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Easter eggs
Hidden details in every movie and series: 21 in total. Tap a poster to see its eggs. Titles you haven't marked as seen stay locked so nothing gets spoiled.
- Referencenod to comics or other movies
- Cameoa familiar face shows up
- Setupplanted now, pays off later
- Behind the scenesproduction trivia
- Behind the scenesAn urban Western
Shane Black wrote the script in mid-1985, fresh out of UCLA. The idea was an "urban Western" inspired by Dirty Harry, with a violent, reviled man who gets recruited because only he can solve the problem.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe first draft was a different movie
Black's first draft ran 140 pages with a much bigger finale: a helicopter chase and a truck full of cocaine exploding over the Hollywood Hills, snowing cocaine on the Hollywood sign. Black hated it and set it aside.
source ↗ - CameoGibson and Glover, a casting idea
The script sold for $250,000. Casting director Marion Dougherty suggested pairing Mel Gibson with Danny Glover. On the page, Murtaugh had no set ethnicity, and Richard Donner, fresh off Ladyhawke, had long wanted to work with Gibson.
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- Behind the scenesPlay Dirty, the rejected script
Shane Black and novelist Warren Murphy wrote the first sequel script, called Play Dirty. The producer, studio and director found it too dark and bloody, and in it Riggs died at the end. Jeffrey Boam wrote the version that was shot.
source ↗ - CameoLeo Getz started as a bit part
In Black's draft, Leo Getz was a minor character with a single scene and few lines. In the final version he became the chatterbox witness who sticks to Riggs and Murtaugh.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe stilt house
Almost nothing from Black's text survived into the shot version. The main exception is the scene where the stilt house is destroyed.
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- Behind the scenesThe building that really came down
The building in the opening scene was Orlando's old City Hall. Warner paid $500,000 for the demolition and filmed it. The cop who sarcastically claps and says "Bravo!" to Murtaugh and Riggs is Bill Frederick, then the city's mayor.
source ↗ - SetupDonner's posters and stickers
Richard Donner was an animal-rights and pro-choice activist, and he scattered posters and stickers through the film. Look for the T-shirt on one of Murtaugh's daughters, an 18-wheeler with an anti-fur slogan and a sticker on a locker at the station.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesAnother building, another demolition
In the closing credits, Riggs and Murtaugh pull up to an old hotel that blows up. It was the Soreno Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida, 68 years old, and the producers helped pay for the implosion to use it in the film.
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- Behind the scenesThe script that became Die Hard 3
In 1993 Warner tried to buy the spec script Simon Says to rework it into Lethal Weapon 4, but Fox got there first. After many rewrites, it became Die Hard with a Vengeance in 1995.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesTwo films at once
In July 1993 Warner and producer Joel Silver began working on the fourth film and a fifth, to shoot them back to back. In 1994 Mel Gibson said he wasn't interested in more sequels. The fifth has never made it to the screen.
source ↗ - CameoJet Li's international debut
Jet Li plays the villain Wah Sing Ku in his international film debut. The film grossed $285 million worldwide and was the tenth highest-grossing film of 1998.
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- Behind the scenesOrdered in May, on air by September
Fox ordered the series in May 2016 and premiered it on September 21. In October the network picked it up for a full 18-episode season.
source ↗ - CameoWayans and Crawford, and a swapped wife
Damon Wayans was cast first, as Murtaugh, and Clayne Crawford played Riggs. The role of Trish, Murtaugh's wife, started with Golden Brooks and passed to Keesha Sharp.
source ↗ - CameoLeo Getz, regular guest
Showrunner Matt Miller talked about making Thomas Lennon, the series' Leo Getz, a regular. He stayed recurring across all three seasons.
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- Behind the scenes22 episodes
The second season, with 22 episodes, premiered on September 26, 2017. It is the longest of the three.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA firing after the season
In May 2018, Clayne Crawford was dismissed over on-set behavior issues. The producers began looking for a new partner for Murtaugh.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe series comes from the films
The series was developed by Matt Miller for Fox, with Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz, from the film franchise. Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans played Riggs and Murtaugh.
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- Behind the scenesThirteen ordered, then fifteen
The third season was renewed for 13 episodes, and Fox ordered two more, bringing it to 15. It premiered on September 25, 2018.
source ↗ - CameoSeann William Scott in Riggs' place
Seann William Scott joined as co-lead in place of Clayne Crawford, but playing a new character named Wesley Cole.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesWayans and his health
In October 2018, Damon Wayans announced he would leave the series after the season, citing health problems: he is diabetic. The production rearranged his schedule and began providing diabetic meals on set.
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