20 Bits of Behind-the-Scenes Trivia That Changed How People See Movies

Listen, we’re not here to knock trivia. It’s our bread and butter, and you bet your ass if you sit down to watch a movie with us, we’re going to hold our breath as long as we can before, red and sweating, we start yelling about Starbucks cups in every scene of Fight Club. 

There’s a reason, however, that they call it trivia. It’s a fun diversion, a category on IMDb to scroll through while you’re waiting in line at the bank, but it doesn’t ultimately mean anything, not in the way that plot, theme and all that other important stuff do.

Except when it does. “One of my favorites is how Schwarzenegger ended up with his role in The Terminator,” Redditor aucunautrefeu told r/Movies. It turns out Arnold was supposed to play Kyle Reese, but “during conversations with (James) Cameron, it became clear that Schwarzenegger had just put so much thought into the character of Terminator that Cameron convinced him to take the role instead.” It took some persuasion because Schwarzenegger was dead set on playing a hero, which might be why, in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, “Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is, in fact, the hero against Robert Patrick’s T-1000.”

“It’s wild to imagine the alternative reality, and I don’t see these films being the classics that they became without this,” they went on. “Also, finding out about how Cameron used ‘guerrilla filmmaking’ and filmed without permits on the streets of L.A. late at night really contextualizes the gritty realistic feeling and makes the quality and audacity of the stunts even more impressive.” 

They then asked for more of Reddit’s “favorite trivia that enhances or changes how you viewed/experienced a film,” and, per usual, Reddit didn’t disappoint.