9. James Caan Auditions For The Wrong Godfather Part
Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather films feature such an amazing ensemble cast, sometimes you forget just how many celebrated actors appeared in it. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Sofia Coppola...with all that big time talent, the thespians who filled out the smaller roles might slip your mind. One such actor is James Caan, who played the the short-tempered Sonny Corleone. Originally Caan was to be cast as Michael, Sonny's younger brother, a part that both the actor and Coppola insisted go to Al Pacino. Which it did, of course, and Pacino was rewarded with two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor. Still, before Pacino secured the role the studio insisted that name actor Caan at least audition for the key part of Sonny Corleone. Despite Coppola having his heart set on Pacino and everybody knowing it, they still shot a little test clip of James Caan rehearsing Sonny's lines, like scenes from an alternate reality version of the Godfather. This is a piece of trivia that's been passed down from generation to generation of film buff, but it was with the anniversary box set collections of the classic mafia trilogy that we finally got to see this legendary test footage of James Caan as Sonny Corleone, along with the actor's own recollection of how it happened. That's some true movie history for you right there. How to find it: Head to the "Family Tree" section on the bonus disc, click on Sonny, then James Caan, and then on the second picture of Caan.
8. Ben Stiller Is Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible II Stunt Double
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTmuVRCJmv0 Tom Cruise has earned quite the reputation for doing his own stunts, especially on the last couple of Mission: Impossible films where the Hollywood superstar climbed up buildings in Dubai and fought against trained fight choreographers, insurance premiums be damned! It wasn't always this way, however. In fact for the second film in the series, released all the way back in 2000 and directed by John Woo, he did use a stuntman. Whose name was, rather fittingly, Tom Crooze. Actually he didn't. Well, he probably had a couple of stunt doubles on the film for the more dangerous shots, but he certainly wasn't called Tom Crooze. Because Tom Crooze isn't a real person, he's Ben Stiller in a silly wig telling people that he's doubled for the real Cruise in fourteen film and suggesting action scenes end with one-liners like "Looks like this mission just got more...impossibler". Filmed for the 2000 MTV Movie Awards on the film's set and including the real Cruise and Woo, this fun little extra was also included on the DVD of Mission: Impossible II. How to find it: In the "Extreme Edition" blu-ray box set, go to MI:II's extras, in the "Impossible Shots" section highlight "Moab" and push up to select the globe.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
