148 Fun Facts About 80s Movie

In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which candy does Elliott use to lure the alien into his home?

Reese's Pieces got the part after Mars turned down a request to use M&M's; Hershey said yes, and within two weeks of the film's 1982 release sales of the candy had soared.

Which Spielberg film finally took E.T.'s title as highest-grossing film of all time, in 1993?

Jurassic Park took the worldwide record from E.T. in 1993, yet E.T. stayed North America's top earner for four more years, until the Star Wars Special Edition reissue overtook it.

Which actor was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future and replaced weeks into filming?

Eric Stoltz spent several weeks filming before Robert Zemeckis decided he was wrong for the part; reshooting his scenes with first choice Michael J. Fox added $4 million to the budget.

At what speed does the DeLorean in Back to the Future activate time travel?

88 mph gave the crew a problem: a 1979 federal rule had capped car speedometers at 85 mph, so they had to build the DeLorean a custom dial to show it.

Which carmaker offered $75,000 to have Doc Brown's time machine be one of its cars instead of a DeLorean?

Ford offered $75,000 to make the time machine a Mustang; co-writer Bob Gale replied that Doc Brown does not drive a Mustang. Early drafts had the machine inside a refrigerator.

The Breakfast Club's five students serve Saturday detention at which fictional Illinois school?

Shermer High School, in John Hughes's fictional Shermer, Illinois, is the setting; the library set was built in a gym because the real library at Maine North High School was too small.

Which band performed The Breakfast Club anthem "Don't You (Forget About Me)"?

Simple Minds turned the song down flat at first, wanting to record only their own material, and relented after Bryan Ferry had passed on it too; it then took them to No. 1 in America.

Whom did George Lucas hire to direct The Empire Strikes Back in his place?

Irvin Kershner, whom Lucas had known as a teacher in USC's film program, took the job; Lucas wanted to avoid the stress he had suffered directing Star Wars and concentrated on his effects company.

Who voiced and puppeteered Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back?

Frank Oz, Jim Henson's longtime Muppets collaborator, performed and voiced Yoda; Lucas had considered dubbing in another actor's voice but kept Oz's.

Which TV star was cast as Indiana Jones before contractual obligations forced him out?

Tom Selleck had been cast, but CBS held him to his Magnum, P.I. contract, so Harrison Ford took the part of Indiana Jones weeks before shooting began.

How does Indiana Jones beat the Cairo swordsman in Raiders?

Shoots him: the scene was planned as a long whip-against-sword duel, but the film's star was sick with dysentery in Tunisia, so the whole fight shrank to a single weary gunshot.

In Ghostbusters, what form does Gozer take after Ray thinks of a childhood corporate mascot?

Ray's thought of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a fictional brand mascot, becomes Gozer's destructor form; the team destroys it by crossing the streams Egon had warned against.

The real firehouse used as the Ghostbusters headquarters exterior stands in which Manhattan neighbourhood?

Tribeca is home to Hook & Ladder Company 8 on North Moore Street; it was a working station the crew could not take over, so the interiors were shot in a disused Los Angeles firehouse.

Who sang the number-one theme song to Ghostbusters?

Ray Parker Jr. held number one for three weeks, then was sued by Huey Lewis, who said the theme copied his 'I Want a New Drug'; the two settled out of court.

In The Shining, which room number replaced the novel's Room 217 at the request of the hotel used for exteriors?

237 was a room the real hotel did not have: Oregon's Timberline Lodge asked Kubrick to drop the novel's 217, fearing guests would refuse to sleep in a room made infamous by a horror film.

Jack Nicholson's improvised 'Here's Johnny' line in The Shining borrowed Ed McMahon's introduction from which TV show?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson opened with McMahon's cry; Kubrick, long resident in England, did not recognize the reference and nearly used a different take.

The 1988 action film Die Hard was adapted from which 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp?

Nothing Lasts Forever came to Thorp in a dream after he watched The Towering Inferno; as the sequel to The Detective, filmed with Frank Sinatra, it obliged the studio to offer him the lead first.

Die Hard was filmed almost entirely in and around which real Los Angeles skyscraper?

Fox Plaza, 20th Century Fox's own newly built Century City tower, played Nakatomi Plaza; it was still under construction, so the crew could stage action on its unfinished floors.

What is Maverick's real name in Top Gun?

Pete Mitchell is Maverick's real name; Tom Cruise, offered the role while filming Legend in London, was reluctant until that film's director, Ridley Scott, brother of Top Gun's Tony Scott, talked him into it.

Which band's song from Top Gun won the Academy Award for Best Original Song?

Berlin's 'Take My Breath Away' won the Oscar but divided the band: founder John Crawford disliked a hit none of them had written, and the group broke up in 1987, the year of its win.

Which car does Ferris borrow from Cameron's father in Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

The Ferrari 250 GT California was far too rare to wreck, with only about 100 ever built, so John Hughes had replicas made for the wide shots and the crash.

During the parade in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris lip-syncs "Danke Schoen" and which Beatles song?

Ferris mimes the Beatles' 1963 recording of 'Twist and Shout' from a parade float; the scene was shot during Chicago's real Von Steuben Day Parade in September 1985.

Which former football star did Orion suggest for the Terminator before Cameron rejected him?

Orion's Mike Medavoy suggested O. J. Simpson, but James Cameron felt the affable Simpson would not be believable as a killer; Schwarzenegger, first proposed for Kyle Reese, took the role instead.

Which Terminator line did Schwarzenegger ask to change because he struggled with one word?

The line is 'I'll be back'; Schwarzenegger found the contraction awkward and asked for 'I will be back', but Cameron refused, and the phrase recurred in Schwarzenegger's later films.

Which film imagined a neon, rain-soaked Los Angeles of 2019?

Blade Runner moved its story to Los Angeles: the Philip K. Dick novel it adapts, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, takes place in San Francisco.

Which actor was originally attached to play Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop and rewrote it as a straight action film?

Sylvester Stallone stripped out the comedy and renamed the hero Axel Cobretti; the studio rejected his costly rewrite, so he carried the ideas into Cobra and Eddie Murphy took the part.

Who composed and performed the Beverly Hills Cop instrumental theme "Axel F"?

Harold Faltermeyer played every instrument on 'Axel F' himself; by his account the producers were lukewarm about the theme until director Martin Brest backed it, and it went on to reach No. 3 in America.

Sigourney Weaver earned a rare Oscar nomination for a science-fiction role in which film?

Aliens earned Weaver a Best Actress nomination, yet the studio had tried to make it without her to avoid her salary; James Cameron and producer Gale Anne Hurd quit until she was kept as the star.

In The Princess Bride, which phrase of Westley's does Buttercup come to realize is a declaration of love?

"As you wish" is all Westley ever says to her orders, and it means he loves her; the grandfather closes the film with the same words when asked to read the story again.

Which professional wrestler played the rhyme-loving Fezzik in The Princess Bride?

André the Giant joined when a clashing wrestling date in Tokyo was cancelled; in pain after back surgery, the strongman could not lift Robin Wright, who was suspended on cables instead.

Rain Man, the highest-grossing film of 1988, won Best Actor for which star?

Dustin Hoffman was first lined up for the brother's part, with Bill Murray as Raymond, before he took the savant role himself; it won him his second Best Actor Oscar.

Which actress provided the uncredited speaking voice of Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Kathleen Turner voiced Jessica Rabbit's dialogue without credit, taking the job while pregnant because it needed only her voice; Amy Irving sang 'Why Don't You Do Right?'.

In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny share a scene doing what?

Mickey and Bugs appear skydiving beside a falling Eddie Valiant, Bugs handing him a spare tire instead of a parachute; Donald and Daffy duel on pianos and Porky Pig closes the film.

Driving Miss Daisy was the first Best Picture winner since Grand Hotel (1932) without which nomination?

Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture without a Best Director nomination for Bruce Beresford, the first such winner since Grand Hotel (1932); host Billy Crystal called it 'the film that apparently directed itself'.

Platoon, the 1986 Best Picture winner, drew on its writer-director's own combat service in which war?

The Vietnam War was its director's own: he sent an early script about his service to Jim Morrison, hoping he would star, and Morrison had it with him when he died in Paris.

In Amadeus, F. Murray Abraham won Best Actor for playing which composer?

Abraham won for Antonio Salieri, the Viennese court composer consumed by envy of Mozart; Tom Hulce, who played Mozart, was nominated in the same category.

The 1984 hits Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom prompted the MPAA to create which classification?

The PG-13 rating was Steven Spielberg's own idea: having directed Temple of Doom and produced Gremlins, he proposed a tier between PG and R after parents complained. Red Dawn was the first film released with it.

The Goonies hunt for the treasure of which legendary pirate?

The Goonies follow a map to the treasure of One-Eyed Willy, a 17th-century pirate, to save their homes in Astoria's Goon Docks from foreclosure.

Which duo performed the Oscar-winning Dirty Dancing song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"?

Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes recorded it only after Medley had said no for two months, having promised his wife he would be home for their daughter's birth; Warnes already had one Oscar-winning duet, with Joe Cocker.

Which martial-arts star was originally cast as the creature in Predator?

Jean-Claude Van Damme was hired to make the Predator an agile, ninja-like hunter, but both he and the original creature suit were dropped; 7 ft 2 in Kevin Peter Hall played the redesigned monster.

Which Full Metal Jacket actor was first hired only as its technical advisor?

R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine drill instructor, was only advising until Kubrick saw a tape of him hurling insults at would-be extras and gave him the part of Sergeant Hartman.

Which musician wrote the songs for Tim Burton's 1989 Batman?

Prince recorded the whole album in six weeks; he later said it had first been planned as a duet project, with Michael Jackson singing as Batman and Prince himself as the Joker.

In Big, what is the name of the fortune-teller machine that grants Josh's wish?

The Zoltar Speaks machine grants Josh's wish to be big; he notices afterwards that it was unplugged the whole time. Tom Hanks earned his first Best Actor nomination for the role.

Which singer's songs feature prominently in Beetlejuice, including the dinner-party scene?

Harry Belafonte's 'Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)' drives the possessed dinner party and 'Jump in the Line' closes the film; Burton's first choice for Betelgeuse was Sammy Davis Jr.

Who delivers the line "I'll have what she's having" in When Harry Met Sally...?

Rob Reiner's mother, Estelle Reiner, delivers the deadpan order; the line ranked 33rd on the AFI's list of great movie quotes, and Katz's Deli hung a sign over the table.

Field of Dreams was adapted from a W. P. Kinsella novel named after which baseball player?

Shoeless Joe was the film's title too until Universal renamed it; W. P. Kinsella did not mind, since he had wanted to call his novel The Dream Field before his publisher overruled him.

Michael Douglas won Best Actor for playing which corporate raider in Wall Street?

Gordon Gekko's 'greed is good' creed came from life: the line was modelled on a speech in which the real arbitrageur Ivan Boesky told his audience that greed was right.

The Last Emperor was the first Western feature authorised by China to film inside which location?

The Forbidden City had never before been opened to a Western film; Bertolucci offered China two projects, and officials chose the Puyi story over an adaptation of Malraux's Man's Fate.

Ordinary People, the 1980 Best Picture winner, was the directorial debut of which actor?

Robert Redford won his first Oscar not for acting but for directing this debut, in which he does not appear; his lead Timothy Hutton, 20, became the youngest supporting-actor winner.

Which composer's electronic theme for Chariots of Fire won the Oscar for Best Original Score?

Vangelis dedicated the score to his father, who had been a sprinter; director Hugh Hudson chose his synthesizers over a period orchestra to give the 1920s story a modern feel.

Which Best Picture winner filled one funeral scene with about 300,000 extras, believed to be a film record?

Gandhi restaged its subject's funeral on the event's 33rd anniversary; appeals by newspaper, radio and loudspeaker van drew over 200,000 volunteers to Delhi, joined by some 94,000 paid extras.

Which actress played the obsessive Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction?

Glenn Close had to fight for the part: the producers doubted she could be sexual enough until she flew to Los Angeles and auditioned with her frizzy hair left wild.

The makers of Airplane! bought the rights to which 1957 disaster film so they could spoof it almost line for line?

Zero Hour! turned up by accident when the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams were taping late-night TV to harvest commercials; they found the forgotten drama perfectly structured for parody.

In Tootsie, actor Michael Dorsey dresses as a woman to land a role on which soap opera?

Disguised as Dorothy Michaels, he wins the part of hospital administrator Emily Kimberly on the soap Southwest General, the role his friend Sandy had failed to get.

In The Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso and his mother move from New Jersey to which LA neighbourhood?

Daniel and his mother land in Reseda, in the San Fernando Valley; he meets Ali Mills, a cheerleader from wealthier Encino, and runs foul of her ex, Cobra Kai's Johnny Lawrence.

Stand by Me (1986) was adapted from which Stephen King novella?

The Body, from King's 1982 collection Different Seasons, follows four boys hunting for a missing boy's corpse; the film moved Castle Rock from Maine to Oregon.

In RoboCop, which megacorporation revives murdered officer Alex Murphy as a cyborg?

Omni Consumer Products (OCP), which runs Detroit's privatised police force, rebuilds Murphy as RoboCop; Verhoeven had tossed the script aside until his wife Martine persuaded him to reread it.

Which screenwriter wrote Brian De Palma's Scarface (1983)?

Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay, researching Miami's cocaine trade while kicking his own habit; the film remakes Howard Hawks's 1932 original and opens during the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

Which dance film was inspired by an Oklahoma town that outlawed public dancing until its 1980 prom?

Footloose grew from Elmore City, Oklahoma, where dancing had been banned since the town's founding in 1898 until its high-school students won the right to hold a prom.

Which then-unknown screenwriter wrote Lethal Weapon (1987)?

Shane Black, just out of UCLA, wrote it as an 'urban Western' in the mould of Dirty Harry; he hated his first draft and threw it away before reworking it into the script Warner Bros. bought.

In 1980's Caddyshack, what elusive animal does groundskeeper Carl Spackler wage war on?

A gopher puppet outlasts everything Carl throws at it, even the plastic explosives that wreck the course; its twitching ears were animated by John Dykstra's effects company.

Who played Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV?

Dolph Lundgren, a European karate champion, made his American film debut as Drago; the film's star says a real punch from him during the fight scenes put him in intensive care.

In Labyrinth (1986), David Bowie plays Jareth, the king of which creatures?

Jareth is the Goblin King, ruler of the labyrinth's goblins; Jim Henson wanted a charismatic musician and considered Sting, Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson before choosing Bowie.

Which song from The Little Mermaid (1989) won the Oscar for Best Original Song?

"Under the Sea" is a calypso for a reason: it was lyricist Howard Ashman's idea to make Sebastian, the crab who sings it, a Caribbean character.

In This Is Spinal Tap, the knobs on Nigel Tufnel’s custom amplifier go up to what?

Christopher Guest's Nigel Tufnel explains that his amp's knobs go up to eleven 'because it's one louder' than ten; the scene gave English the idiom 'up to eleven'.

Which is one of the three rules for caring for the mogwai in Gremlins?

Never feed it after midnight, along with keeping it from bright light and water; the gremlins trick Billy into breaking the rule by sabotaging his bedside clock.

In Coming to America, Prince Akeem hails from which fictional African nation?

Akeem is crown prince of Zamunda; fleeing an arranged marriage, he heads to Queens, New York, and mops floors at McDowell's while searching for a bride who loves him for himself.

In Flashdance, what is dancer Alex Owens's day job at a Pittsburgh steel mill?

Alex works days as a welder at the mill and dances at Mawby's bar by night; Beals's torn-neck sweatshirt look came from cutting a hole in one that had shrunk in the wash.

In Teen Wolf, Scott Howard's werewolf transformation makes him a star in which sport?

Basketball turns Scott's wolf into a hero for the hapless Beavers; when Teen Wolf opened in August 1985 it came second only to Back to the Future, giving Michael J. Fox the top two films in America.

Romancing the Stone sends novelist Joan Wilder to which country to free her sister?

Colombia is where Joan must carry a treasure map to Cartagena as her sister's ransom, only for Colonel Zolo to divert her into the jungle; the cameras never went there, and the film was shot in Mexico.

Who plays Chelsea, the estranged daughter, in On Golden Pond (1981)?

Jane Fonda plays Chelsea and bought the rights to the play so her father, Henry Fonda, could play Norman Thayer; he won his only competitive Oscar for it, months before his death.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is set in which real town east of Los Angeles?

San Dimas High School is where Bill and Ted are flunking history, yet almost none of the film was shot there: the cameras rolled around Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, where a Scottsdale school played theirs.

In Risky Business, Tom Cruise slides across the floor in his briefs to which song?

"Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger scores Joel's dance in pink shirt, socks and briefs on his first night home alone, a scene since re-created in countless TV shows, films and adverts.

The climactic trading-floor scheme in Trading Places revolves around which commodity?

The Dukes try to corner frozen orange juice futures using a stolen crop report; the 2010 Dodd-Frank ban on trading with misappropriated government data was nicknamed the 'Eddie Murphy Rule'.

Which future star's first film role was Glen in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)?

Johnny Depp, as Glen, made his film debut; he had gone along only to keep his friend Jackie Earle Haley company at the audition, and Haley later played Freddy in the 2010 remake.

In the original Friday the 13th (1980), who turns out to be the killer?

Pamela Voorhees, played by Betsy Palmer, is avenging her son Jason's drowning at Camp Crystal Lake; Jason himself does not kill anyone until Part 2 (1981).

Meryl Streep won her first Best Actress Oscar for which 1982 film?

Sophie's Choice went to Streep after she got hold of a bootleg script and threw herself on the floor to beg director Alan J. Pakula, whose first choice had been Liv Ullmann.

In Blue Velvet (1986), what does Jeffrey find in a vacant lot that starts the mystery?

A severed ear in a vacant lot leads Jeffrey to singer Dorothy Vallens and the terrifying Frank Booth; Dennis Hopper reportedly demanded that part by insisting that he was Frank.

In Moonstruck, Nicolas Cage's Ronny Cammareri lost what in a bread-slicer accident?

His hand, replaced by a wooden one, was what hooked a reluctant Cage on the role; he wanted to echo the moment in Metropolis when the inventor Rotwang holds up his robot hand.

In Short Circuit, the runaway robot Number 5 renames himself after hearing which song?

"Who's Johnny" by El DeBarge is on the van radio when Number 5 picks his name; the song's video puts the robot on trial, with Ally Sheedy in court beside a cardboard cutout of Steve Guttenberg.

Who directed The Elephant Man (1980), the story of Joseph Merrick?

David Lynch directed it, his first studio film after Eraserhead; Mel Brooks produced but kept his name off the credits so audiences would not expect a comedy.

Which band recorded “Princes of the Universe” and “A Kind of Magic” for Highlander?

Queen wrote several songs for the film, and 'A Kind of Magic' borrows its title from the script: drummer Roger Taylor heard Connor MacLeod describe his immortality that way and built the song around it.

In Say Anything..., Lloyd Dobler hoists a boombox playing which Peter Gabriel song?

"In Your Eyes" replaced a Fishbone track in the edit, and nearly was not there at all: Peter Gabriel first said no, having confused the film with a John Belushi biopic.

Why was Tron reportedly passed over for a Visual Effects Oscar nomination?

Voters felt using computers was cheating, director Steven Lisberger has said; Ken Perlin, who worked on Tron, later won a technical Oscar for a texture method he devised after it.

What title did the original teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode VI (1983) carry?

Revenge of the Jedi was on the teaser and thousands of posters before Lucas restored 'Return', saying a Jedi should never seek revenge; the leftover posters were sold to fan-club members.

An American Werewolf in London won the very first Oscar in which category?

Best Makeup did not exist until complaints that The Elephant Man's makeup had gone unrewarded pushed the Academy to create it; Rick Baker won the first for his werewolf transformation.

How did writer Cameron Crowe research the book behind Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

Enrolling undercover as a student at San Diego's Clairemont High, with the administration's blessing, Crowe spent a school year there under an assumed name and turned his notes into the book.

In WarGames, the backdoor password "Joshua" is the name of whose dead son?

Joshua was the dead son of WOPR's creator Stephen Falken, played by John Wood; David uses the name as a backdoor, and the NORAD computer learns from tic-tac-toe that some games cannot be won.

Which film shut down for months so Robert De Niro could gain weight?

Raging Bull halted production for about four months while De Niro ate his way around Europe, returning heavy enough to play the bloated, washed-up Jake LaMotta of the later scenes.

Which Spielberg drama lost all 11 Oscar nominations?

The Color Purple lost in every category, and Spielberg was not even nominated for directing it, although the Directors Guild of America gave him its top award for the same film.

In Turner & Hooch, Tom Hanks's slobbering canine partner is what breed?

Hooch is a Dogue de Bordeaux, or French Mastiff, played by a dog named Beasley; he is the only witness to the murder of his owner that Detective Turner is trying to solve.

Where was the Sweethaven village set for Robert Altman's Popeye (1980) built?

Malta's Anchor Bay gained a whole wooden village for the 1980 film, and instead of being torn down afterwards the set became the Popeye Village fun park.

Which star played coach Norman Dale, who takes tiny Hickory High to an Indiana state title in Hoosiers?

Gene Hackman's coach is fictional, but the story follows tiny Milan High School's 1954 title, and the film's final was shot in Hinkle Fieldhouse, the very arena where the real game was played.

Chucky’s human name in Child’s Play, Charles Lee Ray, combines the names of what?

Charles Lee Ray combines Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray, three notorious American killers; Brad Dourif voiced the doll and played Ray in the opening scene.

Which John Carpenter film stops for a five-and-a-half-minute alley brawl over a pair of sunglasses?

They Live's script said only 'They fight'; Roddy Piper and Keith David worked the brawl out with the stunt coordinator over a month, and South Park later parodied it.

In John Hughes’s story behind National Lampoon’s Vacation, where were the Griswolds going?

In Hughes's 1979 National Lampoon story 'Vacation '58' the family drives to Disneyland; the film renamed it Walley World, 'America's Favorite Family Fun Park', and had it closed when the Griswolds arrived.

Which actress won an Oscar for playing a man in The Year of Living Dangerously?

Linda Hunt played Billy Kwan, a Chinese-Australian photographer, only because David Atkins, cast first, failed to click with Mel Gibson in rehearsals and Peter Weir recast the part.

Who first played Hannibal Lecter on screen, spelled "Lecktor", in 1986's Manhunter?

Brian Cox modelled his Lecktor on the Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel, who he said had no sense of right and wrong; Anthony Hopkins took over the role five years later.

In Poltergeist (1982), the haunted Freeling family home turns out to have been built on top of what?

A cemetery once stood there, and the developer moved only the gravestones, leaving the bodies beneath the new houses. They erupt from the ground in the finale.

In WarGames (1983), which simple game teaches the military computer that nuclear war cannot be won?

Tic-tac-toe played against itself gives the computer an endless string of draws. It then races through every nuclear scenario, finds no winner there either, and stands down.

In Splash (1984), Daryl Hannah's mermaid takes her human name from a sign for which Manhattan avenue?

Madison then took off as a name for girls, a rise generally credited to the film, in which Tom Hanks's character objects that Madison is not a name.

Which British stage actor, then in his forties, made a film debut as Die Hard villain Hans Gruber?

Alan Rickman nearly turned the part down, thinking Die Hard was not the kind of film he wanted to make. A scene in which Gruber poses as a hostage was written after he was overheard doing an American accent.

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Enterprise crew go back to 1986 to fetch which extinct animals?

Humpback whales were director Leonard Nimoy's idea: their song added mystery and their size gave the heroes a logistics problem. Few of the whales on screen were real.

In A Christmas Story (1983), which "major award" does Ralphie's father win in a newspaper contest?

A leg lamp, shaped like a woman's leg in a fishnet stocking, thrills the Old Man and appals his wife, who ends their feud by "accidentally" breaking it.

In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), the time machine that Rufus brings is shaped like what?

A phone booth replaced the van of the original script, which was called Bill & Ted's Time Van. The booth carries the pair to Napoleon's 1805 battlefield and to a future that reveres them.

The Blues Brothers (1980), with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, grew out of a sketch on which TV show?

Saturday Night Live launched Jake and Elwood Blues as a musical act, and horn players from the show's house band joined them on screen.

Which nickname did a 1985 New York magazine cover story give the young stars of St. Elmo's Fire?

The Brat Pack label, a play on the Rat Pack, came from writer David Blum after a night at the Hard Rock Cafe with Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson.

Which actress became a teen idol starring in John Hughes's Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink?

Molly Ringwald was a high-school student when she was cast in Pretty in Pink, and she hesitated before agreeing to play Andie Walsh.

In Pretty in Pink, which lovelorn best friend did Andie end up with until test audiences booed?

Duckie won Andie in the original ending, and actor Jon Cryer was shocked when preview crowds rejected the pairing. The reshot prom scene gives him a new admirer instead.

Which teenage actress offered to work for free to play Veronica Sawyer in Heathers (1989)?

Winona Ryder begged screenwriter Daniel Waters for the part. Her Veronica is the only girl in the school's ruling clique who is not named Heather.

In The Outsiders (1983), Ponyboy Curtis belongs to which gang of poor teens, rivals of the rich Socs?

The Greasers reached the screen because a California school librarian and her pupils wrote to the director, asking him to adapt S. E. Hinton's novel.

In Dead Poets Society (1989), which Latin motto does teacher John Keating urge his pupils to live by?

Carpe diem, or "seize the day", is among Keating's first lessons at Welton Academy. It inspires the boys to revive the secret poetry club he belonged to as a student.

In The Karate Kid (1984), which dojo trains Johnny Lawrence and the bullies who torment Daniel?

Cobra Kai is run by sensei John Kreese, an ex-Special Forces veteran who orders one of his students to injure Daniel's knee during the tournament.

Which actor played Jeff Spicoli, the perpetually stoned surfer of Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)?

Sean Penn's Spicoli spends the film at war with his history teacher, who finally makes him sit through a long lecture to repay the class time he wasted.

Which 1985 John Hughes comedy has two teenage outcasts conjure a woman named Lisa from a computer?

Weird Science shares its name with the 1950s comic magazine whose story "Made of the Future" inspired it. Kelly LeBrock's Lisa conjures a Porsche and throws the boys a house party.

Which actor played Ren McCormack, the Chicago teen who fights a town's dancing ban in Footloose?

Kevin Bacon was offered the lead in Stephen King's Christine at the same time as his Footloose screen test. For the warehouse dance he had four doubles.

In Dirty Dancing (1987), what nickname does teenager Frances Houseman go by at Kellerman's resort?

Baby was also the childhood nickname of screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, a doctor's daughter who based the story on her own family summers in the Catskills.

In The Terminator (1984), which computer network sends a cyborg back in time to kill Sarah Connor?

Skynet was built by Cyberdyne Systems, gained intelligence and launched a nuclear war on humanity. It sends its assassin to stop resistance leader John Connor from being born.

In Top Gun (1986), which call sign belongs to Maverick's chief rival, played by Val Kilmer?

Iceman is Lieutenant Tom Kazansky, who calls Maverick's flying foolish and dangerous. Kilmer returned to the part in the sequel released 36 years later.

Which former James Bond played Indiana Jones's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)?

Sean Connery first turned the part down, being only twelve years older than his screen son. Steven Spielberg, a fan of his Bond films, felt nobody else could play it as well.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) begins with Imperial forces attacking a Rebel base on which planet?

Hoth, an ice world, was filmed around Finse in Norway, chosen after location scouts had weighed up Finland, Sweden and the Arctic Circle.

In Beverly Hills Cop (1984), detective Axel Foley arrives in California from which Midwestern city?

Detroit is where Foley's unauthorised sting ends in a destructive chase through the streets. The opening was shot there and in nearby Wayne, Michigan.

Which actor played Roger Murtaugh, the veteran sergeant partnered with Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon?

Danny Glover and Mel Gibson became major stars through the film, in which their mismatched detectives investigate a young woman's death during the Christmas season.

In Superman II, which villain escapes the Phantom Zone and forces the US president to surrender?

General Zod was banished with Ursa and Non before Krypton was destroyed. Freed near Earth, he hunts Krypton's last son as payback for his imprisonment.

John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) traps a research team with a shape-shifter in which frozen setting?

Antarctica is where a Norwegian helicopter chases a sled dog into the American camp in the opening scene. The dog is the creature, and it soon absorbs several of the station's other dogs.

Which actor played both the title ghost in Beetlejuice (1988) and the hero of Tim Burton's Batman?

Michael Keaton was known for comedy, so his casting as the Caped Crusader caused a furore: fans sent some 50,000 protest letters to Warner Bros.

Blade Runner (1982) adapts a novel by which sci-fi author, who died shortly before its release?

Philip K. Dick published Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in 1968. He never saw the finished film, but a 20-minute effects reel screened for him at the studio left him pleased.

Which actor, previously known for serious roles, says "don't call me Shirley" in Airplane! (1980)?

Leslie Nielsen had spent his career in serious leading roles and wanted to move into comedy. On set he kept the cast off balance with a hidden device that made farting noises.

In Big (1988), Tom Hanks dances out a duet on a giant floor piano inside which New York toy store?

FAO Schwarz's Walking Piano is where Josh and his boss play "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks". Both actors practised at home on cardboard keyboards, with doubles hired just in case.

Friday the 13th (1980) unfolds at a summer camp named after which place, where a boy once drowned?

Crystal Lake's story was still being drafted when the director advertised the film in Variety, hoping to ride the success of Halloween.

Which director named Freddy Krueger, the villain of A Nightmare on Elm Street, after a childhood bully?

Wes Craven said a boy called Fred Krueger had bullied him at school. The story itself grew from newspaper reports of refugees who suffered nightmares and refused to sleep.

Which actor played Seth Brundle, the scientist who slowly becomes part insect in The Fly (1986)?

Jeff Goldblum's gruesome role had an unlikely backer: the film was produced by Brooksfilms, the company of comedy director Mel Brooks.

Which actor, born Krishna Bhanji, won the Best Actor Oscar for the title role in Gandhi (1982)?

Ben Kingsley is partly of Indian heritage through his Gujarati father. His performance anchored a film that won eight Academy Awards, Best Picture among them.

Which 1985 Best Picture winner stars Meryl Streep as Danish author Karen Blixen on a coffee farm?

Out of Africa won seven Academy Awards. In the story the farm is her husband's idea, bought on land too high in the hills for the crop to thrive.

Paul Newman won an Oscar for reprising pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson in which Martin Scorsese film?

The Color of Money came to Scorsese from Newman himself, who rang him in 1984 to ask if he would direct a sequel to The Hustler. Tom Cruise co-stars as the gifted young player Eddie takes on the road.

In Witness (1985), wounded Philadelphia detective John Book hides out among which religious community?

The Amish outside Lancaster shelter him and warm to him once they see his carpentry. With no telephones to trace, the corrupt officers hunting him keep hitting dead ends.

Which film, with a Duran Duran theme and a Golden Gate Bridge finale, was Roger Moore's last as James Bond?

A View to a Kill was Moore's seventh outing as 007, and one he said he disliked. Its theme, though, became the first Bond song to top the Billboard Hot 100.

Which 1980 Michael Cimino western flopped so badly that United Artists was sold to rival studio MGM?

Heaven's Gate was pulled from cinemas by its own studio soon after the premiere in November 1980. A workprint shown to executives had reportedly run 325 minutes.

The Lost Boys (1987) sends two brothers to which fictional California seaside town overrun by vampires?

Santa Carla was played by Santa Cruz, whose seafront Boardwalk appears on screen, in a shoot of just 21 days. Grandpa's closing line grumbles about "all the damn vampires".

The Goonies (1985) is set in the "Goon Docks" neighbourhood of which real Oregon coastal town?

Astoria's Goon Docks families face foreclosure by an expanding country club, which is why the children go treasure hunting. The coastal scenes were shot some distance from the town.

Which 1984 crime thriller about a Texas bartender marked the directing debut of Joel and Ethan Coen?

Blood Simple was financed by showing investors a dummy trailer shot before the film existed. It also gave Frances McDormand her first feature role.

Which actor won an Oscar as Marine drill instructor Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)?

Louis Gossett Jr. became the first African-American actor to win Best Supporting Actor. His Foley hazes Richard Gere's recruit relentlessly, trying to make him resign.

In John Carpenter's Christine (1983), bullied teen Arnie buys a murderous red car of which model?

Plymouth Fury cars from 1958 were scarce, so Belvedere and Savoy models doubled for them on screen. The real 1958 Fury was never sold in red: that colour comes from Stephen King's novel.

Which 1989 drama, written in eight days, made Steven Soderbergh a Palme d'Or winner at the age of 26?

Sex, Lies, and Videotape was drafted on a yellow legal pad during a cross-country trip. At Cannes it also won James Spader the Best Actor award.

In The Right Stuff (1983), which test pilot first breaks the sound barrier but is passed over as an astronaut?

Chuck Yeager is excluded from the astronaut search in the film because he lacks a college degree, and goes on trading speed records with his rival Scott Crossfield.

Which director made a feature debut with The Evil Dead (1981), shot in a remote Tennessee cabin?

Sam Raimi went on to direct the Spider-Man trilogy. His low-budget horror won a wide release after a rave review from Stephen King.

Which 1983 Best Picture winner follows widow Aurora Greenway and her daughter Emma across thirty years?

Terms of Endearment gave Jack Nicholson an Oscar as Garrett Breedlove, the coarse retired astronaut next door. The part was written for Burt Reynolds, who turned it down.

In Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Neal Page is racing home to Chicago in time for which holiday?

Thanksgiving is two days off when a snowstorm throws the uptight ad man together with a chatty salesman. Improvised scenes swelled the first cut to nearly four hours.