A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST : BATHTUB SCENE

How did they film the infamous bathtub scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street? This is how... “Jim Doyle was in a scuba suit underneath me," recalls actress Heather Langenkamp in an interview with Rolling Stone.

She explains that she was positioned on a two-by-four above a bathtub with its bottom removed, while special effects artist Jim Doyle, in a scuba suit, operated Freddy's claw from beneath her in a water tank.
"It was a challenge to keep it at a temperature that wouldn't completely be unreasonable; you would get slightly cold just sitting there. What I remember mainly are the sounds. Wes told Jim, 'I'm going to bang on the bathtub when I want you to stick the claw out.' So Jim is blindly plunging that thing between my legs. One time it's too far to the right, next time it's too far to the left, then it's way too fast — and Wes just patiently waited until he got the take that he wanted.”

For the scene where Nancy is pulled into the water, Doyle dropped his knees to collapse the planks supporting Langenkamp and pulled her under with a towel.

 
The shots of Nancy struggling to resurface were filmed in Doyle's backyard swimming pool, with an office assistant serving as Langenkamp's body double. Black plastic was placed over the pool to create the dark, eerie lighting.

via Top 10 Films

CADDY SHACK : BILL MURRAY

Harold Ramis liked his actors to stick to the script. After all, that was the dialogue he wrote for them. But when it came to Bill Murray, he gave his friend a bit of leeway.

 
Despite his deep roots in sketch comedy and a Caddyshack cast filled with improvisational giants, Ramis recognized a unique opportunity in having Murray on set - albeit for a limited time - and allowed the spontaneous brilliance of his performance to flourish.

 
Speaking to Script Mag in 2006, he said, "On Caddyshack, the film that contains the most improv of any film I’ve done. I had Bill Murray for a limited amount of time. His character was essentially without dialogue. It was supposed to be like Harpo Marx—he is just going to do crazy things. But, I thought since I have him, he might as well talk.”

 
And talk he did, creating one of the most iconic scenes in comedy history. The unforgettable “Cinderella story” monologue, in which Carl practices his golf swing with a grass whip while narrating an imaginary championship moment, was born entirely from Murray’s improvisation.

 
Ramis remembers: “All the script says in that scene is ‘Karl is outside of the clubhouse practicing his swing, lopping the tops off of sunflowers with a grass whip!’”

via Top 10 Films

TAXI DRIVER : JODIE FOSTER

“I understand [that de Niro and Scorsese were scared of me],” Jodie Foster told Jimmy Kimmel on his late night show when recalling making Taxi Driver. She told The Hollywood Reporter: "Scorsese especially, who kept giggling every time he talked to me. He’d start giggling and De Niro had to take over,” she noted. “I was 12. And they had to say things like, 'you know, Can you pull his fly down?’ And it was a little awkward.”

Foster has recently opened up about her experience, marking Taxi driver's 40th anniversary. She was cast after working on another Martin Scorsese film, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, despite her mother's initial skepticism about Scorsese's vision for the role of an underage prostitute.

“He called my mom about the part, and she thought he was crazy. But I went in to meet him for an interview. My mom thought, with my school uniform on, there was no way he’d think I was right for it. But he said yes, and she trusted him.”

To ensure her comfort, adult stand-ins were used for sensitive scenes, including her sister, who stood in for certain shots. “Part of the deal was that any scenes that felt uncomfortable sexually, they would have an adult be a stand-in,” says Foster. “So my sister Connie, who was over 18, stood in for a couple of over-the-shoulder shots.”

Foster found the film's intense subject matter and De Niro's immersive method acting different from her previous experiences.

 
“Robert De Niro and I had a bunch of outings, where he took me to different diners around town and walked through the script with me,” she says of their preparation.

“After the first time, I was completely bored. Robert was pretty socially awkward then and was pretty much in character, which was his process. I think I rolled my eyes at times because he really was awkward. But in those few outings, he really helped me understand improvisation and building a character in a way that was almost nonverbal.”

Foster also described the influence of a young woman named Garth Avery, who inspired her character, Iris, and who appeared in the film. “She plays the girl who stands next to me in the street in the movie. I talked to her a little bit, but they were more interested in her mannerisms, how she dressed and walked.
"I hated my costumes, though. At the fitting, I was sniffing back tears because I had to wear those dumb shorts, platform shoes and halter tops. It was everything I hated. I was a tomboy who wore knee socks. But I got over it.”

via Top 10 Films

BONUS: I met Jodie Foster once. She was a fierce delight.