Fast Times at Ridgemont High
At Ridgemont High, only the rules get busted!
Country
Production
Budget
$4 500 000
Revenue
$27 092 880
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Art Linson, Irving Azoff, C.O. Erickson
Operator
Matthew F. Leonetti
Composer
Artist
Audition
Don Phillips
Editing
Eric Jenkins
All team (49)
All team (49)
Short description
Based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe, Fast Times follows a group of high school students growing up in Southern California. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. At the center of the film is Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer who faces-off with the resolute Mr. Hand—a man convinced that everyone is on dope.
What's left behind the scenes
- The starting point for the film was an idea that came to Cameron Crowe at the age of 22: to spend a year undercover in a high school as a student and write a book about his experiences. The rights to adapt it for the screen were purchased even before its publication in 1981.
- The principal of University of San Diego High School was not at all enthusiastic about Cameron Crowe's idea to infiltrate his institution, but he asked the young rock journalist which musical groups and performers he had worked with. Among others, Cameron Crowe mentioned Kris Kristofferson, and since the principal was a big fan of his, it helped him sway him to his side.
- The film's script sparked a number of controversies, as it contained the real names of students from the school where Cameron Crowe spent a year.
- Nicolas Cage auditioned for the role of Brad Hamilton, but after the auditions, producers found his performance too dark for the part, and the role went to Judge Reinhold. An additional reason was that the future famous actor was only 17 years old at the time and, according to the law, could not work on set as long as adult actors.
- The film studio believed the film had very little box office potential and even seriously considered not releasing it theatrically on the East Coast.
- The well-known American magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked the film second in its chart of the 50 best movies about school and high school life in 2006.
- Nicolas Cage tried to lie to the producers about his true age in order to get a larger role, but the deception was quickly exposed.
- During the filming of the movie, Sean Penn became so immersed in his role that he only responded to the name Spicoli. Moreover, a sign reading Spicoli hung on the dressing room door instead of the actor’s name.
- Alternative, milder versions of individual scenes were filmed for use in subsequent television showings of the film.
- Nancy Wilson, the future wife of screenwriter Cameron Crowe, appears in a cameo as the woman in the car behind Brad who laughs at his pirate costume.
- The role of Mr. Hand was initially offered to Fred Gwynne, who declined due to his disapproval of the provocative nature of the film’s sexual scenes.
- The book Arnold is holding while betting on the football game is Arthur C. Clarke’s science fiction novel “Childhood’s End”.
- David Lynch could have directed the film, but he declined the offer, stating that the script was not to his taste.
- The scenes in the supermarket were filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping mall. It was severely damaged by the 1994 earthquake and then completely rebuilt in 1998. Filming took place at night when the supermarket was closed, between 9:30 PM and 9:00 AM. Because of this, the underage actors who appeared in some scenes had a very demanding schedule, as they were legally prohibited from working at night.
- Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ralph Macchio, Meg Tilly, Geena Davis, Rosanna Arquette, Carrie Fisher, and Ally Sheedy auditioned for various roles in the film.
- The film marked the film debut of Lana Clarkson and Nicolas Cage.
- Brooke Shields, Ellen Barkin, and Jodie Foster were all considered for the role of Stacey, and each declined the offer. Diane Lane also auditioned for the part.
- The role of Linda could have gone to Justine Bateman, who declined the offer, preferring the series "Family Ties" (1982). Melanie Griffith and Tatum O'Neal also auditioned for the part.
- The role of Jeff was offered to Christopher Reeve, but the actor refused the offer. John Travolta was also among the candidates for the role.
- Tom Hanks could have played the role of Brad.
- Sean Penn was asked to prepare for both the roles of Jeff Spicoli and Brad Hamilton, so that the producers could later make a better choice.
- The scene where Linda teaches Stacey oral sex was originally intended to take place in a hot tub, with both girls completely nude. This idea was abandoned, as it was believed the film risked receiving an X-rated classification.
- A significant portion of the scenes were filmed at Van Nuys High School in one of the Los Angeles suburbs, Van Nuys. The school's mascot was a wolf, which was reflected in the fictional school in the film.
- The starting point for the film's creation was an idea Cameron Crowe had at age 22 to spend a year undercover at a school as a high school student and write a book about his experiences. The film rights were purchased even before its publication in 1981.
- The principal of University of San Diego High School was not at all thrilled by the idea of Cameron Crowe infiltrating his institution, but he asked the young rock journalist which bands and artists he had worked with. Among others, Cameron Crowe mentioned Kris Kristofferson, and since the principal turned out to be a huge fan, this helped him win the man over.
- The film's screenplay sparked a number of controversies because it contained the real names of students from the school where Cameron Crowe had spent a year.
- Nicolas Cage auditioned for the role of Brad Hamilton, but after the screen tests, the producers considered his performance too dark for the part, and the role went to Judge Reinhold. An additional reason was that the future famous actor was only 17 at the time and, according to the law, could not work on set for as many hours as adult actors could.
- The studio believed that the film's box-office potential was very low and even seriously considered the possibility of not releasing it in theaters on the East Coast.
- In 2006, the well-known American magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked the film second on its list of the 50 best movies about school and high school students.
- Nicolas Cage tried to lie to the producers about his true age to land a larger role, but the deception was quickly uncovered.
- During the filming of the movie, Sean Penn became so immersed in his role that he responded only to the name Spicoli. Furthermore, a sign saying 'Spicoli' hung on the dressing room door instead of the actor's name.
- Alternative, milder versions of certain scenes were filmed for use in subsequent television broadcasts of the movie.
- Nancy Wilson, the future wife of screenwriter Cameron Crowe, makes a cameo appearance as the woman in the car behind Brad who laughs at his pirate costume.
- The role of Mr. Hand was originally offered to Fred Gwynne, who declined due to his disapproval of the provocative tone of the film's sexual scenes.
- David Lynch could have directed the film, but he turned down the offer, stating that the script was not to his taste.
- The supermarket scenes were filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping center. It was seriously damaged by the 1994 earthquake and subsequently completely rebuilt in 1998. Filming took place during the night hours while the supermarket was closed, between 9:30 PM and 9:00 AM. Because of this, the underage actors appearing in some scenes had a very strict schedule, as they were legally prohibited from working at night.
- Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ralph Macchio, Meg Tilly, Geena Davis, Rosanna Arquette, Carrie Fisher, and Ally Sheedy all auditioned for various roles in the film.
- The film marked the cinematic debuts of actors Lana Clarkson and Nicolas Cage.
- The role of Stacey could have gone to Brooke Shields, Ellen Barkin, or Jodie Foster, all of whom turned down the offer. Diane Lane also auditioned for the part.
- The role of Linda could have gone to Justine Bateman, who turned down the offer in favor of the series Family Ties (1982). Melanie Griffith and Tatum O'Neal also auditioned for the part.
- The role of Jeff was offered to Christopher Reeve, but the actor declined the offer. John Travolta was among other candidates for the role.
- The role of Brad could have gone to Tom Hanks.
- Sean Penn was asked to prepare for both the roles of Jeff Spicoli and Brad Hamilton so that the producers could make the best choice later.
- A significant number of scenes were filmed at Van Nuys High School in Van Nuys, a suburb of Los Angeles. The school's mascot was a wolf, which was adopted for the fictional school in the movie.
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