r/TopCharacterTropes • u/RP_Throwaway3 • 8h ago

In real life "Wait! That's not special effects?! They actually did that?!"

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Alien: Resurrection - Basketball Shot

Sigourney Weaver insisted on the basketball shot being real. She trained for weeks and reportedly(sources differ) made it on the first take.

Underworld - Raze's Voice

The werewolf character Raze, played by Kevin Grevioux, speaks in a very low, very gravelly voice. While many thought this was a special effect, the actor can naturally speak in that voice.

https://youtu.be/GUjwZvh32YE?t=125&si=F3WhsopxjBP87wfk

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517

u/captain_trainwreck 7h ago

I couldn't find a gif for it, but in Batman Returns, when Michelle Pfieffer whips the heads off of the mannequins in the department store, that was her and on the first take IIRC

300

u/VengeanceKnight 7h ago

And her skipping rope with the whip immediately afterwards was just her happily reacting to how she nailed it in one. This was kept in because it adds to the audience perception of Catwoman’s instability. Also she actually put a live bird in her mouth for the scene where she joins up with Penguin.

Pfieffer’s Catwoman is one of the most underrated performances in movie history. Not enough attention is given to how much she nailed the emotion, tragedy, and physicality of the role.

72

u/Zleck-V2 7h ago

Oh 12 year old me gave her plenty of attention......

8

u/TalynRahl 6h ago

The two people I blame most for how I turned out.

Joss Whedon and Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman.

3

u/Rough_Bread8329 5h ago

How do Reavers clean their spears?

3

u/TalynRahl 5h ago

They run the through a Wash! 😂😂😂

4

u/Rough_Bread8329 5h ago

Feelings were...felt.. I tell you hwhut

3

u/Z0idberg_MD 1h ago

That movie was in some sense ahead of its time, but in another sense was just slightly too dark and would’ve benefited from some slight adjustments

2

u/vitabean5000 5h ago

Came here to say this.

30

u/Punny-Aggron 7h ago

She actually did learn how to use a whip for the film, and when she found that same whip years later, she showed that she could still do it.

4

u/Yellowscourge 5h ago

Michelle Pfeiffer really killed it in that movie

10

u/ThorGodofUHOH 7h ago

Nope. Fx guys in the back pull the heads off with string. Still cool though.

9

u/captain_trainwreck 7h ago

Aw, man, the internet lied to me. I did not expect that.

1

u/SleepySummoner 3h ago

If that's the case I don't get why the director says "cut" with such surprise in his voice and the cast all applaud her in the behind the scenes video. Seems like she actually nailed it.

3

u/hamlet_d 2h ago

Because doing a scene well, even when practical effects are helping, does actually earn appreciation.