15 Times Real Life Situations Interrupted The Production Of Films & TV Shows

When the stars aren’t aligned in your favor, doing anything can be difficult. A lot many factors in the past have led to producers changing the scripts of their TV shows and movies particularly because of things that were never in their control. Take a look 15 instances where real-life situations interrupted the script of various movies and TV shows:

 

1. The arm cast that Brad Pitt’s character David Mills wears in SE7EN wasn’t originally in the script. Pitt injured himself for real while shooting a chase scene. Rather than halting the production and waiting for his recovery, Pitt’s broken arm was written into the movie.

2. Amy Poehler’s pregnancy amidst the shooting of PARKS AND RECREATION interrupted shooting schedules and the production team had to make tons of alterations. They rushed with filming the first six episodes of Season 3 before her baby bump became too prominent.

3. Raymond Cruz had several other commitments that owed to his early exit from BREAKING BAD. Deprived of Tuco Salamanca, Vince Gillian decided to replace him with an antagonist who was Tuco’s complete opposite – eerily calm instead of a raging maniac. Hence, Gus Fring came into existence.

4. In Season 5 of THE OFFICE, Ryan Howard travels to spend some time in Thailand. This happened because B. J. Novak needed time away from the sitcom to film Inglorious Basterds.

5. Initially, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was going to be all about Trump and Trumpism. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the makers decided to imbibe the conspiracy mindset of people in such a time.

6. In Season 4 of Ally McBeal, Ally was meant to get married to her boyfriend Larry who Robert Downey Jr. played. However, right before the wedding episode was to be filmed, RDJ got busted for drugs. This interrupted the shooting schedule and he was kicked out of the show. Ally’s character remained unmarried.

7. In the movie Arrival, Dr. Banks explains to Col. Weber all the nuances of language that make communicating with the aliens a slow, painstaking process. The scene is based on a similar explanation that screenwriter Eric Heisser gave to the producers of the movie.

8. The skating date in ROCKY was written to be shot in a crowded ice rink. However, the production was short on funds and couldn’t afford all the extras. They decided to shoot in an empty rink which led to one of the franchise’s most iconic moments.

9. SOUTH PARK lost Chef when Isaac Hayes quit over an episode criticizing Scientology. Years later his son Hayes revealed that his father was unwell due to several health issues.

10. Nana Visitor faced an unexpected pregnancy during the production of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE.  Rather than hiding her pregnancy, the producers wrote her pregnancy into the storyline and made Major Kira a surrogate mother to the O’Briens’ baby via emergency fetus teleportation.

11. MIDNIGHT MASS was one of the very few Netflix shows to resume production after COVID lockdown. Due to social distancing and precautions, no extras could be on set to play the townsfolk. The producers added the detail of an oil spill in Crockett Island to justify the lack of population.

13. Luke Hemsworth’s bicep injury a couple of days before shooting a fight scene for WESTWORLD interrupted shooting schedules. The producers however rewrote the scene where Stubbs gets shot in the arm and has to fight one-handed.

14. The makers of BEAST WARS: TRANSFORMERS hated Waspinator, as his buzzing, drawling speech ate up too much run time. However, the higher-ups mandated that the character must be used. The producers then decided to turn him into an unlucky clown that was blown to pieces early in every episode.

15. Pinto Colvig who was the original voice actor of Goofy left Disney in the 1940s. Instead of recasting the Goof right away, Disney produced a new series of narrated cartoons where Goofy was shown voicelessly playing sports and doing other stuff.

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