Universal Pictures executives may have had a tough last weekend with "The Five-Year Engagement" underperforming at the box office, but Monday was all about celebrating.
Per a press release, "Universal Film Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated in New York on April 30, 1912." That means this is the venerable film company's 100th anniversary. Party time, y'all!
To honor the centennial, Universal sent out a press release of 100 facts about the studio, 17 of which were kinda awesome. Check out some great Universal Pictures trivia below (via press release); for the full list of facts, click here.
1. The only physical damage made during the filming of "National Lampoon’s Animal House" was when John Belushi made a hole in the wall with a guitar. The actual Sigma Nu fraternity house (which subbed for the fictitious Delta House) never repaired it, and instead framed the hole in honor of the film.
2. The working title for "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" was "A Boy's Life."
3. The word "dude" in "The Big Lebowski" is used approximately 161 times in the movie: 160 times spoken and once in text (in the credits for "Gutterballs" the second dream sequence). The F-word or a variation of the F-word is used 292 times. The Dude says "man" 147 times in the movie—that’s nearly 1.5 times a minute.
4. President Ronald Reagan starred in the 1951 Universal feature film, "Bedtime for Bonzo."
5. "American Graffiti’s" budget was exactly $777,777.77, and it was delivered on time -- and on budget.
6. In the Alfred Hitchcock classic "The Birds," Tippi Hedren was actually cut in the face by a bird during the shooting of one sequence.
7. The infamous apple pie in the movie "American Pie" was purchased by the production from Costco.
8. The film "Buck Privates" took in $4 million at the U.S. Box Office (at a time when theater admission ranged between 10 and 25 cents).
9. In the movie "Field of Dreams," both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are among the thousands of extras in the Fenway Park scene.
10. The Universal sound technician, Jack Foley, developed the method of creating and recording many of the natural, everyday sound effects in a film. Today this method is named after him.
11. In the infamous shower scene in "Psycho," the sound of the knife-stabbing actress Janet Leigh was made by plunging a knife into a melon.
12. In "Jurassic Park," a guitar string was used to make the water ripple on the dash of the Ford Explorer by attaching it to the underside of the dash beneath the glass.
13. With the film "Meet the Fockers," the MPAA would not allow use of the name ‘Focker’ unless the filmmakers could find an actual person with that last name.
14. The first American film to show a toilet flushing on screen was "Psycho."
15. The cake in the movie "Sixteen Candles" is made of cardboard.
16. The diner in the movie "The Sting" is the same diner interior used in "Back to the Future."
17. In 1992’s "Scent of Woman," Al Pacino repeatedly shouts "Hoo-ah." "Hoo-ah" comes from the military acronym "HUA" which stands for "Heard, Understood, Acknowledged."
PHOTOS: Universal Pictures 100th Anniversary Panel at Tribeca
