Mass media is imagined stopping at early cable, radio and scarce personal video cameras; the speaker accepts a record-store career in that world and recalls the music of 1984–85. — Chris Ryan
Everybody probably thinks their childhood moment of games or cable TV was perfect. — Chris Ryan
Keith Gordon is proposed as having extreme performance variation: praised here and in Dressed to Kill, criticized in Back to School, with a mixed reconsideration of Christine and a positive Jaws 2 mention. — Bill Simmons
Gordon is praised as a director, particularly A Midnight Clear; The Chocolate War credit is uncertain, and his acting persona is compared to a darker off-brand Matthew Broderick. — Chris Ryan
Peter is criticized for apathy, uncollected fees, accepting a bribe, sexual harassment, drinking and letting others push his car; the gym seems unsafe and worthy of foreclosure.
The defense is that he gives misfits a welcoming place, but the criticism remains that he says the right things without being a good person to spend time with.
Long is proposed as a possible generational Broderick: Accepted gives him Ferris Bueller-like charisma, Jeepers Creepers shows range, and his physical comedy improves every movie. — Craig Horlbeck
Stiller is proposed as Hollywood’s best nepotism beneficiary on his own merits; Ellison’s wealth, Bronny James, Shanahan, Curtis and Please Don’t Destroy prompt distinctions between opportunity and demonstrated ability. — Craig Horlbeck
Whether Stentorian released an album is asked and answered no, with parties considered plausible. — Bill Simmons
Patrick’s condom difficulty prompts a question about absent parental guidance and whether fathers discuss application.
Broderick’s long run of strange, sniveling side characters is questioned and tentatively explained by stage work and freedom to choose small parts. — Sean Fennessey
The Celtics–Mavs game is identified as November 18, 2015, with a 106–102 score and several player totals reported. — Bill Simmons
Anna Beresnikov and Gretchen Moff are candidates; Michelle Williams is judged too central despite limited screen time, and Matthew Broderick’s youth-pastor character is praised.
Lonergan’s brief on-screen parenting comment is proposed and accepted as the choice. — Bill Simmons
Brought forward from internet research: NBC ordered a Parenthood series from a rough cut, per Bill Carter in The New York Times, and the 1990 show was canceled after twelve episodes. — Bill Simmons
The 1990 series cast David Arquette and a young DiCaprio in the Garry role, part of a late-1980s wave of failed movie-based shows such as Ferris Bueller, Working Girl, Uncle Buck and Dirty Dancing. — Bill Simmons
The later Parenthood series is considered good by those who watched early seasons; Friday Night Lights is an outlier because it reworked the premise. — Bill Simmons
The Ferris Bueller TV show’s joke about a poster of Matthew Broderick playing him is recalled as hacky. — Van Lathan
The adult tape Helen finds was reportedly Blonde Goddess, a 1982 film whose opening parodied Indiana Jones. — Bill Simmons
Dianne Wiest and Mary Steenburgen were reportedly best friends who worked as waitresses together at the Magic Pan before being cast as sisters-in-law; both won Oscars. — Bill Simmons
The film is set in St. Louis but was shot in Florida, with palm trees and a Publix visible. — Chris Ryan
Hughes's death in 2009 prompted an outpouring; he was involved in five of the 15 biggest 80s movies, and more people have a serious relationship with his movies than with any director since 1980.
A third view stresses Broderick and Hughes finding each other at the right time: Broderick is never this magnetic again, and the first 30 minutes are among the most charming ever. — Chris Ryan
Ferrari really flexed in the mid-80s. — Bill Simmons
Shermer High School is a yes, and Chez Quis absolutely. — Bill Simmons
Broderick is a tough call: he had the most options after this movie, but it is unclear he had an Apex Mountain; The Producers on Broadway, called the Hamilton of its time, is floated as maybe his peak. — Bill Simmons
Whether this is Apex Mountain for Chicago in movies is called very possible, since it uses the city best.
For the all-in-one-day movie, nominees include Dazed and Confused, Dog Day Afternoon, the Before movies, Do the Right Thing and Snake Eyes; Ferris is in the running, listeners are asked for the king, and Inside Man is a favorite.
The Chez Quis restaurant is the same one used in The Blues Brothers and St. Elmo's Fire. — Bill Simmons
A deleted scene had Ferris cash a savings bond to pay for the day; it was cut for making him seem a thief, though he has a knot of cash at Chez Quis. — Bill Simmons
A line about riding the space shuttle was removed after the Challenger exploded. — Bill Simmons
The 1990 NBC Ferris Bueller show starred Charlie Schlatter with Jennifer Aniston as Jeannie; Parker Lewis Can't Lose is preferred. — Bill Simmons
The end-credits bus scene was cut from the movie and restored by Hughes, explaining a school bus coming home at 6 o'clock. — Bill Simmons
Hughes first planned a Mercedes; Modena Design built the Ferrari replicas and, per the hosts, went bankrupt after Ferrari sued, prompting a joke about more blood on Cameron's hands. — Bill Simmons
Estevez turned down Cameron; he could have done it, since his Breakfast Club jock has dad problems, but the result with Ruck is preferred.
Estevez, fresh off Repo Man, would have played a punk-rock version rather than Ruck's Cameron. — Chris Ryan
Ruck had auditioned for Bender, which would not have worked. — Bill Simmons
Molly Ringwald wanted to play Sloan; per the hosts, Hughes wanted Mia Sara for her elegance and maturity, and telling Ringwald the part was too small is what you say when you do not want to cast someone. — Bill Simmons
Hughes had only Broderick in mind; the backup is said to be John Cusack, who got his iconic high schooler as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything. — Bill Simmons
Anthony Michael Hall told Vanity Fair his relationship with Hughes ended after Weird Science and believes roles including Ferris were written for him; one host doubts this, another believes it and calls Hughes vindictive. — Bill Simmons
Bill Paxton was offered the garage attendant, turned it down as too small, regretted it, and was never offered another Hughes role. — Bill Simmons
Paul Gleason was considered for Ed Rooney; as Dick Vernon he would presumably be on administrative leave after the Breakfast Club detention. — Bill Simmons
Gleason would have been distracting; Jeffrey Jones's sitcom, Laurel-and-Hardy energy was the right choice over Gleason's A1-asshole energy. — Sean Fennessey
Gary Oldman was the first choice to play Cyrus the Virus; the hosts pass, glad it worked out the way it did.
Robert Downey Jr., Charlie Sheen and Matthew Broderick were considered for Vince Larkin, John Cusack's character, Downey then trying to get his career rehab going and winding up in US Marshals soon after. One host insists it is a better movie with Downey, who would sell the shaking hand with the gun on Poe; others disagree that Downey, 30% too cool, could play a role that needs to be a little nerdy. A host who takes Downey liked Cusack through Say Anything, then turned on him, and could see in his eyes that he felt Con Air was beneath him.
Tim Roth was the first choice for the Marietta Mangler, a dip into the Reservoir Dogs ensemble; thank God that did not work out.
Broderick as Johnny Utah does not work: picture him in the beach football scene, or playing basketball in The Cable Guy; Ferris Bueller cannot be a former football superstar, so the whole script would have to change.
Asked Johnny Depp or Keanu Reeves for the lead, the answer is Keanu: the role needs the doofus surfer voice and airheadedness played completely seriously without blending the two, which only Keanu can do, whereas Depp would have done it well and accidentally turned into a surfer for real.
Another agrees with everything said: Depp would have taken it a little too seriously, while Keanu had the unintentional comedy part of it; Depp as a football quarterback might have been its own unintentional comedy.
Nobody can picture Depp running, much less chasing Swayze sixty yards down the longest football field of all time, shedding nine blockers; the joke is that a quarterback who can tackle like that must have thrown a lot of picks, capped with 'Ohio State, baby.'
Early on, while setting up who Keanu was in 1991, a host mentions reading that Matthew Roderick (as transcribed) was considered for the Keanu role and is told this steps on the half-assed internet research corner.
