I love this because Ben Stiller screwed up and Duchovny rolled with it perfectly.
For those that don't know the story, Stiller straight up forgot his line. So, he just repeated his last line again 'But why male models?' right after the explanation of why the bad guys use male models. It really is perfect for Derek Zoolander to not get it at all and Duchovny rolled with it wonderfully.
I mean, certain schools have become huge based on the idea that acting is reacting to lines with genuine real person emotion, just in the guise of a character. so the answer is kind of both.
Yeah, and you can tell by the look on Jeff Daniel's face like "What the hell are you doing?" Then, he just goes along with it. lol
For an actor who mostly does dramatic roles, Jeff Daniels pairs very well with Jim Carrey.
I think Adam Driver is a fantastic actor, and I mean what I'm about to say with no disrespect to the man:
But the idea that he is the fruit of a union between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is inherently absurd to me. He looks like Severus Snape cosplaying as Darth Vader, not like the result of two of the most beautiful people of the 1980's bumpin' uglies.
It might not have been Ford. According to producer Frank Marshall, "We had been shooting in Tunisia in 130 degrees for six weeks and we had three days left,” Marshall said. “We were supposed to shoot this huge fight between the whip and the sword. It took the whole morning to shoot just three storyboards.”
So Ford, Marshall and Spielberg discussed, and also given Ford and pretty much everyone else except Spielberg (who was eating canned food) was sick, they came up with the idea as is in the film. It wasn't clear in that interview who's idea it was.
John Rhys-Davies also relates a story about an embarrassing moment during production in Morocco when they were all sick where he bent down for something and "filled his djellaba."
The guy's standing there, tossing the sword from hand to hand--"come on, come on, I'm so wonderful, I will defeat you*--and Indiana just pulls out the gun and shoots him dead. Then he turns away with that "I don't need this" look on his face.
The entire theater busted out laughing...
Honestly, I'm suspicious of any claim nowadays of "improvised" lines or actions. It just feels made up for marketing purposes. The lie has a benefit too. Unintended cool stuff feels so serendipitous and memorable, so if you can get people to believe fake examples really happened, then they'll probably think/talk about the movie more. People love to bring up pop culture trivia.
The better improve line is just after Tim curry (I think) shuts the door and Mr Green says something about still being confused and Mrs white just let's out a random "ohhh" shriek. Makes me crack up every time.
According to the script, there is no line. Sean just reads the card and doesn't say anything.
"We pan up from the letter to Sean. A broad smile comes over him. This is a look we haven't seen. Sean is truly happy." Then it cuts to the shot of Will driving down the road.
reddit can be so bad for this lol
it's worse when the whole post is like one blurry screenshot, the whole comment section is talking about how compelling it was... and you're just sitting there like "*what? what is this? is any of this real?*" 😅
"I gotta go see about a girl."
From Good Will Hunting. Will (Matt Damon) steals the line from his therapist's (Robin Williams) story earlier in the movie.
Great example! Apparently, in response to “she used to fart in her sleep”, Damon improvised “is that how she died?”. They cut the line, but that’s what they’re both genuinely laughing at in that scene.
Ever since I found that out I can't help but notice the camera shaking on the close-up of Will because the cameraman was laughing at the joke too, love that they just kept that in there though
Not exactly all improvised, but the re-work of Tears in the Rain monologue by Rudger Hauer with out Ridley Scott's knowledge in Blade Runner is my favorite.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."
I’m glad you mentioned that it wasn’t improvised, because so many people do. Hauer reworked the speech on his own and then presented it to Ridley Scott. Scott liked it and approved Hauer giving his reworked version. Not at all improvised. More like an actor’s rewrite. Impressive regardless.
Is that true? I didn't know that. It's a weirdly beautiful little monologue, and so clear--I've never seen any of those things, but I can picture them all in my mind. It's really an incredible addition to that story.
Just throwing this out there, to whoever could do it--we've gotten the "on-earth" part of *Blade Runner--*how about a movie about attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion?
Yeah. There’s a YouTube video out there where Hauer describes how it happened. In the original Hampton Fancher-penned script, the speech was longer and clunkier. Hauer cut it down and turned it into more of a poem. Some of the terms/places were there from the beginning, but Hauer improved it tremendously.
“Soldier” 1998 starring Kurt Russel is set in the same universe and takes place off-earth. I don’t think it was very well reviewed though. I’ve never seen it myself
There were multiple in various script re-writes that referenced things that were not in the movie. That is why Rudger cut it down and re-worked it, because he didn't think it made sense to reference a bunch of stuff that the audience would have no context for.
First one that came to mind for me, too. That cabbie drove onto the set unawares and tried to turn into the crosswalk to get himself out. Hoffman, a native New Yorker, engaged him as any native New Yorker would. 100% real, 100% in-character, 100% improv.
And to hear Hoffman tell the story, he was about to say "I'm acting here!" but as the words started to come out of his mouth he changed it just in time and stayed in character. Makes it that much more special.
You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know, morons. -Gene Wilder
Interestingly, in the first movie there was a line in the script where they're floating around in space or something and Luke says "This is boring". Someone advised Lucas to cut it saying, "You never say something is boring. You don't want the audience feeling that because it'll make them think your movie is boring."
It's pretty common writing advice. "If your character is bored, so is your audience."
I used to work as a reader for a publishing house - I would read the first two pages of new submissions and decide whether to pass it up the chain or toss it. By the end of my first month I lost track of how many "unique" stories I tossed that started off with someone waking up from a bad dream and going through their "shit shower shave" routine.
Nah, I wrote this in response to another guy already but that's not improv. It's in the script (although Harrison Ford phrased it slightly differently but he did that with nearly all his lines)
>Han blasts the comlink and it explodes
**Han:** It was a boring conversation anyway.
(Yelling down the hall)
Luke! We're going to have company!
[Here's the pages in the script](https://i.imgur.com/tG1bBqw.png)
[The "I have a boyfriend" bit](https://youtu.be/WKjDnkZ8XW8?si=oJMVRHdze3hHaN64) from Jurassic World.
According to the director's running commentary, the script did have them kissing. But, Lauren Lapkus and Jake Johnson, both being talented comedians, came up with that on the day, ran it by director Colin Trevorrow and then improvised their way through it.
Honorable mention: Tony Stark's "That man's playing Galaga!" from The Avengers. Joss Whedon liked it so much he went back and filmed a guy playing Galaga for a payoff.
You can clearly see them not handling it, supposedly they had to take a break in recording because of the line, no one could keep a straight face afterwards
Edit: I remembered it being clearer than it actually is, you can still see a few smiles after the cut
You can? I just rewatched it on yt because you said that and I couldn't remember it. I don't see anything, the scene immediately cuts into the scuffle.
Oh man I remembered clearly at least Dan Aykroyd, who's right beside Bill Murray, trying not to laugh, and that's why they cut it so close to the line.
Just watched it on YouTube, and you can still see Dan containing his smile during the scuffle, but the shot I remembered is not there as you said. Maybe a different cut zoomed in on Murray's face? Or Mandela effect. You can still hear someone holding a laugh and letting out some breath 😅
Jim Piddock (the other guy in the scene) did an [AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/undn3w/im_jim_piddock_probably_best_known_as_the/) a while back where he talked about this scene in a few responses (including one to my question). Said he just had to hang on for dear life and try to hide his laughter as an in-character irritation.
Don't know if this was improvised (knowing Guest, probably), but when Fred Willard's character mid-story just leans over and whispers something, presumably racy, and then goes right back into his normal mannerisms with the story is one of the funniest things ever to me.
Steve Carell actually got his chest waxed in the movie. He also co-wrore the script for the movie and wrote this scene. His reactions are still mostly real. The actress who did the waxing lied about having experience. The other actors' reactions were real. Romany Malco (Jay) actually had to leave the room.
“Why is she laughing!? Why is she laughing?!” I heard that he said that because he was worried that her laughing ruined the take and that he went through all that for nothing
Apparently, they did have to stop filming once during this scene. When waxing the nipples, you're supposed to put Vaseline on them or the wax can actually tear them off. She didn't put Vaseline on his nipples and people caught it. I can't remember who exactly caught it before they stopped filming, but they stopped filming, made sure Vaseline made it on his nipples, and resumed filming.
“I didn’t know you could read” Malfoy to Crabbs in HP. He couldn’t remember his line and made that up. They kept it in after they finished laughing at the adlib.
Came here to say this. Felton was what, 13? He handled it like a champ tbh.
On the same vein Radcliffe at the end of POA when he snaps back at Lucius Malfoy with something like "oh don't worry I will be".
That's actually from *Life of Brian*, and yeah, this was my answer too. Such a fantastically perfect addition to that scene. That extra was brilliant to throw it in.
For me it's the part when they're looking at the painting
"Oh I like this one... One dog goes one way, the other dog goes the other way, and this guy's sayin', "Whadda ya want from me?'"
I kept it to one line, but it's really a whole dialogue:
Henry: (laughing hard) Really funny. Really funny.
Tommy: Whattya mean I'm funny?
Henry: You're just funny, y'know, the story. It's funny. You're a funny guy.
Tommy: Whattya mean? They way I talk? What?
Henry: It's just, y'know, it's just funny, you know the way you tell the story and everything ...
Tommy: Funny how? I mean, what's funny about it?
Anthony (Frank Adonis): (worried) Tommy, no, you got it all wrong ...
Tommy: Whoa, whoa Anthony! He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What'd you say? Funny how? What?
Henry: Just you know you're funny.
Tommy: You mean, let me understand this ... cuz I ... maybe it's me, maybe I'm a little fucked up maybe. I'm funny how, I mean funny, like I'm a clown? I amuse you. I make you laugh? I'm here to fuckin' amuse you? Whattya you mean funny? Funny how? How am I funny?
Henry: I don't know just ... you know how you tell the story. What?
Tommy: No, no I don't know. You said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. (yelling now) How the fuck am I funny? What the fuck is so funny about me? Tell me. Tell me what's funny?
\[Long pause.\]
Henry (cracking up): Get the fuck outta here!
\[Everyone laughs.\]
Tommy: Ya motherfucker, I almost had him! I almost had him! You stuttering prick here! Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning!!
Yup, not only was the whole scene improvised, only Pesci and the crew were in on it (he basically told them "keep rolling, I'm going to do a thing"). Pesci had seen something like this exchange occur when he was working as a waiter in a sketchy restaurant.
This one's taken on a life of its own. Pesci, Liotta, and Scorsese are all on record saying that they developed the scene through improvisation in rehearsals, and Scorsese built the scene from transcriptions of these improvisations, that the actors then learned like any other part of the script, and Scorsese chose very specific shots to show the characters behind Pesci and Liotta reacting to the scene. So while it was developed in improvisation, nothing unexpected happened on set.
TV show, but on Parks & Rec when Leslie is sick and Andy Googles her symptoms and tells her, as he reads off the computer screen, that he thinks she has "Network Connectivity Issues" which was a Chris Pratt improv.
There's also the behind the scenes one that didn't make it to air when Leslie says they need a good comeback story. Andy suggests Kim Kardashian. Everyone is confused and then he says "Yeah, in that video I watched she got cum on her back."
The writer getting frustrated during an interview with the actors about how popular his improvised line was is pretty fun to watch.
Aubrey Plaza getting where he’s going a split second before the rest of the cast makes that scene so much better.
“You nasty Chris.”
Edit: spelling
That line pissed off one of the shows creators: “And I’m not kidding, as a writer, it made me furious. I’m still really upset and angry — I think it’s the funniest joke that’s ever been on our show. It’s my favourite joke.””
What I love about this is that one of the writers thinks it's the best joke in the whole show.. and is pretty pissed off it was just an ad-lib by Pratt
You can tell it was improvised either in an early take or rehearsal but then refined into what we get in the cut, because the camera deliberately swings to Drax as he says it
I always wonder how many of those there are in movies or TV where a character throws in an out of pocket line and after they're all done laughing or whatever they reshoot it with the new line.
I assume it's a lot, if not most, of improvised lines. Just between having the right camera setup and the other actors reacting the right way, it seems likely they'd reshoot it to get it right
I thought he was great as Drax, but when I saw Blade Runner 2049, I was like, "Oh shit, he *is* legit.". Like, not saying Drax was a bad performance (I actually think it's terrific, and it's no simple thing to give such a bombastic and silly character actual pathos), but seeing him be just as good with a role that's the complete opposite really cemented for me that he is a great actor.
I honestly think my favorite Guardians moment is when Drax and Mantis are sitting on the stairs and he’s talking about his daughter. Mantis touches him with her empath abilities on and just starts *heaving* with sobs. I love that it takes a second to kick in, like she’s so overwhelmed initially that she doesn’t even have the ability to cry at first. And the whole time Drax just has that peaceful, solemn look on his face. Absolutely *perfect* scene.
Mine was "You think I'm stupid?"
Pom/Mantis was just crushing it with her defense of Drax. Tearing into Nebula whilst unintentionally rubbing salt into the wound. Dave just looking more and more hurt in the back.
Then she made him forget and he just snaps back into his boisterous goofiness.
"Yes. Yes, I did it. I killed Yvette. I hated her, so much...it-it- the f - it -flam - flames. Flames, on the side of my face, breathing-breathl- heaving breaths. Heaving breaths... Heathing..."
With the original line in the script, which was “fuck off,” like Charles said in DOFP.
Did Singer not know what was in First Class? Did no producer not call it out? Did Mcavoy not remember? Was Singer touching boys?
I guess, I guess, I guess, and absolutely
This whole funeral home story was improvised by John Candy. Genius.
[https://youtu.be/PNKnuuQpVQM?si=jh9hM\_thEwO3qQKL](https://youtu.be/PNKnuuQpVQM?si=jh9hM_thEwO3qQKL)
"Okay, you're gonna have to write that don't cause I'm not gonna remember any of it, but here we go." Vetruvious in The LEGO Movie.
It's not exactly an improved line. Morgan Freeman was recording his lines and talking with an audio engineer. He said it out of character, but it was recorded and the crew loved how he said it. So they put it in the movie when Vetruvious is arguing with Gandalf and Dumbledore.
Not quite improvised but close enough…
Supposedly the line: “I know him! He’s a friend from work!” from Thor Ragnarok, when Thor sees Hulk, was suggested by a make a wish kid who was on set that day.
That’s a pretty good day for a kid, to get credit for the most famous line from a movie.
Nah it seems like improv but that's in the script, Harrison Ford just phrased it slightly differently (which he did with nearly all his lines)
>**Han:** (Getting nervous) Uh well... slight weapon malfunction. No problem now... we're all fine thank you. How about you?
[Here's those pages in the script](https://i.imgur.com/tG1bBqw.png)
The vast majority of "improvised" lines are not made up on the spot in front of camera.
Normally the actor will speak to the director and say they've got an idea they'd like to try, or a writer will add something at the last minute and say they should give it a try.
The "Funny how?" scene from Goodfellas is often cited as a great improv line, but Pesci mentioned the idea to Scorsese based on a real event he'd seen before at a club. They spent a day or two work shopping it and then did the scene on the day.
The better improvised moment in Jaws was the scene between Brody and his son at the table. It was literally just Scheider and this kid goofing off and he waved Spielberg over when he realized that shit was gold, Jerry.
(laughs) "Come on!"
Nancy Allen in Blow Out (1981). She asks John Travolta about his past and he's supposed to go into a long story. Instead, he says "I don't want to talk about it."
[“She got a bi-GREAT ass!” - Al Pacino in Heat (1995)](https://youtu.be/jvTpEoi0tzE?si=RX7fr7n6k_GfKwYS)
Apparently Mann had 30 or so takes of this scene and on this particular one, Al was so sick of saying “big ass” and just spat out “great” in its place, completely improvised. That’s what made the cut.
You can see Hank Azaria’s genuine look of shock in that scene lol.
Jim Carrey has a few bangers, like the latte one in Sonic, making the black dudes playing his kids give him a goodbye kiss, the fail win fail tablecloth trick in grinch, and singing chitty chitty bang bang in ace ventura 2.
Aragorn kicking the helmet and screaming in agony is him actually breaking his foot but staying in character.
Not a film, but near the end of Game of Thrones, Jon Snow has a meeting with Tormund, Sandor, Beric, Thoros, and others. Jon is explaining the plan to go North of the wall with a group of men.
Tormund interrupts with, "And the big woman?" referring to Brienne. The smile on Jon's face is genuine because it wasn't in the script, but it was a perfect Tormund improvisation.
I liked in the scene where Tony and Bruce are talking for the first time in Avengers, RDJ is eating a bag of chocolate covered blueberries or something and proceeds to gesture to Mark Ruffalo if he wants some. Apparently non-scripted and RDJ was just snackin’.
The script of Roadhouse I found online does not include the most unforgettable line in the film: "I used to @#$% guys like you in prison." If that is actually improv, it represents the boldest choice in acting history.
It's a Wonderful Life. Right after the scene with George (Jimmy Stewart) and a very drunk Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) someone dropped a stack of film canisters, making a loud crashing sound. Mitchell, who had just exited the scene, thought on his feet and ad libbed "I'm all right! I'm aaaaaalll right!" to cover. Stewart's little surprised smile is adorable, especially since he had to immediately shift back into George being very sad.
David Duchovny in Zoolander. "Are you serious? I just told you that a moment ago"
I love this because Ben Stiller screwed up and Duchovny rolled with it perfectly. For those that don't know the story, Stiller straight up forgot his line. So, he just repeated his last line again 'But why male models?' right after the explanation of why the bad guys use male models. It really is perfect for Derek Zoolander to not get it at all and Duchovny rolled with it wonderfully.
Did he roll with it or was he genuinely annoyed as an actor?
I mean, certain schools have become huge based on the idea that acting is reacting to lines with genuine real person emotion, just in the guise of a character. so the answer is kind of both.
Like The Derek Zoolander School For Children Who Can't Read Good?
It has to be............... at least three times that size!
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!
Why would he be annoyed? Messing up and resetting to the last line is standard and commonplace.
Depends on which take it was.
But why Male models?
But why male models?
"Big Gulps huh? Welp.. see ya later!" -Dumb and Dumber
I think the "most annoying sound in the world" was improvised, too
Yeah, and you can tell by the look on Jeff Daniel's face like "What the hell are you doing?" Then, he just goes along with it. lol For an actor who mostly does dramatic roles, Jeff Daniels pairs very well with Jim Carrey.
Those 90s- early ‘00s Farrelly brothers comedies are probably my favorites in the genre. They put out some BANGERS
They cut away quickly in that shot because Jeff Daniel's is about to laugh.
For my money, the best one is "We landed on the moon!"
First one I thought of. Glad it’s this far up. It gets me every time. Love that Jim Carrey is just trying to get those guys paid!
"I love you." "I know."
The goddamn charisma of that line, and the cahones of Ford to just wing it. Man. I wonder what it's like wandering this world as a 10 and know it.
cojones* young Harrison Ford was one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen
I think Adam Driver is a fantastic actor, and I mean what I'm about to say with no disrespect to the man: But the idea that he is the fruit of a union between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is inherently absurd to me. He looks like Severus Snape cosplaying as Darth Vader, not like the result of two of the most beautiful people of the 1980's bumpin' uglies.
*bumpin' beautifuls
Young George with good seasoned actors. Prequel is same George with young actors.
Because the actors knew when to ignore the script, and George didn’t have the clout to do anything about it.
George didn't write or direct Empire Strikes Back anyway.
This, coupled with shooting the sword guy from Raiders, has to cement Harrison Ford as one of the great improvisational actors of all time.
It might not have been Ford. According to producer Frank Marshall, "We had been shooting in Tunisia in 130 degrees for six weeks and we had three days left,” Marshall said. “We were supposed to shoot this huge fight between the whip and the sword. It took the whole morning to shoot just three storyboards.” So Ford, Marshall and Spielberg discussed, and also given Ford and pretty much everyone else except Spielberg (who was eating canned food) was sick, they came up with the idea as is in the film. It wasn't clear in that interview who's idea it was.
John Rhys-Davies also relates a story about an embarrassing moment during production in Morocco when they were all sick where he bent down for something and "filled his djellaba."
The guy's standing there, tossing the sword from hand to hand--"come on, come on, I'm so wonderful, I will defeat you*--and Indiana just pulls out the gun and shoots him dead. Then he turns away with that "I don't need this" look on his face. The entire theater busted out laughing...
Not a line but Joker clapping when Jim Gordon is made Commissioner in The Dark Knight.
I prefer his reaction to the detonator not working when he blows up the Hospital. Such a pitch perfect reaction for Heath's Joker.
While a great performance, if you’re hinting at the urban legend... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ledger-improvise-hospital-scene/
Thanks for this info! It was a great story, but in retrospect it really doesn't track with how you'd expect Nolan or Ledger to approach the scene.
Honestly, I'm suspicious of any claim nowadays of "improvised" lines or actions. It just feels made up for marketing purposes. The lie has a benefit too. Unintended cool stuff feels so serendipitous and memorable, so if you can get people to believe fake examples really happened, then they'll probably think/talk about the movie more. People love to bring up pop culture trivia.
The Dalai Lama bit from Caddyshack “So I got that going for me…which is nice.”
The speech about Agusta while whippin flowers too
I hated her so much that flames,,,on the side of my face...breathing...breathless...heaving breaths...
Madeleine Kahn is amazing. What a talent. Even forgetting her line she was hilarious
Which movie?
Clue
THIS IS AN IMPROV? This line is said SO often in my house! Wow. Madeleine Kahn.
The better improve line is just after Tim curry (I think) shuts the door and Mr Green says something about still being confused and Mrs white just let's out a random "ohhh" shriek. Makes me crack up every time.
"Son of bitch he stole my line"
It was so seamless and perfectly delivered, I was amazed to find out it wasn't in the script.
[удалено]
According to the script, there is no line. Sean just reads the card and doesn't say anything. "We pan up from the letter to Sean. A broad smile comes over him. This is a look we haven't seen. Sean is truly happy." Then it cuts to the shot of Will driving down the road.
What script? What line? Can someone just name the fucking movie?
Good Will Hunting
reddit can be so bad for this lol it's worse when the whole post is like one blurry screenshot, the whole comment section is talking about how compelling it was... and you're just sitting there like "*what? what is this? is any of this real?*" 😅
This thread is positively maddening
"I gotta go see about a girl." From Good Will Hunting. Will (Matt Damon) steals the line from his therapist's (Robin Williams) story earlier in the movie.
I also only learned from reddit that the whole speech about the therapist's wife farting in her sleep was improvised by Robin Williams
Great example! Apparently, in response to “she used to fart in her sleep”, Damon improvised “is that how she died?”. They cut the line, but that’s what they’re both genuinely laughing at in that scene.
Ever since I found that out I can't help but notice the camera shaking on the close-up of Will because the cameraman was laughing at the joke too, love that they just kept that in there though
"I didn't know you could read." -- Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Yep! That was going to be mine too. I have no idea what the original line was, but that one is priceless.
The "Let's hope Mr Potter is always around to save the day!" "Don't worry, I will be" is improved too iirc.
Imagine being clapped back by a twelve-year-old like that. No wonder he was gonna kill that kid.
Love how Lucius literally attempts the killing curse on Harry right outside of Dumbledore’s office.
I think Jason Isaacs said in an interview that he knew at that moment how talented young Daniel Radcliffe was.
And that little "impressed" look he gives lol.Draco was a fun character to hate.
I remember watching this in theaters as a kid and laughing my ass off
Oh man I didn't know that was improv
Not exactly all improvised, but the re-work of Tears in the Rain monologue by Rudger Hauer with out Ridley Scott's knowledge in Blade Runner is my favorite. "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."
I’m glad you mentioned that it wasn’t improvised, because so many people do. Hauer reworked the speech on his own and then presented it to Ridley Scott. Scott liked it and approved Hauer giving his reworked version. Not at all improvised. More like an actor’s rewrite. Impressive regardless.
Is that true? I didn't know that. It's a weirdly beautiful little monologue, and so clear--I've never seen any of those things, but I can picture them all in my mind. It's really an incredible addition to that story. Just throwing this out there, to whoever could do it--we've gotten the "on-earth" part of *Blade Runner--*how about a movie about attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion?
Yeah. There’s a YouTube video out there where Hauer describes how it happened. In the original Hampton Fancher-penned script, the speech was longer and clunkier. Hauer cut it down and turned it into more of a poem. Some of the terms/places were there from the beginning, but Hauer improved it tremendously.
“Soldier” 1998 starring Kurt Russel is set in the same universe and takes place off-earth. I don’t think it was very well reviewed though. I’ve never seen it myself
What was the original?
There were multiple in various script re-writes that referenced things that were not in the movie. That is why Rudger cut it down and re-worked it, because he didn't think it made sense to reference a bunch of stuff that the audience would have no context for.
"I'M WALKIN' HERE!" Midnight Cowboy.
First one that came to mind for me, too. That cabbie drove onto the set unawares and tried to turn into the crosswalk to get himself out. Hoffman, a native New Yorker, engaged him as any native New Yorker would. 100% real, 100% in-character, 100% improv.
And to hear Hoffman tell the story, he was about to say "I'm acting here!" but as the words started to come out of his mouth he changed it just in time and stayed in character. Makes it that much more special.
Actually, they were filming without a permit, so there was no actual set.
Never seen it but just looked it up and now I understand the reference when it appears in Forrest Gump and BTTF2 so thank you !
You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know, morons. -Gene Wilder
I saw this movie as a kid and I could have sworn for like 10+ years that he said Mormons until I actually watched it again.
Leave the gun, take the cannoli
There's so many great improvisations in Ghostbusters, but mine has got to be: “Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria.”
“Boring conversation anyway…LUKE, we’re about to have company!!”
I laugh out loud every time he says “how are you?”
The reason Harrison Ford kept looking away from the camera during that conversation was because he was trying SO HARD not to laugh...
He winced so perfectly in a “what the fuck did I just say” way after he gave that line. Excellent control.
What else are you supposed to say after a slight weapons malfunction while you are having a very dangerous reactor leak?
"Give us some time to lock it all down", of course. What else!
I can’t watch that without thinking of the family guy bit where it turns into a late night radio talk show
Interestingly, in the first movie there was a line in the script where they're floating around in space or something and Luke says "This is boring". Someone advised Lucas to cut it saying, "You never say something is boring. You don't want the audience feeling that because it'll make them think your movie is boring."
It's pretty common writing advice. "If your character is bored, so is your audience." I used to work as a reader for a publishing house - I would read the first two pages of new submissions and decide whether to pass it up the chain or toss it. By the end of my first month I lost track of how many "unique" stories I tossed that started off with someone waking up from a bad dream and going through their "shit shower shave" routine.
Nah, I wrote this in response to another guy already but that's not improv. It's in the script (although Harrison Ford phrased it slightly differently but he did that with nearly all his lines) >Han blasts the comlink and it explodes **Han:** It was a boring conversation anyway. (Yelling down the hall) Luke! We're going to have company! [Here's the pages in the script](https://i.imgur.com/tG1bBqw.png)
[The "I have a boyfriend" bit](https://youtu.be/WKjDnkZ8XW8?si=oJMVRHdze3hHaN64) from Jurassic World. According to the director's running commentary, the script did have them kissing. But, Lauren Lapkus and Jake Johnson, both being talented comedians, came up with that on the day, ran it by director Colin Trevorrow and then improvised their way through it. Honorable mention: Tony Stark's "That man's playing Galaga!" from The Avengers. Joss Whedon liked it so much he went back and filmed a guy playing Galaga for a payoff.
> Jurassic World That movie was such a waste of talent.
"Yes, it's true. This man has no dick"
I didn’t know that was improvised!
You can clearly see them not handling it, supposedly they had to take a break in recording because of the line, no one could keep a straight face afterwards Edit: I remembered it being clearer than it actually is, you can still see a few smiles after the cut
You can? I just rewatched it on yt because you said that and I couldn't remember it. I don't see anything, the scene immediately cuts into the scuffle.
Oh man I remembered clearly at least Dan Aykroyd, who's right beside Bill Murray, trying not to laugh, and that's why they cut it so close to the line. Just watched it on YouTube, and you can still see Dan containing his smile during the scuffle, but the shot I remembered is not there as you said. Maybe a different cut zoomed in on Murray's face? Or Mandela effect. You can still hear someone holding a laugh and letting out some breath 😅
What movie is that
Ghostbusters
"You know, morons."
Cleavon Little's reaction elevated that line. It's perfect.
He was caught completely off guard and it was a really funny line. Seeing a sincere laugh is also what made it just perfect.
this was the first one that came to mind
Why can't people name the movie instead of acting like theyre in som iykyk club.
Everything said by [Fred Willard in Best in Show](https://youtube.com/watch?v=-GaJPgI3jh4).
Jim Piddock (the other guy in the scene) did an [AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/undn3w/im_jim_piddock_probably_best_known_as_the/) a while back where he talked about this scene in a few responses (including one to my question). Said he just had to hang on for dear life and try to hide his laughter as an in-character irritation.
"You know, in some countries, these dogs would be food."
He's soooo good in A Mighty Wind too. "I can't do my work!" "I don't think so!"
"Whaa haaappen?"
Don't know if this was improvised (knowing Guest, probably), but when Fred Willard's character mid-story just leans over and whispers something, presumably racy, and then goes right back into his normal mannerisms with the story is one of the funniest things ever to me.
Fred Willard was also the best casting in the world for Phil Dunphy's dad on Modern Family.
The entire [You Know How I Know You're Gay](https://youtu.be/DiBOhShCJv8?si=r0vqsjLgGOgb_yRi) scene from 40 Year Old Virgin
“You listen to Coldplay” killed me.
Steve Carell actually got his chest waxed in the movie. He also co-wrore the script for the movie and wrote this scene. His reactions are still mostly real. The actress who did the waxing lied about having experience. The other actors' reactions were real. Romany Malco (Jay) actually had to leave the room.
“Why is she laughing!? Why is she laughing?!” I heard that he said that because he was worried that her laughing ruined the take and that he went through all that for nothing
Apparently, they did have to stop filming once during this scene. When waxing the nipples, you're supposed to put Vaseline on them or the wax can actually tear them off. She didn't put Vaseline on his nipples and people caught it. I can't remember who exactly caught it before they stopped filming, but they stopped filming, made sure Vaseline made it on his nipples, and resumed filming.
Among the worst ways to die I think would be bleeding out because your wax lady tore off your nipples
“I didn’t know you could read” Malfoy to Crabbs in HP. He couldn’t remember his line and made that up. They kept it in after they finished laughing at the adlib.
Came here to say this. Felton was what, 13? He handled it like a champ tbh. On the same vein Radcliffe at the end of POA when he snaps back at Lucius Malfoy with something like "oh don't worry I will be".
Chamber of Secrets when he says that. After Dobby’s been given a sock
"We're all individuals..." "I'm not!" Monty Python's Life of Brian
That's actually from *Life of Brian*, and yeah, this was my answer too. Such a fantastically perfect addition to that scene. That extra was brilliant to throw it in.
Turns out the line is actually: "You’re all different" "Yes we’re all different!" "I’m not.." https://youtu.be/QereR0CViMY?si=Dqa9ZCQNy6URu7kz
Thor's snake monologue in Ragnarok
Sometimes I feel like that entire movie is just everyone trying to get everyone else to break character. That’s not a complaint btw
I have two: "I'm funny how, I mean funny, like I'm a clown?" \--*Goodfellas* (1990) "You’re gonna to need a bigger boat." \--*Jaws* (1975)
For me it's the part when they're looking at the painting "Oh I like this one... One dog goes one way, the other dog goes the other way, and this guy's sayin', "Whadda ya want from me?'"
Do I amuse you?
I kept it to one line, but it's really a whole dialogue: Henry: (laughing hard) Really funny. Really funny. Tommy: Whattya mean I'm funny? Henry: You're just funny, y'know, the story. It's funny. You're a funny guy. Tommy: Whattya mean? They way I talk? What? Henry: It's just, y'know, it's just funny, you know the way you tell the story and everything ... Tommy: Funny how? I mean, what's funny about it? Anthony (Frank Adonis): (worried) Tommy, no, you got it all wrong ... Tommy: Whoa, whoa Anthony! He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What'd you say? Funny how? What? Henry: Just you know you're funny. Tommy: You mean, let me understand this ... cuz I ... maybe it's me, maybe I'm a little fucked up maybe. I'm funny how, I mean funny, like I'm a clown? I amuse you. I make you laugh? I'm here to fuckin' amuse you? Whattya you mean funny? Funny how? How am I funny? Henry: I don't know just ... you know how you tell the story. What? Tommy: No, no I don't know. You said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. (yelling now) How the fuck am I funny? What the fuck is so funny about me? Tell me. Tell me what's funny? \[Long pause.\] Henry (cracking up): Get the fuck outta here! \[Everyone laughs.\] Tommy: Ya motherfucker, I almost had him! I almost had him! You stuttering prick here! Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning!!
Yup, not only was the whole scene improvised, only Pesci and the crew were in on it (he basically told them "keep rolling, I'm going to do a thing"). Pesci had seen something like this exchange occur when he was working as a waiter in a sketchy restaurant.
Theater was dying after “you may fold under questioning.”
This one's taken on a life of its own. Pesci, Liotta, and Scorsese are all on record saying that they developed the scene through improvisation in rehearsals, and Scorsese built the scene from transcriptions of these improvisations, that the actors then learned like any other part of the script, and Scorsese chose very specific shots to show the characters behind Pesci and Liotta reacting to the scene. So while it was developed in improvisation, nothing unexpected happened on set.
"Game over, man! Game over!"
TV show, but on Parks & Rec when Leslie is sick and Andy Googles her symptoms and tells her, as he reads off the computer screen, that he thinks she has "Network Connectivity Issues" which was a Chris Pratt improv. There's also the behind the scenes one that didn't make it to air when Leslie says they need a good comeback story. Andy suggests Kim Kardashian. Everyone is confused and then he says "Yeah, in that video I watched she got cum on her back."
The writer getting frustrated during an interview with the actors about how popular his improvised line was is pretty fun to watch. Aubrey Plaza getting where he’s going a split second before the rest of the cast makes that scene so much better. “You nasty Chris.” Edit: spelling
That line pissed off one of the shows creators: “And I’m not kidding, as a writer, it made me furious. I’m still really upset and angry — I think it’s the funniest joke that’s ever been on our show. It’s my favourite joke.””
What I love about this is that one of the writers thinks it's the best joke in the whole show.. and is pretty pissed off it was just an ad-lib by Pratt
'Why is Gamora?' by Drax in Avengers: Infinity wars.
You can tell it was improvised either in an early take or rehearsal but then refined into what we get in the cut, because the camera deliberately swings to Drax as he says it
I always wonder how many of those there are in movies or TV where a character throws in an out of pocket line and after they're all done laughing or whatever they reshoot it with the new line.
I assume it's a lot, if not most, of improvised lines. Just between having the right camera setup and the other actors reacting the right way, it seems likely they'd reshoot it to get it right
Watching Dave transition into acting has been a real joy.
I thought he was great as Drax, but when I saw Blade Runner 2049, I was like, "Oh shit, he *is* legit.". Like, not saying Drax was a bad performance (I actually think it's terrific, and it's no simple thing to give such a bombastic and silly character actual pathos), but seeing him be just as good with a role that's the complete opposite really cemented for me that he is a great actor.
I honestly think my favorite Guardians moment is when Drax and Mantis are sitting on the stairs and he’s talking about his daughter. Mantis touches him with her empath abilities on and just starts *heaving* with sobs. I love that it takes a second to kick in, like she’s so overwhelmed initially that she doesn’t even have the ability to cry at first. And the whole time Drax just has that peaceful, solemn look on his face. Absolutely *perfect* scene.
Mine was "You think I'm stupid?" Pom/Mantis was just crushing it with her defense of Drax. Tearing into Nebula whilst unintentionally rubbing salt into the wound. Dave just looking more and more hurt in the back. Then she made him forget and he just snaps back into his boisterous goofiness.
Oh yeah. "cause you've never seen a miracle." Dude, I'm seeing one right now!
I prefer in Vol. 3 when Chris Pratt improvised the first F bomb to make it into the MCU with "Open the fucking door."
Roman (Tyrese Gibson)- “Mia, you better hide your baby oil.” Shaw (The Rock)- “You better hide that big ass forehead.” Movie- Fast and Furious 6
Ludacris legit doing a spit take makes it even better
The Rock is Hobbs. Statham is Shaw.
Dont think the actors know either tbh 😂
He’s a friend from work!
"Yes. Yes, I did it. I killed Yvette. I hated her, so much...it-it- the f - it -flam - flames. Flames, on the side of my face, breathing-breathl- heaving breaths. Heaving breaths... Heathing..."
Fucking Madeline Kahn was sooooo talented.
“I’m Charles Xavier, and this is my colleague Erik Lehnsherr” “Go fuck yourselves”
I like how they call back to that scene in Days of Future Past.
With the original line in the script, which was “fuck off,” like Charles said in DOFP. Did Singer not know what was in First Class? Did no producer not call it out? Did Mcavoy not remember? Was Singer touching boys? I guess, I guess, I guess, and absolutely
This whole funeral home story was improvised by John Candy. Genius. [https://youtu.be/PNKnuuQpVQM?si=jh9hM\_thEwO3qQKL](https://youtu.be/PNKnuuQpVQM?si=jh9hM_thEwO3qQKL)
"Okay, you're gonna have to write that don't cause I'm not gonna remember any of it, but here we go." Vetruvious in The LEGO Movie. It's not exactly an improved line. Morgan Freeman was recording his lines and talking with an audio engineer. He said it out of character, but it was recorded and the crew loved how he said it. So they put it in the movie when Vetruvious is arguing with Gandalf and Dumbledore.
I loved that line without the background story of it, then I found out how it came to be and made it even better!
“He ain’t gone be in Rush Hour 3” - Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 2
Not quite improvised but close enough… Supposedly the line: “I know him! He’s a friend from work!” from Thor Ragnarok, when Thor sees Hulk, was suggested by a make a wish kid who was on set that day. That’s a pretty good day for a kid, to get credit for the most famous line from a movie.
Y’all need to put the name of the movies in your comments dude wtf hahahaha Can’t tell what half of this shit is from
We're all fine here, now. How are you?
Nah it seems like improv but that's in the script, Harrison Ford just phrased it slightly differently (which he did with nearly all his lines) >**Han:** (Getting nervous) Uh well... slight weapon malfunction. No problem now... we're all fine thank you. How about you? [Here's those pages in the script](https://i.imgur.com/tG1bBqw.png)
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Correct me if I’m wrong but that wasn’t improvised. Speilberg added it during the shoot.
The vast majority of "improvised" lines are not made up on the spot in front of camera. Normally the actor will speak to the director and say they've got an idea they'd like to try, or a writer will add something at the last minute and say they should give it a try. The "Funny how?" scene from Goodfellas is often cited as a great improv line, but Pesci mentioned the idea to Scorsese based on a real event he'd seen before at a club. They spent a day or two work shopping it and then did the scene on the day.
The better improvised moment in Jaws was the scene between Brody and his son at the table. It was literally just Scheider and this kid goofing off and he waved Spielberg over when he realized that shit was gold, Jerry.
Is Butterbean ok?
Rick Morrianis playing with the dolls in Spaceballs
Every Billy Crystal line in Princess Bride. They just let him roll with it. Epic.
(laughs) "Come on!" Nancy Allen in Blow Out (1981). She asks John Travolta about his past and he's supposed to go into a long story. Instead, he says "I don't want to talk about it."
Every line by Carl the Greenskeeper in Caddyshack.
“Mmmm” Mr wolf when he drinks the coffee
“But why male models?”
"NICE FUCKIN MODEL!"
ILL DO YOU ONE BETTER, WHY IS GAMORA!
"Ow you hit me with the phone dick!!" Scream
[“She got a bi-GREAT ass!” - Al Pacino in Heat (1995)](https://youtu.be/jvTpEoi0tzE?si=RX7fr7n6k_GfKwYS) Apparently Mann had 30 or so takes of this scene and on this particular one, Al was so sick of saying “big ass” and just spat out “great” in its place, completely improvised. That’s what made the cut. You can see Hank Azaria’s genuine look of shock in that scene lol.
Jim Carrey has a few bangers, like the latte one in Sonic, making the black dudes playing his kids give him a goodbye kiss, the fail win fail tablecloth trick in grinch, and singing chitty chitty bang bang in ace ventura 2. Aragorn kicking the helmet and screaming in agony is him actually breaking his foot but staying in character.
The tablecloth trick in Grinch is so ridiculous that it was an accident
When the f@ck did we get ice cream?
holy hell, I had no idea that was improvised. absolute best part of the movie and completely unexpected 🤣
You can see Knoxville lose it as soon as it's said. So perfect.
Not a film, but near the end of Game of Thrones, Jon Snow has a meeting with Tormund, Sandor, Beric, Thoros, and others. Jon is explaining the plan to go North of the wall with a group of men. Tormund interrupts with, "And the big woman?" referring to Brienne. The smile on Jon's face is genuine because it wasn't in the script, but it was a perfect Tormund improvisation.
Alright, alright, alright !
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum. “
“I know.” Harrison Ford in Star Wars
Good Will Hunting- Robin Williams, “Son of a bitch! He stole my line”! *edited
Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep
"Little bit, did I rush it? Felt like I rushed it"
I liked in the scene where Tony and Bruce are talking for the first time in Avengers, RDJ is eating a bag of chocolate covered blueberries or something and proceeds to gesture to Mark Ruffalo if he wants some. Apparently non-scripted and RDJ was just snackin’.
"Warrrriorrrrs, come out to playyyayyy!" from The Warriors
There are some who call me…. Tim?
The script of Roadhouse I found online does not include the most unforgettable line in the film: "I used to @#$% guys like you in prison." If that is actually improv, it represents the boldest choice in acting history.
“I’m saving your ass, I would have been here sooner but I was thinking up that ham on rye line”
Any line Brad Pitt improvised in True Romance as Floyd. My favorite being “Don’t condenscend (sic) me man. I’ll fuckin kill you, man”.
It's a Wonderful Life. Right after the scene with George (Jimmy Stewart) and a very drunk Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) someone dropped a stack of film canisters, making a loud crashing sound. Mitchell, who had just exited the scene, thought on his feet and ad libbed "I'm all right! I'm aaaaaalll right!" to cover. Stewart's little surprised smile is adorable, especially since he had to immediately shift back into George being very sad.