Swayze gets agreement; Point Break is called probably his last best film. — Bill Simmons
Ghost is proposed as Moore’s peak because it opens a decade including A Few Good Men, the Vanity Fair cover, a reported $20 million for Striptease, Disclosure and G.I. Jane. The cover itself is offered and accepted as an alternate apex. — Bill Simmons
Whoopi’s Ghost peak is rejected in favor of Sister Act, with 1992 also including The Player. — Bill Simmons
Goldwyn’s peak is placed at Scandal rather than Ghost; Zucker is selected, partly through speculative financial participation. — Bill Simmons
Unchained Melody and the shadow-dragging depiction of hell get yes answers. — Bill Simmons
A tentative unanswerable question interrupts: what happens to an ordinary person such as Lyle Ferguson, can one negotiate with the light, and is there minor-league heaven? A hospital patient’s immediate departure is contrasted with Sam remaining. Responses suggest only people involved in murder face the demons, while forgery might still allow heaven and good deeds might resolve purgatory. No separate formal category is announced.
Willis reportedly declined playing a dead lead opposite Moore, later regretted it and accepted the film transcribed six cents partly for that reason. — Bill Simmons
Fifteen further names are read as alleged Sam rejections with an explicit half-ass-research caveat; Paul Hogan/Almost an Angel is asserted confidently. Travolta is rejected as a disastrous fit. — Bill Simmons
Swayze reportedly won the audition; a garbled Jackie/Jackee Harry identity was reportedly replaced when Whoopi’s schedule opened. The role is misnamed Rita May in the transcript. — Bill Simmons
Kidman reportedly auditioned but lacked fame; the hosts cannot imagine replacing Moore. Ken Olin allegedly could not leave thirtysomething, opening Carl to Goldwyn. — Bill Simmons
Moore reportedly arrived with an unannounced haircut that surprised the director but renewed her screen identity; Swayze’s exaggerated faces and passing-through reactions are enjoyable. — Bill Simmons
The high-ceiling loft and newly discovered space are praised, with a reverse-Conjuring comparison; Moore’s crying is another strength. — Bill Simmons
Goldwyn is so convincingly sweaty and evil that the hosts think it limited his subsequent roles until Scandal; The Pelican Brief is called great and a good-guy lead career imagined. — Bill Simmons
The non-spooky ghost with unfinished business is praised as an enduring pop-cultural premise, distinguished from The Conjuring and Harry Potter. — Amanda Dobbins
Soho’s streets and emptiness are praised; After Hours is explicitly liked as another use of the area.
Asked if a tie is a cop-out, the reply is that they have tied before; Demi Moore and Rob Lowe are named co-winners, with About Last Night as a payoff. — Bill Simmons
Lowe had the best role of his career at 20, the right age for the part. — Bill Simmons
Demi Moore: no way; her own apex was not A Few Good Men, G.I. Jane is floated, and signing the record Striptease contract is probably it. — Bill Simmons
Universal back-lot bar street; the Tombs as the model bar; cast partying; Georgetown filming refusal; shower-door accident; Lowe learning sax; McCarthy feeling apart
Per the hosts' research, the bar's street was on the Universal back lot, near the Back to the Future clock tower. — Bill Simmons
Per the hosts, the bar was based on the Tombs (transcribed 'Tumes'), a Georgetown hangout one host visited in the early 90s, which looked similar. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say the five partied a lot, and that Estevez and Moore got engaged and made Wisdom, which he directed and which bombed. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Georgetown would not permit filming, so the production used the University of Maryland; per Gora's book, a priest answered Schumacher's Exorcist jab by saying God wins in The Exorcist. — Bill Simmons
Per the hosts' research, Lowe had Lakers courtside tickets and a new Porsche. — Bill Simmons
Per the hosts' research, the shower door breaking in the Sheedy-McCarthy scene was an accident; per McCarthy in the book, Schumacher's crude outburst made Sheedy cry, which would be a bigger deal in 2020. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Lowe learned the sax, though some moments show he is not playing. — Bill Simmons
McCarthy is quoted from the book saying he always felt apart from the group; he is judged a bad hang, and Judd Nelson is preferred. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Schumacher had to push for the three Breakfast Club actors, and that Emilio wanted to play Billy (called a potential disaster) before settling for Kirby. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say C. Thomas Howell (transcribed 'See Thomas Howe') auditioned for Kirby but was too young, and that Rob Lowe was only 20 when cast as Billy. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Robert Downey Jr. was considered for Billy before Lowe won it after three auditions; one host loves Lowe as Billy and still sees Downey as Kevin as the sweet spot. — Bill Simmons
Emilio's Kirby is like his Breakfast Club character five years later, yet he had one of the better careers with Young Guns, his own films and Stakeout. — Chris Ryan
Charlie Sheen is called a bit too young and reportedly skipped his audition; one host says he could have played Alec, as he basically does in Wall Street. — Chris Ryan
The hosts say Demi Moore was cast after Schumacher saw her storm out of a John Hughes audition on the Columbia lot; she was on General Hospital, which one host watched. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say that when Moore went to rehab, moving Jenny Wright into the role of Jules was discussed. — Bill Simmons
Madonna stories are uncertain; Madonna as Jules is a good runner-up, but Moore was perfect, and Madonna may not have managed the Jeep scene, possibly Moore's best acting. — Chris Ryan
Mid-80s ensembles seem to have had about 40 actors going up for the same eight parts. — Chris Ryan
Stepping in early, one host says Robert Downey Jr. (transcribed 'Danny Jr.') as Kevin would make it a better movie; the other says he likes Andrew McCarthy. The name is spoken as 'Robert Downey as Kevin is the sweet spot' at 148. — Bill Simmons
For the Wendy part, an era-specific, better-looking brunette is sought: Daphne Zuniga (transcribed 'Daphne Zaniga'), contrasting with Demi Moore; the reply is "I like that." — Bill Simmons
Justine Bateman is raised and rejected as too famous given her 1985 show. — Chris Ryan
Opening credits; theme music; David Foster soundtrack; the Andrew McCarthy impersonation it inspired; the title; Jules; the apartments; the record-splitting breakup; Billy's tie-wearing
The opening credits and music are repeated; the hosts say the soundtrack was David Foster's first, and that he later made a fortune and appeared on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Foster co-wrote the St. Elmo's Fire song with John Parr, and agree it was the number-one song in America. — Bill Simmons
The movie, the bar and the song are all called St. Elmo's Fire, and nobody in the film acknowledges it. — Bill Simmons
A comic's Andrew McCarthy impersonation (transcribed 'Jay Moore') was lifted from this movie and still gets a laugh. — Bill Simmons
The title is great; the hosts say Columbia hated it and sent a 35-page memo, with Sparks and The Real World as alternatives. — Bill Simmons
Billy's St. Elmo's Fire speech to Jules works the title in and is read aloud, but it is mocked as beyond Billy's seven brain cells and, per the hosts, Rob Lowe has called it embarrassing. — Bill Simmons
Jules is one of the best 80s characters; everybody either was a Jules or knew one, and one host was always all in on Jules in his 20s. — Bill Simmons
Jules's career-plan speech turns out to be a real career plan; in a sequel she might co-host The View or run a family reality empire like Jenner. — Bill Simmons
All the apartments have aged the best, including Alec and Leslie's loft with its marathon image. — Chris Ryan
Dividing records in the breakup was accurate for a time when people owned about 20 records, like a fantasy draft. — Chris Ryan
Billy Hicks's loose tie-wearing is a controversial pick said to be ready for a comeback; the other host agrees. — Bill Simmons
Billy's wet-look hair is called both aged best and aged worst. — Bill Simmons
Julia Roberts is rumored to have passed; one of the writers is quoted saying lots of big actresses passed, which a host believes he told BuzzFeed UK in 2015. A host thinks it is described as one of her most regrettable decisions, but the hosts doubt she was ever seriously considered. — Juliet Litman
The hosts say the Vanity Fair article reports Demi Moore was wanted, which would have been her first rom-com; she would have made it more serious and anxious. — Juliet Litman
The Washington Post oral history is cited for Davis passing, funny because she and Pullman were married in A League of Their Own; when the director signed on, Harrison Ford and Davis were attached and both backed out. — Amanda Dobbins
Harrison Ford would have been great, if more of a jerk and less believable as the spare brother. — Juliet Litman
The hosts cite the Washington Post as saying Dennis Quaid was rumored for Jack; a host speculates he and Meg Ryan shared representation. — Juliet Litman
Patrick Swayze, also mentioned for Jack, is a no: too much charisma for a reticent role, leading into a tangent about Dirty Dancing and Ghost. — Amanda Dobbins
Matthew McConaughey was reportedly a top choice for Jack until his Texas accent got in the way; a host calls it a hard yes and invents a Texas-family fix, noting the grandmother's British accent goes unexplained. — Amanda Dobbins
The hosts report Pierce Brosnan was rumored for Peter; his accent hardly matters since Peter is asleep, and Peter Gallagher plays a yuppie better than almost anyone. — Juliet Litman
James Spater (as transcribed) was mentioned somewhere on the list, probably for Jack, but a host thinks he should have been Peter. — Amanda Dobbins
The Jack role could have worked with several actors, which is a testament to the writing; Jack is probably the best-written character even if Bullock sells hers best. — Juliet Litman
The hosts say Verhoeven went for Demi Moore, Amanda Donohoe was considered, and Douglas was talked into Sharon Stone, who made $500,000. — Bill Simmons
The Nick Curran role was said to be originally a lesbian cop written with Kathleen Turner in mind. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Verhoeven was slated to direct Black Rain but left for Total Recall, and that he wanted Tom Berenger for RoboCop and for Nick and was turned down. — Bill Simmons
Per the hosts, Milos Forman was the first choice to direct and many leading men were allegedly considered, including Swayze, Costner, De Niro, Willis, Gibson and Harrison Ford, but the role is iconic Douglas. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say the character was originally named Danny Weber and renamed LaRusso once Macchio was cast; Macchio auditioned for Johnny because he did not want to play another good guy. — Bill Simmons
Zabka is cited saying Robert Downey Jr. and Charlie Sheen were considered for Daniel; Downey might have made a better movie, but the counterpoint is that Macchio's odd combination is what makes it stand out, and a likable Downey would have muddied whether Johnny was the villain. — Bill Simmons
Sheen is not seen as Daniel and would have fit Johnny better. — Bill Simmons
The studio originally wanted a famous Japanese actor from Seven Samurai for Miyagi (name garbled in the transcript), but he did not speak English; Bill Cosby is also said to have been mentioned, which would have aged worst. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Crispin Glover was considered for Johnny before Zabka, and Helen Hunt and Demi Moore for Ali before Shue, who reportedly got it partly from a Burger King commercial and took leave from Harvard. — Bill Simmons
