Craig Zablo

Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 18 Fun Facts About The Blues Brothers. Here are three of my favorites…

6. ONE OF THE STUNT DRIVERS WAS JOHN WAYNE’S SON.
The Duke’s youngest son, Ethan Wayne, began acting in 1970. But he supplemented his work in front of the camera with a handful of stunting stints.

10. THE STUDIO WANTED THE BAND WHO SANG “CAR WASH” INSTEAD OF ARETHA FRANKLIN.
Universal Pictures wanted new acts like Rose Royce, the band behind hits like “Car Wash” and “I Wanna Get Next to You.” But Aykroyd and company said no. Universal later generated a PR effort to get Franklin an Oscar nomination for her performance. The movie helped revitalize her career.

12. PAUL REUBENS HAS A SMALL BUT VISIBLE ROLE.
The actor best known as Pee-wee Herman played a waiter at Chez Paul, before the band is fully back together.

Jake Rossen and Mental_Floss present Halt Citizen! 15 Facts About Robocop. Here are three of my favorites…

7. Weller Refused to Answer to His Real Name.
According to co-star Miguel Ferrer, Weller instructed the producers to issue a memo to the cast and crew advising that no one should refer to him by his real name: he preferred to be called by his character’s name, Murphy, or “Robo.” Ferrer went on to say that, having known Weller for years prior to the film, he enjoyed greeting him with “Hey, Pete.” Weller ignored him.

3. Stan Lee Turned It Down.
In 1984, Neumeier decided to see if he could spin the RoboCop script into a comic book to use as a launching pad for a feature. He ran the idea by Stan Lee; before Lee could commit one way or the other, he and Neumeier attended an early screening of The Terminator, which also had a humanoid as the main character. An impressed Lee told the writer, “Boy, you’re never going to top that!” and passed.

11. Some of the Actors Got Unsolicited Stunt Pay.
Kurtwood Smith and Ray Wise had been standing in such close proximity to a building explosion that the production—without any sense of humor—paid both men for “stunt work,” which amounted to roughly $400 apiece for the scene. But the actors didn’t feel their pay justified the risk to their life: neither was aware the explosion would be that big, and Smith’s coat ended up catching on fire.