R.I.P.D. was one of the biggest box office bombs of the 21st century, which makes it strange that Universal not only greenlit the movie but has already shot it. The film is seemingly complete without having ever been announced and being shot in complete secrecy, but it isn't the first movie production that was kept from general audiences. And, sometimes, secrets were even kept from the cast and crew.
Some lead actors shot the whole movie not even knowing what it was. Between an alien invasion movie sequel, an epilogue to one of the biggest TV series of the 21st century, and the most talked-about comedy of the past few years, these were Hollywood's best-kept secrets.
A Ghost Story (2017)
A Ghost Story's production was kept a secret simply because writer-director David Lowery was scared that the movie could have very well failed and he might have had a box office bomb on his hands. Lowery told Collider, "We intentionally didn’t tell that many people about it because we wanted to have the opportunity to fail. You know?"
While A Ghost Story sounds like a horror movie, it's more of a romantic drama, but it sounds like the final cut could have been any number of things. The movie seemingly came together in editing, as, according to The Film Stage, the director also noted, "I wanted to make something small and tiny and handmade. I don’t know what it is yet, I’m kind of figuring it out."
Under The Skin (2013)
Under the Skin is a spooky sci-fi movie about an alien who is disguised as a human female, and she sends men into a different dimension after luring them into her van. The movie takes place in different locations in Glasgow, Scotland, such as nightclubs, shopping malls, and on public transportation.
The shoot for the movie was so secretive that not even the actors knew they were in it. The characters found in Under the Skin aren't actors per se but are real and random unsuspecting people, and their genuine reactions were secretly shot on hidden cameras. According to No Film School, writer-director Jonathan Glazer even built his mini camera to secretly shoot the on-location scenes.
Before Midnight (2013)
While studios almost always announce what movies are on their schedule and which ones are entering production, there was no such announcement with the romantic drama Before Midnight, the third film in the Before trilogy. There were tons of speculation in 2013 about if the movie was going to happen, as it had hit nine years since Before Sunset, which arrived nine years after Before Sunrise. According to Games Radar, the movie was only revealed after the shooting had wrapped, and that was after Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy denied it was happening.
It has now been nine years since Before Midnight, meaning that it's about time for the Before fourquel. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like anyone involved is all that interested in making it. According to Screen Crush, director Richard Linklater thinks it might before too late for another Before movie. However, just like the actors did in the months leading up to the 2013 movie, he might be pulling another fast one.
R.I.P.D. 2
The recent announcement of R.I.P.D. 2 is one of the most shocking pieces of movie news of 2022, as it's a sequel that nobody was asking for or even wanted. The 2013 original film was like Men In Black-lite but had none of the charms. And, as a result, R.I.P.D. sits at a miserable 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, and even its star doesn't like it. According to Variety, Jeff Bridges noted as politely as he could, "I was a little underwhelmed."
Greenlighting a sequel is a bold move on Universal's part, as the original only made half of its inflated $150 million budget. However, the film does have its fans, as some Redditors believe that the 2013 movie is one of the best non-Marvel comic book movies, so the sequel's announcement will have brought a smile to a few people's faces.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
While fans wait for a proper Cloverfield sequel, if the production of 10 Cloverfield Lane is anything to go by, Cloverfield 2 might already be shot. It's revealed at the end of the 2016 movie that it's set in the Cloverfield universe, and though it's one of the worst kept secrets ever, the movie's production at least managed to remain under the radar.
According to Collider, Nobody knew that the film was being made, as it was shot under the codename Valencia, and most of the crew had no idea they were making the second Cloverfield movie either. The film also achieved the nigh-impossible, as the Cloverfield connection was kept a secret from the movie's star, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who didn't know that it was a Cloverfield movie until a few days before the trailer's release.
El Camino (2019)
Now Better Call Saul has come to an end it seems like the Breaking Bad universe is over. The universe is made up of two incredible envelope-pushing TV series, but El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie often gets unfairly overlooked. The film focuses on Jesse straight after he escapes Jack's compound, and given that the movie is full of cameos, the production was kept secret.
According to Daily Orange, the cast and crew went to great lengths to keep the production under the radar. An alibi was devised for Paul that explained he was working on a small indie film, the actors were driven to and from the set, and the view of the locations was skewed by trucks. All of that made it a huge surprise for millions when the trailer randomly appeared on Netflix one day in 2019.
Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
Not many people have heard about the 2013 movie, as the story behind Escape From Tomorrow is more interesting than the film itself. The black and white film is dark and depressing, and its themes are interestingly contrasted by the fact that it's set in Disney World.
The movie was shot entirely at Disney World without Disney's permission, which was no easy task given that the studio is hugely protective of its intellectual property and has so much security around the park. According to the Los Angeles Times, this was achieved by the actors only having digital copies of the script on their phones, and only using digital cameras that are similar to the ones used by actual park visitors.
The Cove (2009)
Though it isn't a feature movie, the documentary The Cove was shot in complete secrecy, and there's no other way it could have been made. The film is an exposé about the way dolphins are treated in Japan and how they're slaughtered by local Taiji fishermen. According to Wired, the filmmakers got creative when placing hidden cameras around the location to capture the cruelty.
The crew camouflaged the cameras to look like little rocks, and they did such a great job that they had a hard time collecting them back. Ironically, that's also how networks shoot footage of sea life and wildlife for shows like Planet Earth.
Borat: Subsequent Movie Film (2020)
It's amazing that after the first movie's huge success and popularity, Sacha Baron Cohen was able to bring the character back and remain completely undetected. While there was a brief montage of people who did recognize Khazakstan's fourth-best news reporter at the beginning of Borat 2, it's amazing how little Borat-sightings were reported during the film's production.
Collider first broke the news that Cohen secretly shot and edited the movie long after it was completed, which is even more impressive given that it was in the middle of the pandemic. And as the movie features interviews with some big names, who aren't exactly painted in the best light, it's surprising that they didn't break the news themselves and try to do some damage control before the movie's release.
Unsane (2018)
Unsane is far from the first movie to be shot entirely on an iPhone, but it's still hugely impressive nonetheless. However, what makes the Steven Soderbergh-directed film even more impressive is that, according to Inverse, it was shot in complete secrecy. There's no reason in particular why it was shot in secrecy, but it was extra surprising when the trailer was released online because of the big-name director who was at the helm.
Soderbergh has made huge movies in the past, such as the Ocean's movies, Contagion, and so many others, so it's unlike him to make a small iPhone shot movie. But it was hardly surprising for some Redditors, as Soderbergh foreshadowed the movie's concept in a Reddit AMA when he gave the filmmaking advice, "Get a script and an iPhone and start shooting. Seriously."