8 Hilarious Prop F*ck-Ups In Movies
2. The Dead Zone - An Extra Terrestrial Lawsuit
David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone sees a regular man develop supernatural abilities after a car accident leaves him in a coma. He wakes up five years down the line to find that he can tell things about people and their lives simply by touching them.
His first vision comes when he touches the hand of a nurse treating him in hospital. He sees a young girl (the nurse’s daughter) caught in a house fire. You wouldn’t think much of this scene in general, but it may entertain you to know that it had to be totally reshot because of a copyright-related issue.
In the first cut, you could see in the background of the girl’s room a small E.T. figure on her shelves. The doll wasn’t prominently displayed or particularly noticeable, the average viewer likely would’ve thought nothing of it, but it was enough to get Universal Pictures’ attention.
Universal took umbrage and threatened to sue if they kept the likeness of one of their characters present, so Cronenberg’s crew had to reshoot to get rid of the toy. What a hassle for absolutely no good reason!