9 Facts You Didn’t Know About Getting Even With Dad

October 28, 2021 by , featured in Health
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This month marks the 24-year-and-five-month anniversary since Getting Even With Dad first burst into our hearts in the summer of 1994. Since then, countless articles and video essays have been made exploring the insides and outs of this family classic. What more is there to possibly say about this film? A lot! Today, we’re making movie trivia history with nine brand new facts about Getting Even With Dad you won’t find anywhere else.

9. The Original Script Was Titled Getting Even With God And Was Primarily About A Young Boy Setting Churches On Fire

Once it was purchased by MGM, producer Katie Jacobs suggested rewriting it so that the young boy was actually Jesus Christ, and that since creating the universe, God had become an small-time thief. As the story was smoothed out, this idea was ultimately dropped while still keeping the father-son dynamic.

getting even with dad

8. All The Guns Were Real In Order To Capture Genuine Fear From The Actors; Consequently, Macaulay Culkin Was The Sixth Actor To Be Cast In The Iconic Role Of Timmy Gleason

Along with filming many scenes guerrilla-style with heavy improvisation, the director insisted on using real firearms in order to better harness the raw fear a child would exude when faced with a life-threatening situation. Sadly, this decision resulted in the first five child actors cast as Timmy Gleason to suffer from mostly non-lethal gunshot wounds. Oddly enough, all five shootings were later ruled as self-defense.

7. There Were Several On-Set Barbers Due To Mysterious And Rapid Hair Growth By The Cast

The long hair of Ted Danson and Macaulay Culkin was not an intentional choice but rather the result of a mysterious production curse the crew later traced back to a small, ancient jewelry box obtained by key hair stylist Barbara Lorenz while scuba diving off the coast of Greece. The result was an inhuman, often painful, and extremely rapid hair growth experienced by the main cast, requiring MGM to bring in a special team of on-set barbers to remove the extra 5 feet of hair that would accumulate on Ted Danson’s head every night.

getting even with dad

6. The Plant That Ted Danson Throws Out The Window Was Originally A 67-Year-Old Man Named “Pauly Cigarettes,” But This Was Changed After Poor Test Screenings

Believe it or not, but there was a whole version of this film where Ted Danson’s ex-girlfriend didn’t gift him a plant but a 67-year-old man named “Pauly Cigarettes.”. During a climatic moment, Pauly was thrown from the window and killed from blunt force trauma, which didn’t sit well with audiences. Ultimately, these scenes were reshot with a plant, and several Pauly Cigarettes scenes were cut completely, reducing the running time by 34 minutes.

5. While It Didn’t Do Great In The States, The Film Was A Big Hit In The Republic Of Macedonia, Where It Released Under The Title Kill Ponytail Father

Along with annual screens in the city of Skopje, individual towns hold “Ponytail Blood Parades,” where children create mobile Ted Danson effigies filled with farm animal entrails.

4. The Aquarium “Squid Is Not A Fish” Scene Was Originally 43 Minutes Long And Contained Very Little Dialogue

Many of you remember the iconic aquarium scene in which Ted Danson argues that squids are the same as fish. What you might not remember is the extended 43-minute version where the entire argument played out in mime. The studio decided that, while breathtaking, this version was ultimately “too ahead of its time,” and an alternate scene was shot.

getting even with dad

3. It Was Ted Danson’s Idea To Make His Character A Baker Based On A Recurring Dream In Which He Was Put On Trial For Eating An Eclair And The Judge Turned Out To Be A Sentient Chiffon Cake

According to recent interviews, he still has this dream to this day, and it has informed many of his career choices. He especially credits his roles in Saving Private Ryan and Fargo to the haunting image of a robed slice of confection.

2. Director Howard Deutch Has Admitted That There Is A Ghost Hidden In The Background Of Every Shot Of The Movie

That’s right! According to the director himself, a keen eye will be able to spot a hidden ghost in every single shot of the film, often hiding behind the door or under a table. No one knows how they got there.

1. According To A 1997 Interview With The Screenwriter, The Coin Collection Ray Steals Is Meant To Symbolize The 52 American Diplomats And Citizens Detained During The Iran Hostage Crisis Of 1979

Nobody has followed up to learn what he specifically meant by this.

Images: MGM


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1 Comment

  1. I watched this movie last night with some friends and we had a great time. It’s actual fucking insanity how much there was going on behind this film’s production now that I’ve read about it. Thank you for sharing these details!

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