History ThrowItIn / LiveActionFilms

** Supposedly, the scene where cheering Confederate troops mob General Lee happened because the reenactors liked Martin Sheen so much they showed their appreciation this way, and Ronald Maxwell filmed it. However, a similar scene does happen in the book, so it may be apocryphal.

* The only explanation for the bulk of ''Film/PocketNinjas''; many of the things going on, especially during supposed fight scenes, only make sense if you assume the actors were clowning around without realizing the cameras were rolling and the director (who may or may not have been drunk and high at the same time) decided that that was ''exactly'' what he wanted in his movie.

* In ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', producer Harve Bennett signed off on the sketch of the design of the "U.S.S. Reliant'', while looking at it upside-down. The visual effects people realized that it looked better upside-down, and was more easily distinguished from the ''Enterprise'' with the nacelles turned down from the center line, rather than up. So the production staff built the model according to the "upside-down" view. [[note]]The design was so well-received, that it was both given a class name (Miranda), and used repeatedly in multiple TNG-era Trek series.[[/note]]

* ''Film/CarryOnNurse'': In one scene where the Colonel is seen placing bets with Mick, Creator/WilfridHydeWhite changed the name of the horse from the scripted "Bloody Mary" to "Rambler", which Hyde-White had backed earlier in the day. Creator/HarryLocke visibly reacts to the name change but doesn't spoil the take.

* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'':

* In ''Film/GhostRider2007'', the first scene with Creator/NicolasCage as Johnny Blaze, a professional daredevil, has him failing a jump. During the fall, the front wheel of his motorcycle smashes into his helmet, breaking the visor of the helmet. This was not intentional, and the stuntman really did take a tire to the face. However, when the stuntman saw the footage of the crash, he thought it looked good, so they decided to leave it intact.

--->"Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your daughter...'s wedding... on the day of your daughter's wedding. And I hope their first child be a masculine child. I pledge my never-ending loyalty."

** In the first American ''Film/{{Godzilla 1998}}'', there's an establishing shot of Manhattan from the south, in which an ominous bolt of lightning strikes one of the Twin Towers. It's real.
** Dr. Serizawa's final words in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' ("[[spoiler:''Goodbye, old friend'']]")[[spoiler:[[note]]Spoken to Godzilla as Serizawa commits a HeroicSacrifice to save Godzilla's life so that the latter can save the world from King Ghidorah[[/note]]]] were scripted in English, but Creator/KenWatanabe said it in Japanese instead at the table, and Michael Dougherty was so impressed that he immediately decided to incorporate this.

* During the chase sequence in ''Film/GoneInSixtySeconds1974'', the [[CoolCar Mach 1 Mustang]] driven by the protagonist was accidentally clipped from the rear by another car, causing it to spin out of control and collide with a lamp post. The collision was kept in the film for dramatic effect. Also, the derailed train at the very start of the film was a real one, which director H.B. Halicki happened to come across, so he incorporated it into an EstablishingCharacterMoment scene.

*** When Draco Malfoy asks Harry, who is using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Goyle, why he is wearing glasses (as Harry had forgotten to take them off), Harry replies that he has been reading. The script originally only had Malfoy stare him down skeptically. Creator/TomFelton decided to add the line "I didn't know you could read".

* ''Film/{{Heat}}'' has the line "cause she's got a...GREAT ASS! And you got your head...ALL THE WAY UP IT!". Creator/AlPacino made that up on the spot, and [[LargeHam given the hammy delivery,]] Creator/HankAzaria's look of exasperated shock was genuine.

** ''Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'':
*** The PrecisionFStrike that Johanna Mason shoots off during her interview with Caesar Flickerman was improvised on the spot by Creator/JenaMalone. They decided to keep it in because it fit perfectly with the scene and her character, although they ended up having to {{bleep}} it out to keep the movie PG-13.

* During the climax of ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers1978'', one of the extras missed his cue when chasing Creator/DonaldSutherland and was engulfed in a massive explosion that Sutherland himself barely evaded, suffering severe burns. This shot was kept in the film.

* In the classic Russian holiday film ''The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!'', the LoveInterest's fiancé Ippolit is thrown into a shower fully clothed in order to sober him up. After the water is turned on, Ippolit says, "Oh, hot water, very nice!" Mosfilm had troubles with running hot water, so when it was finally turned on, Yury Yakovlev (Ippolit's actor) reacted to that without breaking character. The director loved the unintentional ad-lib and kept it.

* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulKnife2023'': Buck's line about bringing a canine unit in, not because it would help catch the killer but just for vibes actually was something his actor Sean Depner ad-libbed, Creator/JessMcLeod revealed in an interview on the film.

** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' - during the shooting of the boat chase, a boat that Mr. Big's mook is piloting didn't make the jump over the road and smashed through a police car - it was quite in line with the comic tone running throughout the movie.

** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' had the iconic scene of Creator/DanielCraig [[SexySurfacingShot walking out of the water]] showing off [[{{Fanservice}} his well-muscled physique]] as well as doubling as a ShoutOut to the very first Bond film ''Film/DrNo'' with Honey Rider having a similar scene. In reality, the shot was supposed to be of Craig swimming to shore. However, he hit a sandbar, forcing him to stand up. The resulting shot was too good not to include and cemented Craig's status as a MrFanservice as well as winning over some skeptical fans.

** [[GonnaNeedMoreX "You're gonna need a bigger boat",]] which was ad-libbed by Creator/RoyScheider (Chief Martin Brody). Both the book's author and the screenwriter said that they'd have killed to write a line that good.

** During the first take for Quint's Indianapolis speech, Creator/RobertShaw was extremely drunk. They reshot the scene with him sober, but Shaw's [[OneTakeWonder performance in the first take fit so well]] with Quint's character, that the crew actually edited cuts from both takes into the scene.

* ''Film/JurassicPark1993'':

** During filming of the scene of Lex falling through the ceiling while fleeing a raptor the stunt woman accidentally looked up at the camera for a split-second. A DigitalHeadSwap was done to replace her face with that of Ariana Richards.

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''

** In that fight scene, Makaore throws a knife at Mortensen. The script called for him to throw it and miss, but he actually threw it straight at Mortensen, who deflected it with his sword.[[labelnote:*]]''It was a real knife'', meaning that if Mortensen hadn't successfully deflected it, it would've gone straight into his face.[[/labelnote]]
** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers,]]'' Aragorn comes upon a scene that seems to indicate that two of the other characters are dead. On the extended DVD, they show several takes of him snarling in helpless anger as he kicks an Orcish helmet. Then, in the take that was used, he collapses to his knees, screaming in what looks like fury and grief. It was actually physical pain--Viggo Mortensen [[AgonyOfTheFeet broke two toes]] kicking the helmet, but Mortensen managed to work it into his performance seamlessly.

** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring,]]'' as Frodo is sailing away while Sam attempts to chase him down, Sam slips and falls into the river, and does not come back up. This is because Creator/SeanAstin had stepped on a particularly sharp rock and cut his foot. They kept it in and had Frodo come back to save Sam from drowning.

* In ''Film/TheMummy1999'', when Rick threatens to kill Beni for betraying them to Imhotep, Beni protests "Think of my children!" Rick points out that Beni doesn't have children, to which Beni's actor ad-libbed, "Someday I might".

* The scene from ''Film/MysteryMen'' in which a burning trash can suddenly flares up behind the Spleen who jumps in surprise, then sheepishly says "Excuse me" to the other characters was a total improvisation on the part of Creator/PaulReubens. Apparently, one of the workmen on the set didn't know the garbage can was a prop that would be later set on fire and had thrown a disposable lighter into it.

** In ''Film/TheReturnOfThePinkPanther'', Creator/CatherineSchell can be seen breaking into laughter at some of the antics of Peter Sellers. The two scenes in question are when Insp. Clouseau impersonates a telephone repairman, and later when Clouseau meets her in a restaurant and pretends to be a lounge lizard; in this latter example, the scene ends with Schell choking on her drink. It's been said Schell's laughter (and the choking) were outtake-worthy moments that the director decided to keep; Schell has claimed they were scripted.

** Jack the Monkey’s smile when Barbossa explains WeNamedTheMonkeyJack was just an amazingly timed coincidence.

* Creator/CaryElwes improvised Westley's dive into the lightning sand during the Fire Swamp scene in ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. Originally, Westley was supposed to go in feet first holding his nose, and Elwes thought that made him look too much like a wimp and came up with a better, more Creator/ErrolFlynn-esque idea: the dive. Unfortunately, it was thought to be a dangerous stunt. Fortunately, director Creator/RobReiner relented after a stuntman tested it and came out OK. Even better, Elwes nailed the dive on the first take.

* ''Film/RainMan'': Director Barry Levinson was coaxed into playing the psychiatrist in the movie's climactic scene after the actor who had been cast didn't show up.
** Also, the “uh oh, fart” scene was improvised on the spot when Creator/DustinHoffman actually farted in the phone booth.

** ''Film/RoboCop1987'':

* Colombia flashing her nipple in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' was her actress's idea. Creator, Creator/RichardOBrien had always assumed it was accidental until Creator/PatriciaQuinn told him during the commentary that Little Nell used to practice it in their trailer.

* ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}''

* ''Film/{{Scream 3}}'': when Roman is searching for Sid and tries to find her with his phone, she beats him to the punch, distracting him. She pops up from behind a bar and stabs him in the shoulder with an ice pick. The scream from actor Scott Foley is real as she had missed the pads and actually struck flesh.

* ''Film/SilenceOfTheLambs''

* In ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'':

* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'' [=McCoy=]'s "All I've got left are my bones" line is an ad-lib, as is Scotty's "Can I get a towel?" You can see Spock's lips twitch after the latter since he's trying not to laugh -- they actually had to re-shoot the scene (with the line now officially added in) because when Creator/SimonPegg first did the ad-lib, both Creator/ZacharyQuinto (Spock) and Creator/ChrisPine (Kirk) [[{{Corpsing}} cracked up completely]]. The original (blown) take can be seen on the blooper reel.

** In ''Film/ANewHope'' when Han has to pose as a Stormtrooper to an Imperial commander via radio, Ford intentionally did not memorize his lines so Han's slightly panicked on-the-spot bluffing would sound more authentic. In the same scene, Ford also improvised the line "We're all fine now, thank you...How are you?", as well as Han's remark "Boring conversation anyway" after shooting the speaker.
** Apparently Luke's remark "I can't see a thing in this helmet!" regarding his Stormtrooper disguise, was made by Creator/MarkHamill after he thought the cameras had stopped rolling. This led to another ThrowItIn moment when the Stormtrooper smacks his head on the door, a moment that's so iconic, recent DVD releases have added a "thud" sound effect when it happens.
** Jango Fett gets banged slightly by a descending ship door in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' in homage to ''A New Hope'', even though that scene was done in CGI.
** Also in ''Attack of the Clones'', the mysterious Jedi Sifo-Dyas who ordered the clone army on behalf of the Republic was originally supposed to be ''Sido-Dyas'', a corruption of Palpatine's Sith name Sidious, and a subtle hint about the true mastermind behind the CloneArmy. At some point, someone misspelled the name due to the D and F keys being right next to each other, and Lucas and decided to rewrite the scene to make Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas a real person [[DeadPersonImpersonation who had died several years prior]]. Sifo-Dyas is, incidentally, one of the most mysterious characters in all of ''Star Wars''.
** There is at least one instance of a "throw it in" in the prequel trilogy. Creator/HaydenChristensen and Creator/NataliePortman improvised the dinner table scene in which Anakin mentions "AggressiveNegotiations". Apparently, Creator/GeorgeLucas didn't like the dialogue he had written for the scene, so he just told them to improvise. Portman later said that "it got inappropriate very quickly".

** When DJ betrays the crew in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', and Finn argues his philosophy is wrong, DJ’s scripted response was something more standard like: “yeah, wrong and rich.” Creator/BenicioDelToro ad-libbed the line “maybe” that eventually made it in, which fits well with DJ’s code of avoiding moral scruples. Creator/CarrieFisher also had several ideas that made it into the final cut, notably for her to comment on her hair when meeting Luke again, Leia and Holdo saying “may the Force be with you” at the same time, and the twin medallions worn by Rose and Paige, which became a critical symbol in the film.

* ''Film/TheStuntMan.'' Creator/PeterOToole read the script a few years before the film was made and told Richard Rush, "I read the screenplay and if you don't give me the part, I will kill you." Eli Cross (O'Toole's character) says a similar line in the movie.

* The ladies' bathroom scene in ''Film/ThisMeansWar2012'' was improv on the part of Creator/ReeseWitherspoon...except the bit where she leans into the mirror and says "Has that been on my teeth the whole time?" They had filmed an eating scene earlier in the day, and she had a piece of schmutz stuck in one of her front teeth, and her reaction to seeing it was real. They used it in the film anyway.

** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' had a kid from the "Make A Wish Foundation" on set the day they filmed the gladiator brawl between [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]]. The kid suggested they add in the now-famous line from Thor saying "He’s a friend from work!" referring to the Hulk.

* ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''

** When Jack and Rose are hanging on for dear life about two minutes before the ship sinks, Rose says "Jack, this is where we first met!". Complete ad-lib, but it makes the scene that much sadder.

* ''Film/Venom2018'': The part where Eddie Brock climbs into the lobster tank wasn't scripted. Creator/TomHardy came up with the idea the moment he saw the restaurant set, and the crew immediately made it a priority to reinforce the tank so that it could support his weight.

* In ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', producer Harve Bennett signed off on the sketch of the design of the Starship ''Reliant'' upside-down. The visual effects people realized that it looked better upside-down, and was more distinguished from the ''Enterprise'' with the nacelles angled down rather than up, so they built the model according to the "upside-down" view. That design of Starship is still used.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', when Kirk learns the Klingons have [[spoiler: murdered his son]] he seems to be so deep in shock he completely [[DramaticSitDown misses his chair and falls on the floor.]] Director Leonard Nimoy wasn't sure if Creator/WilliamShatner was improvising or if it was inadvertent (since Shatner kept going), but he felt that it was perfect for the scene and left it in.
** For his part, Shatner confirms in his book ''Star Trek Memories'' that he did, in fact, just miss the chair and fall on his ass by accident.
* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'' [=McCoy=]'s "All I've got left are my bones" line is an ad-lib as is Scotty's "Can I get a towel?" You can see Spock's lips twitch after the latter since he's trying not to laugh -- they actually had to re-shoot the scene (with the line now officially added in) because when Creator/SimonPegg first did the ad-lib, both Creator/ZacharyQuinto (Spock) and Creator/ChrisPine (Kirk) [[{{Corpsing}} cracked up completely]]. The original (blown) take can be seen on the blooper reel.