Random Making 'Hangover' Trilogy Was Even Wilder Than Movies' Plots (13 items)

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  (#1) The Director Wanted To Actually Tase The Actors

  One of The Hangover's comic highlights arrives after Phil, Stu, and Alan are taken into custody for commandeering a police car. The officer agrees to let them off the hook if they participate in a demonstration for a group of school children. Unbeknownst to the three friends, the event is a taser demonstration.

  Director Todd Phillips believed the actors' reactions would be more humorous if they were actually tased. He even showed Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis videos of people voluntarily getting tased, hoping to convince them that it wouldn't be too painful.

  Warner Bros.' attorneys heard rumors of the idea, however, and immediately prohibited the plan, recognizing its substantial liability. 
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  (#2) Mike Tyson Was On Coke During Production

  Mike Tyson plays an exaggerated version of himself in The Hangover, but in 2010, the former boxer revealed that he only agreed to make the movie in order to fund his coke habit. He told interviewer Graham Bensinger that he was "a mess" during production, and that the main actors "had to know [he] was messed up." He also praised his costars for making him look good under the circumstances.

  Despite this, Tyson was asked to come back for The Hangover Part II. He did not return for the franchise's third installment. 
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  (#3) Mel Gibson's Cameo Was Dropped After The Cast And Crew Protested

  Mel Gibson was originally slated to play the eccentric tattoo artist in The Hangover Part II. However, because of Gibson's high-profile scandal involving racially intolerant and anti-Semitic remarks, his casting didn't sit well with some of the cast and crew, particularly Zach Galifianakis.

  Director Todd Phillips canceled the Gibson cameo after hearing the cast and crew's concerns. "I thought Mel would have been great in the movie," he said in a public statement, "but I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew."

  Liam Neeson was hired to replace Gibson, but when he was unavailable for necessary reshoots, he was replaced with Nick Cassavetes.
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  (#4) Animal Activists Were Furious Over A Running Gag Involving A Monkey

  The Hangover Part II features a running gag in which the three main characters repeatedly encounter a cigarette-smoking capuchin monkey. While most found the sight comical, animal activists were infuriated when director Todd Phillips claimed the monkey was taught to smoke real cigarettes and subsequently became dependent upon them.

  Phillips clarified his statement in 2011, claiming he had become bored with repeatedly giving the same answers during a press junket and was merely making a joke. He also pointed out the strict rules regarding the use of animals onscreen - the monkey's handlers would never have allowed anything so flagrantly inappropriate.
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  (#5) Ed Helms Had A Tooth Implant Yanked For The First Film

  Ed Helms was born without one of his front teeth and received an implant as a teenager. When several prosthetic teeth were used to simulate Stu loosing a tooth in The Hangover, the effect looked odd and unnatural. 

  Helms volunteered to have a dentist remove his implant for the duration of the production. Although the procedure was slightly painful, Helms knew it would look much more authentic onscreen.
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  (#6) Ken Jeong Suggested He Perform A Scene Au Naturel

  Ken Jeong, who plays the flamboyant Mr. Chow, had an idea during production that he thought would make the movie "go like a bottle rocket." The actor wanted to be disrobed when he jumped out of a trunk to attack Bradley Cooper's character, Phil.

  The night before they filmed the sequence, Jeong ran the idea past Cooper, who thought it was hilarious. They took the idea to Phillips, who agreed, on the condition that both actors were comfortable while filming the scene. 
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  (#7) Bill Clinton Visited The Set

  Former President Bill Clinton was a fan of the first Hangover movie. While Clinton was in Bangkok to deliver a speech on clean energy, a press rumor circulated that he would also be making a cameo in The Hangover Part II, which was filming there.

  While the cameo rumor was fictitious, Ed Helms did reveal in 2011 that Clinton visited the set.

  Also in 2011, Phillips told Entertainment Weekly that the 42nd President of the United States "stopped by the set because the Secret Service guys were like, ‘Hey, that would be fun on the way out of town to stop by a movie set.'"
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  (#8) A Stuntman Suffered Major Head Trauma On Set

  Stuntman Scott McLean was doubling for Ed Helms during a chase scene in which he had to hang out the window of a speeding car. The car accidentally collided with a truck, causing him to hit his head.

  McLean was placed in a medically induced coma following the incident. He later sued Warner Bros. and the stunt coordinator, claiming that the stunt's timing was changed at the last minute, resulting in the mishap. Although the parties reached an out-of-court settlement, McLean fought for more than a year to get his medical expenses covered. 
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  (#9) Zach Galifianakis Wore A Fake Belly For The Third Movie

  During the period between The Hangover Part II and The Hangover Part III, Zach Galifianakis lost a significant amount of weight, which contrasted with his depiction of Alan. The discrepancy was resolved with a prosthetic belly, which Galifianakis wore in the third film.

  This allowed Galifianakis to maintain his appearance from the first two movies while still enjoying his real-life weight loss.
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  (#10) Lindsay Lohan Turned Down The Role Of Jade

  Lindsay Lohan's agent urged her to play Jade, the exotic dancer who plays a pivotal role in The Hangover. As he was also the agent of director Todd Phillips, he was able to heavily lobby for Lohan's casting. Phillips eventually agreed and formally approached Lohan about the part.

  According to rumors, she turned down the role, stating that she felt the screenplay "had no potential." Phillips denied this, citing her age as the determining factor: "Honestly, it felt like she ended up being too young for what we were talking about."

  The role was eventually given to Heather Graham.
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  (#11) Ed Helms Was Simultaneously Filming 'The Office' During Production

  When Ed Helms was offered the role of Stu in The Hangover, he was already a cast member on NBC's hit sitcom The Office. Since the properties were filming simultaneously, the actor had to ask for permission to appear in the movie.

  Helms told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013 that his busy filming schedule wore him down, especially since The Office taped in Los Angeles and The Hangover was shooting in Las Vegas. Helms explained:

  I had to agree to charter my own flights, these little tiny jets, which I paid for. I'd go from Vegas to Van Nuys Airport at four in the morning because we were doing shoots all night, then I'd land in Van Nuys, drive to the set and shoot all day on The Office, completely Red Bull-ed out of my brain.
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  (#12) To Prevent Spoiler Leaks, Some Actors Were Denied The Full Script

  The first two entries in the Hangover series both performed well at the box office. When the third installment went into production, the filmmakers wanted to prevent any spoilers from leaking to the internet. To accomplish this, only select people were granted entire screenplays for Part III. Even Heather Graham was initially denied a full reading. 

  She told The Independent in 2013 that "everyone was so paranoid they didn't even want to give [her] the script." Graham continued to badger the producers, and they eventually relented. "They finally gave it to me, but it took a lot," she said. "It felt like I was in the CIA."
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  (#13) The Series Was Loosely Based On A True Story

  In 2002, Hollywood producer Tripp Vinson was engaged to be married, so his friends threw him a wild bachelor party in Las Vegas. After becoming heavily inebriated, he blacked out and was separated from his friends. Vinson later awakened inside a  club, where he was given a large bill for things he didn't remember ordering.

  Fellow producer Chris Bender heard the story and thought it would make a great comedy movie. After hiring writers to adapt the tale, he set up the project at Warner Bros., and Vinson's anecdote eventually became The Hangover franchise. 

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