When we watch our favorite movies or TV shows we miss a lot of things that were meant to be meaningful. The film’s productions bring their share of surprises, some are intentional and some are unintentional. Some of these facts come out openly whereas some live quietly as hidden facts of movie history. Many of these facts you might have missed or would not have known at all. Let’s see 10 interesting facts about your favorite movies and TV shows. 

1 During the filming of 1939’s classic The Wizard of OZ, the wardrobe department needed a shabby-looking but elegant coat as part of the costume for Professor Marvel. So, they bought a whole rack of second-hand coats from a store. Later they chose a coat that had been owned by Oz author L. Frank Baum.

The 1939 film, The Wizard of OZ, was an American musical fantasy film that was based on the Wizard of Oz books. In the movie, the actor Frank Morgan played five different roles: a guard and a doorkeeper at Wizard’s palace, the Great and Powerful Oz himself. and he also played a disreputable fortune teller, Professor Marvel, in the Kansas sequence that opened the film. All the costumes and makeup used in the film were numerously revised and changed before and also during the film.

In 1938, when Morgan tested his makeup for Professor Marvel on sets, he was trying different looks. For the Professor Marvel coat, the wardrobe department needed a tattered but very nice-looking coat. So, the wardrobe department bought a whole rack of coats from a second-hand store on the main street.

Eventually, the coat chosen by the director was a Prince Albert jacket with a green look. One day when Morgan turned out the pocket, he found the name “L. Frank Baum” who was the author of the Wizard of Oz books. Later, the coat was identified by Baum’s wife and was given to her. (Source)

2 In the 2008 TV series, Breaking Bad, when the titles of the first, fourth, tenth, and thirteenth episodes of season two are combined, you get “Seven Thirty-Seven, Down, Over, ABQ,” which is a foreshadowing of the end scene where planes collide over Walt’s house.

In the 2008 TV series, Breaking Bad, the second season titles of four episodes were “Seven Thirty-Seven”, “Down”, “Over” and “ABQ”, it depicts the white-and-black short film called “737 Down Over ABQ” which acts as the flash forward to events of a plane colliding over Walt’s backyard which takes place in the season finale.

The creators wanted to show that they had a genius approach, and those titles had double meanings. They wanted a giant moment of showmanship to end the season.

This four-episode thread was the very definition of “bravura.” This cinematic storytelling and narrative showmanship are one of the reasons why Breaking Bad is one of the most rewatchable series ever produced. (1, 2)

3 Freddie Mercury, a legendary singer, died before the release of Wayne’s World. However, he got to see the famous car headbanging scene featuring “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He loved the scene and believed that the use of this in the movie will help the band to make its comeback in America.

The American comedy film, Wayne’s World, was released in February 1992 and was a smashing hit. The movie also featured “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was the song by the British rock band, Queen. The song was written by legendary singer Freddie Mercury for the band.

Although Freddy Mercury died in November 1991 before the release of Wayne’s World, the singer saw the iconic car headbanging scene featuring “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He loved the scene and laughed at the famous scene before passing away.

This happened when one of the cast members, Mike Myers, took a VHS tape to Brian May who was a Queen band member. They showed it to Mercury who was weak, but he smiled and laughed watching the scene. Mercury believed that the featuring of this song in the movie would ignite a comeback for Queen in America. (Source)

4 In the Harry Potter series, the terrifying and soul-sucking creatures, Dementors, were inspired by the days when J.K. Rowling suffered from clinical depression. She said these creatures symbolized mental illness and the hollow feeling you get when you suffer from depression, that’s what these Dementors made one feel.

In the Harry Potter series, there was a terrifying and soul-sucking creature called “Dementors” that made their first appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Dementors were the dark creatures that were meant to symbolize depression.

J.K. Rowling got the inspiration for Dementors from her personal life when she recalled the days when she suffered from clinical depression. She said when you are in depression you don’t feel sad because feeling sad is a different emotion, but you get a hollow feeling when you suffer from depression, and that’s what these Dementors made one feel.

In the novels, Dementors were hooded humanoid figures, they could glide across the ground which was the opposite in movies. In movies, Dementors were skeletal with the ability to fly freely. The Dementors could suck out the happiness from any person with a kiss and leave them in a vegetative state, they forced depression on any human nearby. (Source)

5 The 1996 movie Independence Day had all the support of the United States government, even offering real military uniforms and jets to the filmmakers. However, when filmmakers refused to remove Area 51 from the movie, the government cut off their ties and withdrew all their support.

The 1996 movie, Independence Day, is an American science fiction action film that concentrates on the attack by aliens on the Earth. It was a large-scale disaster film that included massive alien ships, jets, explosions, and spectacular visuals above all other elements.

At one time the United States military was in support of the Independence Day movie and even let the makers have access to actual military facilities. They offered real military uniforms and jets to the filmmakers.

However, the government wanted to remove Area 51 from the movie which was an important factor in the movie, and its existence sends the story in an entirely new direction. The makers refused to remove Area 51 from the movie and due to this, the government withdrew all their support from Independence Day film.

The US government didn’t want a sci-fi film to portray Area 51, which is a government bunker, to be the place where alien bodies and spacecraft are stowed away. However, this incident had an ironic effect and made people more suspicious. (Source)