When making movies, sometimes scenes and lines are filmed, but are discarded and replaced with other scenes or lines. According to Brianna Zigler from the MSN.com page Stacker, here are 30 scenes from iconic films that were not in the original script.
1. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
-"I'm walkin' here!"
-This film has introduced the world to these famous words: "I'm walkin' here!" This line was fully improvised by Dustin Hoffman. He explained that the movie was made on a very tight, shoestring budget. So, with that in mind, production couldn't afford to shut down city streets. While out filming, a cabbie nearly collided with Hoffman, and his reaction was genuine. He shouted out "I'm walkin' here!" He even said in an interview "I wound up saying 'I'm walkin' here!' But what was going through my head is: 'Hey, we're making a movie here! And you just f---ed this shot up!' But somehow, something told me you'd better keep it within the character."
2. Goodfellas (1990)
-"You think I'm funny?"
-When Ray Liotta's character Henry Hill makes a comment about Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) being funny, the tension is cranked up high. It becomes one of the most iconic scenes in Goodfellas. This was actually based on an incident Joe Pesci witnessed in his younger years. He told the story to cast. While filming, it was only Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci who knew the story would be added, just to see the genuine looks on the other cast members. It was when rehearsal was done that the really genuine looks came up and was written into the script
3. Dazed and Confused (1993)
-"Alright, alright, alright"
-Matthew McConnaughey has forever been linked with saying "alright" three times because of this movie. This line was unscripted, which made it even better. While preparing for his role in the movie, McConnaughey was listening to The Doors and moved toward a moment when Jim Morrison said "alright" four times in a row. It inspired Matthew McConnaughey to put it towards his character, chill but party boy David Wooderson
4. Taxi Driver (1976)
-"You talkin' to me?"
-This movie is famous for the monologue "Are you talking to me?" This scene involves Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle pulling out a gun, cowboy style and talking to himself. The script for this movie had nothing about how to pull off the character of Travis Bickle. No instructions whatsoever. Screenwriter Paul Schrader only wrote that Bickle "looks in the mirror and plays like a cowboy, pulls out his gun and talks to himself." The iconic line from this film came out of thin air and has now become one of the most easily quotable lines in movie history
5. Casablanca (1942)
-"Here's looking at you, kid"
-Even films from as far back as 1942 had a little improvisation in them. At the end, when Rick (Humphrey Bogart) is helping his love interest Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), escape authorities by getting on a plane, he utters that famous line "Here's looking at you, kid." Ironically, that line was not in the original script. During production, the script was still being worked on. Bogart ad libbed that line during a different point in the film
6. The Shining (1980)
-"Here's Johnny!"
-Everyone who has seen this classic horror film knows the iconic line "Here's Johnny!" as Jack Nicholson, who plays Jack Torrance, sticks his face through the hole in the bathroom door he battered with an axe, trying to get to his wife. Ironically, he was referencing the opening line to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. This line has now become more famously linked with The Shining than Johnny Carson's late night TV show. It was improvised by Jack Nicholson on the spot. It was said that Stanley Kubrick was known for repeated takes. It's a miracle this line made it into the film at all
7. Jaws (1975)
-"We're gonna need a bigger boat!"
-This iconic line automatically brings up the film Jaws in the minds of all who have seen it. This line is uttered by Roy Schneider's character while aboard the Orca, feeding chum to bait the massive shark that has been terrorizing Amity Island. This line was inspired by real life events. There was a barge issued to carry equipment and other items necessary for filming. But it was supported by a small boat, who couldn't handle the job. The producers were stingy cheapskates and the crew repeatedly told them they're gonna need a bigger boat
8. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
-During the scene where Han Solo (Harrison Ford) admits he loves Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) starts with two words: "I know." There is a rumor that this was a bit of improvisation. The truth was that the line was not in the script. It was the idea of Harrison Ford to say it in the film and it added a bit of a romantic touch to an overall sci-fi movie
9. Titanic (1997)
-"I'm the king of the world!"
-Moments after Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his Italian friend Fabrizio (Danny Nucci) make it on the doomed ocean liner, they run around the ship's gleaming decks while Jack yells "I'm the King of the World!" This line was the idea of director James Cameron. While filming the scene, Cameron couldn't come up with a line that perfectly fit the scene. So when he came up with this line, he informed DiCaprio, who was unconvinced this line would make the scene
10. The Godfather (1972)
-"Leave the gun, take the cannoli!"
-This is the most quoted line from The Godfather. It's in the scene where Pete Clemenza (Richard Castellano) gets done killing a man. The script had the line as "leave the gun", but Castellano included "take the cannoli." The addition of the line was inspired by his wife Ardell Sheridan, who was his on-screen and real life wife. She made a suggestion that Castellano "riff on an earlier scene where she had asked him to pick up the dessert."
11. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
-Another Martin Scorsese film that has not only improvised lines, but an appearance of Matthew McConnaughey. He plays Mark Hanna, a veteran stockbroker who teaches Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. During a lunch meeting, Hanna gives Belfort advice. Then he hums and beats his chest, urging Belfort to imitate him. McConnaughey states he would do this before takes to clear any distraction and he suggested DiCaprio do the same thing
12. Anchorman (2004)
-With a film like this, it's hard to tell what's improvised and what's not. One of the most famous lines from this film was improvised by Steve Carrell. His character Brick Tamland was a bit dimwitted, and ran out of lines. This left Adam McKay with the only option of telling Carell to "just say something"
13. A Few Good Men (1992)
-"You can't handle the truth!"
-This famous line has been uttered so many times, by people who have seen the movie themselves or by people who have heard the line from people who have seen the movie. This iconic quote was uttered during the final trial of the movie. When Jack Nicholson's Marine Corps character is on the stand. Jack Nicholson improvised the line on the spot. In the script, it was written as "You already have the truth!" With a change in wording, it makes a far bigger impact and suits the character far better, since his character is a no nonsense taking Marine
14. Blade Runner (1982)
-For being 1982, Blade Runner had some pretty innovative special effects. The scene referenced here revolves around Rutger Hauer's "tears in the rain" scene. It was originally longer in the script, but Hauer rewrote it and made it shorter, more poetic. In a 2017 interview with Radio Times, Hauer stated he only kept two lines from the monologue from the script and improvised the rest. He explained "On the day of filming itself, crew members allegedly applauded and cried when the scene was completed."
15. Young Frankenstein (1974)
-This film is a sort of mock up of the classic story of Frankenstein. In the film, Dr. Frankenstein's grandson is a neurology professor who is told to go to Eastern Europe because of his grandfather's will. There, he meets a hump-shouldered man named Igor, who was the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein. There was a behind-the-scenes commentary with Marty Feldman, who played Igor, that said Feldman was secretly moving the hump from shoulder to shoulder, unknown to director Mel Brooks. When Brooks realized what was happening, he loved the prank so much he included it in the film. It even inspired the line "what hump" when Igor meets Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) for the first time
16. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
-This classic horror movie relies not on blood and gore, but psychological horror, the idea of serial killers stalking their victims and killing them. This film earned Anthony Hopkins an Academy Award for his portrayal as the chilling Dr. Hannibal Lecter, despite being only on screen for 16 minutes. There was some improvisation on Hopkins' part. When Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) meets with Dr. Lecter, he mentions that he ate a man's liver with "some fava beans and a nice Chianti", this line was in the script. The creepy slurping hissing noise, however, was not. Hopkins threw it in and it worked. It made the character far more chilling
17. Lost in Translation (2003)
-The famous moment of this movie is towards the end. When Bill Murray's character Bob and Scarlet Johansson's character Charlotte share a hug and Bob whispers something into Charlotte's ear. The whisper was intended to be in the scene, while what he whispered is still a secret. Director Sofia Coppola had not intended for the whisper to remain silent. She had wanted the dialogue to be recorded for the whisper in post-production. During an interview with BBC Four's "Life Cinematic", Coppola stated "In the editing, we were like 'Oh, it's better if it's just between them and the audience puts their own interpretation.'"
18. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
-The films of the Harry Potter series are not necessarily known for comedy. There are some moments that are quite amusing, but it's not overall hysterical. One of the funnier moments came in film two, The Chamber of Secrets. It was unscripted and courtesy of Tom Felton, who played blond Slytherin Draco Malfoy. In the second film, Ron and Harry take a Polyjuice Potion, which transforms the person into whoever they want for one hour. They use this as an opportunity to go undercover as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They want to get as much information as possible about who opened the Chamber of Secrets. They nearly blew the whole thing when Harry forgets to take his glasses off, and Malfoy remarks to Goyle about why's he wearing glasses. When Harry responds they're for reading. Confused, Malfoy responds "I didn't know you could read." This line was improvised on the spot because Felton actually forgot the line that was supposed to have been said
19. Batman (1989)
-"I'm Batman"
-This line has been uttered so many times it's mind boggling. When Michael Keaton uttered these words, it made the 1989 Tim Burton-directed film amazing. At the time, casting Michael Keaton was considered controversial. The line "I'm Batman" was not in the script. Instead, it was workshopped up between Michael Keaton and Tim Burton coming to an agreement on a last minute change. And no matter if you believe it or not, the film had more improvisation as well
20. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
-One would certainly not think of Sean Connery, best known for his role as 007 James Bond, as one who would improvise lines. But he can certainly do that. He was given the chance to improvise some lines in the third installment of the highly successful Indiana Jones series. In that film he plays the father of Indiana Jones. When Indy asked how his father how he knew that Elsa was secretly a Nazi, Connery replied "She talks in her sleep." This line was improvised and caused everyone on set to burst into hysterical fits of laughter
21. Good Will Hunting (1997)
-During one particular scene with Robin Williams, if you look close, you can see the camera shaking a bit. The reason being that the person in control of the camera was laughing at the improvisation that Williams was doing. The scene is where Maguire (Williams) and Hunting (Matt Damon) are talking of Maguire's deceased wife. The conversation goes off track when Maguire states his wife "used to fart in her sleep." Hunting bursts into hysterical laughter. This reaction was not scripted. It was Matt Damon's genuine reaction
22. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
-"I'll be back"
-This line is forever linked with The Terminator series. This line was never in the original script. The script read as "I'll come back." Director James Cameron stated, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "And there was something about the way Arnold said it with his then quite thick Austrian accent that didn't sound quite right. So I just said 'We will switch it to I'll be back.'"
23. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
-Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this film is a sort of mock up on the fears of everyone during the Cold War. Comedy legend Peter Sellers offered some comedy in this movie. But with George C. Scott playing General Buck Turgidson was good too. Most notably, in the scene where he trips and falls in the War Room and gets up and brushes it off, as if nothing happened. The fall was not improvised; it was a totally complete accident. The accident fit so well that Kubrick left it in
24. Ghost (1990)
-Whoopi Goldberg played a medium named Oda Mae Brown in this film. She doesn't realize it at first, but she does have the ability to genuinely speak and communicate with spirits. She realizes she has this gift when Patrick Swayze's character starts speaking to her. Director Jerry Zucker was initially concerned that Goldberg was bringing her son to the set with her. He was worried her normally comedic personality would ruin the tragic tone. It was the complete opposite. She made the film even better, improvising dialogue and adding comedy at the right moments. During the scene where Sam (Patrick Swayze) attempts to communicate to Molly (Demi Moore) through Oda Mae the threat that killed him, the script called for Goldberg to tell Molly "He's saying you're in danger." Goldberg improvised and said "Molly, you're in danger, girl." It fit her character perfectly
25. Die Hard (1988)
-"Yippie ki yay mother------!"
-This has become the iconic line in the Die Hard series. According to screenwriter Steven DeSouza, he mentioned in an interview with Radio Times that the original script called for the line "Yippie ki yay a--hole!" during the scene where John McClane (Bruce Willis) is communicating with Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) via walkie talkie radio. Willis improvised the line
26. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
-Ryan Reynolds has a notorious habit of improvising lines. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. It's especially prevalent in his role as Deadpool. Many of the jokes and lines he uttered would be too dirty to mention. One of the funnier ones came from Deadpool & Wolverine. During an Entertainment Weekly interview, Shawn Levy, the director of the film, revealed that Reynolds decided to tell Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, "Welcome to the MCU. By the way, you're joining at a bit of a low point." This is a reference to the well known struggles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, involving bad reviews, disappointing sales and numbers at the box office to legal troubles behind the scenes
27. Wicked (2024)
-This film is not immune to improvisation. Cynthia Ervo revealed during a red carpet interview with Access Hollywood that she added a wink from Elphaba to Glinda during the scene where "Defying Gravity" was played. She had been given a note that Elphaba should be more warm and friendly. Not only that, but she and Ariana Grande were trying not ot cry. Ervo said "The thing that came to me was that I wink at her, like 'It's OK'. It's a wink and a smile. It wasn't written, but it was just something [that] happened."
28. Anora (2024)
-Director Sean Baker won Oscars for screenplay and direction and Academy Awards. He is known for encouraging improvisation and it appeared in this movie. The first ten minutes of the movie is all improv. Mikey Madison stated in an October 2024 Teen Vogue interview "They just created a live club where the music was blasting, girls were dancing, and clients are waiting to be spoken to. I was able to just walk up to each person one by one and create those conversations. The line was definitely blurred between movie set and this really strange experience."
29. Pretty Woman (1990)
-No matter the age of the movie, any movie from any time period had unknown secrets. During a November 2024 appearance on The Today Show, Richard Gere stated that during the scene where he plays piano for Julia Roberts character Vivian and then lifts her on to the piano, that scene was improvised. Garry Marshall, who directed the film, had asked Gere about any habits he had or behavior in hotels. Gere mentioned that he often played piano late at night. As for what Gere does in that scene, "I just improvised one right there."
30. Elf (2003)
-This is one of those holiday movies that a lot of people watch during the Christmas season. During the 2024 Christmas season, one scene went viral. A mailroom worker is having a conversation with Will Ferrell's Buddy the Elf and mentions that he's 26 and has nothing to show for it. The actor who stated it was Mark Acheson. He was actually 46 at the time and by his own mentioning he looked even older. That's apparently what makes the scene so funny. In an interview with People Magazine, he said that the conversation between him and Buddy was improvised on the spot. Producers of the movie were less than pleased. Director Jon Favreau saw the humor and stopped all orders to cut the line
