10 Off-Screen Moments That Change How You See Movies Forever
Jaws, Close Encounters, Austin Powers and other movies massively impacted by what we didn't see.
There are many different ways to get a truly great performance out of an actor.
Whether that's simply stroking an actor's ego, allowing someone to fire from the hip and improvise, or even the questionable tactic of pushing your cast to extreme physical and mental lengths to get what your looking for, different folks react to different strokes - and it's all about finding what makes an individual tick.
Away from the 'regular' methods of capturing that great performance or of beautifully snatching a moment that will go on to become legendary, it can often be what audiences don't see that plays the biggest part in all of this.
At times, a director, producer or even a fellow cast member have stood just off-camera or opposing a shot, doing something that assisted the actor in shot in reacting in the absolute perfect way. Not just that, but sometimes these happenings can be completely spur of the moment, making an actor react in an utterly natural way to whatever prospect is (quite literally, in some cases) laid bare in front of them.
With all of that in mind, then, here are ten movie scenes that were hugely impacted by what was happening away from what we all saw on our screens.
10. The Getaway - Michael Madsen's Prank Elicits Genuine Shock From Alex Baldwin
In another occurrence of an actor needing a little assistance when it came to an on-screen shock, here we have Michael Madsen giving his The Getaway co-star a helping hand (sure, let's go with hand) behind the camera.
During a scene which depicted Doc (played by Alec Baldwin) spotting Rudy (Madsen) lying in wait outside of his hotel room, Baldwin was struggling to conjure up an authentic response to the situation. So, ever the giving scene partner, Madsen opted to drop his kecks off camera. Needless to say, the sight of a pant-less Madsen was enough to elicit the necessary response, so much so that the stunned look on Baldwin's mug was included in the finished product.
There's likely better ways to provoke a genuine human reaction out of a leading man than by exposing your genitalia to them out of the blue, but Madsen's methods appeared to work a treat on this occasion. Although it's probably best to file this tactic under one and done for the future.