10 Iconic Movie Moments With Unexpected Origins
8. The Water Ripple - Jurassic Park
The Scene
The introductory scene for the T-Rex, as a terrified Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello) witness its footsteps causing a ripple effect in a cup of water.
Much like the Rocky steps scene, it's iconic enough to have been relentlessly parodied over the decades, and even if you've (somehow) never seen the film, you probably know the scene.
How It Happened
Ever the prodigiously inventive filmmaker, Spielberg came up with the scene when he was driving in his car with an Earth, Wind & Fire song playing at full blast, which caused his rear-view mirror to shake violently.
This simple exchange gave Spielberg the impetus to conceive the famous water ripple scene. However, when it came to shooting, Spielberg and dinosaur effects supervisor - what a title! - Michael Lantieri struggled to make the rippling effect consistent.
Eventually, Lantieri came up with a genius solution - to pluck a guitar string beneath the cup, which resulted in that perfectly ominous set of ripples you see in the final movie.