The Movies

Fun Facts About The Movies

• Can you believe 75% to 90% of all silent films ever made are permanently lost? That's because early films were shot on highly flammable nitrate film stock which easily deteriorated or caught fire. Even worse, many were intentionally destroyed or melted down for their silver content once the movies left theaters.
• The birthplace of American film was actually on the East Coast. At the beginning of the 20th century, the world capital of filmmaking was headquartered at Fort Lee, New Jersey. Early iterations of major studios like Fox and Universal got their start there before moving west for better weather and more diverse terrain. Only then did Hollywood, California become the epicenter of American cinema.
• The iconic Hollywood sign originally read HOLLYWOODLAND when it was first constructed in 1923 as a giant, $21,000 billboard advertising a new housing development. It read that way for decades until the LAND portion of the name was finally removed during a restoration in 1949.
• Although 3D technology feels modern, it existed long before digital projection or IMAX was ever conceived. In fact, the very first 3D feature film was a silent melodrama called The Power of Love which premiered all the way back in 1922. Audiences wore red and green anaglyph glasses to view the depth effects.
• Those handy theater cup holders are actually a recent invention. For decades moviegoers had to balance their drinks on the floor or hold them — the first built-in theater seat cup holder wasn't introduced until 1981 by AMC Theatres.
• The term "blockbuster" originated during WWII to describe bombs capable of destroying an entire city block. The entertainment press adapted the word in the 1950s to describe theater lines so massive that they literally stretched all the way around a city block.
• The first movies shown in dedicated, permanent, standalone spaces opened around 1905. They were called Nickelodeons. The name is a literal combination of "nickel" (which was the price of admission) and "odeon" (the Greek word for a theater).
• Ever wonder why "trailers" play before the main feature when the name suggests they should be played after it ends? That's because trailers actually did trail the main feature back in the day. In the 1910s, theaters played short advertisements for upcoming films after the movie ended. Naturally, audiences would immediately get up and leave when the credits rolled. This forced theaters to move the trailers to the beginning of the show.