The blood elevator scene was shot in a single take.
Fake! It was done in 3 takes but took a year to plan.
Kubrick believed in ghosts and based the story on true hauntings.
Fake! He viewed ghost stories as metaphors and didn’t claim personal belief in the supernatural.
The filming took more than triple the planned time due to Kubrick’s perfectionism.
Fact. Planned for 4 months, it lasted 14 months with hundreds of takes.
Jack Nicholson improvised the line “Here’s Johnny!”
Fact. Inspired by The Tonight Show, Nicholson made it up on the spot.
Stanley Kubrick directed The Exorcist before working on The Shining.
Fake! William Friedkin directed The Exorcist. Kubrick declined the offer to direct it.
Jack Nicholson was being fed cheese sandwiches that he hated for two weeks straight to wake up the madman in him.
Fact! What food would unleash a madman within you in such case?
Stephen King called The Shining one of the best film adaptations of his work.
Fake! He famously disliked the film, criticizing casting, tone, and character portrayals.
The entire Overlook Hotel was filmed on location in Colorado.
Fake! Only exterior shots were from real locations. Most of it was built at Elstree Studios in England.
Shelley Duvall was praised by Kubrick for her performance during filming.
Fake! Kubrick was highly critical and reportedly emotionally harsh to push her performance.