The Most Famous TV and Movie Mistakes Ever
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The Most Famous TV and Movie Mistakes Ever
Even the most talented directors, showrunners, and actors make mistakes every once in a while. From shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things to famous films like Pulp Fiction and Star Wars, plenty of errors have slipped through the cracks—and these are some of the most unbelievable.
HBO - 2/41
The coffee cup in 'Game of Thrones'
The internet basically exploded over the Starbucks cup spotted during the last season of Game of Thrones. But the showrunners are now able to joke about it: "At first I couldn't believe it, and then it was an embarrassment because, 'How did we not see this coffee cup in the middle of the shot?'" creator David Benioff told Japan's Star Channel. "And then eventually it was just funny. This one is just a mistake, and it's kind of funny to us now."
HBO - 3/41
The water bottle in 'Game of Thrones'
The second major mishap to happen in the final season of Game of Thrones also had to do with a beverage. This time, in the form of a plastic water bottle located near Samwell Tarly's foot in the final episode—and another that appears moments later near Ser Davos' foot.
HBO - 4/41
The missing necklace in 'Game of Thrones'
After it's revealed in season 6 of Game of Thrones that Melisandre only appears young because of the choker necklace she wears, fans quickly pointed back to a scene earlier in the show. In season 4, she appears to Stannis' wife as a young woman—even though she's not wearing her necklace. Carice van Houten, the actress who plays Melisandre, later told Elle, "That was an oops moment."
HBO - 5/41
The charger in 'Game of Thrones'
During season 5, fans noticed what appears to be some kind of a computer charger under Stannis' leg. On Reddit, viewers noted that this was a behind-the-scenes shot and the device didn't appear quite as obviously in the final cut (though you can still kind of see the charger and cables in the final version).
HBO - 6/41
The stormtrooper hitting his head in 'Star Wars'
As a group of stormtroopers enter a control room in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, one of them bangs his head on the door. Laurie Goode, the actor who hit his head, later told The Hollywood Reporter, "Believing I probably wasn't in frame, I expected it to end up on the cutting-room floor. But when I did see it in the cinema, I thought: "OMG, that's me!" I've been telling people the story ever since it occurred."
20TH CENTURY FOX - 7/41
The bullet holes in 'Pulp Fiction'
Bullet holes can be seen in the walls of the apartment where Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta's characters go to retrieve a briefcase in Pulp Fiction—before the shooting part of the scene takes place.
MIRAMAX FILMS - 8/41
The eyes of Harry and his mom in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'
Throughout the Harry Potter books and films, several characters tell Harry that he "has his mother's eyes." It's a notable detail. But when we finally get a glimpse of Lily Potter as a child in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she has brown eyes that look pretty much nothing like Harry's blue eyes.
WARNER BROS. - 9/41
The breakfast food switch up in 'Pretty Woman'
During one scene in Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts' character can be seen eating a croissant. The camera cuts to her costar Richard Gere, and when it comes back to Roberts, the croissant in her hand has transformed into a pancake. You can catch it between 00:20 and 00:40 in this clip.
BUENA VISTA PICTURES - 10/41
The stand-in for Rachel in 'Friends'
Friends fans have spotted a few gaffes in the show over the years. One of the more notable mistakes was during a scene in season 9 where Jennifer Aniston's stand-in is clearly visible near the edge of the frame—see it here.
NBC - Getty Images - 11/41
The stand-in for Monica in 'Friends'
A similar mistake was made during season 8 of Friends. During a conversation between Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow's characters, you can see Cox's stand-in at the edge of the frame for just a second.
NBC - Getty Images - 12/41
The picture of Maggie in 'The Simpsons'
In the Simpsons episode "And Maggie Makes Three," a picture of Maggie can be seen on the wall of the living room...as Marge tells Homer that she's pregnant...with Maggie. Whoops.
20TH CENTURY FOX - 13/41
The street sweeper in 'Quantum of Solace'
If you watch this scene in Quantum of Solace closely, you might notice that the street sweeper behind James Bond is weirdly pretending to sweep but holding his broom several inches off the ground, rather than just, well, sweeping the ground.
SONY PICTURES - 14/41
The Demogorgon piece in 'Stranger Things'
There are a few minor mistakes that Stranger Things fans have noticed throughout the series. One is that the Dungeons & Dragons Demogorgon figure wasn't around in 1983, when the boys are playing. Wired noted that the figurine wasn't released until 1984.
Netflix - 15/41
The orange bike lights in 'Stranger Things'
In other Stranger Things scenes, the lights on the front of the boys' bikes are bright white, so it's strange that they look orange in the daylight. Jalopnik theorized that the lights are probably covered with an orange gel to match the color temperature of the professional lights used by production, or possibly to dim the lights. But like the show itself, it may be a mystery.
Netflix - 16/41
The child covering his ears in 'North by Northwest'
In North by Northwest, there's a scene where Eva Marie Saint's character unexpectedly fires a gun at Cary Grant's character. One of the children playing an extra in the background covers his ears a few seconds before the shot is fired. You can see the moment at 1:40 in this clip. Couldn't somebody have grabbed earplugs for the kid?
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER - 17/41
The Osama bin Laden mention in 'Breaking Bad'
One of the primary antagonists of Breaking Bad, Jack Welker, at one point says something about Osama bin Laden's death to his nephew, Todd. However, the show is meant to take place in 2007 and bin Laden didn't die until 2011. Vince Gilligan noted the mistake in an interview with Slate, saying, "The writer said to me: 'I thought this show took place in 2007, and it's only been a year since then, but last week you had someone mention the Osama bin Laden assassination. How do you reconcile that?' I had to say, 'Well, honestly, I don't.'"
AMCSONY PICTURES - 18/41
The hydrofluoric acid eating the tub in 'Breaking Bad'
Breaking Bad had a lot of gory scenes, but one of the first is when Walt and Jesse attempt to dissolve bodies in hydrofluoric acid in a bathtub, resulting in a very messy situation. However, Mythbusters proved that there's pretty much no way this could happen in real life.
AMC/SONY PICTURES - 19/41
The mention of 'the octopus' in 'The Goonies'
Near the end of The Goonies, Data says that the scariest part was "the octopus," which doesn't appear in the original version of the film. The scene with the octopus was deleted for the theatrical release, but added back in for the Disney Channel version.
Warner Bros. - 20/41
The shirt Tran's wearing in 'The Fast and the Furious'
In The Fast and the Furious, there's a pretty glaring error in the scene where Jesse and Tran race. In one shot, Tran is wearing a shirt with sleeves, but in the next shot he's in a tank top. You can spot the difference between 0:55 and 0:58 in this clip.
Universal - 21/41
The name mixup in 'Supernatural'
Supernatural fans noticed a huge mistake in the first season of the show. In the episode "Provenance," Dean seems to call his brother "Jared"—which is the name of the actor, but not the character. In another scene, you can hear what seems to be an extra calling Dean "Jensen," which similarly, is the name of the actor rather than the character.
Michael Tran Archive - Getty Images - 22/41
The other name mixup in 'The Big Bang Theory'
In an early season of the show, Penny refers to her own father as "Bob," but then he's later introduced as Wyatt once he actually appears on the show.
CBS Photo Archive - Getty Images - 23/41
The wine storyline in 'The Big Bang Theory'
Leonard mentions in "The Good Guy Fluctuation" that he can't drink wine because it gives him migraines. And yet, he drinks wine throughout the series with some regularity.
CBS/WARNER BROS. - 24/41
The camera guy in 'Bad Boys'
This mistake is frankly laughable. One of the camera operators is so obviously visible near the ground in this shot from the 1983 movie Bad Boys, we can't quite figure out how it was missed.
Universal - 25/41
The handcuffs on Pippin disappearing in 'The Lord of the Rings'
At the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Merry and Pippin have been captured by the Orcs. As prisoners, their hands are restrained, but during a fight scene, Pippin's hands are clearly no longer bound as he nearly gets trampled by a horse. A few moments later, the restraint seems to be there again.
NEW LINE CINEMA - 26/41
The sword Éomer drops in 'The Lord of the Rings'
This mistake is easy to miss on your first view, but true Lord of the Rings fans noticed that Éomer drops his sword while mounting his horse during a scene where the Rohirrim have met Aragorn. You can see it pretty clearly around 0:18 in this clip.
NEW LINE CINEMA - 27/41
The car in the background in 'Braveheart'
Braveheart was set in the 13th century, so it's a little odd to see this decidedly modern car in the background during one of the film's big battle scenes.
Paramount - 28/41
The time of day in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
At the beginning of the stock market heist scene in The Dark Knight Rises, it's clearly daytime outside. But after the police chase through the tunnel happens, it's pitch black outside. What makes this especially weird is that we're led to believe that the stock market had just opened for the day at the beginning of the scene, meaning there's no way it would become nighttime so quickly.
Warner Bros. - 29/41
The direction of Ben's car in 'The Graduate'
In The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman's character drives across the Bay Bridge in San Francisco on his way to Berkeley, California―but he drives there on the top deck of the Bay Bridge, in which traffic actually moves in the opposite direction (from Berkeley to San Francisco).
EMBASSY PICTURES - 30/41
The 'over by the bed' comment from Jack in 'Titanic'
During the painting scene in Titanic, right after Rose undresses, Jack tells her to go "over by the bed," and then corrects himself and says "the couch." This was a real line flub by Leonardo DiCaprio. Filmmakers found it funny, so they decided to keep the mistake in the film.
Paramount - 31/41
The cut on Calvin's hand in 'Django Unchained'
Here's another Leo "mistake" that made it into a film. When he slammed his hand on the table during a scene in Django Unchained, he broke a glass and cut his hand. Leo stayed in character and finished the scene, and Quentin Tarantino liked it so he used that take for the film. (But, thankfully, they reportedly used fake blood for the next scene where Leo smears his bloody hand on Kerry Washington's face.)
Columbia Pictures - 32/41
The Starbucks in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
Several fans have noticed that there are quite a few things in Quentin Tarantino's latest film that weren't around in 1969, which is when the events in the movie take place. In various scenes, people have noticed a Starbucks (the chain wasn't invented until 1971), a numbered exit ramp (California didn't have these until 2002), and the Pussycat Theatre (which didn't open until 1974).
Sony Pictures - 33/41
The famous 'they're here' line in 'Poltergeist'
One of the more memorable movie lines ever is Heather O'Rourke's character, Carol-Ann, saying, "They're he-eere" in Poltergeist. But if you watch closely, the audio and visual elements don't quite line up and it looks like the young actress actually says "they're all here." You can see it around 3:02 here.
MGM - 34/41
The ruby red slippers in 'The Wizard of Oz'
During the scene in The Wizard of Oz where the trees begin to pelt Dorothy and the Scarecrow with apples, you can catch a glimpse of Judy Garland wearing plain black shoes—rather than her iconic ruby red slippers (see it around 1:04 in this clip).
MGM - 35/41
The random cowboy in 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
This is a blink-and-you-miss-it mistake in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Near 0:13 in this clip, you can spot one extra (or crew member?) behind Johnny Depp who appears to be wearing a cowboy hat and looking out to sea. Maybe the costume department ran out of pirate outfits and figured this was the next best thing? It's unclear.
BUENA VISTA PICTURES - 36/41
The bus ride in Venice in 'Spiderman: Far From Home'
In Spiderman: Far From Home, the students appear to be staying on the main island of Venice. When they leave, they get on a bus. The only problem: Buses and other motor vehicles aren't actually allowed in Venice.
Sony Pictures - 37/41
The horse kick in 'The Last Samurai'
During a scene in The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise rides his horse into the middle of a group of soldiers. As he dismounts, the horse kicks one of the soldiers in the stomach. Ouch.
Warner Bros. - 38/41
The fake baby in 'American Sniper'
This film, about an Iraq War veteran played by Bradley Cooper, was praised for being a realistic portrayal of war and of veterans readjusting to civilian life. But one aspect wasn't so realistic: the fake baby used in one of the scenes. Cooper himself laughed about it on The Ellen Degeneres Show, saying, "I couldn't believe that we were working with a plastic baby...I was just like, this is nuts."
Warner Bros. - 39/41
The different plane numbers in 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'
The numbers on John Conaway's plane change throughout Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Here, it's N3035C, but once it's in the air, the numbers change to N3413F.
Warner Bros. - 40/41
The yellow Porsche in 'Commando'
In the 1985 movie Commando, there's an intense car chase scene that ends with a pretty beat-up Porsche. But, somehow, in the next scene the car appears totally intact.
20th Century Studios - 41/41
The crew member in 'Malcolm in the Middle'
In a scene from Malcolm in the Middle, you can see a crew member lifting a dress from a bucket of water and handing it to Jane Kaczmarek's character, Lois. Start watching around 0:05 in this clip to see it for yourself.
20th Century Studios