These days, part of the fun of watching a movie in theaters or at home with the ability to freeze frames, is finding the Easter eggs hidden within. For the history buffs out there, the origin of the cinematic Easter egg dates back to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Supposedly one day on the set, the cast decided to have a traditional Easter egg hunt, as you do, but some of the eggs were never found and actually appeared in frames of the movie! So if you're obsessed with finding hidden messages, jokes, and ways to make you look smart in front of your friends, check out these Easter eggs!
Understandably some of these have been around for a while, but some may be new to other readers; there’s no expiration date on sharing so enjoy and have fun!
Months ago when people were still clamoring to get a glimpse of anything ANT-MAN related, even a random set photo was enough to wake up the Internet. Take this image as a sign that Marvel will tie Scott Lang into the Avengers universe, or not, whatever.
It of course ties back to one of the first Marvel Studios’ releases. The green beverages had an early appearance in THE INCREDIBLE HULK. A drop of Bruce Banner’s blood mistakenly ends up falling into a bottle, which ended up in the hands of a gentleman played by none other than Stan Lee, as seen in this clip:
It could also just be a wink for Marvel fans, but given that Lang is set to show up in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, it’s probably a little more than that. Do you think Bruce Banner and Lang will come face to face? Sound off in the comments.
George Lucas likes to make references to his first film (THX 1138) whenever possible. In STAR WARS a reference is made to a "prison transfer from cell block 1138". In American Graffiti the reference is in a license plate THX 138 as seen in the image:
The reference in STAR WARS may have actually been Mark Hammils doing some suggest. In the movie, clll Block 1138 was allegedly a detention area aboard the first Death Star. When Luke Skywalker discovered that Princess Leia was being held in Detention Block AA-23, he convinced Han Solo and Chewbacca to help him rescue her. The two Humans, wearing stormtrooper armor, "escorted" Chewbacca, a Wookiee to AA-23.
When the officer in charge of the detention block inquired as to where they were taking Chewbacca, Skywalker answered that he and Solo had been ordered to transfer the Wookiee from Cell Block 1138 to Detention Block AA-23. Sensing that something was amiss, the officer decided to check in with his superiors. Sensing that they could no longer further their deception, Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca opened fire on the detention block staff. It is unknown if Cell Block 1138 actually existed or whether Skywalker improvised the name.
Luke Skywalker was originally to say the bogus "prison transfer" was to be from "'…cell block…' and then lots of letters and numbers," according to Mark Hamill (based upon the dialogue in the novelization, the original designation may have been "TS-138", or according to the Marvel comic adaptation, TX-138). When it came time to shoot the scene, Hamill decided to replace the original name of the cell block with "1138", a reference to director George Lucas's first feature-length film, THX-1138. Lucas was initially not impressed by Hamill's improvisation and told the actor "Don't do that." However, the reference was eventually included in the theatrical release of Star Wars (via).
In Francis Ford Coppola’s APOCALYPSE NOW Harrison Ford plays Colonel G. Lucas, aide to Corman and a general information specialist who gives Willard his orders. The character's name is an obvious reference to George Lucas, who was involved in the script's early development and was the original director intended to direct the film. George Lucas is said to have been critical of Coppola for attempting to do too much with the film and wasting money.
Ford portrayed Han Solo in STAR WARS, and appeared in Lucas' AMERICAN GRAFFITI, and Coppola’s THE CONVERSATION.
There is one close up of his uniform which reveals his name patch which says "G LUCAS." There is also the line: “Sometimes, the dark side overcomes what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature. Every man has got a breaking point. You and I have one. Walter Kurtz has reached his, and very obviously, he has gone insane.” We get it!
In one of the last Adam Sandler movies I was able to stomach we get a great throwback to a better movie, TOMMY BOY, starring the late great Chris Farley. When Sandler takes Drew Barrymore’s character to see her doctor (Dan Akroyd), he mentions that the facility is funded by Callahan Autos out of Sandusky, Ohio.
In TOMMY BOY, Akroyd plays an auto parts mogul (Zalinsky Auto Parts), and the company that Farley works for is Callahan Autos. So needless to say, Tommy did alright by his late father.
Got a cool Easter Egg discovery? E-mail us at: eastereggs@joblo.com with any you'd like to see featured in future columns!