Chris Ryan joins for a cameo, credited as a reason the podcast started and a lover of this movie. — Bill Simmons
A new category is introduced, the Judd Nelson Award, for anyone who seems to be in a completely different movie than everyone else. — Bill Simmons
Nick Peretti is one of the all-time great jarhead cops, essentially John Bender as a narc; as a child this seemed the apex of undercover cops, so Pacino in Serpico seemed to bite Nelson's style. — Chris Ryan
Everyone asks what Judd Nelson is doing in this movie; the performance is a Russian nesting doll, with a favorite moment when he turns into a William Faulkner-style storyteller while drinking with Scotty after Pookie dies.
He is a weird racist ally who calls Scotty high yellow and lies on his bed in boots, yet kills someone for Scotty at the end; possibly made unlikable so he could be redeemed.
He delivers the key line that drugs are not a black or white thing but a death thing; the role feels like it could have been added in reshoots. — Van Lathan
Johnny Depp was sought but too expensive; it was a comeback role for Nelson.
Peretti is either divorced or just out of a long relationship with a high school sweetheart, and lives in New York. — Chris Ryan
Imagined backstory: a cold-water apartment in Brooklyn, early retirement to fund an independent hip-hop label, an estranged daughter as an unfilmed deleted scene, and kinship with Jonah and Chelsea Peretti.
His introduction in untied boots and baggy jeans homages John Bender, and firing his gun in the man's house is baffling.
Making him literally John Bender would be amazing, with a sequel where Emilio Estevez's Andrew runs an HGH ring.
If Nelson had been going through a substance problem during filming, the performance would make the same sense. — Chris Ryan
He smiles at odd moments; the theory is he read the script and played a Martin Riggs type hoping for a Lethal Weapon-style spin-off with Ice T. — Bill Simmons
Eyeball is all nickname and the actor is not especially great; a better-known actor of the era such as Jason Patric or Charlie Sheen would make it more fun. — 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
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
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
They would be expelled for what they did to the library and school property. — Chris Ryan
They hotbox half the school and nobody smells the weed, though their parents would. — Chris Ryan
The damage list: shattered glass, lunch meat on a statue, a collapsed ceiling, a ripped Moliere, a broken library door. — Chris Ryan
Vernon would be fired for letting it happen 15 feet away, joking that he was downstairs having beers with Carl.
The lunch meat on the statue is unnecessary.
Vernon checks on them too rarely and could have moved them to another room.
All five going to Bender's locker is questioned, then defended as the kind of pointless errand friends go on together.
Estevez's dance solo, with the library shelves used as a pommel horse, would not have been cool in 1985; Footloose and MTV are floated as possible influences, while Top Gun's montages are compared but placed after it (86).
Anthony Michael Hall first gets a no, withdrawn ('let me rephrase that') for a yes - it is his Apex Mountain because it leads to Weird Science - with the Full Metal Jacket missed chance noted. — Bill Simmons
For Sheedy, St. Elmo's Fire is named as the peak for her and Estevez, though she is good in High Art and Bad Boys.
Hughes's peak is Ferris Bueller; Gleason's Trading Places is called pretty strong. — Bill Simmons
Ringwald's three Hughes films are seen as one work and her stardom as brief but important; Fresh Horses cost her momentum, while Betsy's Wedding is said to hold up. — Wesley Morris
Maine North High School location; built library set; shared Ferris Bueller location; 150-minute director's cut; deleted scenes; Hall's growth spurt; Don't You Forget About Me origin; Parmesan-cheese dandruff; Carl as Man of the Year
Filming took place at Maine North High School in Illinois, already closed, with the library built as a set. — Bill Simmons
The research says Bender's flinch at Vernon's fake punch was genuine. — Bill Simmons
The same location served Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the research says Hughes shot the two concurrently to save time and money. — Bill Simmons
As read on air, Hughes was disappointed that Nelson stayed in character and tormented Ringwald off camera, and considered firing him until other cast members intervened. — Bill Simmons
At a 25th-anniversary reunion Sheedy is said to have revealed a 150-minute director's cut, held by Hughes's widow, with deleted scenes including a dream sequence where Sheedy falls asleep and a steamier Claire-Bender scene; the hosts call them good cuts. — Bill Simmons
Vernon is said to be based on a teacher and wrestling coach Hughes had in high school. — Bill Simmons
A scripted scene of Vernon and Carl spying on a teacher swimming naked was cut after Ringwald pushed to remove it. — Bill Simmons
The songwriter approached for the soundtrack wrote 'Don't You Forget About Me' inspired by Brian's will-we-still-be-friends question; Bryan Ferry was approached before Simple Minds recorded it, and it became their most famous song, unlike their other work. — Bill Simmons
The hosts relay a story that the actor playing Carl clashed with Estevez after a remark about Martin Sheen's heart attack while Estevez and Nelson tried to make him laugh. — Bill Simmons
Allison's dandruff was Parmesan cheese.
The flare-gun damage is visible on Brian's locker early on, and Carl appears as Man of the Year. — Bill Simmons
A deleted Carl scene predicted the five kids' futures 30 years on, and was cut. — Bill Simmons
No part needs recasting, though the Cusack version would be interesting to see.
Tom Cruise in the Estevez role is floated, drawing an objection that he is too old, countered that they are the same age; Estevez is said to be as close as possible to a high school wrestler. — Wesley Morris
An actor transcribed as 'Edward James Almost' is nominated for the role of Vernon, which would make the movie go very differently. — Wesley Morris
