Revenge of the Nerds

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Timing: 1:30 (90 min)

6.466/10
786

6.515/10
1294

6.6/10
62000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 16

Actors and characters

Release date

1984-07-20

Country

United States

Production

20th Century Fox, Interscope Communications, Zacharias-Buhai Productions

Genre

Comedy

Budget

$8 000 000

Revenue

$40 874 452

Website

Director

Jeff Kanew

Actors

Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Andrew Cassese, Brian Tochi, Julia Montgomery, Michelle Meyrink, Ted McGinley
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Ted Field, Peter Samuelson, Peter Bart, David Obst

Operator

King Baggot

Composer

Thomas Newman

Artist

Audition

Susan Arnold

Editing

Alan Balsam
All team (62)

• At the time of filming, Andrew Cassese was still a child, so the other actors and director Jeff Kenyon looked after him. As a result, Cassese did not witness the filming of many scenes (and certainly did not participate in them) that contributed to the film's 'R' rating. Regardless, Cassese happened to see the movie before he turned 17 and was very surprised by how much he had missed during production.
• James Cromwell shared that after he came up with the 'idiot laugh' and other actors began to imitate it, he suddenly remembered that this was exactly how his ex-wife used to laugh.
• According to Robert Carradine, when he first read the script and the description of his character's (Lewis) laughter, he began wondering how exactly to produce that sound. As it happened, the first scene filmed was the one where the father drives him and Anthony Edwards' character to college. In the car, he heard James Cromwell's laughter and simply imitated it.
• When the producers (Ted Field, Peter Samuelson, Steve Zacharias, Peter Bart, Peter McGregor-Scott, David Obst) spoke with director Jeff Cain before bringing him onto the project, they asked what kind of movie he hoped to make. His response was: "A movie where I'll be ashamed to see my name in the credits." After that answer, he was hired as director immediately.
• Donald Gibb shaved his head for the shoot. The casting director felt that this made him look too old to be a student.
• According to Robert Carradine, he and Anthony Edwards improvised almost all of their lines in the homecoming scene.
• Curtis Armstrong, Michelle Mayne, and Timothy Busfield can play musical instruments. The latter cannot be called an experienced violinist. During filming, he hoped his mistakes would be covered up by a recording of a professional player. However, this did not happen. Busfield was very upset when he heard the violin sounds he had produced himself coming from the screen.
• Professional wrestler Sting (real name Steve Borden) auditioned for one of the roles, but the casting directors decided that this particular character should not look like Sting, and Donald Gibb was cast in the role instead.
• Once, Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, wearing their characters' costumes and makeup, attended a student fraternity recruitment event. Upon first glance, the leader of the first fraternity declared, "You're not a fit for us. Get out of here."
• One of the scenes was filmed in an old building infested with hordes of rats. Only one hall in the entire building was made relatively presentable for filming.
• Lamarr, the character played by Larry B. Scott, appeared at the party accompanied by Lance Lombardo. The homeowner was played by a certain "cool guy," as he is listed in the credits, while Lamarr referred to him as "Mr. Wilson." In reality, his name is William B. Wilson.
• Throughout the entire movie, no one ever mentions the name of the character played by John Goodman. His name is revealed only by the plaque on the door (Coach Harris) and in the final credits.
• The scene featuring the strange interaction between Curtis Armstrong's character and the recluse homeowner through the mail slot in the door was improvised.
• The script was not written in great detail, and the actors were allowed to improvise. For example, Timothy Busfield later recalled that he came up with his character's scream on the spot while watching video recordings of the girls in the dormitory. Robert Carradine shared that his character was supposed to say: 'Guys only think about sports. In reality, when a guy turns 10, he starts thinking exclusively about sex.' Something about this line didn't sit right with him, so he omitted the mention of age. Curtis Armstrong and Brian Tochi improvised the card game.
• Despite what is claimed in a well-known joke, the belching sound during the mating process was not made by two camels. It was the sound of a belching human, which was layered with a camel's sound to extend its duration. The person was a laborer named Bill Livengood.
• The scene of the phone call with Bernie Casey's character, in which he greets the idiots on behalf of the Tri-Lambda fraternity, was created to link various plot lines, as it was decided not to film the plot line involving the idiots' trip to Las Vegas.
• When Coach Harris, played by John Goodman, addresses the team after a loss, a blue wall is visible behind him, along with the inscription "Only the Strong Survive" and a door with a "Coach Harris" sign. This takes place in the locker room. However, when the members of the Alpha Beta fraternity leave the locker room, the blue wall has become white and the inscription has disappeared.
• Donald Gibb's character grabs someone else's piece of pie and gets a stain on himself in the process. In the very next shot, the cream stain on his suit disappears.