25 Amazing Fun Facts You Never Knew About Hollywood Movie Magic

Where would we be without the silver screen?

Books are great, but there's nothing like the visual of a good, tear-jerking love story or action-adventure flick.

From dinosaurs to Dumb and Dumber, here are some things you might not have known about Hollywood movie magic.

Fun Facts About the Movies That You Never Knew

• The first movie ever made was only 2.5 seconds long. It was created by Louis Le Prince in 1888 and was called the "Roundhay Garden Scene."

• The highest-grossing film of all time is currently Avatar (2009), which has earned over $2.8 billion worldwide.

• The word "movie" comes from "moving picture," coined in the early 1900s.

• The longest movie ever made is "The Cure for Insomnia" (1987), which has a running time of 87 hours.

• The first feature-length animated movie was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), produced by Walt Disney.

• The dinosaur roars in the "Jurassic Park" movies were created by mixing animal sounds, including the sounds of a baby elephant, a tiger, and an alligator.

• The character of Jack Dawson in "Titanic" was initially written for Matthew McConaughey, but the role ultimately went to Leonardo DiCaprio.

• The famous line "Here's looking at you, kid" from "Casablanca" was ad-libbed by Humphrey Bogart.

• The iconic DeLorean time machine from the "Back to the Future" movies was initially intended to be a refrigerator.

• The role of Harry Dunne in "Dumb and Dumber" was originally offered to Nicolas Cage, but he turned it down.

• History Lost. Over 90 percent of all the movies made before 1929 are lost forever. No known copies exist.

• Have you ever wondered why the word "mafia" is never used in "The Godfather?" Because the actual mafia demanded it. I guess they made producers an offer they couldn't refuse.

• All those previews that take forever before the movie begins used to play after the movie years ago.

• Paranormal Activity was one of the highest-grossing movies ($193 million) and had one of the lowest budgets (less than $15,000).

• The movie Titanic cost more to make than the Titanic ocean liner cost to build.

• Iconic karate artist Bruce Lee was so fast that parts of his movies had to be slowed down to see his moves.

• That monster tub of popcorn you buy at the movies costs more per ounce than filet mignon. Happy dining.

• Many movies are made in the USA, but even more each year in Nigeria. I guess it's a cost union thing.

• The Apollo Creed character in the Rocky movies was based on Muhammad Ali.

• Perhaps Hollywood had a surplus of the F-word. It was used 256 times in the movie Pulp Fiction.

• The movie Time Machine could never be filmed in China. For whatever reason, China bans movies with any time travel theme.

• India sent a rocket to Mars. The movie "Gravity" cost more to make than the cost of that mission.

• So much for top billing. The "Godzilla" monster was only on screen for about eight minutes in the 2014 film of the same name.

• Oscar-winning director James Cameron quit his job as a truck driver and decided to enter the film industry after seeing the movie Star Wars.

• Sandra Bullock won the Oscar (The Blind Side) and the Golden Raspberry (for the worst film) on the same weekend. She collected both.

Some Final Thoughts on Movie Magic

I confess I love movies. I can't remember the last time I watched a TV sitcom.

It's nice to suspend the reality of politics, the economy, and all the world issues for 90 minutes and watch the guys in the white hats vanquish the guys in the black hats.

What's your favorite movie?

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