22 Facts for 2022: Halloween Edition

Two years ago, I shared 21 Facts for 2021: IMDB Edition because I have a weird quirk. Every time I watch a movie or television show, I read every fun fact, trivia, casting clue, behind the scenes extra that they have to share. Since it's been a while and fall is coming - here's a part two for all my pumpkin spice, leaves changing, sweater wearing, spooky lovers.

1. Practical Magic. According to Sandra Bullock in the commentary, in the scene where Gillian and Sally get drunk with their aunts and they sling insults, the actresses actually got drunk. They were drinking some very bad tequila that Nicole Kidman brought.

2. Halloween. That infamous mask worn by killer Michael Myers is not an original design created by the props department. To cut down on costs they purchased an existing prop for $2, a Captain Kirk mask from Star Trek. Yep. Michael Myers wears William Shatner's face.

3. Get Out. Jordan Peele said the title is also a reference to what he often hears black audiences shout at the screen while watching horror films: Yelling at a character to "Get out!" In this movie Rod and Andre both say it to Chris.

4. A Quiet Place. The first line of voiced dialogue isn't spoken until about 38 minutes into the film.

5. E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial. Terrified by the new threat of video piracy, Universal made home video cassettes for ET with green plastic. The plan was to make sure consumers knew that their hard-earned cash was going toward a genuine copy of the film - not a bootleg version which would have looked like a regular VHS tape. It obviously worked, as the release broke home entertainment records.

6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In order to acquaint himself with his three lead actors, director Alfonso Cuarón had each of them write an essay about their characters from a first-person point of view. Emma Watson, in true Hermione fashion, went a little overboard and wrote a 16-page essay. Daniel Radcliffe wrote a simple one-page summary, and Rupert Grint never even turned his in.

7. Star Wars: A New Hope. In order to make Obi-wan look bedraggled and desert-worn, Alec Guinness adopted a special type of method acting. Before shooting a single scene, he donned Kenobi's signature robes, laid on the Tunisian desert floor and rolled around so his costume would acquire that weathered, lived-in look.

8. Jaws. During a set visit, George Lucas decided it'd be an absolute hoot to stick his head inside the mouth of Bruce The Shark - the animatronic great white. Steven Spielberg got in on the fun and closed the jaws. The prank backfired when the prop malfunctioned and Lucas got stuck.

9. Scream. The party scene near the end of the film runs forty-two minutes long. It was shot over the course of twenty-one days from the time the sun set to the time it rose. After it wrapped, the crew had t-shirts made that read "I SURVIVED SCENE 118" (which was the name of the scene during shooting). The cast and crew jokingly called it "The longest night in horror history."

10. The Blair Witch Project. To promote discord between actors, the directors deliberately gave them less food each day of shooting. It took eight days to shoot the entire film.

11. IT (2017 Version). Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie) was the first one out of all the kids to work with Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise). During their scene, Grazer would cry and gag while Skarsgård was right in his face yelling and drooling. Skarsgård was genuinely concerned for Grazer and after the scene ended, asked him if he was okay. Grazer looked right at him and said, "Love what you're doing with the character!" Skarsgård was left confused and impressed at Grazer's attitude, calling the child actors "little professionals."

12. Carrie. The movie is based on a composite of two girls Stephen King observed while attending grade school and high school. Of one of them, he recalled: "She was a very peculiar girl who came from a very peculiar family. Her mother wasn't a religious nut like the mother in Carrie; she was a game nut, a sweepstakes nut who subscribed to magazines for people who entered contests...the girl had one change of clothes for the entire school year, and all the other kids made fun of her."

13. The Addams Family. Wednesday's middle name is "Friday." Her full name is Wednesday Friday Addams. Wednesday is one of Christina Ricci's favorite roles ever.

14. Casper. In the mirror scene, Dr. James Harvey was going to transform into Steven Spielberg. Spielberg filmed the cameo, but it was cut for pacing reasons. Spielberg was relieved, feeling he was a terrible actor.

15. Child's Play. Chucky's full name, Charles Lee Ray, is derived from the names of notorious killers Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald (assassin of John F. Kennedy) and James Earl Ray (assassin of Martin Luther King).

16. Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tim Curry was very reluctant to talk about this movie for years due to some bad memories about overzealous fans. He told VH1 that he grew "chubby and plain" to try escaping the role of Frank. These days, he's more open to talk about this movie, and even sees it as a "rite of passage" for teenagers.

17. The Exorcist. The original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of the white-faced demon quickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters, as it was deemed "too frightening".

18. The Haunting of Hill House. The Crain children represent the five stages of grief: Denial (Steven), Anger (Shirley), Bargaining (Theo), Depression (Luke), and Acceptance (Nell).

19. Halloweentown. St. Helens, Oregon, is where the original "Halloweentown" was filmed, and they welcome tourists. In fact, they have a month-long Spirit of Halloweentown event to celebrate the October holiday and allow fans of the movie to explore the town. They even try to recreate parts of the set, like the giant jack-o-lantern in the town square.

20. Beetlejuice. The studio originally wanted to call the film "House Ghosts." As a joke, Tim Burton suggested the name "Scared Sheetless" and was horrified when the studio actually considered using it.

21. Midsommar. Pay close attention to the meal scenes. With the one exception of Christian taking a bite out of his own meat pie we never see the natives actually eat anything. Their forks are always vacant and only the very tips of the ends of the forks go to their mouths, but they seem to chew something. In addition to the meals, also pay attention to the food being served. Almost all of it is rotten or rotted, the meat in particular.

AND finally, in honor of the Hocus Pocus sequel coming out in a matter of weeks ---

22. Hocus Pocus. When Bette Midler takes the stage at the town Halloween Party, she says "Hello Salem, my name is Winifred. What's yours?". This is a take-off of the famous line, "Hello everybody, my name is Rose, what's yours?" spoken by Madam Rose in the musical "Gypsy". Midler played Madam Rose in the television version, Gypsy (1993), the same year this film was released. Better Midler was 48 when his was filmed and 76 in the new sequel.