
Whether or not you're a fan of horror films, you probably have some awareness of the 1980 Stanley Kubrick flick, The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King.
Between its infamous phrase, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and the haunting imagery of the Overlook Hotel (plus, its creepy, nightmare-inspiring twins), The Shining is an iconic film, and it has since made its mark on our culture in various ways, including with a sequel book and film, Doctor Sleep.
As you settle into "spooky season" and bust out your favorite Halloween films, get to know the terrifying flick in a whole new way by brushing up on 20 rare behind-the-scenes facts about The Shining.
From how Nicholson got himself into character for his character Jack Torrance, to the deeper stories on the wild hedge maze, to the conspiracy theory the movie inspired, to Stephen King's feelings on its production, and beyond, there is so much more to learn about this classic horror movie.
1
Stephen King wrote a script for the film.
Stephen King wrote a draft for the screenplay, but according to David Hughes, one of Stanley Kubrick's biographers, the director did not bother to read it. He instead collaborated with another novelist, Diane Johnson, on the film script.
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2
Jack Nicholson helped write a scene.
Nicholson felt a personal connection to the scene in the movie where his character erupts in fury with his wife while in the midst of writer's block. As he told The New York Times in 1986: "That scene at the typewriter - that's what I was like when I got my divorce. I was under the pressure of being a family man with a daughter and one day I accepted a job to act in a movie in the daytime and I was writing a movie at night and I'm back in my little corner and my beloved wife, Sandra, walked in on what was, unbeknownst to her, this maniac - and I told Stanley [ Kubrick ] about it and we wrote it into the scene."
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3
The movie inspired conspiracy theories.
As discussed in the movie Room 237, Kubrick's film inspired several conspiracy theories, including that Kubrick made The Shining as his confession for ... helping to fake the moon landing.
4
Kubrick got lost in the maze.
At first, director Stanley Kubrick was concerned that the hedge maze was too easy to solve. Challenged by the crew, he tried to solve it on set one morning and was unable to get out.
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5
And he wasn't the only one.
According to IMDB, the scene where Jack chases his son Danny through the hedges took a month to shoot, partly because crew members kept getting lost and had to use their walkie-talkies for help.
6
The hedges were more "lifelike" in the book.
King's novel has hedge animals outside the Overlook Hotel come to life toward the end of the movie. Kubrick didn't think this was feasible to recreate, which is how the film ended up with its epic hedge maze instead.
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7
Jack Nicholson improvised "Heeere's Johnny!"
One of the film's most iconic lines wasn't even in the script. Jack Nicholson ad libbed the famous Ed McMahon line from The Tonight Show while filming the scene in which his character Jack takes an ax to the bathroom door. The line worked, and it stayed in the film.
8
Room 217 was changed to 237 for the movie.
Fans of the novel may remember that some terrifying events are set in Room 217. However, at the request of the Timberline Lodge in Oregon (the exterior setting for the Overlook Hotel in the film), the room was changed to 237 in the film. This was allegedly done out of fear that future lodge guests would avoid Room 217 if it was featured in the horror movie. Since 237 doesn't exist at the Timberline, no risk there.
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9
Danny Lloyd didn't know he was in a horror movie.
The five-year-old boy, Danny Lloyd, who played the film's child star Danny Torrance, did not know at the time that he was filming a horror movie. For his protection, he was told they were making a drama. Lloyd didn't learn the truth until later and he didn't see the film in its entirety until he was well into his teens.
10
Lloyd brought "Tony" to life with his finger.
Despite not knowing he was creating horror, Lloyd actually improvised one of the creepiest aspects of the film: the idea to change his voice and flex his finger to animate his imaginary friend "Tony." Kubrick loved the idea and it became central to the movie.
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11
'The Shining' was inspired by 'Eraserhead'.
Stanley Kubrick was a fan of the David Lynch film Eraserhead and used it as one of his main creative influences for The Shining.
12
Kubrick's secretary is responsible for a key prop in the film.
The famous scene in the movie where Shelley Duvall's character finds the pages of "writing" that Jack has been endlessly working on was brought to life courtesy of Kubrick's secretary, who had to spend months typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," over and over, for 500 pages. She then recreated them in five other languages for international releases.
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13
Shelley Duvall lost her hair during filming.
Duvall would later share that Kubrick was extremely hard on her during filming, and it had an impact on her health. As she's quoted in David Hughes' biography of Kubrick, "I was really in and out of ill health because the stress of the role was so great," she said. "Stanley pushed me and prodded me further than I’ve ever been pushed before. It’s the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play."
14
Jack was loaded up on cheese.
In order to assume the seething, incensed demeanor of his character Jack Torrance, Jack Nicholson prepared himself for the role by only eating cheese sandwiches (a food he hates) for two weeks leading up to filming.
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15
The elevator scene took a year to film.
Any fan of the movie will recall the famous scene of the elevator doors opening and a sea of blood pouring out, but you may not know it took a year to film. While they eventually got it in three shots (unlike several other scenes that required many, many more takes before Kubrick was satisfied), each take for the elevator shot required nine days to clean up the hallway and fill the elevator with blood again and was not complete for a year.
16
Sixty doors were harmed in the making of 'The Shining.'
Speaking of repeated takes, the scene in which Jack Torrance slams an ax through a door and declares his famous line was filmed over the course of three days and involved the destruction of 60 doors before they got it all right.
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17
Overlook Hotel was based on thousands of reference photos.
The winding and patterned interior of the Overlook was based on thousands of reference photos that Stanley Kubrick and his team gathered by photographing various American hotels. Exterior shots were taken at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon.
18
The film's snow was made of salt and styrofoam.
At the film's end, there is a chase through the snowy hedge maze. It makes for incredible cinema, paired with the terrifying lighting, music and movement of the scene. But as real as it appeared, and as cold as it feels to watch it, the "snow" was actually created from 900 tons of salt and crushed styrofoam.
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19
The set burned down.
A huge fire broke out toward the end of shooting, destroying several set pieces that had to be rebuilt. Ironically, the book ends with (spoiler alert) the hotel burning down, which may explain this iconic photo of Kubrick laughing at the charred set.
20
Stephen King didn't like the movie.
According to a 1983 interview Stephen King did with Playboy, while he had great expectations for the movie as an admirer of Kubrick's, he was "deeply disappointed" in the outcome and felt that several parts fell flat.
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