50 Fun Facts About The Mummy

Who plays adventurer Rick O'Connell in the 1999 film The Mummy?

Producers had offered the part to Tom Cruise, Pitt, Damon and Affleck first, then cast Fraser after George of the Jungle's box office impressed them.

Who plays Evelyn Carnahan, the librarian and aspiring Egyptologist?

The studio wanted an American actress; Weisz auditioned several times before winning the part.

Which South African actor plays the cursed high priest Imhotep?

Vosloo insisted on playing it 'absolutely straight', calling the story a skewed Romeo and Juliet from Imhotep's point of view.

What is the name of the City of the Dead in the 1999 film?

Its exteriors were built inside a horseshoe-shaped rock formation, Gara Medouar, in the Moroccan Sahara.

In what year is the 1999 film's main story set?

The prologue is in 1290 BC Thebes; the modern story opens in Cairo three years after Rick found the city with the French Foreign Legion.

How is Imhotep punished in the prologue?

His priests are merely mummified alive; the scarabs were an idea left over from an earlier, abandoned script.

Which text does Evelyn read from, accidentally waking Imhotep?

The golden Book of Amun-Ra is the one she came looking for, and the one that eventually makes Imhotep mortal.

Who is the cowardly ex-Legionnaire who guides the American expedition and later serves Imhotep?

Imhotep spares him because he speaks Hebrew; scarabs get him in the end.

Who are the Medjai in the 1999 film?

Oded Fehr's Ardeth Bay leads them; museum curator Dr. Bey turns out to be one too.

What does Imhotep unleash on Cairo as he regenerates?

He also conjures a sandstorm with his face in it to bring down Winston's plane.

Where was the 1999 film mainly shot instead of Egypt?

Marrakesh was easier to dress as 1920s Cairo, and the Sahara near Erfoud stood in for Hamunaptra.

During which scene did the film's leading man nearly die on set?

He was briefly choked unconscious when the noose was pulled too tight.

Evelyn Carnahan was named in tribute to the daughter of which figure?

Lady Evelyn Herbert was present with her father at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

Which composer scored the 1999 film?

Silvestri took over for The Mummy Returns; ILM handled the effects.

Roughly how much did the 1999 film gross worldwide on an $80M budget?

That made it the sixth-biggest film of 1999 and launched a franchise.

Which horror director wrote a 1987 treatment for a modern-day Mummy and was attached to direct?

Universal wanted an unstoppable Terminator-style mummy on a $10 million budget; Romero returned again in 1994 before leaving for good.

Which director wanted Daniel Day-Lewis as a brooding Mummy in one abandoned version?

Clive Barker's separate, darker take was set in a Beverly Hills art museum.

How did Stephen Sommers pitch his version of The Mummy?

He described it as 'more of a romantic-adventure-horror movie' set in the 1920s rather than the present.

Which wrestler made his film debut as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns?

He was credited as The Rock and earned $500,000 for the brief role.

In The Mummy Returns, what ancient object locks onto young Alex O'Connell's wrist?

It shows him visions leading to the oasis of Ahm Shere and puts him on a deadly countdown.

In The Mummy Returns, what is the name of the reincarnation of Anck-su-namun?

Patricia Velásquez returned to play her; Evelyn turns out to be a reincarnated princess too.

How much did The Mummy Returns gross worldwide, making it the series' biggest hit?

Its $68 million opening weekend was then the second-largest ever, behind only The Lost World.

How many years before the events of The Mummy is The Scorpion King set?

Mathayus is one of the last surviving Akkadians; Chuck Russell directed.

What record did The Rock's $5.5M fee for The Scorpion King set?

It was a big step up from the $500,000 he got for The Mummy Returns.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor moved the series to which country?

Jet Li plays the emperor whose army became the Terracotta warriors; Rob Cohen directed.

Who took over the role of Evelyn in Tomb of the Dragon Emperor?

Weisz declined to return; Yeoh played a very different character.

Who stars as Sergeant Nick Morton in the 2017 reboot of The Mummy?

He had turned down Rick O'Connell back in the 1990s.

What is the name of the Egyptian princess played by Sofia Boutella in the 2017 film?

She was passed over for the throne when the pharaoh had a son.

The 2017 film was meant to launch which shared cinematic franchise?

Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll was to be its connective tissue; the film's reception killed the whole plan.

How much did the 2017 film reportedly lose for Universal?

Production and marketing costs totalled about $345 million against a $410 million gross.

Who starred as Imhotep in the original 1932 The Mummy?

He had made Frankenstein for Universal the year before.

Which real event inspired producer Carl Laemmle Jr. to commission the 1932 film?

Screenwriter John Balderston had covered the tomb opening as a journalist.

How long did makeup artist Jack Pierce take to transform Karloff into the mummy?

He worked from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., using cotton, collodion, clay and oven-burnt linen; removal took another two hours.

In the 1932 film, what ancient text brings Imhotep back to life?

Sir Joseph's assistant ignores a warning and reads it — an idea Sommers reworked into the Book of the Dead.

Which studio made the 1959 The Mummy with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee?

Terence Fisher directed; Lee's mummy is Kharis, high priest of Karnak.

What is the name of the mummy played by Christopher Lee in the 1959 film?

He was entombed alive for trying to resurrect Princess Ananka.

In real Egyptian mummification, what salt was used to dry the body for around 70 days?

Herodotus described the process in Book 2 of his Histories.

Through which part of the body did Egyptian embalmers remove the brain?

Modern research suggests a rod liquefied the brain so it drained by gravity, rather than a hook pulling it out.

Which famous 'iceman' mummy formed naturally rather than by embalming?

Spontaneous mummies form through extreme dry heat or cold, or the acidic, oxygen-poor conditions of bogs.

What did the 1932 film's makeup artist study to design Imhotep's look?

Zita Johann's character was named after Tutankhamun's wife Ankhesenamun.

What did the crew endure shooting the 1999 film in the Sahara?

Fraser famously kept his own scorpion count going in interviews.

How does Beni meet his end in the 1999 film?

He was busy pilfering treasure when he triggered the booby trap.

Which English studio hosted the shoot for the underground passageways of Hamunaptra?

Crews surveyed the Moroccan desert site so accurate replicas of its columns and statues could be built on the soundstage.

Which English dockyards doubled for Giza Port on the Nile?

The 600-foot set included a steam train, three cranes, pack donkeys and room for 300 costumed extras.

What unusual precaution did the production take for its cast while filming in Morocco?

The shoot had the official support of the Royal Moroccan Army, and a medical team devised a drink everyone had to consume every two hours.

Which earlier Stephen Sommers film had he made with ILM effects supervisor John Berton?

Sommers engaged ILM while still writing the script; the house delivered more than 140 shots.

Which 1993 film had producer James Jacks made with Arnold Vosloo before casting him as Imhotep?

Vosloo lost 10 to 15 pounds for the role by giving up alcohol and sugar, conscious of Imhotep's skimpy costume.

What earlier disaster film's tornado software was adapted to create the movie's sandstorms?

The swarms of flesh-eating scarabs borrowed techniques developed for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

How much did The Mummy gross on its opening weekend in the US and Canada?

It opened at number one in 3,210 theaters and finished as the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1999.

In which three Universal parks can the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster be found?

The franchise also spawned a two-season animated series and a 2002 Game Boy Advance game from Ubisoft.