5 times the GTA franchise referenced movies and TV shows from real life

The GTA franchise has never been a stranger to movie and TV show references.

Video game franchises often reference movies and TV shows in various Easter eggs. In the GTA series, these Easter eggs are sometimes very easy to notice.

Every GTA game has a reference to a movie or a TV show in some capacity. Some GTA titles do this a lot more than others, so separating this list into solely five entries deserves some reasoning.

These five entries either showcase iconic TV shows and movies or are obscure enough to warrant being a point of discussion.

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5 best movie and TV show references in the GTA franchise

#5 - Jug Swinger (GTA London: 1961 & GTA London: 1969)

Jug Swinger (Image via Sportskeeda)

Most players wouldn't even know what the Jug Swinger is, especially since GTA London: 1961 and GTA London: 1969 are seldom played by the vast majority of the GTA community.

However, fans of Austin Powers might recognize GTA London's Jug Swinger as Austin Powers' Jaguar E-Type, as it even has the Union Jack as its paint job.

Considering Austin Powers' inspiration stems from the Swinging London of the 1960s, this is honestly one of the best references Rockstar could make. As one can easily guess, GTA London takes place in England's capital city. The two London games are also set in 1961 and 1969, which is the prime time period that inspired the Austin Powers character.

#4 - Grove Street references to Menace II Society (GTA San Andreas)

Grove Street references to Menace II Society (Image via Sportskeeda)

Menace II Society was a great movie from 1993 that most modern GTA fans might not be aware of.

Since GTA San Andreas took place in 1992, Menace II Society served as the perfect inspiration for several references in GTA San Andreas.

Firstly, one of the Grove Street NPCs resembles Kevin "O-Dog" Anderson.

Secondly, during the mission, "Ryder," the Well Stacked Pizza Co. clerk tells Ryder:

"I feel sorry for your dad."

In Menace II Society, the clerk says the following right before a robbery takes place:

"I feel sorry for your mother" .

Finally, Carl Johnson is left in rival gang territory by the police just like Caine and Shariff in Menace II Society.

#3 - Badfellas posters (GTA 3 & GTA Vice City)

Badfellas posters (Image via ItsColdGaming, YouTube)

As the name implies, Badfellas is an obvious parody of Goodfellas, a famous 1990s crime movie by Martin Scorsese. The movie poster for Badfellas isn't based on the most popular poster for Goodfellas, but it's still iconic enough for players to arrive at their own conclusions.

What makes this movie reference even better is that several of the voice actors in the GTA series have acted in the Goodfellas movie. Ray Liotta voiced Tommy Vercetti, Samuel Jackson voiced Officer Tenpenny, and Debi Mazar voiced Maria from GTA III.

The Badfellas posters are littered throughout GTA 3 and can be seen in InterGlobal Studios in GTA Vice City, so this reference is one of the most well-known ones in the GTA franchise.

#2 - Meth'd Up (GTA Online)

Meth'd Up (Image via GTA Series Videos, YouTube)

Trevor Philips is quite the vicious character, but some fans would argue that Breaking Bad's Walter White has done worse deeds.

Regardless of one's take on the matter, Trevor Philips does reference Breaking Bad a few times throughout the course of GTA 5 and GTA Online. The first minor reference to the popular TV show is through Trevor's calculator watch, which is a nod to Walter White's own calculator watch.

Both Trevor and Walter work in the meth business, and the former's business is even attacked by the GTA Online protagonist when they steal a Journey full of meth in the mission "Meth'd Up." Obviously, the Journey is a reference to the RV that Walter and Jesse Pinkman used plenty of times in the earlier seasons of the show.

#1 - Scarface inspirations in GTA Vice City

Out of all GTA titles, GTA Vice City is easily the one that draws the most inspiration from a single movie. Scarface is a terrific movie, and Rockstar clearly agrees as GTA Vice City is littered with references to Scarface.

Even Tommy Vercetti's story is similar to Tony Montana's, with both men leaving one city to go to another, getting entangled in the drug trade and ending up as powerful drug lords in a Miami-inspired location.

Outside of that, there are areas like Apartment 3C, which take heavy inspiration from the scene where Angel is murdered in the hotel. Other locations like the Malibu Club and the Pole Position Club also heavily reference Scarface's The Babylon and the Little Havana Club, respectively.

There are also minor details like suits in GTA Vice City resembling the ones found in Scarface.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.