19 Random Facts About '90s Movies That I Never Knew Before But Honestly Scratched An Itch In My Brain

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Let me tell you, it changed my whole worldview. I decided to investigate this claim, and also see what other new and unusual facts have flown under my '90s movie-loving radar. Here's what I found...

1. It turns out the hacky sack thing is mostly true. Freddie Prinze Jr. initially planned to perform the routine himself and even had a trainer to help him prepare. But by the day of the shoot, he was still not good enough, so they brought in a stunt double.

Zack in She's All That stands on stage and tosses up a hacky sack in a dimly lit space with colorful lights in the background

Freddie told E! News, "It was the day of... I was like, 'Man, I can only get it four times in a row.' [Director Robert Iscove] said, 'I know, don't worry. We've got a world champion hacky sacker and he looks a lot like you. He's a good double for you.' I was like, 'Oh cool!'... If you watch the movie again, the first three hits are me, and then I grow from 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5. That guy was a champion."

Two scenes labeled "Freddie" and "Stunt double" show a person performing stunts on stage, demonstrating a comparison between actor and stunt double

2. Another She's All That plot twist? M. Night Shyamalan partially wrote the movie. Producer Jack Lechner said, while R. Lee Fleming wrote the original script, "M. Night Shyamalan did an uncredited rewrite on the script, and a very good one that got the movie green-lit." He later added, "He made it deeper, made the characters richer."

M. Night Shyamalan wearing a formal suit stands at an event, appearing poised and attentive

3. Here's another '90s teen movie fact that blew my mind recently: Without the existence of Drop Dead Gorgeous, there would be no Gilmore Girls. While working on the movie, producer Gavin Polone was particularly drawn to the complex dynamic between the main character, Amber (Kirsten Dunst), and her young, single mother, Annette (Ellen Barkin).

Drop Dead Gorgeous main characters elegant gowns posing joyfully on stage, one in white and the other in light pink

He got the idea to hone in on a version of that relationship in a TV series, and pitched the concept to Amy Sherman-Palladino, who took the idea and ran with it, going on to create Gilmore Girls. "Gilmore Girls wouldn't exist if I had not produced [Drop Dead Gorgeous]," Gavin said.

Side by side scenes showing the mother/daughter characters in Drop Dead Gorgeous and Gilmore Girls

4. The believability (or lack thereof) of 25-year-old Josie passing as a high school student is one of the things Never Been Kissed routinely gets criticized for, but that part of the plot actually happened in real life. The story was inspired by a series of articles journalist Shann Nix wrote in 1992 for the San Francisco Chronicle, for which she spent a month undercover as a high school student.

Drew Barrymore in character in Never Been Kisssed sitting in a classroom in a white feathered outfit surrounded by other students

Unlike Josie, Shann was 26 and newly married at the time. She made up a story about having a boyfriend in college just in case she was spotted in public with her husband — and if any students called the house, he had to pretend to be her father. While some kids apparently suspected she was a "narc" — an undercover cop — others had genuinely become Shann's friends, and many felt betrayed when the truth was revealed.

Drew Barrymore and David Arquette smiling in a casual setting in Never Been Kissed

5. There are so many memorable moments from Heath Ledger's character, Patrick, in 10 Things I Hate About You, but one that stands out is in his introductory scene, where he's seen casually playing with fire. Apparently, that detail was completely improvised by Heath Ledger.

Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You in a science classroom playing with fire from a Bunsen burner

6. Kate Maberly played many little girls' dream role as Mary in The Secret Garden, but it was actually her first acting gig, and she kind of stumbled into it by accident. Kate told Vulture she'd previously never really been interested in drama, but the filmmakers were conducting auditions at her school on a day when it was raining, which meant the netball match Kate was meant to be playing in was canceled.

The child actors in The Secret Garden stand in vintage clothing in a lush garden.

"So I ended up instead in this audition," Kate said. "And I just had to read a few pages. I went home and told my family — I have a big family — and everyone laughed. Because I was a little tomboy, and the idea of me running around in corsets, they thought it was hilarious. And we thought that was the end of that, really. But a couple of months later, we got a call saying, 'They liked Kate. Will she come back for another audition?'"

Kate Maberly in vintage clothing leans on a stone statue of a seated elderly woman, smiling. She wears a straw hat and a belted coat

7. The Whipstaff Manor, set in Casper, is almost a character in itself, and it got another chance to shine in an unexpected place thanks to the Backstreet Boys. That's right, the iconic "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" music video was actually shot on the same set as Casper.

Dancing scenes from Casper and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" showing the same set

8. All I Wanna Do, aka The Hairy Bird or Strike, is an underrated gem. It was based on the school experiences of writer and director Sarah Kernochan. Sarah also wrote the song "The Hairy Bird" that plays over the closing credits, and sang it herself, along with some girls she went to school with, including Glenn Close.

Two girls in school uniforms and one in a plaid outfit sit together, engaged in conversation in All I Wanna Do

"I reconvened the singing group I’d put together when I was in high school," Sarah told Salon. "Glenn Close was in it, actually, and four other girls. And I just contacted them all and got them into a studio, and we recorded this. It was the first time we’d sung together since we were 16."

Glenn Close in a dazzling, long-sleeved, sequined gown

9. Another underrated '90s gem is Fools Rush In, starring Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek — and, it turns out, Matthew Perry's real-life dad. John Bennett Perry plays Richard Whitman, the father of Matthew Perry's character Alex Whitman.

Stills from Fools Rush in showing the two main characters on a boat with the Richard Whitman

10. The opening sequence of My Best Friend's Wedding is such a unique introduction to the movie, and a couple of behind-the-scenes facts make it even more fun. First of all, the dress that the bride wears in the scene is apparently the same dress Rachel wears for her failed wedding in Friends.

Scenes from My Beset Friends Wedding and Friends showing actors wearing the same wedding dress

Meanwhile, the My Best Friend's Wedding sequence was choreographed by Toni Basil of "Hey Mickey" fame. Toni also choreographed the small dance moments that happen later in the movie.

A bride in an off-shoulder lace wedding dress poses happily, surrounded by bridesmaids in motion, holding bouquets

11. Hook was originally meant to be a musical, right up until filming began. "I chickened out after the first week of shooting and took all the songs out," director Steven Spielberg told The Guardian. "It was the biggest paradigm shift I’ve ever had while directing a movie. It just didn’t seem right for some strange reason. Maybe I didn’t feel ready to do a musical."

Robin Williams as Peter in tattered clothing in Hook

The songs had been composed by John Williams (of course), with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Instrumental versions of some of the songs can still be heard in the movie.

Dante Basco and Robin Williams on the set of the film Hook with a sword in between them

12. Maggie Smith was only 56 when she played old Wendy in Hook, when the character was meant to be in her '90s. "I'm always playing these rather sour, faded women, and I'm always in corsets... It's typecasting, I suppose," Maggie said at the time, long before she became even more known for playing the most sour old woman in Downton Abbey.

Maggie Smith elderly woman in elegant clothing in Hook

13. One of the things missing from the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is April's trademark yellow jumpsuit. Apparently, the filmmakers originally had one for the character but scrapped it because of how bad it looked.

Cartoon April in a yellow utility jumpsuit stands confidently in a dimly lit, brick-walled environment

"They had this really horrifying white jumpsuit and dyed it yellow," Judith Hoag, who played April, told Variety. "It was nixed."

April sits in a dimly lit room wearing a dark brown outfit looking scared

14. My lifelong obsession with cloud pajamas can be blamed on Rose McGowan's character, Tatum, in Scream. And, it turns out, Rose McGowan herself. The day before filming began, Rose rejected the "tomboyish" look costume designer Cynthia Bergstrom had given her character with an iconic line (which was no doubt infuriating for Cynthia): "She tried to put me in overalls with stacked Keds. She goes, 'They're very now,' and I looked at her and said, 'They're very never,' and walked out of the room," Rose told Elle.

Bedroom scene from Scheme in which Tatum and Sidney sit on twin beds wearing pajamas

Rose got in a cab and went straight to the local mall to find Tatum's clothes herself, buying "quadruple of everything" — including those cloud pajamas, and other memorable items like her lime-green turtleneck, her patterned skirts, and her "10" T-shirt. "I would never in my life wear a '10' shirt," Rose said. "But Tatum would definitely wear one. Not in a way that's like, 'I’m awesome,' but in a way that’s like, 'Yeah, I’m a 10, what’s up?'"

Three scenes showing three different outfits Tatum wears in SCream

15. Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Ghostface in Scream, delivered all his lines live on set with the other actors, but remained completely hidden during conversations, just like the character. For instance, during the famous Drew Barrymore opening sequence, Roger was "crouching in the shadows" outside of one of the windows.

Drew Barrymore in Scream with a short bob haircut, wearing a ribbed sweater, stands indoors holding a landline phone, with bookshelves and a plant in the background

"I was watching Drew through the window while I was on this cellphone that was completely mic’d up. It was a live conversation. My view was what the killer’s would have been. It was genius," Roger told Vice. "I never met any of the actors in the films, but they all knew I was watching them, hidden somewhere nearby. I guess that added this layer of mystery and voyeurism, and it really freaks them out."

Drew Barrymore in Scream with short blond hair holds a cordless phone, wearing a sweater, in a kitchen setting

16. Here's something wild about Wild Things: a real dead body emerged in the swamp while the cast and crew were shooting a night scene. Kevin Bacon said of the moment, "All of a sudden I hear across the walkie-talkie: 'Hey, I think I just saw a floater.' And it was a body that was floating by." Shooting was "briefly" halted until police arrived, who apparently then held the body out of shot while the movie crew finished filming the scene.

Three people stand by a swamp arguing in Wild THings

17. Still on Wild Things, the movie is famous for the same-sex kiss between Neve Campbell and Denise Richards' characters. Apparently, in the initial script, Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon's characters were also meant to hook up.

Two girls embrace and kiss in a pool scene from Wild Things

Kevin said he thought it would be an "awesome twist," but apparently the film's financiers were against it, so it was cut. Matt Dillon claimed he was relieved by the change because it would have been "one twist too many."

Two men in Wild Things sailing on a boat, focusing on the ropes. Both wear casual, patterned shirts

18. Did you know that I Know What You Did Last Summer is based on a book that came out in 1973? And that author Lois Duncan absolutely hated the movie adaptation? In her case, it goes deeper than simply not liking the changes made to her story, which include making it much gorier and raising the death count, among other things.

Four people stand outside, engaged in a tense conversation in I Know What You Did Last Summer

For Lois, it was personally painful, because her own daughter, Kaitlyn, had been murdered in 1989. "As the mother of a murdered child, I don't find violent death something to squeal and giggle about," she said when asked about the movie.

"Some secrets won't stay buried..."

19. Finally, while all the Wiccan chants and even the god, Manon, were invented for The Craft, the "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board" levitation game that the movie popularized for slumber parties the world over has actually been around for centuries.

One character levitates while the other three kneel around her in a bedroom in The Craft

The first recorded reference to it is in The Diary of Samuel Pepys from the 1600s, in which Pepys recounts a story he heard about four little girls lifting a boy with one finger each and lots of chanting.

Four people perform a ritual with lit candles and one person levitating, in a room with bookshelves in The Craft

What little-known facts do you find fascinating about your fave '90s movies? Share in the comments or the anonymous form below!

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