ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

This wonderful movie proves that George Lucas has a unique gift.

He is somehow in touch with the boyhood dreams and whimsical fantasies of young people like us how grew up in the 1950s.

Because of his gift, he made this movie to glorify the young fantasies of our teenage years. It's the ultimate tribute to the youth of our nation. It reminds us what we felt when we were young and idealistic and desperately in love.

It paints the perfect picture of so many of our own childhoods.

After making this fine movie, George Lucas went on to show us what we all desperately hoped we'd see in the upcoming movies from Hollywood after the Golden Age of Science Fiction reached its climax.

Sadly, that climax never came.

And so we endured the drought of disappointing science fiction movies during the 1960s and 1970s . . . until the world was eventually stunned by the world-wide phenomenon of Star Wars!

IMDB has many interesting trivia items about this early, pivotal Lucas production.
___________________________________________

~ Due to the low budget, George Lucas was unable to pay all of the crew members. He offered to give many of them a screen credit in lieu of payment, and they accepted. Traditionally, only department heads received screen credit. Giving screen credit to so many crew members has now become a tradition, which is why closing credits last so long now.

Note from me: And now we know why Marvel movies give us those great surprise scenes during and after their own credits!

~ When Charles Martin Smith pulls up on the Vespa in the beginning, his crash into the building wasn't scripted. He genuinely lost control of the bike, and Lucas kept the cameras rolling. Fortunately, the accident and the actor's reaction to it was in keeping with his character. Furthermore, the incident got the first big laugh from the audience in its first public premiere which Lucas and friends took as a very good sign for the film.

Note from me: That scene certainly starts the movie off in a great way!

~ When Wolfman Jack makes an on-air prank call to Pinky's Pizza, the voice on the other end belongs to George Lucas.

Note from me: Who knew? Heck, I didn't!

~ Wolfman Jack, who played himself in the movie, was specifically chosen by George Lucas to play a role in the movie because Lucas remembered listening to him on the radio when Lucas was in high school.

Note from me: What a great thing for George to do for his boyhood idol!

~ One of the main reasons why so many studios initially turned down the script was because George Lucas wanted at least 40 songs on the soundtrack, which would obviously lead to a large bill over the rights to these songs. Universal finally agreed to fund the picture when Lucas' friend Francis Ford Coppola (fresh from the success of The Godfather (1972) the year before) came on board as producer.

Note from me: The inclusion of the original 50s hits in the heart-and-soul of this great movie. It connects the older members of the original audience (like me) with the wonderful message it delivers to those of use from that era!

~ Harrison Ford was asked to cut his hair for the film. He refused, stating that his role was too short, and offered to wear a hat instead.

Note from me: I'm sure Mr. Ford would gladly cut his hair these days for chance at a new Hollywood career.

~ The film was shot in sequence, so as filming went on and the actors grew tired from the shooting schedule, the characters they played would also look more and more tired as the night went on.

Note from me: I'm not sure I believe this item.

~ When John (Paul Le Mat) and Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) are sitting at the red light, a car full of girls pulls up next to them. One of the girls throws a water balloon through the window and it hits Carol. It was scripted to hit the side window and drench Phillips' face, who was then supposed to act really angry. However, she was accidentally hit square in the face and unable to refrain from laughing. Still, she kept going, ad-libbed through the scene and George Lucas kept it, as he did with many presumably garbled first takes in this movie.

Note from me: Watching this movie tonight while creating this post, I can believe that the scene was a Hollywood "happy accident".

~ In gratitude for his performance George Lucas gave Wolfman Jack a fraction of a percentage point of the net profits. This ended up being enough money to give the Wolfman a comfortable income for the rest of his life.

Note from me: My respect for George Lucas is raised considerably by this.

~ About 300 pre-1962 cars were needed to create the cruising scenes, and over 1000 classic-car owners who responded to ads in local newspapers were interviewed.

Note from me: I'd love to see an in-depth documentary which could take us back in time to these wonderful preparations for this movie.

~ With its production budget of about $750,000 and its eventual box office gross of over $115 million, this is among the most profitable movies ever made.

Note from me: Boy oh boy, I'd love to see the faces on those clueless network executive who had to eat crow when they realized that they didn't know their corporate asses from a hole in the ground!

~ Harrison Ford initially turned down the film because he was offered $485 a week, less than he earned as a carpenter and not enough to support his family. When the offer was upped to $500, he accepted.

Note from me: I wonder how much a Ford-built piece of carpentry would be worth today? Furniture built by Thomas Jerrerson is now worth a fortune!

~ Universal thought so little of the film (not knowing how to market it, and certain that as it had no stars it would flop), that it sat on the shelf for six months before the studio finally decided to release it. To their great surprise, it became enormously successful at the box office.

Note from me: I hope the idiots at Universal who caused this screw-up were fired!

~ Mel's Drive-In was demolished after the movie was completed, but the owner's son, Steve, decided to re-open other Mel's restaurants in 1981 as a small chain. There are three in Los Angeles themed after the movie, and three in San Francisco where George Lucas is known to eat occasionally.

Note from me: It's too bad that the original Mel's Drive-In doesn't exist today. It would be a major tourist attraction!

~ Paul Le Mat, Harrison Ford, and Bo Hopkins were often drunk between takes, and had conducted climbing competitions to the top of the local Holiday Inn sign.

Note from me: Oh what I wouldn't give to spend an evening with this famous trio of Bad Boys!

~ Richard Dreyfuss recalls that he was often called onto the set early during camera setups because the plaid shirt he wears for much of the film made for an effective test pattern.

Note from me: Note sure I believe this, but it's a fun trivia item.

~ George Lucas missed his high school reunion because he was too busy shooting this film.

Note from me: How would you like to go to your high school reunion and casually say, "What am I doing now? Oh, I'm just making a blockbuster movie about our high school days — and then I'll make a sci-fi hit called Star Wars, which will ecome the most successful film in Hollywood history."

~ The owner of the Thunderbird was never more than a few feet away from his prized possession during filming, and was always wiping here and shining there. He also drove Suzanne Somers crazy telling her what to do and what not to do.

Note from me: Hmmm . . . just what he really tell the gorgeous Suzanne Somers to do?

~ The Pharaohs talk about the mysterious D.J., the Wolfman, speculating that he was either broadcasting from an airplane or from a pirate radio station in Mexico.

In fact, Wolfman Jack worked as a disc jockey from 1964 to 1966 for XERF (1570 AM) in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico!
At the time it was a 250,000 watt radio station that was powerful enough to reach much of the United States.

It was known for interesting choices in music and disc jockeys with a lot of attitude. It was considered a "pirate" radio station as it did not have to pay any FCC licensing fees and because it could get away without paying royalties. Its outlaw nature led to its being the focus of a popular song by ZZ Top, "I Heard It On The X".

Note from me: Damn . . . I had no idea that this bit of whimsical lore from the fictional teens in the movie was that close to the truth!

~ It was widely assumed that Ron Howard was cast as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days due to the success of this movie.

Ironically, the reverse is true.

Howard shot the original pilot for Happy Days in 1972. When the pilot wasn't picked up, ABC aired the pilot as part of its anthology series Love, American Style. George Lucas cast Howard based on the pilot, and American Graffiti's subsequent success inspired ABC to reconsider the series, adding a greaser character based on John Milner.

The series debuted in January 1974.

Note from me:I'll confess that I actually did think that Howard got the Happy Days roll because American Graffiti was such a hit. :opps:

~ Charles Martin Smith (1 and Ron Howard (1 were the only two real teenage principal actors of the film. Most of the remaining principal cast members were in their 20s with the exceptions of the 12-year-old Mackenzie Phillips, and Harrison Ford, who turned 30 during filming.

Note from me: I've often heard people complain that movies cast 20+ year olds as teenagers. As a film fan from way back to the 1950s, I'm accustomed to older actors as teenagers.

~ George Lucas grew up reading MAD Magazine, and he recruited longtime artist Mort Drucker to design the film's poster. Drucker ended up doing the artwork for "American Confetti," a parody of the film in MAD #166 (Apr. 1974).

Note from me: Ah yes . . . here's that poster (extensively enhanced by yours truly).

I dare you guys to compare it to any other version the poster you can find online!





~ Fred Roos, a former casting director on The Andy Griffith Show (1960), suggested Ron Howard for the part of Steve Bolander to director George Lucas.

Howard accepted the role to break out of the mold of his career as a child actor. His association with Lucas did not end here: he directed Willow (1988) which was written and produced by Lucas.

He was considered by Lucas to direct Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He eventually directed Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), a movie about the character Han Solo, originally played by Harrison Ford, Howard's co-star in this movie.

Note from me: What a great trivia item! The connections between the people involved are incredible!

~ The scene after the drag race in which John admits to Terry that he was losing when Falfa's car lost control and rolled was improvised by Paul Le Mat and Charles Martin Smith. They had not had time to prepare for that scene, as it had been scheduled to be shot at another time.

Note from me: This is a very important moment in the movie!

It shows us that Paul Le Mat's character finally realizes that his days are numbers as the owner of the "fasted far in the valle," He's finally growing up!

What great moment . . . and it was improvised by Paul Le Mat and Charles Martin Smith!
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Brent Gair]

I always thought it was funny that the events in this movie take place only 11 years before the film was released. That's like making a movie today and saying, "Where were you in 2013"?

Trivia nobody needs to know: John Milner is the name of my urologist

Picture of my 1959 Corvette:

[Bud Brewster]

______________________________________________

When I got out of the Air Force in 1971, I used the money I'd save up to buy my first car!

Imagine my joy when I found a 1968 Dodge Charger (the second year it was made by Dodge) on used car lot. It was the same dark green color (with the green vinyl top) as the 1967 Charger I saw in a parking lot, just before going into the Air Force.

I fell in loved with that car when I first saw it, and I walked around it slowly several times — dazzled by the unique design. I still think it's an incredible automobile which has never been equaled.

Unfortunately I have no photos of my Charger, but the car shown below is from the same year, and it's the exact color as the one I owned.





When I came home from my tour of duty in South Korea and West Germany, I was a cool and confident young man of 22, with my own apartment, a hot car, and a high-paying union job with Eastern Air Lines, loading suitcases onto airplanes.

And did I mention that I had a CB radio in the Charger? My "handle" was the Lucky Dog?

Come to think of it, that makes me a little like the Duke boys in that enjoyable TV series— as well as a bit like Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit!

I guess that's why my ex-wife looked somewhat like Sally Fields. I painted the portrait of her on left.





She and I saw Smokey and the Bandit together at a drive-in while we were still newly-weds.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)