50 Fun Facts About School of Rock

Who directed the 2003 film School of Rock?

Richard Linklater steered clear of polished Hollywood child actors who would have mimed: he searched the country for kids who could really play, so nobody in the band is dubbed.

In School of Rock, Dewey tells his class that the world is run by whom?

The Man, Dewey rants, is everywhere, from the White House to the principal down the hall; rock 'n' roll used to be the way to stick it to him, he says, until The Man ruined that too with MTV.

In School of Rock, which show tune does Summer belt out off-key at her band audition?

Memory, the ballad from Cats, gets a few off-key words before Dewey cuts her off; two classmates have just shone with 'Tomorrow' and 'Amazing Grace', and Summer quickly adds that she can also play clarinet.

What ends Dewey's final performance with his old band?

A failed stage dive ends the set when nobody catches Dewey. Jack Black took the gag from life: he once watched The Cult's Ian Astbury leap into a crowd that simply parted.

Whose identity does Dewey steal to land the teaching job?

His roommate Ned is the real teacher: Dewey picks up a phone call meant for him, hears what the school pays, and answers to his name. The film's screenwriter plays the part himself.

What is the name of the prep school where Dewey teaches?

Horace Green calls itself the best elementary school in the state and runs on rules, so Dewey has to smuggle his band out to audition and pass the final show off as a field trip.

Why does Dewey tell the class to call him "Mr. S"?

He cannot spell Schneebly, the name he is working under, so when the principal asks him to write it on the board he tells the class that 'Mr. S' will do.

The singer of Dewey's old band is played by Adam Pascal, an original star of which Broadway rock musical?

Rent made Pascal's name as the guitarist Roger. He really sings the band's power ballad in the film, yet the credits name only the fictional group, which he says still irks him.

Which student becomes lead guitarist of Dewey's class band in School of Rock?

Zack Mooneyham has a father who won't let him touch an electric guitar, yet it is the song he writes in secret that the whole band plays at the Battle of the Bands.

Katie plays which classical instrument before Dewey moves her to bass?

Cello and bass guitar are 'exactly the same', Dewey assures Katie: tip the big instrument on its side, keep one note coming, and let your fingers do the rocking.

What job does the precocious Summer Hathaway land in Dewey's project?

Band manager is a title Dewey invents on the spot: Summer, first cast as a groupie, looks the word up, storms back to complain, and is promptly put in charge of everything.

In School of Rock, which student is too self-conscious to audition despite having an amazing voice?

Tomika fears the class will laugh at her weight until Dewey points to Aretha Franklin, a big lady, he says, who blows people's minds the moment she starts to sing.

What lie gets Dewey's band an audition after the Battle of the Bands bill is full?

The kids are terminally ill, Dewey tells the organisers at Summer's prompting: a rare blood disease, and one last wish to play. She earns an A-plus and 50 gold stars for the idea.

In School of Rock, Dewey bonds with Principal Mullins over her love of which singer?

Stevie Nicks is the way in: tipped off that the principal once did a Nicks impression on a table, Dewey takes her to a bar, puts on 'Edge of Seventeen' and watches her unwind.

Who plays Principal Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock?

Joan Cusack plays her as a bundle of nerves who confesses to Dewey over a drink that she used to be funny, before the pressure of the school's parents wound her this tight.

In School of Rock, what arrives at the apartment Dewey shares and exposes his scheme?

A paycheck from the school arrives made out to the name Dewey has been using, and the secret is out; Dewey groans that he told them 15 times to make it out to cash.

Which band beats School of Rock to win the Battle of the Bands?

No Vacancy takes the prize to boos from the hall, and the crowd chants for the losers until the kids come back out to play an encore.

School of Rock was inspired by a 1970s Canadian teacher's cult recordings of his pupils performing what?

Pop hits of the day, from the Beach Boys to David Bowie, taped in a school gym by teacher Hans Fenger, resurfaced on CD in 2001 as The Langley Schools Music Project and caught the screenwriter's ear.

Which earlier cult comedy was made by School of Rock's director?

Dazed and Confused was meant to close on a Led Zeppelin song, but the band said no; ten years later the same director finally landed one of their tracks for School of Rock.

How was Led Zeppelin persuaded to allow 'Immigrant Song' in School of Rock?

The star begged them on video: at the director's suggestion Jack Black pleaded from the Battle of the Bands stage with the extras chanting along, and the tape went straight to Page, Plant and Jones.

School of Rock's star already fronted which real-life comedy rock duo?

Tenacious D, Jack Black's duo with Kyle Gass, had its own HBO shorts until, by the pair's account, the network offered ten more episodes only if they gave up creative control, and they walked away.

Which AC/DC song do the School of Rock kids cover for their encore?

It's a Long Way to the Top plays the film out, the band jamming while Dewey sings that the movie is over and the credits have to roll; the grown-up cast played it again at a 2013 reunion.

Which song by The Who is fittingly on the School of Rock soundtrack?

Substitute, The Who's 1966 single, is the album's third track: its title suits a hero who bluffs his way into a classroom under someone else's name.

In School of Rock, which Doors song does Dewey sing to Lawrence while the boy plays the keyboard part?

Touch Me is Lawrence's audition: the boy says he only plays piano, Dewey counts him in and sings over his organ line, then stops him to say he is perfect.

According to Dewey Finn, what 'can change the world'?

One great rock show can change the world, Dewey lectures his drummer after hauling him out of a van of older musicians; later the kids throw the line back at him to get him out of bed.

Trying to sell his 1968 Gibson SG by phone, Dewey insists which rock legend once played it?

Jimi Hendrix, Dewey insists, played this very guitar; the buyer hangs up on him, and the next call to the apartment is a principal in urgent need of a teacher.

School of Rock's writer created Dewey for Jack Black after giving him a slacker role in which 2002 comedy?

Orange County cast Black as the hero's stoner brother; its writer then built Dewey Finn around him, so the star never had to audition for the film he calls the one he was born to do.

What award did Jack Black win at the MTV Movie Awards for School of Rock?

Best Comedic Performance honoured Black's Dewey, a teacher whose first lesson is to tell a class of ten-year-olds he has a hangover, abolish gold stars and demerits, and declare recess all the time.

The School of Rock sequel announced in 2008 would have sent Dewey and a new class where?

On a cross-country field trip through rock history was the plan for 'School of Rock 2: America Rocks'; Jack Black said in 2012 it stalled because star, writer and director never agreed on a script.

Which composer bought the stage rights to School of Rock and wrote the musical's score?

Andrew Lloyd Webber bought the rights in 2013 unsure he was needed, saying the story 'obviously got songs in it as it stands'; in the end he wrote a new score around the film's own numbers.

Which British writer, better known for period drama, wrote the book of the School of Rock musical?

Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, kept close to the film's plot but gave the pupils' home lives their own scenes, because the composer wanted to know more about the children and their parents.

Which nickname does Dewey give Marta when he makes her a backup singer?

Blondie is Marta's tag from the first day of band practice; asked for her influences she names Christina Aguilera, and by parents' night Dewey is boasting that she can hit an A above high C.

Which future star of Broadway's Beetlejuice originated Dewey Finn in the School of Rock musical?

Alex Brightman joined the show's workshops playing pupils, parts meant for children that adults filled in, and ended up with the lead and a Tony nomination for it.

Why did the School of Rock musical premiere on Broadway rather than in London?

Looser US child labour laws tipped it: British rules limit young performers' hours so tightly that each child's role needs three or four actors, which made Broadway the easier place to cast.

The West End School of Rock won a 2017 Olivier Award for music; who received it?

The children's bands took Outstanding Achievement in Music: three rotating line-ups of young musicians were honoured because they play their instruments live at every performance.

School of Rock lost the 2016 Tony for Best Musical to which show?

Hamilton took the prize, but School of Rock still had its moment on the Tony broadcast: the cast, pupils and all, rocked out on stage with the number 'You're in the Band'.

On which channel did the School of Rock TV series air from 2016 to 2018?

Nickelodeon and Paramount, the film's studio, were corporate siblings under Viacom: the spin-off was the first series ordered from the studio's newly launched television arm, in what the trade press called a synergy play.

The School of Rock TV series is set in which Texas city?

Austin, which bills itself as the Live Music Capital of the World, is also where the film's director is based and where its grown-up cast reunited in 2013 to play together again.

TV's Dewey Finn, Tony Cavalero, later played which rocker in The Dirt?

Ozzy Osbourne headlined one of Mötley Crüe's early tours, and the band's Netflix biopic has Cavalero restage a notorious piece of rock lore from it: Ozzy snorting a line of ants beside a hotel pool.

Which future iCarly star made her film debut as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock?

Miranda Cosgrove had been taking singing lessons for years, so the film's music coach had to give her lessons in singing badly before Summer's audition sounded tuneless enough.

Which critic said School of Rock proved family films can rock?

Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 stars out of four and took aim at its PG-13 rating: no kid alive, he wrote, would be anything but delighted by the film, which he added to what he called the MPAA's List of Shame.

School of Rock was filmed mostly in and around which city in the winter of 2002–03?

New York also supplied the young cast's rock tutor: Jim O'Rourke, then a member of the city's own Sonic Youth, taught the kids the songs and sat in on the music scenes to catch mistakes.

Which comedian plays Patty, the domineering girlfriend who wants Dewey out, in School of Rock?

Sarah Silverman's Patty is the one who brings the police to parents' night; the actress still defends her, arguing anyone would be angry with a freeloader camped in the living room.

Jack Black's Golden Globe nomination for School of Rock lost out to which actor?

Bill Murray won for Lost in Translation and sent up awards speeches in his own: he had fired his agents, he deadpanned, so he had no one else to thank.

What is the name of the guitarist who replaces Dewey in his old band?

Spider is already in place when Dewey turns up for rehearsal: the band has voted him out over his 20-minute solos, calling him an embarrassment to a group chasing a record deal.

When Principal Mullins sits in on his class, Dewey improvises a song about which subject?

Math gets the song: caught with a class that has done no lessons, Dewey claims he teaches the boring subjects in sing-song and bluffs through sums on his guitar. The stage musical kept the number.

Which producer, later known for No Country for Old Men and The Social Network, produced School of Rock?

Scott Rudin went on to accept the Best Picture Oscar for No Country for Old Men, but in 2021 he stepped back from his film and stage projects after employees accused him of abusive behaviour.

What did Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli, School of Rock's Marta and Frankie, do in January 2025?

Married each other: the two reconnected years after the film, and their wedding doubled as a class reunion, with the band's guitarist, bassist and keyboard player among the guests.

Which job does Dewey give Billy, the pupil who tells him 'You're tacky and I hate you'?

Band stylist is Billy's own request after Dewey puts him on security. The part was invented in casting: Brian Falduto came in to read for a techie and left as the class fashion critic.

The screenwriter of School of Rock later created which Emmy-winning HBO series?

The White Lotus is Mike White's show as writer and director; in between he finished runner-up on Survivor, and fellow castaways from that season have turned up in the series in cameo roles.