Coffee cups, fake babies and medieval cars: 12 of the most cringe-worthy continuity fails
A coffee cup made it into a Game of Thrones scene, but continuity mistakes are common — and often very funny.
A coffee cup made it into a Game of Thrones scene, but continuity mistakes are common — and often very funny
When a takeout coffee cup was spotted in the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, the internet lit up.
Some wondered how such a glaring error could have been missed, others argued it must have been intentional, but mostly, viewers had fun with the gaffe.
In the meantime, the show's producers have quietly pulled the now-famous cup from the scene, and a continuity person is almost certainly getting a GoT-level talking to.
But that person can take solace in the fact that they aren't alone. In fact, continuity gaffes are common in film and TV, and we've gathered some of the most memorable. Check them out:
Movie: Braveheart
Gaffe: Car in the background
The medieval Mel Gibson film Braveheart was a huge hit, but had more than its share of gaffes — including historical inaccuracies and swords and axes that bent like rubber. But the most memorable came during a giant battle scene, when viewers spotted a car sitting in the background. You'll see it at bottom left corner around the 1:24 mark.
Movie: Gladiator
Gaffe: Motor-powered chariot
Set in 180 AD, Gladiator follows Hispano-Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) who is reduced to slavery then rises to avenge the death of his father and his emperor. The film is known for its powerful fight scenes, but it turns out they're powerful in more ways than one: in this gaffe, one of the chariots is clearly powered by a small motor. Other errors include a sword that mysteriously switches hands, people in the crowd holding everything from a video camera to water bottles, and fighters getting "stabbed" in the armpit.
Movie: American Sniper
Gaffe: Fake baby
Even before the scene was shot, actor Bradley Cooper was skeptical. He was supposed to be holding a baby, but the real baby actor got sick, so director Clint Eastwood reportedly ordered the actors to shoot the scene with what is obviously a fake baby. Kudos to Cooper for trying to bring the little one to life by wiggling its arm with his thumb, but this gaffe goes down in history as one of the worst. Said Cooper on Ellen, "I couldn't believe that we were working with a plastic baby. I was like, 'this is nuts.'"
Movie: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Gaffe: Storm Trooper hits his head
Star Wars fans revel in the little gaffes that have appeared in the franchise's films over the years, but one of the all-time favourites came in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope when a storm trooper bonked his head. The actor later explained that he was having digestive issues, and repeatedly had to run to the washroom, get undressed, then get back into costume, so was feeling especially out of sorts. "I expected it to end up on the cutting-room floor," said actor Laurie Goode in an interview years later. "But when I did see it in the cinema, I thought: 'OMG, that's me!' I've been telling people the story ever since."
Movie: Jurassic Park
Gaffe: Hand touches dinosaur's butt
In Jurassic Park, two kids hide in a kitchen as a terrifying velociraptor hunts them down. But evidently even velociraptors can use a helping hand, because a behind-the-scenes human hand comes into the frame and pats the dino's posterior just as it steps into the kitchen. It happens at 1:09 below.
Movie: Teen Wolf
Gaffe: Extra zips up fly mid-scene
So you get a gig as a movie extra, and you land a spot in a big scene where a high school team wins a big basketball game. You're told that your main job is to jump up and down and cheer, but what happens if nobody tells you to make sure your pants are zipped up? One female extra found out in this scene from Teen Wolf, starring Michael J. Fox:
Movie: North By Northwest
Gaffe: Kid plugging his ears before gunshot
Of course classic films weren't immune from gaffes, and even movie masters like Hitchcock missed the odd one — including in this scene from North by Northwest. Evidently it was shot more than once, because there's a little boy in the background, and just before a gun gets fired, he plugs his ears, bracing for the noise that hasn't happened. You'll find him at the :24 mark.
Movie: The Wizard of Oz
Gaffe: Black shoes
Although it's one of the most beloved films of all time, The Wizard of Oz also wasn't immune to odd continuity mistakes. But one really takes the cake — or more precisely, the shoes. Throughout the film, Dorothy wears the ruby slippers given to her by Glinda the Good Witch of the North, but in this scene, they are mysteriously replaced by comfy-looking black shoes:
Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Gaffe: Guy in cowboy hat and shades
Pirates of the Caribbean may be set in the 1700s, but there's something very 21st century about one crew member of the ship: he's wearing a white t-shirt, a cowboy hat and shades. Catch him at far left in this photo:
Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Gaffe: Car in middle earth
Middle earth is not a place known for its selection of automobiles, but evidently there's at least one — that is, if a scene from Lord of the Rings is to be believed. In it, Sam and Frodo make the point that they've traveled the furthest they've ever been from home as a car glints and moves in the distance.
Movie: Pulp Fiction
Gaffe: Bullet holes in wall
Quentin Tarantino is famed for his perfectionism, but a few gaffes slipped by the meticulous director — including the bullet holes that appear in the wall of this gunfire-heavy scene in Pulp Fiction. What's so strange about that? The bullet holes are visible in the wall behind them even before the gunfire erupts.
TV Show: Downton Abbey
Gaffe: Water bottle on mantle
Takeout coffee cups and water bottles no doubt haunt the nightmares of continuity people across the TV and film landscape, but one got missed in this Downton Abbey photo shoot, where a plastic water bottle sit conspicuously on the mantle — even though the show is set in the early 20th century. And like the Game of Thrones coffee cup, the bottle became the brunt of all kinds of internet jokes. The cast made the most of it, though, and followed up with a self-deprecating water bottle-heavy pic of their own.
