![]() Reiner came up with the title "Stand by Me" based on the Ben E. The film's marketers worried that it sounded like a horror movie, a bodybuilding film, or a porno. The movie was originally titled "The Body," after the Stephen King story it was based on. The others found him in a parking lot, woozy and crying.ĩ. And Kiefer Sutherland, who played bully Ace, claims that O'Donnell tied his babysitter to a bannister, escaped to a Renaissance festival, and ate some cookies that he didn't realize we're laced with pot. Feldman says he and Phoenix both smoked pot.Ĩ. Reiner says Phoenix (then 15) lost his virginity to a Phoenix family friend during a night away from the hotel. Wheaton rigged the coin-operated arcade games at their hotel so that they could be played for free. The four young stars got into plenty of misbehavior during their down time. ![]() ![]() By the time Reiner was ready to film the scene, it was already overgrown with moss. The swamp used in the leech scene was man-made, a pond dug out and filled with water by the production crew before the shoot. And part of it involved an extra-long telephoto lens to make it look like the train was right behind the boys when, actually, it was still on the far side of the bridge.Ħ. Part of the scene involved stunt doubles - women with close-cropped hair made up to look like the boys. The boys were never really in danger during the famous train-dodge scene. Fortunately, Reiner got Lear to pony up the full $8 million budget out of pocket.ĥ. So it pulled its financing just two days before the shoot was scheduled to begin. But when Lear sold Embassy to Coca-Cola, the new management decided the movie wasn't commercial enough. The independent studio behind the film was Embassy, owned by Reiner's "All in the Family" mentor, Norman Lear. He didn't work either, so Reiner cast his own high school pal Richard Dreyfuss.Ĥ. But he felt Dukes' performance was off, so he tried "Spinal Tap" star Michael McKean. As the narrator, the adult version of Wheaton's character, Reiner cast actor David Dukes. Jerry was one of the funniest people I had ever seen in my life, either before or since, and Corey was unbelievably angry and in an incredible amount of pain and had an absolutely terrible relationship with his parents."ģ. "I was awkward and nerdy and shy and uncomfortable in my own skin and really, really sensitive," Wheaton recalled in 2011, "and River was cool and really smart and passionate and - even at that age - kind of like a father figure to some of us. Reiner's auditions for the four leads yielded boys whose personalities matched their roles. Fortunately, he was too busy making " 9 1/2 Weeks," so the gig went to Reiner (above, left), then fresh off " This Is Spinal Tap" and " The Sure Thing."Ģ. You might not think of Adrian Lyne (of " Flashdance" and " Fatal Attraction" fame) as the director best suited to Stephen King's tale of innocent boyhood, but he was the first filmmaker attached to the project. Still, no matter how old you are or how many times you've seen the movie, there's plenty you may not know about the story behind the production, which is often as funny and haunting as the tale told on screen. And if you're a Gen Xer, it's a different kind of nostalgia piece, about learning to love the movies of the 1980s (the film was released 30 years ago on August 8, 1986), recognizing that director Stranger Things" is full of "Stand by Me" shout-outs. If you're a Boomer, it's a nostalgia piece about growing up in the 1950s. If you're a kid, it's a bit of an adventure movie. What kind of movie is " Stand by Me"? Depends on your age.
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