Namibian desert, facing extreme weather, sandstorms, and grueling filming conditions.
7. La La Land 2016，IMDB Rating: 8.0, IMDB Votes: 682521, ID: 3783958
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La La Land is a revival of the classic Hollywood musical about Sebastian, a jazz musician with a dream, and Mia, an aspiring actress, who fall in love and pursue their dreams together in Los Angeles. An interesting behind-the-scenes story involves the movie’s opening freeway group dance scene. The scene was filmed on an elevated stretch of freeway in Los Angeles, with dozens of dancers weaving and dancing between crowded vehicles.
8. Black Panther 2018，IMDB Rating: 7.3, IMDB Votes: 845002, ID: 1825683
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Black Panther is about T’Challa facing the challenge of defending his home and his throne. A particularly touching behind-the-scenes story comes from Chadwick Boseman himself. He already knew he had cancer during the filming of Black Panther, but he didn’t let anyone know and did his best to complete all the difficult action sequences.
9. The Irishman 2019，IMDB Rating: 7.8, IMDB Votes: 435562, ID: 1302006
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The Irishman is the memoir of hitman Frank Sheeran, looking back at his exploits in his gangster career. Martin Scorsese used rejuvenation special effects techniques in order for the actors to show the full life of the character, which posed a number of challenges for the actors while filming.
10. 1917 (2019) 2020，IMDB Rating: 0.0, IMDB Votes: 0, ID: 24820246
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1917 is the story of two young British soldiers, Schofield and Blake, who cross enemy lines to deliver a vital message that will save the lives of 1,600 soldiers. One of the most striking aspects of the movie is the unique “one take” filming technique. The lead actors had to go through rigorous rehearsals to make sure that every move was perfectly synchronized with the movement of the camera.
11. Tenet 2020，IMDB Rating: 7.3, IMDB Votes: 601523, ID: 6723592
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Tenet is about an unnamed protagonist who is introduced to a complex world of “back-in-time” technology and must prevent a disaster that could destroy the future. In an interesting behind-the-scenes story, Nolan asked his actors to learn how to perform action sequences while filming “backwards in time. The actors were required to run, fight, and perform in the exact opposite way.