Airplane Mistake in “Troy” Movie: Real or Fake?

For over a decade, internet rumors have circulated about a mistake from the movie “Troy” in which an airplane is seen flying above Brad Pitt’s character.

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It’s Fake.

Although often cited online as a movie mistake, the picture of an airplane in 2004’s “Troy” was Photoshopped. The origin of the altered photo was a photo effects contest called “Director’s Cut 3” held by worth1000.com. A worth1000 user named uputra81 submitted the photo which came in 8th place in the contest. The Worth1000 site is no longer online and its pages are not currently archived.

History

Soon after “Troy” was released in theaters on May 14th of 2004, internet rumors began circulating about an airplane that was mistakenly captured in the film. In fact, there was a post devoted to the airplane in “Troy” at the Museum of Hoaxes website by early June of 2004. Apparently the picture was being discussed on a Museum of Hoaxes forum prior to the post. Since then, rumors about the photo have continued to casually spread.

Several internet forums exist in which users ask about where the plane can be found in the movie. Astute responders point out that this frame cannot be found in the film, and that the picture is a hoax. Some people still insist that the plane appears in the film, or have come up with elaborate explanations such as it appeared in the original film but was removed from the DVD version.

Original Picture

Below is the original unaltered picture. It appears to be a production photo from “Troy”, which explains how the altered photo came out only a month after the movie was released in theaters.

Bottom Line

A plane does not mistakenly appear in the movie “Troy”. The picture of a plane flying above Brad Pitt which is supposedly from the movie “Troy” is actually a Photoshopped image that won 8th place in  a worth1000.com special effects contest back in 2004.

Updated June 13, 2016
Originally published December 2014