Who said directors are all about work and no play? Some of them often go off the route to add fun elements to the story. These details may not even target the fans necessarily. Sometimes, there are inside jokes that are meant only for the actors and the productions team. So, there are high chances of you missing out on the reference. Nevertheless, these funny little moments and anecdotes are worth discovering. Find out the 12 hidden jokes in movies that you missed.
Shaun of the Dead
When Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright reunited for “Shaun of the Dead”, they paid homage to one of the characters from their previous project “Spaced”. Michael Smiley’s Tyra O’Flaherty from “Spaced” reappeared in the movie as a zombie in Tyra’s clothes.
Iron Man
“Iron Man” gave a major shoutout to the legendary “The Big Lebowski” in the movie. When Pepper Potts was snooping through Obadiah Stane’s system to track the smuggling of weapons, she came across some shocking information. It revealed that Stane was illegally shipping the weapons into the black market on a vessel named “MSC Lebowski”. Even though it was a disquieting moment, we couldn’t help but chuckle. Nice move Marvel!
The Incredibles
The popular superhero film teaches us the value of unity in a team. It delivers the message that humans have better chances of winning as a team than by playing alone. The iconic poet John Donne expressed the same thought in his quote “No man is an island”. Naming Syndrome’s island “Nomanisan Island” in the movie was a way to pay tribute to him.
Captain Marvel
When the great Stan Lee made his cameo appearance in the MCU film, he decided to link it back to his first cameo ever in “Mallrats”. It was interesting to watch him read the “Mallrats” script in “Captain Marvel” that was set in the same year the movie was filmed.
Terminator 2
What could possibly explain the Terminator carrying roses with his gun during a fight? The guns and roses were the director’s way of extending gratitude to the “Guns ‘n’ Roses” band for granting the permit to use their song “You Could Be Mine” in the movie.
Batman Forever
After Tim Burton departed from the “Batman” franchise, Joel Schumacher tried to meet the bar set by his predecessor and also paid tribute to his work. They named one of the doctors Dr Burton at Arkham Asylum who was treating Riddler and Two-Face.
Spider-Man 2
Sam Raimi is a genius who played out an amazing joke in “Spider-Man 2”. Right before jumping, Toby Maguire’s Peter Parker assured himself that he only needed a “strong focus” to make a safe landing. It turns out that he literally landed on Ford Focus which was pretty strong enough to prevent him from crashing and injuring himself. What a marketing strategy!
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
In one of the scenes, an angry T-Rex compels a nervous driver to ram his MTS bus into the front of a Blockbuster Video. The audience got a glance at the place with fake but hilarious movie posters put on display. These were no ordinary posters, as Steven Spielberg hired a renowned movie poster illustrator, Drew Struzan to specially design some of them. “Tsunami Sunrise” starring Tom Hanks, “King Lear” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and “Jack and the Beanstalks” with Robin Williams are some of the hilarious pieces we are talking about.
Avengers: Infinity War
The Russo Brothers are famous for heavily relying on title cards on the MCU sets. So, they decided to dig fun at their working style in “Infinity War”. That explains why every character’s location, including Space, Wakanda, Titan, etc., displayed the title on the screen.
Gremlins
Joe Dante made references to Steven Spielberg’s iconic works in his fantasy film “Gremlins”. The made-up movie names on the entrance of the theatre read “A Boy’s Life” and “Watch the Skies”. They were referring to “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.
Independence Day
Jeff Goldblum is a gift to Hollywood who is widely known for his role in “Jurassic Park”. He paid tribute to his iconic character in “Independence Day” by hilariously using dialogue from his film. While escaping in the mothership, his character kept repeating “Must go faster! Must go faster!” which was borrowed from the scene where the T-Rex was chasing him.
The Blair Witch Project
Yes, even the spine-chilling horror film boasts of a funny moment. But it was an inside joke, only meant for the cast and crew. In one of the scenes of “The Blair Witch Project”, Heather called Joshua Leonard “Mr Punctuality”. They were actually making fun of Joshua showing up late on the sets every day.
