Original Features

When the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton hits theaters this week, it will star Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre. But did you know Dre was originally supposed to be played by Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan, who dropped out because of scheduling conflicts with Fantastic Four? That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which takes you through South Central for a trip into Straight Outta Compton!

One of the cool things about Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation are its subtle nods to the first film in the franchise. Both movies begin with a cold open action sequence; both then immediately segue into very similar looking credits sequences (with Lalo Schifrin’s classic Mission: Impossible score). Then the hero of the film receives his top secret mission; first, he has a heavily coded conversation with a woman, who hands him a piece of analog recording technology that contains his briefing. The difference is that in the original Mission: Impossible from 1996, the analog device (a small video cassette) represents the cutting edge of entertainment technology. In Rogue Nation, that analog recording (a vinyl record) is now wildly archaic.

If it weren't for the '90s, we might all be wearing Genesis T-shirts right now. Here are the 100 albums that changed everything.

FOX’s Empire proved an unexpected juggernaut across its first season, but did you know the Lee Daniels drama bucked every trend by its climbing ratings? Or that we almost had Wesley Snipes and Mo’Nique instead of Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson? These are just some of the trivial tracks flowing through the eleventh episode of ‘You Think You Know TV?,’ which drip-drops knowledge of FOX’s Empire!

Jurassic World recently set the record for the biggest opening weekend at the box office with $209 million. But, did you know that Return of the Jedi once held that record in 1983 with just $23 million. That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which looks at the finale of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi!

Mad Max: Fury Road takes place in a world so full of detail and imagination that it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that director George Miller has a backstory for just about everything on screen. In the finished film, everything feels like it has a history. Every corner of every frame is alive. Rather than confine this information to his imagination, Miller has put it in a comic book.

Just before filming began on Avengers: Age of Ultron, Scarlett Johansson found out she was pregnant. A movie like Avengers can't just be delayed, so Marvel used a variety of tricks to hide the pregnancy including shooting her from the waist up, using three stunt doubles and CGI-ing out her growing belly. This is just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which follows the latest adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

Mad Men will close the doors of Sterling-Cooper for good in just a few weeks' time, but did you know that the Emmy-winning AMC prestige drama was written in 1999, and rejected everywhere until 2006? Or that an episode paid a cool $250K for a single Beatles song? These are just some of the Mad minutes awaiting you in the third episode of ‘You Think You Know TV?,’ which clears the smoke to pitch you some fresh facts about Mad Men!

Who knows if we'd be able to party as freely as we can today if the Beastie Boys hadn't come along and told us to fight for it?

Making superhero movies can be a dangerous proposition, and not just because of the crazy fans. While shooting Guardians of the Galaxy, Zoe Saldana almost broke Chris Pratt’s ribs because he forget to wear his protective padding during their fight scene on Xandar. This is just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which heads back to outer space with the Guardians of the Galaxy!