1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,440 Speaker 1: Too much information is a production of I heart radio. 2 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome to too much information, the show 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: that brings you the little known facts and secret histories 4 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,159 Speaker 1: behind your favorite movies, music, TV shows and more. We 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: are your teen idols of Trivia, your Danny Zukos of 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: the deep dive, serving up facts and stories faster than 7 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: grease lightning. My name is Jordan run tug and I'm 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: Alex Agle. And today, folks, Greece is the word. Yes, we're, 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: in the midst of our week, paying tribute to my 10 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,279 Speaker 1: beloved Olivia Newton John by exploring the making of her 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: two most beloved movies. We're taking a look at the 12 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,599 Speaker 1: roller disco extravagance as Zanna do, a famous flop which 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: has gone on to become a cult classic. Greece, on 14 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: the other hand, was a success on pretty much every 15 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: metric imaginable. For decades. It was the biggest movie musical 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: of all time. It's soundtrack is one of the best 17 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: selling albums of all time, it's loved by multiple generations 18 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: and its popularity is showing no signs of the finishing. 19 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: It was the apex of the Seventies Obsession with the fifties, 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: which had become a sort of false memory in the 21 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: popular consciousness, transformed from an actual time period into a 22 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: mythic glory era, romanticized beyond all recognition by those who 23 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: had survived the tumult of the sixties. It was a fantasy, 24 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: plain and simple. There's the fifties as they existed and 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: the fifties as they're portrayed, and things like grease, happy 26 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: days and back to the future, and I personally was 27 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: totally taken by the fantasy as a kid, and I've 28 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: talked about this on this show many times. I love 29 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: my mid century Americana Kitchen and Greece is the gold 30 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: standard of that. What do you think of this movie? 31 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: I don't give it about. No, I know, I mean 32 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: it's it's I don't know, it's it's a great it's 33 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: great on its own merits. I just I was thinking 34 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: about this earlier. I don't really like the fifties. Um, 35 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: that scans. Yeah, I don't. I'm sorry. I don't really 36 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: like rock and roll until it starts bastardizing the blues. 37 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: I think. I just and to me all this stuff, 38 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: like the whole fifties culture that comes from, like the 39 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: teen idols and like Doo wop and like Rockabilly, just 40 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: the least interesting Arrow of it to me, unless we're 41 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: talking like really weird like country Shack Rockabilly, like Hazel 42 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: Adkins Jackson. Yeah, yeah, that's kind of it. I don't know, 43 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: I don't, I don't, I don't care. Nice, like it's 44 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: nice jackets. Okay, the cars were good. The cars were good. Yeah, 45 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: all right, I'll allow you that Greece is corny and tacky. 46 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: But Greece is extra special to me because we did 47 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,119 Speaker 1: it as the spring musical at my high school, which 48 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: allowed me to live out my fifties fantasies with all 49 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: my friends, and that was such a great time. I 50 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: was Vin Spontane, naturally, and uh, it was just the best. 51 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: We would have dance parties in between rehearsals, dressed up 52 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: as a bunch of fifties kids and yeah, I loved it. 53 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: You know, rarely is one able to live out such 54 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: a specific fantasy so perfectly, but I was able to. 55 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: And I was a junior and most of my friends 56 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: were seeing years and they were all about to graduate 57 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: right after the play. And so when we all saying, 58 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: you know, we'll always be together at the end of 59 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: the we go together song, everybody was like getting choked up. 60 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: It was very sweet. So I always have a very 61 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: special place in my heart for this show because of that, 62 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: that personal moment for me. In a very funny way, 63 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: I feel like I was a graduate of Riddell High School. 64 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: So shout out to the show. But Drama Society, two 65 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: thousand five editions. Um. But even if you aren't a 66 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: freak like me, I'm not surprised that people have such 67 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: a soft spot for this movie. In addition to the 68 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: great songs, it's a movie about first first love, first heartbreak, 69 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: first car. It's hard not to connect to it, unless 70 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: you're Alex Hegel Um. It's it's a lot of fun. 71 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: Come on, and I can't wait to talk about it. 72 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: I thought I was pumped for Austin powers, but this 73 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: might be my favorite episode yet, I have to say well, 74 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: from the surprisingly gritty and Raunchy stage play to the 75 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: x rated cartoon version of Greece, we almost got the 76 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: musical number that indirectly killed Knickie, to the theme song 77 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: that caused a standoff between the rector and the head 78 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: B g. The time we almost had fonzie and Princess Leiah, 79 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: as the leads, not to mention a porn star, to 80 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: the time that Britney Spears films are most iconic video 81 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: at right l high, plus all the hilariously homemade ways 82 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: they tried to age down these thirty year olds playing 83 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: high schoolers, and also the hilariously tight pants that Oliva 84 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: Newton John got sewn into. Here's everything you didn't know 85 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 1: about Greece. The global phenomenon of Greece began as a 86 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: theatrical production held in a Chicago Trolley Bar in ninety one, 87 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: which was supposed to only run for four nights. That 88 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: must be an all time ratio of planned production. To 89 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: shelf life exactly. It was written by Jim Jacobs and 90 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: Warren Casey, who were two guys who met in an 91 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: amateur theater group in the late sixties, and both these 92 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: guys were children of the fifties, and Jim Jacobs in 93 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: particular embrace the whole leather jacketed greaser subculture as rough 94 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: Chicago high school. These guys bonded over the love of 95 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: Doo wop, which was definitely not cool in the late sixties. 96 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: I mean this was a period when the world was 97 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: on fire. There was unrest due to the Vietnam conflict, 98 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 1: civil rights upheaval, political assassinations, the generational divide. This is 99 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: when we insert our stock footage, montage of people fortunate. 100 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: The jungles were fortunate, son or all along the watch tower. Yeah, 101 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: the carefree, relatively innocent world of the late fifties, which 102 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: was just ten years earlier. It felt like a completely 103 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: different world now. Music was supposed to be heavy, you know, 104 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: and distored in, laden with all kinds of meaning. Bob Dylan, 105 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: the Beatles, Jefferson airplane, all that stuff. This was miles 106 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: away from Rama, Emma Ding Dong, and these guys, Jim 107 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: Jacobs and Warren Casey, really kind of tired of this. 108 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: They wanted music that was fun. At parties they'd grab 109 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,600 Speaker 1: guitars and do hopelessly pass a songs like teenager and 110 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: love by Dion and the Belmonts and feminisce about the 111 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 1: world they grew up in that no longer existed. And 112 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: it was from these late night do op sessions that 113 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: Jacobs and Casey first came up with the idea for 114 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: Greece and, speaking to the outlet the Buffalo News back 115 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: in two Jim Jacobs called it quote, one of those 116 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: pipe dreams you have when you're half in the bag 117 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: at a party. We're sitting around in my apartment in 118 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,679 Speaker 1: like nineteen sixty nine at some cast party of a show. 119 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: Around one in the morning. There were still a few 120 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: old potheads laying around passed out on the floor. I 121 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: was sick and tired of listening to led Zeppelin or 122 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: whatever the Hell I had on the record player and 123 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: I dug out some of my old forty five. That 124 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: was the humble beginnings of Greece, Dion and the Belmont's, 125 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 1: little Richard and the five Satin's, I said, the war 126 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: and man, wouldn't that be a gas to do a 127 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:44,919 Speaker 1: Broadway show using this kind of music instead of the 128 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: traditional Brigadoo and Oklahoma stuff that we know? And the 129 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: two had a bit of an argument about it. Apparently 130 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: Warren Casey said you can't have nostalgia. That was only 131 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: ten years ago, but Jacobs made a point. Yeah, but 132 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: in that ten years look what's happened. Before naming all 133 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: the points I did a minute ago of Vietnam, racial 134 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 1: unrest in the feminist movement and generational divide and all that, 135 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: did that guy lived to see buzzfeed. Yeah, it's just 136 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: a really interesting sentiment to me because it makes you 137 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: realize that cultural trends and shifts don't occur at a 138 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: static rate over time, but it fits and starts and 139 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: there are some eight year spans where it seems like 140 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: culture was largely unchanged. I mean, I don't see a 141 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: huge amount of difference between like n one and nineteen 142 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 1: eighty nine, but if you look at clips of the 143 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: Beatles coming off that plane in nineteen sixty four and 144 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: all the shorthaired kids screaming at them, and then you 145 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: flash forward to eight years later in nineteen seventy two, 146 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: with the changes in styles and values, it's really extreme. 147 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: And you know, I don't think it's a stretch to 148 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: say that we're living in a shift like that right now. 149 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: I think this is a very different world than at 150 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: least socially, you know, with me too, and trump and 151 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: the pandemic and black lives matter movement. It's you do 152 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: sort of see that comes and goes in these very 153 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: concentrated periods of change Um, and I think we as 154 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: a culture pick up on these shifts intuitively, even when 155 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: the chronological time period isn't really that long and it 156 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: makes us nostalgic for, you know, the quote unquote, good 157 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: old days, even when they were relatively recent. Some of 158 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: this is generational, you know, people grow up, they become 159 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: adults and then they mythologized the period when they were kids, 160 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: and so because of that you always have nostalgia movies 161 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: and shows until the end of time. You know, happy days, 162 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: wonder years, pen fifteen, all that stuff. But I think 163 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: this phenomenon is intensified during periods of intense cultural shifts, 164 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: and that's what's going on in the early Seventies. After 165 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: the tumult of the sixties. People look back at the 166 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: fifties with rose colored glasses, which you know, to a 167 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: certain extent, is pretty inaccurate, because the fifties were no 168 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,199 Speaker 1: picnic either. I mean you had kids in elementary schools 169 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: thinking that the world was gonna get blown away a 170 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: boy the Russians and hiding under desks. So I mean 171 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: it was you know, there was a tension then too, 172 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: but after the sixties it all looked a lot, a 173 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: lot easier, a lot more predictable, and this was the 174 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: feeling that would inspire George Lucas to make American graffiti 175 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy three, which was a fun look back 176 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,079 Speaker 1: at his youth in the early sixties, before JFK was killed, 177 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: before long hair is invaded from Liverpool and the world 178 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: just seems safer and smaller. And American graffiti opened the 179 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: floodgates for a whole wave of fifties and early sixties nostalgia, 180 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 1: happy days on TV, the beach boys going multi platinum 181 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: with the greatest hits album and selling out stadiums and 182 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: ultimately setting the groundwork for the film version of Greece 183 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: to become a global phenomenon. And I recently did a 184 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: little fought experiment where I did the math on the 185 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: number of years between when a nostalgia movie was released 186 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: and the year it was set and then I converted 187 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: that too. So in this case, Greece was released in 188 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: but it was set in nineteen fifty nine, so that's 189 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: nineteen years. So grease were made. Today it will be 190 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: set in two thousand three, which I'm kind of into. 191 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: And I did this with a bunch of shows and 192 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: movies and put it on twitter and I got a 193 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,839 Speaker 1: lot of really interesting reactions and a lot of people 194 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: were like, you know, no, why did you do this? 195 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: This ruined my day. Now I feel old, which was 196 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: not my intention, but I just thought it was really 197 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: interesting to put these time periods into contemporary context to 198 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: see how they resonate with people today. Some of them 199 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: did and some of them didn't. I mean American graffiti, 200 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,839 Speaker 1: which is sort of the Big Bang of boomer nostalgia 201 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: in many ways, was released in nineteen seventy three and 202 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: set in nineteen sixty two. So today American graffiti would 203 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: be set in two thousand eleven, which, you know, kind 204 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: of resonates with me a time before a lot of 205 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: the socio political upheaval and general bad stuff like the 206 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: pandemic that we've been going through recently. Um, you know, 207 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: in a funny way, I do look back at eleven 208 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: with kind of rose colored glasses. It seems almost quainet. 209 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: It's a time when a certain segment of the population thought, 210 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,320 Speaker 1: you know, naively, that things were getting better and would 211 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: continue to get better. M and that what's not the case. 212 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: But again, fits and starts. So yeah, I just thought 213 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: that was interesting. Anyway, this was the climate in which 214 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: Jim Jacobs and his partner were in Casey, began writing 215 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: their play grease, and it was the first show that 216 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: either of them have written, which ys job. They wrote 217 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 1: the book and the Music Too, which is insane. And 218 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: the title grease was a riff on hair, which was 219 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: the Broadway show that was probably the most iconic Broadway 220 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,679 Speaker 1: show of the sixties. It builled itself as the American 221 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: tribal love rock musical and it just helped define the 222 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: free love era on stage. Nudity and songs like the 223 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: age of Aquarius, I mean literally a song from hair, 224 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: is what gave the mythical sixties its name. You know 225 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: the age of Aquarius Um and remember your hairstyle in 226 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 1: this era was a very potent cultural signifier, a declaration 227 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 1: of rebellion, of independence from old, outdated social mores. So hair. 228 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: There's a lot tied up in that. So the title 229 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,439 Speaker 1: grease was a really clever hair related reaction to that. Hair. 230 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: Grease Grease for Card Grease and hot rod culture and 231 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: Greece for Greasy Diner food. It's a clever title. Is 232 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: a lot wrapped up on that one. Where Jim Jacobs 233 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: again considered himself a big part of the greaser culture 234 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: when he was in high school growing up in Chicago. 235 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,079 Speaker 1: In the late fifties. So these guys wrote about their 236 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,199 Speaker 1: past and the kids that they knew back then. And again. 237 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: Greece is set in nineteen fifty nine and the fictional 238 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: rdel high school named after the fifties teen idol bobby 239 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 1: right Al, and the middle class goody two shoes character 240 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: of sandy supposedly based on Jim Jacob's classmate Donna Mills, 241 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: who went on to become a TV star on the 242 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: show knots landing, which is a spinoff of the Primetime 243 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: Soap Opera Dallas. Um. I've actually never heard of him 244 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: talk about that, but she's claimed that she's the inspiration 245 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:49,120 Speaker 1: for Sandy. So the plot of the stage production is 246 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: extremely different from the movie we know and love. It's 247 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: framed as a high school reunion in the then present 248 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: day of the early seventies, and then the stories told 249 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: as a flashback via Eugene the school nerd, and the 250 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: play is way more gritty and Raunchy and vulgar than 251 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,839 Speaker 1: the movie. Again, the play took place on the mean 252 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: streets of Chicago. The dialogue is absolutely lace with profanity. 253 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: The greasers carry switchblaze, which returned into combs in the movie, 254 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,439 Speaker 1: and this is an incredible detail, I think Rizzo had 255 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: a church key around her neck that she used to 256 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: slash people. Well, Church gave, for those of you who 257 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: don't necessarily know, is the it's like a beer bottle opener. 258 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: It's not an actual church key. Right, Oh really? Oh, 259 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: I didn't see. I'm too naive for all this. I 260 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,959 Speaker 1: thought it was a literal church key. So, yeah, that's 261 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: what my parents actually I always called I didn't. Yeah, 262 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 1: it sounds like a Catholic name to me. So, yeah, 263 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: it's Oh, what's resoltly? Right? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, exactly. Well, 264 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 1: that's disappointing, but the point stands much grittier than the movie. 265 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: I also just looked up. There's a Chicago reader article 266 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: from two thousand eleven. It is a church key in 267 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 1: the beer opening sense. Um Jim Jacobs talking about the 268 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 1: pink ladies, apparently a real gang, talks about them hiding 269 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: razor blades and their hair, their teased hair. Well, that 270 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: was a classic thing that you would put razor blades 271 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: in your jacket lapel. So when gangs would try to 272 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: grab you and like lift you up by your shirt, 273 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: Lapel's there. You're jacket yeah, I would. It would slice 274 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: their fingers, which is GRO tesque. Yeah, told me that. 275 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: You actually, bringo start told me that when I was 276 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: interviewing them. The gangs in Liverpool used to do that. 277 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: That's wild. So that's a good thing you can still 278 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 1: drum man. Yeah, right, good Lord. Anyway, the play Grease 279 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: opened on February five n one at the Kingston Mines 280 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: Theater Company, which was a disused trolley Bart in Chicago. 281 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: Talk about humble beginnings. Yeah, Damn. And they planned for 282 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,920 Speaker 1: it to run for four nights, two weekend performances, but 283 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: the unexpected reaction led to it continuing for a months. 284 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: And this original cast featured an unknown Mary Lou Henner 285 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: as one of the pink ladies, Marty, and that's funny 286 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: to me because she would go on the star with 287 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: Jeff Conaway, who played knicky in the series. Taxi and 288 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: Greece made its way to Broadway a year later, in 289 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,440 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two. It was nominated for a Tony and 290 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: it ultimately ran for eight years, breaking the record for 291 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: the longest running show at the time. And it's funny. 292 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: It was never a huge hit, but it had really 293 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: low overhead, so they just kept it going and the 294 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: role of Danny Zuko was originated on Broadway by Barry 295 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 1: Bostwick of the rocky horror picture show fame and years 296 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: later Spin City and other replacement Broadway Danny's included Patrick Swayzey, 297 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: Peter Gallagher, the dad from the O, c Richard Gere, 298 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: who was an understudy for a bunch of roles, but 299 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: mainly Danny, treat Williams and Jeff Conaway, who would go 300 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: on to play Nicky in the movie version. Barry Pearl 301 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: Played Sonny in the musical before starring as duty in 302 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: the film version, and Jay Me Donnelly Played Jan one 303 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: of the pink ladies, both on stage and in the film. 304 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: And the play also featured a very, very young John 305 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: Travolta as an alternate for duty, who was the young 306 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: kid who desperately wants to be one of the tea birds, 307 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: although I think in the play they're called the Burger 308 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: Palace boys instead of the tea birds. I love the 309 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: tremendous violence and like racial simmering under these offset by 310 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: the dumbest nicknames duty, Rizzo, Marty, friendship. Yeah, UH, John 311 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: Travolta audition when he was like sixteen and he didn't 312 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: get cast because he just was too wide eyed and naive. 313 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: And when they finally cast him, they gave him the 314 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: role of this eager, try hard duty, the kid who 315 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: really wants to be in the gang. And this is 316 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: how the rest of the cast saw him. So when 317 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 1: they went to film the movie version four or five 318 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: years later, the cast and crew who have been associated 319 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:55,800 Speaker 1: with the stage show really had a hard time seeing 320 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: him as Danny, especially when Jeff conaway was also in 321 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: the cast and he had the playing Danny for years 322 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 1: and he had been demoted to, you know, Second Banana Connicki. 323 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: So the Second Banana Knicki. That was my nickname in college. Uh. 324 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,200 Speaker 1: It took six years to bring Greece from Broadway to 325 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: the big screen and it was a many fits and starts. 326 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: Um The film rights were sold four different times to 327 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,919 Speaker 1: four different people and it just always ended up in development. 328 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,399 Speaker 1: How there was an early version where Danny was supposed 329 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,399 Speaker 1: to kill himself at the end and a Romeo and 330 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: Juliette style ending. Another version featured Danny working as a 331 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,680 Speaker 1: bus boy and gas station attendant, singing a song called 332 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: gas pump jockey. That's hilarious. Didn't. When they found Eddie vetter, 333 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: he was working as a gas station attendant, famously. Um. 334 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: The weirdest version involves cult director Ralph backshe who wanted 335 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 1: to make it an x rated cartoon. Um, which is 336 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,639 Speaker 1: funny because you know it goes back to how Raunchy 337 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: this original play was. Back she was famous from making 338 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: Fritz the cat, which was the first x rated animated 339 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: feature ever. Uh. That's our crumb adaptation, right. And he 340 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: wanted to continue in those footsteps with Greece. Uh. And 341 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 1: then that fell through, but the people who ultimately made 342 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: the feature film decided to keep the opening credits as animation, 343 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: as a not to backshee and that guy who did it, 344 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,479 Speaker 1: John Wilson, and the studio fine arts films, worked on 345 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,680 Speaker 1: Disney's Peter Pan and lady in the tramp. Yeah, who, 346 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: I thought, the guy who really made grease happen. That 347 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,199 Speaker 1: was a producer named Alan Carr who, if you're like 348 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: Jordan or me or anyone who's read a lot about 349 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: seventies entertainment, he looms large. Um, lived in this enormous 350 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: Hollywood mansion guilt framed portraits of himself. Uh, he had 351 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: a disco in his basement, where you'd throw these massive parties. And, 352 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, the parties were so huge that he held 353 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: he called him rollodex parties, where he'd host the a 354 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: through l, guestless one night, and then the next night 355 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 1: he'd host the m through Z. It's it's so people, 356 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: so he didn't have to cut down on his guests. Statistically, 357 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: that feels lopsided to me, right, because you're getting V 358 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 1: through Z. There's probably fewer names with that right. We're 359 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: taping this at night for Jordan. I'm this is these 360 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: are the detours I take. Um, and then, grossly, like 361 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: Chuck Berry after him, at the end of his night 362 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,639 Speaker 1: he'd retire to his bedroom and watched the sexual exploits 363 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: and unfold around his house with a CCTV system. I 364 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: Guess Chuck Barry was just watching people p though. Which 365 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: is which is worse? Folks tweeted us. Um, this house 366 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: had been previously owned by Ingrid Bergman and was later 367 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 1: bought by Brett Rattner, who probably still uses the CCTV. 368 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: I was gonna say just they just seamless transfer of 369 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: power there. Alan Carr was an awkward kid who is 370 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: ostracized for his homosexuality and then grew up addicted to 371 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: glamor and power to make himself feel better and say 372 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: also as as was the fashion of the time. Did 373 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,719 Speaker 1: you see that video that was going around recently on 374 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: twitter of Ed McMahon and the like closing credits and 375 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: one of the tonight show segments, just pulling out his 376 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: cokespoon and doing a bump live on air? Truly, it 377 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: was with Carl Sagan Right. Oh Man, it might wash man. 378 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: I love that car buys the rights to Greece in 379 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: nineteen six for two hundred grand and considering that this 380 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: went on to make over three hundred and fifty million dollars, 381 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: that is a good deal. That's a listical uh in 382 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: issue investments versus returns. I know Halloween was a huge one. 383 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 1: I think John Carpenter made like ten grand to make 384 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: that movie and then it became the most profitable independent 385 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,439 Speaker 1: film of all time. Blair witch is definitely up there anyway. 386 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 1: Cars plan was too much like Xana do. Cars planned 387 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: was to revive movie musicals in Hollywood. All these guys 388 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 1: who just grew up watching all the MGM hits and 389 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,119 Speaker 1: got into power and wanted to remake them. Yeah, sound 390 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: of music, my Fair Lady, all of these these this stuff, 391 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,639 Speaker 1: mgm was just cranking out and then the sort of 392 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: death knell that sort of era is like Hello Dolly 393 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 1: and Godspell, big bloated musicals in the late sixties that 394 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: just couldn't make their money back and people. I think 395 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: it was just musical fatigue too, because all throughout the 396 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: mid sixties you had again, back to back, my fair ladies, 397 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: sound of music sweeping the Oscars. I think the sound 398 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: of music soundtrack is still one of the best selling 399 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: albums of all time, definitely one of the best selling 400 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,560 Speaker 1: albums of the decade. Uh. It's one of those things 401 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:49,879 Speaker 1: that you kind of like. You think of sixties music 402 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,360 Speaker 1: and you think about Sargeant pepper, you think about Um 403 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: led Zeppelin one, you think about all these rock and 404 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: roll centric things. But if you actually look at the 405 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: sales stats, what was selling back then were these very 406 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,919 Speaker 1: middle road musical soundtracks in Gargantuan numbers that then the 407 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,199 Speaker 1: grease soundtrack would then mimic ten years later. Yeah, what 408 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: did we get before La La Land? What was the 409 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: big one before pre la La land? That would have 410 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,120 Speaker 1: revived o Mulan Ruge she said. Right. Well, I think 411 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 1: Um Grease held the record for the best selling live 412 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:31,680 Speaker 1: action musical until the Lame Miss Adaptation with and half 413 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: away Um. So that was a big one too, although 414 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: I don't really think of it as being that pig. 415 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: But I guess it had a big return. But you know, 416 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: like you said, Evan flow comes around by the middle 417 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: of the decade you see low budget called stuff like rocky. 418 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: Horror starts to bring that back. But when grease was made, 419 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:52,440 Speaker 1: musicals were still seeing his box office poison. Paramount only 420 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,360 Speaker 1: gave six million to this thing, which will what buy 421 00:22:55,400 --> 00:23:00,160 Speaker 1: a couple of canisters of panavision. Um. That's the it's 422 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: the craft, services and cocaine budget for one day in nineteen. 423 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: Barry Diller, the studio ahead at the time, thought the 424 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: whole thing was just ridiculous and, you know, God love him, 425 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,679 Speaker 1: that dictated the tone of the entire production. Five weeks 426 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: of pre pro pre production, two months of shooting. Good Lord. 427 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: There's a great Vanity Fair Profile and twenty eighteen by 428 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: Michael Callaghan called how Greece beat the odds and became 429 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: the biggest movie musical of the Twentieth Century. It really 430 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: lays out in stark fashion how much of a long 431 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: shot this was. Quote. Its leading lady was foreign and untried. 432 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: Hell of a turn of a phrase. It's cast was 433 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,640 Speaker 1: too old, it's score uneven, its choreography and staging more 434 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: often than not thought up on the fly, much like 435 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,719 Speaker 1: Santa Do. In an effort to broaden the film's appeal, 436 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,959 Speaker 1: the producers toned down the violence and sex and moved 437 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: the setting from the mean streets of Chicago to Sunny California. Unfortunately, 438 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: the original writers of the play were not happy, me 439 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: with this, worrying that it was getting to camp. Jim Jacobs, 440 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 1: one of the CO creators, later said of the t 441 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,360 Speaker 1: birds guys I grew up with would have beat those 442 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: guys up in an instant. He is not wrong. Uh. 443 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,199 Speaker 1: He was also really upset about moving the setting to 444 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 1: California because he felt that the crux of the story 445 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: was about kids in industrial cities of the East Coast 446 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: and the Midwest, as opposed to the sort of Sun 447 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: drenched climbs of California. Jacobs would call producer Alan Karen 448 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 1: bag please don't make this a beach blanket Bingo. Ah Um, 449 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: maybe you want to punch in a quick sidebar about 450 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: that later. That's one of your things, right, you kind 451 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:47,440 Speaker 1: of like that. Now this is twenty three pages. Uh, 452 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 1: this did not. This did not endear the original writers 453 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: to car. They were shut out, they were not given 454 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,479 Speaker 1: any kind of supervisory role and, uh, one day they 455 00:24:57,480 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: showed up to the studio and found out their names 456 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: were really crossed from the security clearance list and they 457 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,239 Speaker 1: were banned from the set. But other than laughing all 458 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: the way to the bank, they did get a little revenge. Um, 459 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: whenever the lines in the movie version weren't landing the 460 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: way that they would, Travolta, because he had been involved 461 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,639 Speaker 1: in the original version, would sub in lines from the 462 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: musical Um. So part of them lives on in John 463 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: Travolta's improvisation. But Travolta very nearly didn't get the part 464 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,679 Speaker 1: of Danny. Initially, Alan Carr wanted probably the most obvious 465 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: choice for a good hearted grease ory. What did Henry Winkler, 466 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: who was in the midst of playing Fonzie on happy days, 467 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 1: which is a very unoriginal choice, I feel like? But 468 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: winkler turned him down for fear of being typecast for 469 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: the rest of his life, which kind of too late. 470 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,359 Speaker 1: He went on to say it was, quote, one of 471 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,919 Speaker 1: the great decisions of his life because Travolta was so 472 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: right for the film. But he also regrets at a 473 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,479 Speaker 1: tiny bit, because why wouldn't you? Why would you not 474 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,240 Speaker 1: want to be Danny suit COO and reese? So then 475 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: thoughts turned to another contemporary Titan of the small screen, 476 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: John Travolta, who was then a big TV star thanks 477 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 1: for his role as Vinny Barberino. I'm welcome back, Carter Um. 478 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: Funny Side Note, I think I was talking to you 479 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: about this the other night. When Quentin Tarantino was casting 480 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:20,199 Speaker 1: travolta and pulp fiction, he invited Travolta over to his 481 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: apartment to discuss the role and travolto showed up and 482 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 1: turns out Tarantino was unknowingly living in the exact same 483 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: apartment where Travolta lived when he first moved to L 484 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 1: A and was getting his acting start, which I think 485 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:36,000 Speaker 1: is really cool. And Tarantino, because he's a giant Weirdo, 486 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: insisted that Travolta play a vintage welcome back caught or 487 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: board game with him as part of his process while 488 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: auditioning him for pulp fiction, jeesus. But this was during 489 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 1: Travolta's like wilderness years when he made a bunch of 490 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,360 Speaker 1: bombs in the eighties and kind of needed to get 491 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:54,919 Speaker 1: back on tracks. So he just kind of had to 492 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 1: go with it, which is sad, Ye, anyone being four 493 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: to put up with Quinto. Yeah, anyway, more importantly than 494 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: just being a TV star, John Travolta had appeared in 495 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: the Broadway production as duty, like we mentioned, so it 496 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: seemed like a natural fit. And when the grease shoot began, 497 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 1: Travolta had just finished filming Saturday night fever literally days before, 498 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 1: and it wouldn't come out for a few more months. 499 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: So he wasn't quite the world beating superstar that we 500 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,399 Speaker 1: know and love. In fact, it was really rare at 501 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: the time for TV stars to cross over into major 502 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: film success. You know, audiences knew you either as on 503 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: the small screen or the big screen. It was very 504 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 1: rare that you could make that jump Um. But Travolta 505 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,640 Speaker 1: was under contract to a producer called Robert Stigwood, and 506 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 1: not to get off on too much of a tangent, 507 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: but stigwood was this big Impresario who was just like 508 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: the octopus of the seventies entertainment industry. He had his 509 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,159 Speaker 1: tentacles everywhere. I think he managed cream for a while. 510 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: He managed the BGS, he very nearly managed the Beatles. 511 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,919 Speaker 1: He produced stage shows like hair in Jesus Christ superstar. 512 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: When he died, one obituary called him the most powerful 513 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:09,160 Speaker 1: tycoon in the entertainment industry. Not since Hollywood's golden days 514 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: had so much power and wealth been concentrated in the 515 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: hands of one mogul. So yeah, Robert Stigwood is a 516 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 1: big deal. So if Alan Carr wants John Travolta, he's 517 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 1: got to go through Robert stigwood. So car brings stigwood 518 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,399 Speaker 1: on board for Greece as a CO producer, and I 519 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: just I love the fact that stigwood has travolta for 520 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: a three picture deal, the first of which is Saturday 521 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,399 Speaker 1: night fever. Second is Greece, two of the biggest movie 522 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: in Music phenomenons of the twentieth century. So this guy 523 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: made his money back for sure. Good for him. Yeah, 524 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: Travolta had very little experience as a leading man in 525 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,560 Speaker 1: a film, but he'd recently been in a made for 526 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: TV movie called the boy in the plastic bubble have 527 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 1: you ever seen this or heard of this? The inspiration 528 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: from bubble boy sort yeah, it's like basically the same plot, 529 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 1: but it's serious. John Travolta is this boy worn without 530 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,840 Speaker 1: a functioning immune system and he has to walk around 531 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 1: in basically a space suit and live in a clean 532 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 1: room and it's about him trying to like try as 533 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 1: much as he can to engage with the world. That's 534 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: supposed to be I've never seen of it's supposed to 535 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 1: be really sad. Apparently earned an emmy and it also 536 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 1: inspired the Paul Simon Song the boy in the bubble 537 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: so yeah, quite a legacy there, in addition to the 538 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: Jake Joe Holl movie. Um. Anyway, John Travolta had a 539 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: good rapport with the director of that made for TV movie, 540 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: a guy by the name of Randall Kliser. So he 541 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: suggested they bring him on to direct Greece. And at 542 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 1: this point whatever John Travolta wants John Travlta gets. This 543 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: guy gets to direct his first movie, his first actual 544 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: proper theatrical movie. It's Greece, damn, but it's funny. For 545 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: his lack of experience and actually making movies, he'd worked 546 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 1: as an extra on some famous movie musicals like camelot 547 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 1: and Hello Dolly and thoroughly modern millie, which he later 548 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,360 Speaker 1: said gave him sort of an insight, and too, how 549 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: to stage songs, because he was there on the set 550 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: watching them do it. And after getting the Grease Gig, 551 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 1: he had dinner with director Robert Wise, who was the 552 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: guy who directed west side story, just basically in hopes 553 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: of like getting some tips from him, and you can 554 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,480 Speaker 1: see the influence songs like tonight. Tonight from west side 555 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: story cut back and forth between Tony and Maria, similar 556 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 1: to how summer nights cut back and forth between Danny 557 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: and Sandy. But apparently Robert Wise freaked him out by 558 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: asking how much prep time he had, and Randall Kleiser said, 559 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,040 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I got five weeks to prep for this. 560 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: Robert Wise gasped and said you gotta get out of this, 561 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: you gotta Cryne away. Yeah, like musicals take years to 562 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: prep and he was just certain that this was going 563 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: to be a disaster. But but thankfully Randall Kliser didn't listen. 564 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: Travolta also suggested they bring on Jeff Conaway as Knicky and, 565 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:52,040 Speaker 1: as I mentioned earlier, Jeff Conaway had played Danny on 566 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:56,520 Speaker 1: Broadway for years, whereas Travolta was just this naive junior 567 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: ta bird, and this created a little bit of weirdness, 568 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: but tween him because, you know, for many years this 569 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,600 Speaker 1: was very much jeff's part. He was older, he'd done 570 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 1: it longer, and now he was demoted and his former 571 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: underling was now the lead. So there was a little 572 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 1: bit of a you know all about eve situation going 573 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: on there a little bit. I mean, they were still friends, 574 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,080 Speaker 1: but it was it was weird and we'll get into 575 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,320 Speaker 1: that later when we talk about the grease lightning scene. 576 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,640 Speaker 1: But yeah, they kind of had a little bit of 577 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: a tough time. And another person close to John that 578 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: he brought on for the grease adventure. It was his 579 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: sister ellen, who played a waitress in the diner watching 580 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: the dance competition on TV. She's the one who says, Oh, 581 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: there's Danny and Sandy. Ellen Travolta later told the spokesman 582 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: review in that she was just visiting the set one 583 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:44,680 Speaker 1: day and her brother asked her if she wanted to 584 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,479 Speaker 1: be in a movie. That's how loose it was, and 585 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:49,520 Speaker 1: she said she had no idea that kind of success. 586 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: It would become. I get residuals every thirteen weeks. For 587 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: forty years I only worked one or two days and 588 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: I had a lot of fun. Sandy, though, it was 589 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: a bit trickier to cast Um. They considered Susan Dave 590 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: from the Partridge Family, Marie Osmond of Donnie Marie, who 591 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: turned it down because she objected to the ending where 592 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:13,600 Speaker 1: sandy transforms into a rebel, which tracks uh. She told 593 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 1: Fox News I was at a place in my life 594 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: where I wanted to have children and I didn't like 595 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: the fact that the girl had to turn bad to 596 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: get the guy. I think the guy has to work 597 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: hard to get the girl. That's what I believe fair. 598 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: We'll touch on the movies controversial ending later, but I 599 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 1: she's not wrong. So Randall Kaiser was roommates at USC 600 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: with George Lucas, who was editing that. He's USC right. 601 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,719 Speaker 1: I'm not making that up. Yeah, and these guys are 602 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: all part of the USC class. George Lucas is editing 603 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,920 Speaker 1: star wars around the time that Greece was being cast, 604 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: having just come off American graffiti, and he asked Lucas 605 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: to take a look at some of the footage to 606 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 1: see if Carrie Fisher might be a good fit, but 607 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: the scenes that he saw of her were in the 608 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:57,920 Speaker 1: Millennium Falcon in the middle of a space dog fight, Um, 609 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 1: and not enough to you know side whether or not 610 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 1: she was going to be able to anchor a fifties 611 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: ballad in a dance movie. And ultimately they did not 612 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: pick her up, can you? I mean she would have 613 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,720 Speaker 1: owned the seventies if she was in star wars and 614 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: Greece and Blynn finished up with blues brothers. Oh my God, 615 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 1: her power would be unchecked. Uh Randall Kleiser and producer 616 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 1: Alan Carr then go to a dinner held at Helen 617 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,600 Speaker 1: Ready's house. Who Folks? Helen Ready, for those of you 618 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,640 Speaker 1: in the Bar Trivia Circuit, is the Australian singer best 619 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,960 Speaker 1: known for I am woman, I am a woman, hear 620 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: me roar. Car was seated across from Olivia Newton John, 621 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: and by the end of the meal, as any one 622 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,280 Speaker 1: of us would be, he was smitten. He was completely 623 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:52,920 Speaker 1: certain that her quote goody two shoes vibe made her 624 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: the perfect fit for Sandy. Olivia took more convincing. She 625 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:00,720 Speaker 1: was well established singers. She'd Gotten Multiple Rammys, by this 626 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: point it hits like I honestly love you. Please, MR please. 627 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,000 Speaker 1: Have you never been mellow? You know, she was a 628 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 1: big country hit at this point, which deeply annoyed the 629 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:17,919 Speaker 1: conservative Nashville community seeing this, this taking our jobs me. Yeah, 630 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm trying to was the pejorative term for Australians. Anyway. Yeah, 631 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:27,360 Speaker 1: there's ausy coming in and stealing trophies away from Dolly 632 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 1: Parton and Tammy Wynett. Yeah, the whole Nashville community really 633 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,040 Speaker 1: banned it together and they started this group called, what 634 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,919 Speaker 1: was it called Ace Americans for country entertainment or something. Yeah, 635 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,799 Speaker 1: something like that. It was basically designed to exclude her, 636 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,040 Speaker 1: which is all I mean. I hate to think of 637 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 1: Dolly Parton and Oliving Newton, John at at Ozz, my two. 638 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:54,799 Speaker 1: Oh they must have, because because Dolly had a bunch 639 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,839 Speaker 1: of stuff, she put a statement when Olivia died her 640 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,360 Speaker 1: special friends at the live. That's nice. Uh. She was 641 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:03,759 Speaker 1: a big deal of the music world but not so 642 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: much in film. She had only done two movies, both 643 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,600 Speaker 1: of which were before her singing breakthrough. The most recently 644 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 1: one at this point was a camp be British sci 645 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:17,120 Speaker 1: fi movie called two t o o Morrow in nineteen seventy, 646 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: which bombed Um and apparently scared her off of acting. 647 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: Or all it nearly did, very nearly did. But John Travolta, 648 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: again as any of us would be, was just so 649 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,439 Speaker 1: taken with her he didn't want anyone else in that part. 650 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:34,440 Speaker 1: He later said she had a brilliant voice and I 651 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,200 Speaker 1: don't think there could be any more correct person for 652 00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: sandy in the universe. But she was very nervous both 653 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,320 Speaker 1: about acting in general and especially trying to play against 654 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: her type and assume the mantle of Leather Sandy at 655 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: the the end of the film. So she requested a 656 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:55,319 Speaker 1: screen test, which is odd because studios are usually the 657 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,799 Speaker 1: one who mandate an actress take a screen or an 658 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: actor or actress take a screen test, not the other 659 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:03,040 Speaker 1: way around. Uh, and she just wanted to see if 660 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:04,600 Speaker 1: she was any good and if she could be comfortable 661 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 1: with John Travolta. He was reportedly very nice. Randall Kaiser 662 00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:11,280 Speaker 1: said he knew she was a little nervous and wanted 663 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:14,400 Speaker 1: to protect her like a brother. They screen tested the 664 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,920 Speaker 1: scene at the drive in and she like how she looked. 665 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,040 Speaker 1: The only problem is that she couldn't quite get to 666 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: grips with the American accent, also like in Xanadu and 667 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:26,600 Speaker 1: uh so the producers agreed to change the script to 668 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 1: make the character Australian, and with that all sorted, she 669 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: got the GIG, taking a reduced fee in exchange for 670 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 1: star building alongside Travolta. All that bailing from this era 671 00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:40,760 Speaker 1: is so damn funny to me, isn't it? Towering inferno 672 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 1: where they steve McQueen and Newman were fighting over who 673 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,839 Speaker 1: got billing, and so the famous compromise that they did 674 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,360 Speaker 1: was one is to the left of the title but lower, 675 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: and the other one was on the right of the 676 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,320 Speaker 1: title but higher. So, depending on whether you were reading 677 00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 1: it left to right or top to bottom, they were 678 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:06,279 Speaker 1: both on equal billing. Ah, Hollywood, as you meditate on that, 679 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,319 Speaker 1: we'll be right back with more, too much information, after 680 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:23,280 Speaker 1: these messages, now it's time to state at the obvious. 681 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: Nearly all of these actors are way too old to 682 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:29,399 Speaker 1: be playing high schoolers. Vanity Fair reports that the movie 683 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:33,080 Speaker 1: cinematographer used soft lenses to turn back the clock for 684 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,160 Speaker 1: Olivia Newton John, who was twenty nine and worried that 685 00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:39,000 Speaker 1: she looked significantly older than Travolta, who was twenty three, 686 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:43,320 Speaker 1: and the director ran blackliser did a crow's feet test 687 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:47,200 Speaker 1: before casting to make sure that these people could pass 688 00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: as high school students as best they could. And Kelly Ward, 689 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: who played putsy, he was the youngest. He was twenty 690 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,719 Speaker 1: so he could almost pass. Jeff Conaway, is Knnicki was 691 00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 1: twenty seven. D D CON is friend. She was twenty five. 692 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,520 Speaker 1: Amy Donneley played jams, thirty and Stockard channing as Rizzo, 693 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: was thirty three and she tells the story of Alan 694 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,319 Speaker 1: Carr the producers showing up on the set one day 695 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:13,000 Speaker 1: with a brown pencil just dotting freckles hunter and try 696 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:14,960 Speaker 1: to make her look younger. To what she said, I 697 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:19,319 Speaker 1: don't look younger, I just look dirtier. And they also 698 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:21,839 Speaker 1: took an arts and crafty approach to when it came 699 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:25,719 Speaker 1: to aging down Jamie Donnelly, who was again playing Jan 700 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,239 Speaker 1: she started going prematurely gray and they dyed her hair, 701 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,960 Speaker 1: but her roots started growing in quickly and for some 702 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,160 Speaker 1: reason that I don't really understand, it was deemed unfeasible 703 00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:38,760 Speaker 1: diet again. So several times during the shoot they touched 704 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,400 Speaker 1: up her roots with Black Crayon. which I don't I 705 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:46,560 Speaker 1: don't even know how that's possible. I maybe somebody meant 706 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,320 Speaker 1: sharpie and it just got taken over the years. Is Crayon, 707 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:55,600 Speaker 1: but I've seen melting it down and just yeah, I 708 00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:58,960 Speaker 1: think like Elvis used to like die his sideburns like 709 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:03,560 Speaker 1: when they were really long in the early Seventies. Well, yeah, yeah, exactly. 710 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,399 Speaker 1: So I don't know. Maybe it was that, but anyway, 711 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: that's all weird. But that there's some more weirdness. There 712 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,560 Speaker 1: are some pretty amazing, almost cast things that went down 713 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: in this movie, especially as far as the teachers were concerned. 714 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:19,719 Speaker 1: During an interview when Greece was still in very, very 715 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:23,280 Speaker 1: very pre production, producer Alan Carr talked about wanting Paul 716 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:27,000 Speaker 1: Lynn as the principle of Rydell high school, the famous 717 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 1: nasal voiced center square of Hollywood squares, and uncle not 718 00:39:32,239 --> 00:39:36,000 Speaker 1: uncle Albert, what's his name from bewitched, and the dad 719 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:38,520 Speaker 1: from bye bye Birdie too. That would have been amazing. 720 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:41,840 Speaker 1: But they also wanted Lily Tomlin as a home economics 721 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:46,200 Speaker 1: teacher Alice Cooper as a gym teacher, and Alice Cooper 722 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:49,040 Speaker 1: was everywhere in the late Seventies. They put him increase 723 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,360 Speaker 1: they put it in sergeant peppers, like let's make this 724 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:56,200 Speaker 1: sin Weirdo who decapitates babies on stage into a major 725 00:39:56,320 --> 00:40:00,200 Speaker 1: Hollywood stainstream. Yeah, the the mainstream of a K of 726 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:03,680 Speaker 1: Alice paper. But my favorite is they wanted Andy Warhol 727 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:06,160 Speaker 1: to make a cameo as the art teacher in Greece, 728 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:10,240 Speaker 1: which is incredible. And I guess Warhol is not asked 729 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,200 Speaker 1: because some studio executive had it out for him. They 730 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:16,200 Speaker 1: had some kind of grudge and this executive said he 731 00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:19,440 Speaker 1: would not have quote that man anywhere out of the picture, 732 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,359 Speaker 1: which I am dying to know more about. That's all 733 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,640 Speaker 1: I know. Um, they were considering getting the Detroit Tigers 734 00:40:25,719 --> 00:40:30,280 Speaker 1: player mark, the bird bird rich as the star Jock 735 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:34,880 Speaker 1: in the movie, and they very nearly cast. To me, 736 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,439 Speaker 1: this is so insane to me, they very nearly cast 737 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:45,439 Speaker 1: president Gerald Ford's son, Stephen. Uh, Stephen Ford, yes, Stephen Ford, 738 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:48,040 Speaker 1: the kid who was famous for blasting led Zeppelin on 739 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:50,319 Speaker 1: the roof of the White House as a team. They 740 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:55,960 Speaker 1: cast him as Sandy's airheaded Jock boyfriends when she's do 741 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,840 Speaker 1: you have other acting credits? Well, funny you should mention this. 742 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,920 Speaker 1: He dropped out because of stage fright, which is hilarious 743 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,080 Speaker 1: because the part had no lines. But he took a 744 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:08,520 Speaker 1: small role in contact. He was the guy who got 745 00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:13,520 Speaker 1: picked to be in the spacecraft, uh, and then drops 746 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:16,160 Speaker 1: out because his kids don't want him to go, and 747 00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:19,200 Speaker 1: it's like a one line part. But yeah, that's Gerald 748 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,879 Speaker 1: Ford's son. But this was like a year after Ford 749 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: was out of office too, so this would be, yeah, 750 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:30,080 Speaker 1: very weird. He was in Starship, troopers and Ageddon. I 751 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:34,040 Speaker 1: think Ronald Reagan's kid was spent a bunch of was 752 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:37,320 Speaker 1: an actor too, Ronald Reagan Jr. Yeah, I think he 753 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:40,200 Speaker 1: hosted SNL once, but I mean Ronald Reagan was an actor, 754 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,839 Speaker 1: so I guess that's not as weird. Although Gerald Ford 755 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,920 Speaker 1: was a male model back in like the thirties. It 756 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:48,000 Speaker 1: was like an Abercrombie and Fitch Model, back when that 757 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:53,240 Speaker 1: was like sporting gear. Jesus Christ. Anyway, Stephen Ford, Gerald 758 00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:56,680 Speaker 1: Ford's Kid, dropped out of Greece and instead they hired 759 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:00,040 Speaker 1: Lorenz Obamas to play Sandy's airheaded Jack Boyfriend. And in 760 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:04,800 Speaker 1: another great almost cast was for the part of coach Calhoun. 761 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:08,040 Speaker 1: They wanted to get porn star Harry Reims, who was 762 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:11,880 Speaker 1: known for appearing in deep throat, which is easily the 763 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,400 Speaker 1: most notorious pornographic film and history, thanks was association with 764 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:18,879 Speaker 1: the Watergate scandal and a damn money it made. Yeah, 765 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:24,400 Speaker 1: Um Raylwad Klaser defended his casting choice by saying it 766 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:26,439 Speaker 1: was the seventies and at the time it was sort 767 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:29,719 Speaker 1: of anything goes. The Sexual Revolution was happening and Porn 768 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 1: Stars were becoming somewhat accepted in media. I didn't think 769 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,520 Speaker 1: it would be a problem, but paramount did. I guess 770 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:37,840 Speaker 1: they thought that they were gonna lose money in the 771 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:40,600 Speaker 1: southern states if they cast a porn star, one of 772 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:42,879 Speaker 1: the most famous porn stars in the country at the time, 773 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:47,680 Speaker 1: as a lead in their teen high school musical. So 774 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:51,239 Speaker 1: instead they went with Sid Caesar, and producer Alan Carr 775 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,200 Speaker 1: felt so guilty about giving Harry reems the boot that 776 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:56,399 Speaker 1: he paid him five thousand dollars out of his own 777 00:42:56,440 --> 00:43:00,400 Speaker 1: bank account as an apology, which I love. Um, Greece 778 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:03,919 Speaker 1: is just chalk full of fifties comedy legends and early 779 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,839 Speaker 1: TV stars. Sid Caesar is the most notable. He did 780 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,360 Speaker 1: the show, uh, your show of shows with immagene coca, 781 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:14,360 Speaker 1: which basically invented the TV sketch show format and his 782 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:18,000 Speaker 1: writing room was just an incubator for an entire generation 783 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,400 Speaker 1: of COMEDIANS. He had Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Carl Reiner, 784 00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:24,120 Speaker 1: Neil Simon, who did the odd couple among many other things, 785 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:28,040 Speaker 1: Larry Gelbert, who created mash. These were his writing team, 786 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:32,359 Speaker 1: so pretty amazing. Speaking of Fifties TV superstars, the first 787 00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,759 Speaker 1: choice to play Rizzo was Lucy Arnez, who's daisy and 788 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:40,120 Speaker 1: Lucy's daughter, and she was dropped from consideration, but her mother, 789 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:44,919 Speaker 1: Big Lucy a k s ball, called paramount and said 790 00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:49,000 Speaker 1: I used to own this studio, my daughter's not doing 791 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:54,200 Speaker 1: a screen test. Incredible, which is incredible. Sounds terrifying and 792 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:59,799 Speaker 1: it's true. She did, you stone, she did. So they 793 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:02,000 Speaker 1: all tim only went with Stockard channing, who had acted 794 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:04,560 Speaker 1: with Lucy Arnez in a recent play, so that's how 795 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,360 Speaker 1: the knew her. Kelly Ward, who played one of the 796 00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:10,640 Speaker 1: t birds putsy, came to the auditions to help out 797 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:13,719 Speaker 1: the choreographer, Patricia Birch and end up getting cast. Just 798 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,719 Speaker 1: kind of fell into it. And D D Kahn, who 799 00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:20,640 Speaker 1: played French sheet, hit under a studio security guards desk 800 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:24,280 Speaker 1: to get a sneak peek beforehand at the script for audition, 801 00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:29,759 Speaker 1: which is amazing. And finally, there's The actor Michael Bean. 802 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:33,600 Speaker 1: Is that you say that he being I don't know, being. Uh, 803 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:36,919 Speaker 1: he would later star and the Terminator in Aliens Franchises. 804 00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:39,920 Speaker 1: He's the guy that John Travolta punches in the basketball 805 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,319 Speaker 1: game when he tries to take the ball away from him. God, 806 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:48,080 Speaker 1: he's handsome. So is Travolta in this? Yeah, it must be. No, 807 00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,080 Speaker 1: I just I. I man. I love those Terminator Movies 808 00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:54,040 Speaker 1: so much and bean is just he's a beautiful man 809 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:57,520 Speaker 1: in that first one. Anyway, I'm discovering something about myself 810 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:02,200 Speaker 1: right now. H production on Greece began in the summer 811 00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:06,479 Speaker 1: of nine and rather than a proper rehearsal or table read, 812 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,480 Speaker 1: the producers held a sack hop, hoping that the cast 813 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:11,640 Speaker 1: would get to know each other better in the time 814 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,800 Speaker 1: honored tradition of dancing around in a circle wearing a 815 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:18,160 Speaker 1: skirt with a poodle on it. Uh. They spent the 816 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:20,760 Speaker 1: first few weeks working out the dance routines and empty 817 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:23,239 Speaker 1: sound stage with Patricia Birch, who had worked on the 818 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,560 Speaker 1: Broadway show. Patricia Birch studied under Martha Graham and was 819 00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:30,200 Speaker 1: one of the dancers in the original broadberry production of 820 00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:35,120 Speaker 1: west side story, and she actually named all of the 821 00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:38,480 Speaker 1: twenty backup dancers in this whereas you know, mostly when 822 00:45:38,520 --> 00:45:40,680 Speaker 1: you see the credits role in the backup dancers are 823 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:45,600 Speaker 1: like yeah, dancer with I patch, uh. And she gave 824 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:49,719 Speaker 1: the ball names like sauce bubba and Moose and backstories 825 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:51,800 Speaker 1: so that they would have a better sense of their character, 826 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:55,360 Speaker 1: like a really elaborate backstory, though. It's like I just 827 00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:59,879 Speaker 1: watched the conversation with U, you know, Hackman, and it's 828 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:02,920 Speaker 1: an early role for Harrison Ford and he plays Um, 829 00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:06,960 Speaker 1: this sort of like fixer, corporate executive type, and I 830 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,440 Speaker 1: was reading about it and he decided of his own 831 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:12,040 Speaker 1: volition that the character would be gay and like gave 832 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:14,640 Speaker 1: the character a whole backstory that was like not present 833 00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:17,080 Speaker 1: anywhere in it. It was like I just always think 834 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:21,480 Speaker 1: that's cute when actors are like that. Uh, but Um, yeah, 835 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:24,640 Speaker 1: and you know, that sense of Camaraderie and deep character 836 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:27,759 Speaker 1: history did make everything feel more like a school. You 837 00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:30,440 Speaker 1: know you have people with weird nicknames and you have 838 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,440 Speaker 1: a sense of their past and you know there's a 839 00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:36,360 Speaker 1: whole thing that happens in the background between two dancers 840 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:40,360 Speaker 1: who have a romance that sort of blossoms throughout the 841 00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:42,440 Speaker 1: course of the movie and they finally kissed during the 842 00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:46,080 Speaker 1: background of you're the one that I want. The whole 843 00:46:46,160 --> 00:46:48,680 Speaker 1: world going on in the backgrounds, a whole other movie 844 00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:51,359 Speaker 1: being played in the background of Greece. I just think 845 00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:53,279 Speaker 1: that's so cool. I now I need to rewatch it 846 00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:54,920 Speaker 1: and like keep an eye out for these characters and 847 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:57,840 Speaker 1: try to watch, yeah, like the whole movie. It's like 848 00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:01,200 Speaker 1: this like little blossom and Rome ins. And then finally, 849 00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:04,000 Speaker 1: when it's the shot when one of the tea bers 850 00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:06,440 Speaker 1: is doing the head and the whole thing during you're 851 00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:08,439 Speaker 1: the one that I want with the dog and they're 852 00:47:08,520 --> 00:47:10,880 Speaker 1: like in the background. I'm just not thinking of this 853 00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:14,400 Speaker 1: because I watched community during the first stage of the 854 00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:19,040 Speaker 1: pandemic and freshman year and Um, they do this bit 855 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:21,520 Speaker 1: where they say to the one character like Oh, you 856 00:47:21,680 --> 00:47:25,080 Speaker 1: just have all of these little background adventures without the 857 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:27,759 Speaker 1: rest of us, right, and then in the back of 858 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:30,800 Speaker 1: the frame in like every shot from this episode, you 859 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:33,040 Speaker 1: just see him like he like saves a woman with 860 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:35,560 Speaker 1: CPR or like. No, I think he helps deliver a 861 00:47:35,640 --> 00:47:37,840 Speaker 1: baby like. He's just like in the background frame of 862 00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:40,759 Speaker 1: all this. I wonder if that's a specific riff. I 863 00:47:40,880 --> 00:47:44,120 Speaker 1: hope so. It's like true show level world building. I 864 00:47:44,239 --> 00:47:46,840 Speaker 1: just I think it's all from a bunch of dirty 865 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:52,960 Speaker 1: Chicago greaser's, horned up dirty Chicago's. So the cast were 866 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:56,240 Speaker 1: working out their choreography on this empty paramount sound stage 867 00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,280 Speaker 1: and next door was Jack Nicholson, who had an office 868 00:47:59,320 --> 00:48:01,279 Speaker 1: on the lot and every so often to yell out 869 00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:03,719 Speaker 1: the window to tell those pesky grease kids to keep 870 00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,279 Speaker 1: the racket down and to make it up to him. 871 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:10,000 Speaker 1: Just before shooting began, the production invited Jack Nicholson, some 872 00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:14,000 Speaker 1: studio executives and Warren Beatty, who was filming. Heaven can 873 00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 1: wait to just watch a run through of the musical 874 00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:20,359 Speaker 1: numbers which they performed like a review, which I love. 875 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:24,040 Speaker 1: That's another Zanna do tie in. Oh Yeah, you're right, 876 00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:27,400 Speaker 1: because heaven can wait is a remaink of the film 877 00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:32,200 Speaker 1: that Zanna do is a reboot of a sequel to yeah, 878 00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:38,560 Speaker 1: well said that. Yeah, Jesus Christ, that movie. Uh, you 879 00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:42,319 Speaker 1: had something about a mouseketeer in here. You're Weirdo. Oh yeah, 880 00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:45,440 Speaker 1: that's right, it's it's a weird fifties throwback. The drummer 881 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,719 Speaker 1: for the rehearsal band was Cubby O'Brien, who was one 882 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:52,439 Speaker 1: of the original mousketeers. And you know who was also 883 00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:57,760 Speaker 1: a Mousketeer, Britney spears. Yeah, on Britney Spears connection to Greece. 884 00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:01,200 Speaker 1: After these rehearsals were complete, the grease production went to 885 00:49:01,239 --> 00:49:04,040 Speaker 1: shoot on location at Venice High School, which is the 886 00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:06,719 Speaker 1: same school where Britney Spears filmed the video for hit 887 00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,880 Speaker 1: me baby one more time, which is incredible. Sadly, they 888 00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:13,640 Speaker 1: mostly did exterior shots at Venice High School, so you 889 00:49:13,719 --> 00:49:16,760 Speaker 1: can't actually see the Hallway Brittany dance through in Greece. 890 00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:19,400 Speaker 1: That would have been amazing. To all intents of purposes, 891 00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:22,240 Speaker 1: filming Greece was basically like going back to high school. 892 00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:26,120 Speaker 1: Producer Alan Carr, who was not especially well liked in 893 00:49:26,239 --> 00:49:28,960 Speaker 1: high school, later said making this movie was like being 894 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:31,440 Speaker 1: the president of the class in high school. It was 895 00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:34,399 Speaker 1: a big party from the very first day until it ended. 896 00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:37,560 Speaker 1: And is that one? Is that one being president school 897 00:49:37,719 --> 00:49:41,680 Speaker 1: was like? This was all especially cool for Living Newton 898 00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:45,399 Speaker 1: John because she'd gone to like, you know, preppy Australian 899 00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:48,840 Speaker 1: school with stuffy uniforms and they even had separate entrances 900 00:49:48,960 --> 00:49:51,000 Speaker 1: for boys and girls. So she would say. You know, 901 00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:53,520 Speaker 1: for me this is breaking out and living the school 902 00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:55,960 Speaker 1: experience that I never had. I don't know why I 903 00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:58,160 Speaker 1: love this factory so much. But according to the Fort 904 00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:02,080 Speaker 1: Anniversary special features for Reas, the cast chewed about one 905 00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:05,600 Speaker 1: hundred thousand pieces of bubblegum during the shoot, which is 906 00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:09,840 Speaker 1: equal to roughly five thousand pieces a day, which doesn't 907 00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:13,279 Speaker 1: seem possible when I look at the cast. Yeah, we're 908 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:17,160 Speaker 1: like divide that by the IMDB. Yeah, I don't know 909 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:20,160 Speaker 1: that's just but it's. I checked it with the official, 910 00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:25,319 Speaker 1: like grease website. Anyway, good glory. Yeah, D D Con 911 00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:27,920 Speaker 1: said that they all stayed in character all day and 912 00:50:28,080 --> 00:50:30,320 Speaker 1: called each other by their character names and sang a 913 00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:33,000 Speaker 1: lot of fifties songs even when the cameras weren't rolling. 914 00:50:33,600 --> 00:50:35,760 Speaker 1: And this kind of backfired for the woman who played 915 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:39,440 Speaker 1: the annoying preppy girl, Patty Simcox, who was a former 916 00:50:39,480 --> 00:50:43,759 Speaker 1: Miss America finalist named Susan Buckner, and she apparently was 917 00:50:43,880 --> 00:50:46,680 Speaker 1: ostracized by the cast on the set, and d d 918 00:50:46,840 --> 00:50:49,840 Speaker 1: Con admitted as much. You know, G D CON plays Frenchie. 919 00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:52,600 Speaker 1: She said we all made fun of her and ignored her, 920 00:50:52,920 --> 00:50:55,920 Speaker 1: but Susan Buckner came out ahead because she had an 921 00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:59,560 Speaker 1: onset affair with Knnicki, which we'll talk about shortly. But 922 00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:02,480 Speaker 1: direk to Randall. Kleiser kept a really close eye on 923 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:05,880 Speaker 1: his cast when he wasn't shooting to incorporate their kind 924 00:51:05,920 --> 00:51:09,600 Speaker 1: of real life camaraderie into the film, and I love 925 00:51:09,680 --> 00:51:12,560 Speaker 1: this so much. The cast of the bad news bears, 926 00:51:12,680 --> 00:51:15,719 Speaker 1: the Little League movie was, I guess, shooting nearby and 927 00:51:15,760 --> 00:51:18,319 Speaker 1: they challenged the cast of Greece to a baseball game, 928 00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:22,160 Speaker 1: with John Travolta acting as the team's pitcher. Who One? 929 00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:28,040 Speaker 1: I have got to say, Greece whipped asid and beat 930 00:51:28,080 --> 00:51:32,080 Speaker 1: those little kids. Yeah, bad news bears, it's a kids movie. 931 00:51:32,120 --> 00:51:34,120 Speaker 1: Maybe it was the crew on the movie. I don't know. 932 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:38,399 Speaker 1: Travolta hits a line drive. Yeah, it gives it Walter 933 00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:42,439 Speaker 1: mathow black eye. Yeah, I I don't know. I wanted 934 00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:45,879 Speaker 1: a more. That's like the the the eagles playing Um 935 00:51:46,239 --> 00:51:49,360 Speaker 1: the staff at rolling stone in the Seventies. Like the 936 00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:52,600 Speaker 1: Eagles got so pissed at rolling stone for just ripping 937 00:51:52,640 --> 00:51:54,960 Speaker 1: them in reviews that I don't know how this happened, 938 00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:57,359 Speaker 1: but they challenge you on winner and his staff too, 939 00:51:58,440 --> 00:52:02,040 Speaker 1: like a softball game. And then but eagles even had 940 00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:04,040 Speaker 1: this is when the eagles were making stupid money and 941 00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:06,719 Speaker 1: gacked out of their minds and they had like uniforms 942 00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:12,560 Speaker 1: made and everything. Oh my God, I think there was one. Yeah, 943 00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:15,919 Speaker 1: compare that to led Zeppelin who, like John Bonham, would 944 00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:19,080 Speaker 1: have just fought everyone in that office bare handed. And 945 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:24,640 Speaker 1: one the eagles ran them. Don Henley's like, we'll play baseball. 946 00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:28,080 Speaker 1: That'll teach you guys. I don't know if that's how 947 00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:32,160 Speaker 1: Hanley talks. He'll suit me just for saying when I 948 00:52:32,239 --> 00:52:38,880 Speaker 1: cut that. So it was a topic. Well, yeah, it 949 00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:41,239 Speaker 1: was a really fun shoot for most people, but not 950 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:44,000 Speaker 1: so fun for John Travolta. He was coping with the 951 00:52:44,080 --> 00:52:48,200 Speaker 1: death of his girlfriend, the actress Diana Highland, who started 952 00:52:48,239 --> 00:52:50,680 Speaker 1: with him in the boy in the plastic bubble, and 953 00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:53,520 Speaker 1: she died of cancer that Spring, apparently dying in John 954 00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:56,440 Speaker 1: Travolta's arms, and you would know what to look at him, 955 00:52:56,520 --> 00:52:59,600 Speaker 1: but he was really struggling during the shoot. He couldn't 956 00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:02,640 Speaker 1: sleep and he'd call director Randall Klaiser at all hours 957 00:53:02,719 --> 00:53:05,960 Speaker 1: of the night just to talk and uh Travolta later 958 00:53:06,040 --> 00:53:08,840 Speaker 1: said that doing Greece was, quote, a great distraction for me. 959 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,279 Speaker 1: It was probably the healthiest thing I could have done 960 00:53:11,360 --> 00:53:13,279 Speaker 1: to be in back to back movies, because that was 961 00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:17,120 Speaker 1: very sad, I guess. People magazine published a big cover 962 00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:19,680 Speaker 1: story on her death and someone made the mistake of 963 00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:22,400 Speaker 1: leaving the issue on the set. Was the day they 964 00:53:22,440 --> 00:53:25,440 Speaker 1: were shooting grease lightning and Travolta happened to see it and, 965 00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:30,560 Speaker 1: according to claiser, he just went completely ashen. So Travolta 966 00:53:30,719 --> 00:53:33,360 Speaker 1: was having a rough go of it, but that was 967 00:53:33,480 --> 00:53:36,560 Speaker 1: more or less the solitary cloud during the whole production. 968 00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:40,080 Speaker 1: Everybody really got along great. During the sleep overseene at 969 00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:43,279 Speaker 1: Frenchie's house, the actresses all hung out and painted each 970 00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:46,000 Speaker 1: other's nails and had pillow fights and and that's the 971 00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:48,719 Speaker 1: scene with the pink ladies, Mock Sandy who, it must 972 00:53:48,760 --> 00:53:51,520 Speaker 1: be said, is too pure to be pink. Remember by 973 00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:55,480 Speaker 1: singing look at me, I'm Sandra D and there's an 974 00:53:55,520 --> 00:53:57,320 Speaker 1: interesting moment with that song. There's a line in the 975 00:53:57,400 --> 00:54:01,080 Speaker 1: song where Rizzo, in mock horror, sings elvis, Elvis. Let 976 00:54:01,160 --> 00:54:04,840 Speaker 1: me be keep that pelvis far from me, and that 977 00:54:05,040 --> 00:54:07,040 Speaker 1: line was actually one of the few lines that was 978 00:54:07,160 --> 00:54:09,640 Speaker 1: changed from the stage version, which had originally been no 979 00:54:09,880 --> 00:54:14,279 Speaker 1: nos Salmnio. I would never stoop so low, but Salmnio, 980 00:54:14,400 --> 00:54:16,920 Speaker 1: the fifties heart throb from revel without a cause, had 981 00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:20,040 Speaker 1: just been murdered in Los Angeles shortly before shooting, so 982 00:54:20,160 --> 00:54:22,440 Speaker 1: they changed it to me about Elvis. And then the 983 00:54:22,520 --> 00:54:26,680 Speaker 1: day they filmed the scene was August seventy seven, the 984 00:54:26,760 --> 00:54:30,560 Speaker 1: day elvis died. So apparently they heard the news just 985 00:54:30,800 --> 00:54:35,120 Speaker 1: moments before shooting this scene singing the song with references 986 00:54:35,160 --> 00:54:37,960 Speaker 1: to Elvis, and Rand La Klier said afterwards it was 987 00:54:38,040 --> 00:54:40,360 Speaker 1: all over the news. So everyone knew we did this 988 00:54:40,480 --> 00:54:42,719 Speaker 1: number and everybody kind of looked each other like yeah, 989 00:54:42,840 --> 00:54:50,120 Speaker 1: this is creepy. So that's weird boy. Uh. Weirdly, that's 990 00:54:50,160 --> 00:54:53,600 Speaker 1: not the only connection Elvis has to Greece. Producers initially 991 00:54:53,640 --> 00:54:56,000 Speaker 1: considered him for the role of the teen idol who 992 00:54:56,080 --> 00:54:59,719 Speaker 1: sings beauty school dropout to Frenchie, which I think would 993 00:54:59,760 --> 00:55:03,040 Speaker 1: have been absolutely grotesque. Can you imagine seventy seven era 994 00:55:03,200 --> 00:55:06,360 Speaker 1: Elvis looking like a tan sausage and all white backdrop, 995 00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:09,839 Speaker 1: recruiting to d d Con like I just I that. Yeah, 996 00:55:10,680 --> 00:55:15,320 Speaker 1: Donny Osmond was also considered, uh, the Second Osmond reference 997 00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:18,520 Speaker 1: in this episode, and Frankie Valley claimed that he was 998 00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:21,160 Speaker 1: given a choice between playing the teen idol or singing 999 00:55:21,239 --> 00:55:24,480 Speaker 1: the title song, and he opted for the title Song, 1000 00:55:24,600 --> 00:55:27,799 Speaker 1: which that seems like a crop but okay. The role 1001 00:55:27,840 --> 00:55:31,520 Speaker 1: eventually went to Frankie Avalon, who initially resisted it for 1002 00:55:31,680 --> 00:55:35,240 Speaker 1: fear of being type cast as a teen idol, which again, 1003 00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:37,799 Speaker 1: it's like Fonzie not wanting to be Danny Zuko because 1004 00:55:37,800 --> 00:55:42,480 Speaker 1: he was worried about being type casts a little late. Um, weirdly, 1005 00:55:42,800 --> 00:55:46,280 Speaker 1: Frankie avalon was persuaded to accept the part when producers 1006 00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:51,239 Speaker 1: described the scene. Apparently, an angel singing to a bunch 1007 00:55:51,320 --> 00:55:55,680 Speaker 1: of teenagers dressed in white mirrored a recurring dream that 1008 00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:59,560 Speaker 1: avalon's cousin had told them about years before, and he 1009 00:55:59,640 --> 00:56:01,560 Speaker 1: took at as some kind of a sign that he 1010 00:56:01,640 --> 00:56:04,600 Speaker 1: had to do the movie. What are you saying to 1011 00:56:04,719 --> 00:56:09,839 Speaker 1: me right now? Yeah, Frankie Avalon's cousin had kept having 1012 00:56:09,840 --> 00:56:13,640 Speaker 1: a recurring dream about an angel singing to teenagers the 1013 00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:17,080 Speaker 1: white background and told him about it years earlier, and 1014 00:56:17,160 --> 00:56:19,239 Speaker 1: so when they described the scene to frankie. He was like, 1015 00:56:19,320 --> 00:56:21,160 Speaker 1: Oh my God, this is some kind of a sign. 1016 00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:23,720 Speaker 1: Like my cousin has been having this recurring dream for years. 1017 00:56:24,080 --> 00:56:25,920 Speaker 1: It's got to be faded or something. I have to 1018 00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:29,799 Speaker 1: do this movie. Um, you know, he's pushing fordy when 1019 00:56:29,840 --> 00:56:32,800 Speaker 1: he made this, but he still had swag and French. 1020 00:56:32,840 --> 00:56:36,799 Speaker 1: She was smitten in real life. D D Con later 1021 00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:40,480 Speaker 1: said there was no acting going on which during her 1022 00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:43,440 Speaker 1: reaction shots, but she's just staring at him, mouth agape 1023 00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:48,919 Speaker 1: and eyes a glow in a mix of lust and all. Hilariously, 1024 00:56:50,200 --> 00:56:52,960 Speaker 1: the shoot was not fun for Frankie. Avalon he was 1025 00:56:53,080 --> 00:56:56,680 Speaker 1: absolutely terrified. He's really afraid of heights and when he 1026 00:56:56,760 --> 00:56:59,799 Speaker 1: realized he had to descend the slippery three story stare 1027 00:57:00,040 --> 00:57:03,360 Speaker 1: case that had no railings on it, he wasn't happy 1028 00:57:03,520 --> 00:57:05,960 Speaker 1: and he nearly backed out in the middle of the shoot. 1029 00:57:06,560 --> 00:57:09,759 Speaker 1: He later recalled I get really frightened and panicky with this. 1030 00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:12,640 Speaker 1: After the second take I said to Randle, the director, 1031 00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:16,080 Speaker 1: you gotta Cut, I can't do this, and Randall, to 1032 00:57:16,440 --> 00:57:19,120 Speaker 1: try to chill Frankie out, put a bunch of mattresses 1033 00:57:19,480 --> 00:57:22,200 Speaker 1: on either side of the staircase just to like calm 1034 00:57:22,280 --> 00:57:26,960 Speaker 1: him down. Um, a darker side about beauties, gold dropout. 1035 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:29,880 Speaker 1: This was a song from the original Broadway show. The 1036 00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:32,720 Speaker 1: plays creators were inspired to write the song after learning 1037 00:57:32,720 --> 00:57:34,720 Speaker 1: about a woman who dropped out of beauty school to 1038 00:57:34,760 --> 00:57:40,160 Speaker 1: become a murderer, who among us um but enough about murder. 1039 00:57:40,400 --> 00:57:44,080 Speaker 1: This is a movie about young love. The film opens 1040 00:57:44,120 --> 00:57:46,320 Speaker 1: with Danny and Sandy Kissing on the beach, which is 1041 00:57:46,360 --> 00:57:48,240 Speaker 1: an allusion to the famous scene and from here to 1042 00:57:48,360 --> 00:57:52,160 Speaker 1: eternity with Burt Lancaster. Danny's windbreaker is a non to 1043 00:57:52,280 --> 00:57:55,200 Speaker 1: the famous red one born by James Dean and the 1044 00:57:55,320 --> 00:57:58,920 Speaker 1: quintessential fifties teen movie rebel without a cause. That was 1045 00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:02,200 Speaker 1: filmed at Leo Korea State Beach which, as we mentioned 1046 00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:04,840 Speaker 1: on the contact episode, that is the beach where Jodie 1047 00:58:04,880 --> 00:58:08,600 Speaker 1: foster has her alien encounter with her late father, played 1048 00:58:08,640 --> 00:58:10,840 Speaker 1: by David Morse, at the end of the movie. Also 1049 00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:12,800 Speaker 1: used in that thing you do for the scene with 1050 00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:16,320 Speaker 1: the band film of Beach Party weekend at Party peer 1051 00:58:16,440 --> 00:58:20,360 Speaker 1: with Captain Geach and the shrimp shack shooters. How did 1052 00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:23,200 Speaker 1: I get that one out? Yeah, why haven't you been 1053 00:58:23,240 --> 00:58:27,080 Speaker 1: there yet? Seriously, yeah, I talking with the ailgrimage. All 1054 00:58:27,160 --> 00:58:29,840 Speaker 1: my favorite movies for a film there. This is their 1055 00:58:29,840 --> 00:58:33,080 Speaker 1: only kids in the movie. H and Olivia Newton John 1056 00:58:33,080 --> 00:58:36,200 Speaker 1: admitted to being nervous for it because, you know, new 1057 00:58:36,280 --> 00:58:39,720 Speaker 1: to the screen. Love scenes were new to her. But Um, 1058 00:58:40,120 --> 00:58:43,120 Speaker 1: you know, their relationship is weird because it suggested at 1059 00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:45,480 Speaker 1: the beginning of the movie that Danny and Rizzo used 1060 00:58:45,520 --> 00:58:49,440 Speaker 1: to date. Right. Yeah, yeah, I remember, like one of 1061 00:58:49,480 --> 00:58:52,040 Speaker 1: the pink ladies goes up to Rizz he's seeing Zuko. Yeah, 1062 00:58:52,040 --> 00:58:54,080 Speaker 1: he's looking pretty good this year. It's like a lot 1063 00:58:54,120 --> 00:58:56,400 Speaker 1: of little allusions to the fact that they used to date. 1064 00:58:56,560 --> 00:58:59,880 Speaker 1: So I'm curious about how Danny feels that his best 1065 00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:05,640 Speaker 1: friend got his ex pregnant. Well, Stockard channing, who played Rizzo, 1066 00:59:05,720 --> 00:59:10,280 Speaker 1: says that Jeff conaway was a real horn dog on 1067 00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:14,000 Speaker 1: the set. He even insisted on giving her the infamous 1068 00:59:14,040 --> 00:59:17,440 Speaker 1: Hickey from knickie himself. During an appearance on watch what 1069 00:59:17,560 --> 00:59:20,760 Speaker 1: happens live a few years back, Andy Cohen asked Stockard 1070 00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:25,200 Speaker 1: to name the hornyest cast mate on Greece. AH, she said, 1071 00:59:25,280 --> 00:59:29,840 Speaker 1: no contest, Jeff conaway. The trailer would be rocking at lunchtime. 1072 00:59:30,240 --> 00:59:33,720 Speaker 1: If this trailers are rocking, don't come and knocking. According 1073 00:59:33,800 --> 00:59:36,840 Speaker 1: to the actress who played Patty Simcox, one time Miss 1074 00:59:36,960 --> 00:59:40,720 Speaker 1: USA finalists, Susan Buckner. She and conaway had an affair or, 1075 00:59:40,800 --> 00:59:45,400 Speaker 1: as she calls it, a trailer moment. UH, she said 1076 00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:49,560 Speaker 1: we had to practice him pulling up my dress, which 1077 00:59:51,720 --> 00:59:56,960 Speaker 1: hand jive dance number. Yeah, uh. She also spent years 1078 00:59:57,520 --> 01:00:01,240 Speaker 1: directing children's theater, staging annual productions of Greece at an 1079 01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:07,479 Speaker 1: elementary school, which means at some point she was re enacting. Nope, Nope, nope, 1080 01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:10,680 Speaker 1: we're not going there. Back to Jeff, that horned dog. 1081 01:00:11,440 --> 01:00:14,400 Speaker 1: He took an active interest in helping everyone else on 1082 01:00:14,520 --> 01:00:17,920 Speaker 1: this film also have sex. And Yeah, you know, you 1083 01:00:18,040 --> 01:00:20,520 Speaker 1: got to give back to the little people, and this 1084 01:00:20,720 --> 01:00:22,680 Speaker 1: extended to trying to get a hooker for the guy 1085 01:00:22,720 --> 01:00:26,280 Speaker 1: who played Eugene, the Nerd, played by veteran character actor 1086 01:00:26,400 --> 01:00:32,920 Speaker 1: Eddie deason. Deason was a virgin and uh was terrified 1087 01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:34,560 Speaker 1: that he was going to show up to his trailer 1088 01:00:34,640 --> 01:00:38,960 Speaker 1: and find a hooker procured by Jeff goneaway. Um, I 1089 01:00:39,120 --> 01:00:40,800 Speaker 1: just love that the guy who played the nerd in 1090 01:00:40,880 --> 01:00:43,360 Speaker 1: the movie was driven to the set every day by 1091 01:00:43,440 --> 01:00:46,480 Speaker 1: the villain crater face, you know, the guy that they 1092 01:00:46,560 --> 01:00:48,439 Speaker 1: have the race with at the end of the movie. 1093 01:00:48,520 --> 01:00:50,520 Speaker 1: Picked him up every morning drove him the shoot, which 1094 01:00:50,600 --> 01:00:53,200 Speaker 1: I find adorable. NERDS and nerds and bullies. You know, 1095 01:00:53,320 --> 01:00:56,320 Speaker 1: Samuel Beckett used to drive under the giant to school 1096 01:00:56,640 --> 01:01:00,280 Speaker 1: in his cart. I'm not falling for at this time. 1097 01:01:00,960 --> 01:01:03,280 Speaker 1: That's real. That's not a setup to a joke. That's 1098 01:01:03,280 --> 01:01:05,800 Speaker 1: an actual, real thing. Beckett was living in France and 1099 01:01:05,920 --> 01:01:10,520 Speaker 1: in Grenoble and used to take a a then boulder 1100 01:01:10,640 --> 01:01:15,320 Speaker 1: sized Andre the giant Um to school and his, I 1101 01:01:15,360 --> 01:01:18,240 Speaker 1: don't know, his apple cart, whatever Samuel Buick had had 1102 01:01:18,280 --> 01:01:21,520 Speaker 1: at that point. Anyway, back to Knnicki and Rizzo. There 1103 01:01:21,640 --> 01:01:24,600 Speaker 1: is a missing scene of Rizzo and Cannicki having an argument, 1104 01:01:24,960 --> 01:01:27,560 Speaker 1: which explains why they're so tenser in the diner scene 1105 01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:30,560 Speaker 1: when she throws a malt at him. That was cut 1106 01:01:30,920 --> 01:01:34,440 Speaker 1: because it was so vicious. One crew member described as 1107 01:01:34,480 --> 01:01:38,240 Speaker 1: looking like something Martin Scorsese might have directed. Are In 1108 01:01:38,320 --> 01:01:41,520 Speaker 1: fact checking me on Beckett Andre the I didn't make 1109 01:01:41,560 --> 01:01:46,200 Speaker 1: it up. Some of the stuff they did leave in 1110 01:01:46,560 --> 01:01:49,680 Speaker 1: is not exactly kid friendly, though. You know, there's a 1111 01:01:49,720 --> 01:01:51,960 Speaker 1: lot of Innuendo in there, and that was on purpose. 1112 01:01:52,160 --> 01:01:54,600 Speaker 1: Director Randall Kaiser said we wanted to put as many 1113 01:01:55,080 --> 01:01:58,960 Speaker 1: sexual innuendos as we could, because that's what makes it fun. 1114 01:01:59,680 --> 01:02:03,440 Speaker 1: The hand. Yeah, considering this would go on to be 1115 01:02:03,560 --> 01:02:07,600 Speaker 1: staged by every elementary, middle and high school theater company 1116 01:02:07,720 --> 01:02:14,040 Speaker 1: in the country, but you know, hindsight. Uh. There's the hand. 1117 01:02:14,160 --> 01:02:17,320 Speaker 1: Give Um Connecki and Rizzo having sex in the back 1118 01:02:17,360 --> 01:02:20,360 Speaker 1: of the car and breaking the condom. There's been spontane 1119 01:02:20,400 --> 01:02:23,760 Speaker 1: trying to slip a drug into Marty's coke. Rizzo saying, 1120 01:02:23,800 --> 01:02:27,560 Speaker 1: what is this? A Gang Bang, which is, you know, 1121 01:02:27,800 --> 01:02:31,240 Speaker 1: variously interpreted as a gang fight, or the other thing? 1122 01:02:32,440 --> 01:02:35,920 Speaker 1: I've never heard that uses a gang fight. No, no, 1123 01:02:36,760 --> 01:02:39,560 Speaker 1: I'm just trying to give you that one so we 1124 01:02:39,600 --> 01:02:42,520 Speaker 1: can keep the PG rating so my heart doesn't come 1125 01:02:42,560 --> 01:02:47,120 Speaker 1: after us. Uh. Rizzo saying, Um, what's up to Kinnicki? 1126 01:02:47,200 --> 01:02:51,800 Speaker 1: Who Responds one guess. Um. There's that line in summer loving. 1127 01:02:51,880 --> 01:02:55,720 Speaker 1: Did she put up a fight? Which? And then there's uh, 1128 01:02:56,080 --> 01:03:00,600 Speaker 1: you know, grease lightning, which is about, you know, doing 1129 01:03:00,680 --> 01:03:04,800 Speaker 1: the whole Horizontal Mambo in the back seat of a car. UH, 1130 01:03:05,160 --> 01:03:10,200 Speaker 1: the line the chicks will cream and she's a real 1131 01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:13,760 Speaker 1: shagging wagon. I don't remember what we changed this too 1132 01:03:13,760 --> 01:03:15,640 Speaker 1: in my high school. But you know, I think we 1133 01:03:15,720 --> 01:03:18,440 Speaker 1: did scream in my high school. This was the I 1134 01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:21,440 Speaker 1: wasn't allowed to participate in this song because my I 1135 01:03:21,520 --> 01:03:24,600 Speaker 1: couldn't dance like that was the I could sing but 1136 01:03:24,800 --> 01:03:28,400 Speaker 1: I couldn't all the dance numbers. I just had to 1137 01:03:28,560 --> 01:03:32,080 Speaker 1: sit out because I was so hopeless. Crew of like 1138 01:03:32,520 --> 01:03:36,240 Speaker 1: sixty people on the stage, but I was so bad 1139 01:03:36,320 --> 01:03:39,760 Speaker 1: that I stuck out. So yeah, grease lightning I don't 1140 01:03:39,840 --> 01:03:43,160 Speaker 1: like very much because I have memories of screwing it up. 1141 01:03:43,200 --> 01:03:45,160 Speaker 1: But you know who else didn't have a good time 1142 01:03:45,240 --> 01:03:48,680 Speaker 1: doing it? John Travolta. Well, I mean there's that scene 1143 01:03:48,760 --> 01:03:51,600 Speaker 1: there where he rubs plastic wrap on his Crotch, which is, 1144 01:03:51,840 --> 01:03:56,040 Speaker 1: I guess, a nod to the longstanding, woefully ignorant days 1145 01:03:56,080 --> 01:03:57,840 Speaker 1: of birth control in this country, when they said you 1146 01:03:57,880 --> 01:04:01,400 Speaker 1: could Suran wrap your use it as a condom. I 1147 01:04:01,480 --> 01:04:02,800 Speaker 1: guess they made more of a deal out of it 1148 01:04:02,880 --> 01:04:05,280 Speaker 1: in the play and then they were like we'll cut 1149 01:04:05,360 --> 01:04:08,160 Speaker 1: it in the in the movie, and then, bless him, 1150 01:04:08,600 --> 01:04:13,320 Speaker 1: Travolta did it anyway. Overall, John Travolta really loved doing 1151 01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:16,240 Speaker 1: these musical numbers and he later said nobody can imagine 1152 01:04:16,280 --> 01:04:19,160 Speaker 1: how dynamic it feels to be in a musical. Imagine 1153 01:04:19,200 --> 01:04:21,520 Speaker 1: you're on the set. Do you have your choreography down, 1154 01:04:21,800 --> 01:04:24,560 Speaker 1: you have this music blasting, and then the director says 1155 01:04:24,680 --> 01:04:27,640 Speaker 1: action and you just take off like a balloon. In 1156 01:04:27,720 --> 01:04:31,280 Speaker 1: this other dimension you just feel alive. This all. I'm sorry, 1157 01:04:31,360 --> 01:04:34,800 Speaker 1: this all sounds like scientology text to me. Um, take 1158 01:04:34,840 --> 01:04:38,720 Speaker 1: off like a balloon in this other dimension, you just 1159 01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:44,000 Speaker 1: feel alive. God bless that man. Uh. But when it 1160 01:04:44,080 --> 01:04:46,360 Speaker 1: came time to shoot grease lightning, he was a little 1161 01:04:46,400 --> 01:04:48,480 Speaker 1: out of sorts and, as I said earlier, this was 1162 01:04:48,520 --> 01:04:51,000 Speaker 1: the day that someone left the People magazine lying around 1163 01:04:51,080 --> 01:04:54,400 Speaker 1: with the cover story about Diana highlands, his late girlfriend, 1164 01:04:54,640 --> 01:04:58,040 Speaker 1: and reading it just before taping. This completely threw him 1165 01:04:58,040 --> 01:05:00,640 Speaker 1: off his game and he apparently flubbed of the lines. 1166 01:05:00,800 --> 01:05:04,880 Speaker 1: He couldn't get the line go grease lightning, your coasting 1167 01:05:04,960 --> 01:05:08,320 Speaker 1: through the heat lap trials. He kept singing heap lap 1168 01:05:08,920 --> 01:05:10,440 Speaker 1: and no matter how many times he did, he just 1169 01:05:10,480 --> 01:05:12,720 Speaker 1: couldn't get it. So but dire actually just you know, 1170 01:05:13,000 --> 01:05:15,640 Speaker 1: I was feeling bad for him, knowing how what a 1171 01:05:15,720 --> 01:05:18,720 Speaker 1: rough day he was having, so we just let it go. Um, 1172 01:05:19,240 --> 01:05:22,040 Speaker 1: grease lightning was originally supposed to be Jeff CONAWAY's big 1173 01:05:22,120 --> 01:05:25,200 Speaker 1: solo number in the play. Knicky had always been the 1174 01:05:25,240 --> 01:05:27,600 Speaker 1: one to sing it, which makes sense because it's his car, 1175 01:05:28,160 --> 01:05:31,800 Speaker 1: but then Trevolti pooled, kind of a diva move and 1176 01:05:32,640 --> 01:05:35,760 Speaker 1: Song for himself. UH, he says as much in the 1177 01:05:35,840 --> 01:05:39,040 Speaker 1: Vanity Fair piece for the anniversary. He said, I'm going 1178 01:05:39,080 --> 01:05:41,560 Speaker 1: to be completely honest with you, I wanted the number 1179 01:05:41,840 --> 01:05:45,480 Speaker 1: and because I had cloud I could get the number. Hilariously, 1180 01:05:45,640 --> 01:05:47,480 Speaker 1: and I have no idea how this would work in 1181 01:05:47,600 --> 01:05:50,280 Speaker 1: an early version of the script, producers wanted to get 1182 01:05:50,320 --> 01:05:52,800 Speaker 1: the beach boys to magically appear in the garage and 1183 01:05:52,880 --> 01:05:57,040 Speaker 1: sing the song, which is bizarre but also kind of rules. Yeah, 1184 01:05:58,120 --> 01:06:00,040 Speaker 1: it sounds like four all nine, like yeah, so like 1185 01:06:00,120 --> 01:06:03,080 Speaker 1: one of the beach boys car songs. But yeah, this 1186 01:06:03,280 --> 01:06:05,600 Speaker 1: was in addition to being a rough day for John Travolta, 1187 01:06:05,720 --> 01:06:09,360 Speaker 1: was also a rough day for Jeff conaway playing knnicki again. 1188 01:06:09,520 --> 01:06:13,080 Speaker 1: He'd been demoted from Danny to Knnicki and now his 1189 01:06:13,240 --> 01:06:17,480 Speaker 1: featured song had been taken away. And I even read 1190 01:06:17,560 --> 01:06:20,880 Speaker 1: somewhere that he had to walk slightly stooped over because 1191 01:06:20,920 --> 01:06:23,439 Speaker 1: he was a little taller than Travolta. But they wanted 1192 01:06:23,480 --> 01:06:26,120 Speaker 1: Danny Zugo to appear to be the Alpha and be taller. 1193 01:06:26,240 --> 01:06:29,520 Speaker 1: So I don't know, that's unverified, but the sentiments probably 1194 01:06:29,640 --> 01:06:34,200 Speaker 1: very real. And, and this is really sad, Jeff conaway again. Knnicki, 1195 01:06:34,560 --> 01:06:37,840 Speaker 1: was apparently completely in love with Olivia Newton John in 1196 01:06:37,880 --> 01:06:42,000 Speaker 1: a way that seems to transcend his Um Horn dog reputation. 1197 01:06:42,480 --> 01:06:44,560 Speaker 1: Like he found it hard to speak in front of her, 1198 01:06:44,680 --> 01:06:47,280 Speaker 1: like he was so besotted. Uh. And later at the 1199 01:06:47,320 --> 01:06:51,439 Speaker 1: greased cast party, he that Olivia's older sister, Rhona Newton John, 1200 01:06:51,800 --> 01:06:55,520 Speaker 1: whom he would marry a short time later, which then 1201 01:06:55,760 --> 01:07:02,960 Speaker 1: ended spectacularly in divorce, presumably because she's not her sister. Um. 1202 01:07:03,480 --> 01:07:06,200 Speaker 1: That's not the worst thing that happened to jeff as 1203 01:07:06,240 --> 01:07:10,200 Speaker 1: a result of Greece wall filming grease lightning. I guess 1204 01:07:10,320 --> 01:07:12,720 Speaker 1: I said the song that should have been his. He 1205 01:07:12,880 --> 01:07:16,320 Speaker 1: was accidentally dropped by a cast member and injured his back, 1206 01:07:17,160 --> 01:07:20,880 Speaker 1: and this injuries believed to be what sparked his lifelong 1207 01:07:20,960 --> 01:07:24,240 Speaker 1: struggle with prescription painkillers. At least that's what he said. 1208 01:07:24,480 --> 01:07:26,640 Speaker 1: He talked about it during a two th eight appearance 1209 01:07:26,720 --> 01:07:30,480 Speaker 1: on vh on'es Dr Drew, Celebrity Rehab and when he 1210 01:07:30,600 --> 01:07:33,440 Speaker 1: died in May, his death was attributed to his long 1211 01:07:33,560 --> 01:07:36,880 Speaker 1: term opiate use. So I think I just ruined uh 1212 01:07:37,560 --> 01:07:42,760 Speaker 1: grease lightning for everybody. Well, wait until you get to 1213 01:07:42,880 --> 01:07:46,040 Speaker 1: the oppressively hot scene with the stench of pork in 1214 01:07:46,120 --> 01:07:50,000 Speaker 1: your nostrils. Yes, a slightly happier dance number, the hand 1215 01:07:50,160 --> 01:07:54,200 Speaker 1: give dance contest scene. I say slightly because it was 1216 01:07:54,240 --> 01:07:59,160 Speaker 1: apparently hot as hell and rereaked of pork. This Jim 1217 01:07:59,440 --> 01:08:02,160 Speaker 1: had no air conditioning and they couldn't open the windows 1218 01:08:02,280 --> 01:08:05,160 Speaker 1: because there's a pork plant next door and the smell 1219 01:08:05,280 --> 01:08:08,600 Speaker 1: of slaughtered swine kept wafting in. But tellig just in 1220 01:08:08,680 --> 01:08:12,280 Speaker 1: the gym apparently reached upwards of a hundred and sixteen degrees, 1221 01:08:12,800 --> 01:08:15,600 Speaker 1: which was oppressive enough to cause one of the t birds, 1222 01:08:15,680 --> 01:08:19,439 Speaker 1: Michael Tucci, who played Sonny Latieri, to faint and he 1223 01:08:19,560 --> 01:08:22,960 Speaker 1: was rushed to the Er Um. Yeah, this whole scene 1224 01:08:23,040 --> 01:08:26,920 Speaker 1: cent of pork still burned into his nostrils. Yeah, this 1225 01:08:27,000 --> 01:08:29,240 Speaker 1: whole scene was a real bear to shoot. It apparently 1226 01:08:29,360 --> 01:08:32,479 Speaker 1: took three weeks of dance rehearsals and a full week 1227 01:08:32,600 --> 01:08:36,200 Speaker 1: to shoot. And big shout out to retro rockers and 1228 01:08:36,240 --> 01:08:39,400 Speaker 1: Woodstock Veterans, Shah Nah Nah, who played the house band 1229 01:08:39,800 --> 01:08:43,719 Speaker 1: Johnny Casino and the gamblers. In the original musical, Danny 1230 01:08:43,840 --> 01:08:46,720 Speaker 1: Takes Rizzo to the dance and Sandy stays at home 1231 01:08:46,800 --> 01:08:49,280 Speaker 1: and sings a song called it's raining on Prom night. 1232 01:08:49,840 --> 01:08:52,120 Speaker 1: But in the movie version she comes to the dance 1233 01:08:52,320 --> 01:08:54,600 Speaker 1: and she wasn't actually supposed to even dance in the 1234 01:08:54,680 --> 01:08:57,439 Speaker 1: scene at all. But once the choreographer Pat Burch, saw 1235 01:08:57,560 --> 01:09:00,400 Speaker 1: that Olivia could quote put one leg in front of 1236 01:09:00,439 --> 01:09:02,840 Speaker 1: the other, she arranged a quick bit for her to 1237 01:09:02,920 --> 01:09:07,080 Speaker 1: do before Danny goes wild with Cha Cha di Gregorio, 1238 01:09:07,560 --> 01:09:11,560 Speaker 1: the best dancer at St Bernardette's with the worst reputation. 1239 01:09:11,800 --> 01:09:14,559 Speaker 1: It's a great line. Watching the scene now, many people 1240 01:09:14,600 --> 01:09:17,320 Speaker 1: assume that the hand drive dances were sped up because 1241 01:09:17,360 --> 01:09:20,800 Speaker 1: it's just just so frenetic, so frantic, but that was 1242 01:09:20,840 --> 01:09:23,479 Speaker 1: just the energy in the room. Um, I had to 1243 01:09:23,520 --> 01:09:26,439 Speaker 1: sing hand drive when I was Vince Fontane. Send US 1244 01:09:26,439 --> 01:09:29,880 Speaker 1: five bucks and do the Presong rant. Yeah, I'm trying 1245 01:09:29,880 --> 01:09:32,320 Speaker 1: to remember what it was. It was like, don't give 1246 01:09:32,320 --> 01:09:34,920 Speaker 1: it away for free. Okay, I like that. He wrote 1247 01:09:35,000 --> 01:09:37,840 Speaker 1: John Travolta Goes Ham after we did this whole thing 1248 01:09:37,920 --> 01:09:41,280 Speaker 1: about it being next to a pork rendering plant. Oh yeah, 1249 01:09:41,520 --> 01:09:45,240 Speaker 1: I should have I should have actually used that. Yeah, 1250 01:09:45,320 --> 01:09:47,760 Speaker 1: Vince Fontane spends most of the scene flirting with one 1251 01:09:47,760 --> 01:09:50,599 Speaker 1: of the pink ladies. Marty Marichino was played by Dinah 1252 01:09:50,600 --> 01:09:54,240 Speaker 1: man off, and she apparently was a terrible dancer and 1253 01:09:54,520 --> 01:09:57,280 Speaker 1: despite many attempts to train her for the dance scenes, 1254 01:09:57,360 --> 01:10:00,400 Speaker 1: she just couldn't nail it. So she's always hit behind 1255 01:10:00,520 --> 01:10:06,240 Speaker 1: people in all the dance scenes, just like me. We're 1256 01:10:06,280 --> 01:10:08,320 Speaker 1: going to take a quick break, but we'll be right 1257 01:10:08,360 --> 01:10:10,960 Speaker 1: back with more, too much information, in just a moment. 1258 01:10:23,360 --> 01:10:27,120 Speaker 1: Hand give was part of the original theatrical production, but 1259 01:10:27,320 --> 01:10:29,880 Speaker 1: four songs were written especially for the film. There was 1260 01:10:29,920 --> 01:10:32,839 Speaker 1: a solo spot for each of the leads, Travolta, Sandy 1261 01:10:33,080 --> 01:10:36,400 Speaker 1: and Olivia's hopelessly devoted to you, plus their duet at 1262 01:10:36,439 --> 01:10:38,400 Speaker 1: the end. You're the one that I want, and the 1263 01:10:38,439 --> 01:10:42,800 Speaker 1: title track Greece, written by Barry Gibb Um. That's your favorite. 1264 01:10:42,840 --> 01:10:47,240 Speaker 1: Big Morn Andy's guy. Well, and he wasn't in the bigs. 1265 01:10:47,520 --> 01:10:49,280 Speaker 1: He was like so much younger that he was kind 1266 01:10:49,320 --> 01:10:52,479 Speaker 1: of his own solo act. Uh, Morris and Robin had 1267 01:10:52,560 --> 01:10:54,800 Speaker 1: my birthday so I think I should probably say them. 1268 01:10:55,320 --> 01:11:00,040 Speaker 1: There you go. December, the contracts for Travolta and be 1269 01:11:00,120 --> 01:11:02,960 Speaker 1: nitt and John Specifically stated that they each needed a 1270 01:11:03,120 --> 01:11:06,400 Speaker 1: solo spot. And Sandy was written about fifteen minutes by 1271 01:11:06,439 --> 01:11:09,280 Speaker 1: the movie's musical director, a man by the name of 1272 01:11:09,439 --> 01:11:16,080 Speaker 1: Louis St Louis. Hard to believe. They named it fie. 1273 01:11:18,680 --> 01:11:20,680 Speaker 1: Is that off the top of your head? Yeah, that 1274 01:11:20,800 --> 01:11:24,479 Speaker 1: was a good one. Um, I guess he was like 1275 01:11:24,760 --> 01:11:26,920 Speaker 1: you know, songs with women's names were popular in this 1276 01:11:27,200 --> 01:11:30,760 Speaker 1: raw like Donny by Richard Valens, sharing by the four seasons. 1277 01:11:31,439 --> 01:11:35,880 Speaker 1: Hence Sandy. Uh, you don't like this song? No, don't. 1278 01:11:35,880 --> 01:11:38,400 Speaker 1: It's a lamb song. Um, it's the one that he 1279 01:11:38,479 --> 01:11:40,559 Speaker 1: sings on a swing set at the drive in after 1280 01:11:40,680 --> 01:11:43,439 Speaker 1: sandy gets pissed at him for misbehaving in the car, 1281 01:11:43,600 --> 01:11:46,840 Speaker 1: in his sin wagon, as she says, and throws his 1282 01:11:47,000 --> 01:11:50,640 Speaker 1: ring back at him. Um, I think we played with 1283 01:11:51,000 --> 01:11:53,040 Speaker 1: didn't we play with Sin Wagon at the gutter a 1284 01:11:53,080 --> 01:11:57,320 Speaker 1: couple of years ago? I think you're right, we did. Wow, wow, 1285 01:11:57,439 --> 01:12:02,880 Speaker 1: I never made that connection. That's a great band. Again, 1286 01:12:03,000 --> 01:12:05,040 Speaker 1: I traveled to wanted that to be the big heart 1287 01:12:05,120 --> 01:12:07,880 Speaker 1: tugging moment when you know he's laying his soul bare, 1288 01:12:08,040 --> 01:12:11,960 Speaker 1: but the cartoon being projected behind him kind of undercuts that. 1289 01:12:12,360 --> 01:12:14,320 Speaker 1: Randall Kaiser got his hands on a bunch of old 1290 01:12:14,439 --> 01:12:16,640 Speaker 1: drive in shorts, you know, encouraging people to go to 1291 01:12:16,680 --> 01:12:18,960 Speaker 1: the concert. Let's all go to them, let's get a 1292 01:12:19,040 --> 01:12:23,040 Speaker 1: treat Um and UH. During the emotional climax of the 1293 01:12:23,160 --> 01:12:26,680 Speaker 1: song in the movie, screen projects a hot dog, a 1294 01:12:26,760 --> 01:12:29,960 Speaker 1: dancing hot dog jumping onto a bun. A different kind 1295 01:12:30,000 --> 01:12:35,839 Speaker 1: of climax. Yes, traveled, not happy about it. Um Olivia 1296 01:12:35,880 --> 01:12:40,080 Speaker 1: Newton Jones, corresponding lament, hopelessly devoted to you, was added 1297 01:12:40,120 --> 01:12:43,240 Speaker 1: at the very last minute, after the movie actually rapped. Again, 1298 01:12:43,360 --> 01:12:47,240 Speaker 1: another Santa do connection, I guess. Folks, if you want 1299 01:12:47,240 --> 01:12:50,000 Speaker 1: to make your movie go well, add a bunch of 1300 01:12:50,240 --> 01:12:53,840 Speaker 1: to it after it's already wrapped. Production team will hate you, 1301 01:12:54,080 --> 01:12:57,040 Speaker 1: but you'll laugh all the way to the bank. Her 1302 01:12:57,120 --> 01:13:00,479 Speaker 1: contract stipulated that she needed a solo number somewhere in 1303 01:13:00,560 --> 01:13:03,320 Speaker 1: the film, but no one had any idea where it 1304 01:13:03,520 --> 01:13:06,120 Speaker 1: didn't even have it scheduled on the production on the 1305 01:13:06,200 --> 01:13:08,680 Speaker 1: shoot list. So they just kept kicking it down to 1306 01:13:08,760 --> 01:13:10,560 Speaker 1: the road, saying, Oh, this will be a problem for 1307 01:13:10,680 --> 01:13:15,280 Speaker 1: future us until the chickens came home to roost. Finally, 1308 01:13:15,479 --> 01:13:18,840 Speaker 1: her longtime songwriter John Ferrar was instructed to knock out 1309 01:13:18,840 --> 01:13:21,200 Speaker 1: a song that sounded like the end of the world 1310 01:13:21,280 --> 01:13:24,200 Speaker 1: by Skeeter Davis. So he went off and wrote a 1311 01:13:24,320 --> 01:13:27,439 Speaker 1: song in the same style and the same musical meter. 1312 01:13:28,520 --> 01:13:31,080 Speaker 1: Producers were not thrilled with it, but they also said 1313 01:13:31,120 --> 01:13:33,840 Speaker 1: that they didn't really care because it was added again 1314 01:13:33,960 --> 01:13:35,920 Speaker 1: after the fact and it would go on to pick 1315 01:13:36,000 --> 01:13:39,320 Speaker 1: up an Oscar nomination. Randall Kleiser later said as we 1316 01:13:39,400 --> 01:13:42,080 Speaker 1: went into production there was no song and no idea 1317 01:13:42,160 --> 01:13:44,080 Speaker 1: where we would put it. It wasn't even on the 1318 01:13:44,120 --> 01:13:46,560 Speaker 1: production schedule. Time is running out and we had to 1319 01:13:46,600 --> 01:13:48,160 Speaker 1: figure out where to put the song and how to 1320 01:13:48,240 --> 01:13:50,479 Speaker 1: integrate it into the story. We came up with the 1321 01:13:50,520 --> 01:13:53,240 Speaker 1: idea of sandy wondering on the backyard singing about Danny 1322 01:13:53,360 --> 01:13:56,200 Speaker 1: after the slumber party. A set was quickly built. It 1323 01:13:56,320 --> 01:13:59,400 Speaker 1: was one of the last things shot, almost in one 1324 01:14:01,400 --> 01:14:04,360 Speaker 1: but probably the most troubled song and the entire film 1325 01:14:04,520 --> 01:14:07,479 Speaker 1: is the theme song, Sung by Frankie Valley, of the 1326 01:14:07,600 --> 01:14:12,040 Speaker 1: aforementioned four seasons. Grease is the word. It's never actually 1327 01:14:12,120 --> 01:14:14,880 Speaker 1: said in the movie the closest thing you get is 1328 01:14:15,160 --> 01:14:18,280 Speaker 1: phrase greased lightning. You know, I wonder how this played 1329 01:14:18,320 --> 01:14:25,840 Speaker 1: overseas when Greece translates close phonetically to Grassa or fat Um, 1330 01:14:26,280 --> 01:14:31,439 Speaker 1: places like Argentina, Mexico, across Latin America. They're Spanish speeching 1331 01:14:31,520 --> 01:14:35,479 Speaker 1: Spanish derivative countries. The song was released as Vassilina. No, 1332 01:14:35,680 --> 01:14:37,960 Speaker 1: that the song, the whole movie was. You look at 1333 01:14:38,000 --> 01:14:41,880 Speaker 1: these Spanish speaking countries posters for the movie. It's Vasilina 1334 01:14:42,040 --> 01:14:46,240 Speaker 1: with Livia and John and Tran Tro Falta. Oh, that's 1335 01:14:46,280 --> 01:14:49,320 Speaker 1: so gross, because doesn't that pitball, the Pitbull Song, or 1336 01:14:49,400 --> 01:14:54,960 Speaker 1: Daddy Yankee the song? It's about, like, I don't know 1337 01:14:55,040 --> 01:14:58,000 Speaker 1: what it's about. Oh, I always heard no, I'm not 1338 01:14:58,000 --> 01:15:05,400 Speaker 1: even gonna say that. Uh. For the song grease, Randall 1339 01:15:05,439 --> 01:15:09,240 Speaker 1: Kaiser had commissioned a fifties style song written by Songwriters 1340 01:15:09,360 --> 01:15:13,040 Speaker 1: Charles Fox and Paul Williams. Paul Williams head of ascap 1341 01:15:13,160 --> 01:15:18,200 Speaker 1: from very many years right. Rainbow Connection? Yeah, yeah, yeah, 1342 01:15:18,280 --> 01:15:21,400 Speaker 1: Paul Williams popped up on that daft punk album after 1343 01:15:21,520 --> 01:15:25,640 Speaker 1: like seventy years of eight activity and, more relevant to 1344 01:15:25,720 --> 01:15:28,639 Speaker 1: my interests, wrote hits for the carpenters like we've only 1345 01:15:28,760 --> 01:15:32,360 Speaker 1: just begun, and rainy days and monthdays. Uh Fox had 1346 01:15:32,400 --> 01:15:35,400 Speaker 1: co written the grammy winning killing me softly with his song. 1347 01:15:35,720 --> 01:15:39,760 Speaker 1: I got a name by my beloved Jim Crowcey. UH, 1348 01:15:40,000 --> 01:15:43,320 Speaker 1: the opening fanfare to Monday night football. The hell of 1349 01:15:43,400 --> 01:15:47,439 Speaker 1: a resume and a bunch of sitcoms. You wrote the 1350 01:15:47,479 --> 01:15:50,719 Speaker 1: themes on the happy days. Ties out mean again. Perfect 1351 01:15:50,840 --> 01:15:54,200 Speaker 1: choice to write the theme to Greece. I want to 1352 01:15:54,240 --> 01:15:55,880 Speaker 1: punch in. I never do this and I hope I 1353 01:15:55,960 --> 01:15:57,960 Speaker 1: don't get in trouble legally, but I want to punch 1354 01:15:58,000 --> 01:16:01,840 Speaker 1: in the UH, the General Grease theme song that's been 1355 01:16:01,880 --> 01:16:04,800 Speaker 1: floating around the Internet. It's really not good. Did I 1356 01:16:04,880 --> 01:16:08,599 Speaker 1: send this to you? I don't think so. Oh, wait here. 1357 01:16:09,080 --> 01:16:11,960 Speaker 1: I think it would have been a significantly worse movie 1358 01:16:12,360 --> 01:16:37,160 Speaker 1: with the song. I think good. It sounds like the 1359 01:16:37,200 --> 01:16:40,120 Speaker 1: happy days them. Yeah, it does. It's the DOOP chord 1360 01:16:40,240 --> 01:16:53,519 Speaker 1: changes righte. Greece is a feeling of pure independence. It's Terry, 1361 01:16:53,640 --> 01:17:00,920 Speaker 1: a little on the nose. Okay, what does he say? 1362 01:17:01,040 --> 01:17:04,840 Speaker 1: Open your heart to this state of I have no idea. 1363 01:17:05,120 --> 01:17:12,400 Speaker 1: It's that's yeah, it's anyway. The director liked it because 1364 01:17:12,439 --> 01:17:16,799 Speaker 1: it sounded like a fifties song. And then co producer 1365 01:17:17,200 --> 01:17:22,160 Speaker 1: Robert Stigwood says, well, I've got Barry Gib you insect 1366 01:17:24,920 --> 01:17:27,200 Speaker 1: who had just come off of Saturday night fever and 1367 01:17:27,400 --> 01:17:29,560 Speaker 1: the opportunity was just too good to pass up. And, 1368 01:17:29,720 --> 01:17:32,360 Speaker 1: according to a story which is probably shrouded in the 1369 01:17:32,439 --> 01:17:35,960 Speaker 1: midst of time and cocaine, uh, stigwood places to call 1370 01:17:36,040 --> 01:17:38,080 Speaker 1: the Barry Gibb who was apparently out on his boat 1371 01:17:38,240 --> 01:17:40,040 Speaker 1: off the coast of Miami at the time. What were 1372 01:17:40,080 --> 01:17:43,000 Speaker 1: you doing out there, Barry scooping up all the all 1373 01:17:43,040 --> 01:17:46,320 Speaker 1: the cocaine and pot that Jimmy Buffett was trafficking through 1374 01:17:46,360 --> 01:17:50,160 Speaker 1: the keys? Uh. He said, Barry, I need a song 1375 01:17:50,240 --> 01:17:53,040 Speaker 1: for my movie Greece. And Barry was out on the 1376 01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:55,120 Speaker 1: out on the water, and he said, but grease, like 1377 01:17:55,200 --> 01:18:00,880 Speaker 1: the country, and stigwood responded, no, grease the word, and 1378 01:18:01,000 --> 01:18:04,880 Speaker 1: the heavens parted and sun came through and Barry Berry 1379 01:18:05,000 --> 01:18:07,160 Speaker 1: later said, what the are we going to do with that? 1380 01:18:08,880 --> 01:18:12,880 Speaker 1: Hence Grease is the word. Uh, it does. However, as 1381 01:18:12,920 --> 01:18:16,080 Speaker 1: you put in a semi viral tweet, seemed like Barry 1382 01:18:16,120 --> 01:18:21,080 Speaker 1: didn't really have much else to go on but Randall 1383 01:18:21,280 --> 01:18:24,000 Speaker 1: kliser hated the song. He didn't like the fact that 1384 01:18:24,040 --> 01:18:26,160 Speaker 1: it sounded vaguely like disco, which would have been an 1385 01:18:26,160 --> 01:18:28,280 Speaker 1: anachronism in a film set in the nineteen fifties. He 1386 01:18:28,320 --> 01:18:30,360 Speaker 1: also hated the lyrics, which he thought were too dark 1387 01:18:30,439 --> 01:18:33,400 Speaker 1: and cynical. And so the producer, Stigwood, tells Kaiser, well, 1388 01:18:33,479 --> 01:18:35,720 Speaker 1: go talk to Barry. Barry was in the middle of 1389 01:18:35,800 --> 01:18:39,919 Speaker 1: filming that Sergeant Pepper movie which Stigwood was also producing. 1390 01:18:40,680 --> 01:18:44,320 Speaker 1: And so Randall Kaiser Finds Barry dressed in his marching 1391 01:18:44,400 --> 01:18:49,280 Speaker 1: band outfit, in gold chain's hair, beard like a heresuit, 1392 01:18:50,040 --> 01:18:54,960 Speaker 1: cocaine addled lion. He says, Barry, this doesn't make any 1393 01:18:54,960 --> 01:18:56,720 Speaker 1: of this doesn't work for the movie I'm trying to make. 1394 01:18:56,960 --> 01:18:59,559 Speaker 1: This is a life of illusion, wrapped up in trouble, 1395 01:19:00,000 --> 01:19:03,560 Speaker 1: faced with confusion. What are we doing? This is not 1396 01:19:03,680 --> 01:19:05,639 Speaker 1: the movie we're making. We don't have any serious scenes 1397 01:19:05,680 --> 01:19:08,800 Speaker 1: in here. And Barry says, well, why don't you shoot 1398 01:19:08,840 --> 01:19:13,320 Speaker 1: a serious scene? And they left it as is because 1399 01:19:13,400 --> 01:19:18,160 Speaker 1: you didn't put the bags around this time. Uh Man, 1400 01:19:18,280 --> 01:19:22,000 Speaker 1: what is it port Barry Gib masking his like suicidal 1401 01:19:22,240 --> 01:19:26,240 Speaker 1: darkness and like the most brilliant songs of this era. 1402 01:19:26,560 --> 01:19:33,280 Speaker 1: M darkness. Yeah, sure to great head of hair, though. Uh, 1403 01:19:33,479 --> 01:19:35,680 Speaker 1: and Randall, you know, first time director didn't have the 1404 01:19:35,680 --> 01:19:38,120 Speaker 1: cloud to push for changes. He also hated you're the 1405 01:19:38,160 --> 01:19:40,559 Speaker 1: one that I want, which makes two of us saying 1406 01:19:40,600 --> 01:19:43,439 Speaker 1: it sounded awful. I just heard all these damn songs 1407 01:19:43,479 --> 01:19:45,840 Speaker 1: so many times. Also, isn't that, which is when that 1408 01:19:45,880 --> 01:19:47,840 Speaker 1: starts with the I had to learn that base part 1409 01:19:47,880 --> 01:19:53,880 Speaker 1: at one pointdopdoop, dope, dope. You can see that, man. Yeah, UH, 1410 01:19:54,360 --> 01:19:57,000 Speaker 1: number of other songs from the stage show we're actually cut, though. 1411 01:19:57,040 --> 01:19:59,560 Speaker 1: One of those is called those magic changes, which is 1412 01:19:59,600 --> 01:20:02,280 Speaker 1: a referen so the duop progression, right. Is he like 1413 01:20:02,360 --> 01:20:04,840 Speaker 1: sitting there strumming? He's like saying one, six, three, five 1414 01:20:04,960 --> 01:20:07,560 Speaker 1: or whatever. Danny sings a few lines and that's sarcastically 1415 01:20:07,640 --> 01:20:10,719 Speaker 1: at the dance sandy cuts him down. He was saying, 1416 01:20:10,840 --> 01:20:13,880 Speaker 1: have you ever thought of singing professionally, which is an 1417 01:20:13,960 --> 01:20:17,880 Speaker 1: in joke because during the staged version that was Travolta's song. 1418 01:20:19,200 --> 01:20:21,280 Speaker 1: Another song that was on the chopping block was a 1419 01:20:21,400 --> 01:20:24,920 Speaker 1: solo number. There are worse things I could do. Stockard 1420 01:20:25,000 --> 01:20:27,280 Speaker 1: channing apparently begged Alan Card to keep it in the movie. 1421 01:20:27,479 --> 01:20:30,080 Speaker 1: She says. She told him that's how you know what's 1422 01:20:30,120 --> 01:20:34,679 Speaker 1: inside this little person. Otherwise she's just all that surface stuff, 1423 01:20:35,200 --> 01:20:38,200 Speaker 1: just a great performance. Well, yeah, watch her face during 1424 01:20:38,280 --> 01:20:42,719 Speaker 1: that like she is so much happening in her eyes 1425 01:20:43,160 --> 01:20:46,160 Speaker 1: as she's singing that song. It's so good. God lover, though, 1426 01:20:46,160 --> 01:20:49,880 Speaker 1: Stockard channing doesn't give it. Yeah, no, does not care 1427 01:20:49,920 --> 01:20:54,280 Speaker 1: about Greece. She just doesn't come to the reunions. You know, 1428 01:20:55,000 --> 01:20:58,439 Speaker 1: she got Tony at an Oscar nom so she's figuring 1429 01:20:58,479 --> 01:21:01,639 Speaker 1: out too good for your roubes. People at magazine asked 1430 01:21:01,640 --> 01:21:03,960 Speaker 1: her she'd consider taking a role in the Broadway production. 1431 01:21:04,080 --> 01:21:08,320 Speaker 1: She said, are you mad? I've been otherwise engaged with 1432 01:21:08,520 --> 01:21:13,320 Speaker 1: my life, which is a dis for the ages. That 1433 01:21:13,479 --> 01:21:15,439 Speaker 1: scene where Rizzo sings there are worse things I could 1434 01:21:15,479 --> 01:21:17,559 Speaker 1: do was filmed at Venice high school, as we mentioned, 1435 01:21:17,640 --> 01:21:20,080 Speaker 1: where most of the exterior shots this movie were filmed, 1436 01:21:20,479 --> 01:21:22,880 Speaker 1: the parking lots, stuff at the beginning when they're all 1437 01:21:22,960 --> 01:21:25,439 Speaker 1: coming to school in the first day, summer nights on 1438 01:21:25,520 --> 01:21:28,439 Speaker 1: the bleachers, the auto shop, the track and field scenes, 1439 01:21:29,000 --> 01:21:31,040 Speaker 1: and the original idea was for the production team to 1440 01:21:31,120 --> 01:21:33,400 Speaker 1: just take over the school for the entire summer when 1441 01:21:33,479 --> 01:21:37,040 Speaker 1: classes were in session, but unfortunately they ran afoul of 1442 01:21:37,160 --> 01:21:40,200 Speaker 1: the school's football coach, who made it known that they 1443 01:21:40,280 --> 01:21:43,320 Speaker 1: were not wanted there any he would do things like 1444 01:21:43,400 --> 01:21:45,519 Speaker 1: put the sprinklers on on the field when they were 1445 01:21:45,600 --> 01:21:49,439 Speaker 1: prepping for scenes and just generally harassed the crew. So 1446 01:21:49,720 --> 01:21:52,719 Speaker 1: ultimately they were chased out and went to two other schools. 1447 01:21:53,240 --> 01:21:57,120 Speaker 1: The interior classroom and hallway scenes, plus the dance contest 1448 01:21:57,200 --> 01:21:59,120 Speaker 1: in the gym, were filmed at a place called Huntington 1449 01:21:59,200 --> 01:22:02,920 Speaker 1: Park High School, and the Big Graduation Day Carnival Finale 1450 01:22:03,040 --> 01:22:06,160 Speaker 1: was filmed at John Marshall High School and Los Felas 1451 01:22:06,439 --> 01:22:08,680 Speaker 1: and it's a big banner covering up an m on 1452 01:22:08,760 --> 01:22:12,320 Speaker 1: the side of the school during the carnival. And this 1453 01:22:12,479 --> 01:22:15,679 Speaker 1: school has kind of a crazy history because it's cropped 1454 01:22:15,760 --> 01:22:19,080 Speaker 1: up in literally dozens of movies and TV shows and 1455 01:22:19,200 --> 01:22:22,439 Speaker 1: music videos. You'll definitely recognize it if you Google it, 1456 01:22:22,960 --> 01:22:26,200 Speaker 1: for its beautiful gothic exterior and the lack of palm 1457 01:22:26,240 --> 01:22:28,200 Speaker 1: trees out front make it so that looks like it 1458 01:22:28,200 --> 01:22:30,600 Speaker 1: could be anywhere in the country. Doesn't look very l 1459 01:22:30,680 --> 01:22:33,200 Speaker 1: a like at all, and it's most familiar to me 1460 01:22:33,400 --> 01:22:36,080 Speaker 1: is the exterior school shots on boy meets world, but 1461 01:22:36,160 --> 01:22:39,400 Speaker 1: it was also used in the nineties classic can't hardly wait, 1462 01:22:39,560 --> 01:22:43,280 Speaker 1: which includes Jamie Donnelly, who plays Jan she's a bit 1463 01:22:43,360 --> 01:22:45,439 Speaker 1: part of the teacher. It was in the video for 1464 01:22:45,680 --> 01:22:48,200 Speaker 1: Van Halen's hot for teacher. It was in nightmare on 1465 01:22:48,280 --> 01:22:51,400 Speaker 1: ELM street, pretty in pink, the Buffy, the vampire slayer 1466 01:22:51,479 --> 01:22:54,120 Speaker 1: movie space jam. They think they used the gym for 1467 01:22:54,240 --> 01:22:57,160 Speaker 1: that and it was also provided establishing shots for the 1468 01:22:57,240 --> 01:23:00,559 Speaker 1: wonder years I Carley, masters of sex, the a team 1469 01:23:01,400 --> 01:23:03,640 Speaker 1: and young sheldon. I don't know why I ended with that, 1470 01:23:04,320 --> 01:23:07,120 Speaker 1: but it's connection to Greece runs even deeper than the 1471 01:23:07,160 --> 01:23:10,880 Speaker 1: carnival scene. The actors who played Chacha Gregorio in the movie, 1472 01:23:11,000 --> 01:23:13,160 Speaker 1: you know, the dancer that Danny Dances with for the 1473 01:23:13,560 --> 01:23:16,920 Speaker 1: dance contest scene, uh, and that Cardoza was a graduate 1474 01:23:16,960 --> 01:23:20,160 Speaker 1: of the school and following her death in eleven the 1475 01:23:20,240 --> 01:23:24,320 Speaker 1: school planted a tree in her honor. Um. I don't 1476 01:23:24,400 --> 01:23:27,240 Speaker 1: think Cha was present at her old high school for 1477 01:23:27,360 --> 01:23:30,440 Speaker 1: the carnival finale, but she was there for the climactic 1478 01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:33,840 Speaker 1: car race between Danny and crater face, the guy with 1479 01:23:33,960 --> 01:23:37,360 Speaker 1: the car that shoots flames out the back. Unfortunately, she 1480 01:23:37,439 --> 01:23:40,040 Speaker 1: did not have a good time filming the car race scene. 1481 01:23:40,560 --> 01:23:44,160 Speaker 1: She was suffering an ectopic pregnancy and it was in 1482 01:23:44,479 --> 01:23:47,880 Speaker 1: physical agony, and you can see in the scene she's 1483 01:23:47,960 --> 01:23:50,720 Speaker 1: mostly leaning against the cars because she's in so much 1484 01:23:50,760 --> 01:23:53,920 Speaker 1: pain she can hardly stand up, and shortly after the 1485 01:23:53,960 --> 01:23:56,479 Speaker 1: scene where they filmed the drag race she was rushed 1486 01:23:56,520 --> 01:23:59,920 Speaker 1: to a local hospital for surgery, I think that same day. UH, 1487 01:24:00,439 --> 01:24:02,719 Speaker 1: she was not the only person in pain while shooting 1488 01:24:02,720 --> 01:24:06,400 Speaker 1: the drag race scene. Director Randall Klaisser was working barefoot 1489 01:24:06,439 --> 01:24:08,720 Speaker 1: while filming the car race and the L A river, 1490 01:24:08,960 --> 01:24:12,320 Speaker 1: which is a bad idea because that water ain't clean. 1491 01:24:13,280 --> 01:24:15,800 Speaker 1: He cut his foot and it became infected from some 1492 01:24:15,920 --> 01:24:18,400 Speaker 1: bacteria in the water and by the next day he 1493 01:24:18,479 --> 01:24:20,600 Speaker 1: was running a temperature of a hundred and two in 1494 01:24:20,680 --> 01:24:23,400 Speaker 1: the production ground at a halt, and he later told 1495 01:24:23,439 --> 01:24:25,519 Speaker 1: the L A times I couldn't get off my bed 1496 01:24:25,640 --> 01:24:29,120 Speaker 1: in my trailer before the medic arrived. Travolta entered to 1497 01:24:29,200 --> 01:24:32,960 Speaker 1: try a cure based on scientology teachings. He sat down 1498 01:24:33,040 --> 01:24:35,680 Speaker 1: beside me and placed his index finger of my arm 1499 01:24:35,720 --> 01:24:39,479 Speaker 1: and said feel my finger. I replied yes. He removed 1500 01:24:39,520 --> 01:24:41,640 Speaker 1: his finger an inch along my arm and asked the 1501 01:24:41,720 --> 01:24:45,120 Speaker 1: question again, I answered and this process went on for 1502 01:24:45,160 --> 01:24:48,000 Speaker 1: about an hour. The next day I'd recovered and I 1503 01:24:48,120 --> 01:24:56,800 Speaker 1: was back at work. Please don't sue US, please tick 1504 01:24:56,880 --> 01:25:01,960 Speaker 1: this offering. Yeah, the race between the teabers and the 1505 01:25:02,040 --> 01:25:04,679 Speaker 1: Scorpions was originally supposed to take place on the high 1506 01:25:04,680 --> 01:25:07,720 Speaker 1: school track surrounding the football field. Whether we're gonna have 1507 01:25:07,840 --> 01:25:10,840 Speaker 1: massive gladiator style floats that were going to be parked 1508 01:25:10,880 --> 01:25:12,600 Speaker 1: for a parade in the movie, kind of like the 1509 01:25:12,640 --> 01:25:15,280 Speaker 1: parade scene and Animal House, and it was supposed to 1510 01:25:15,320 --> 01:25:17,519 Speaker 1: be this big parody of the chariot race scene and 1511 01:25:17,640 --> 01:25:21,720 Speaker 1: Ben her. But then the bean counters basically said how 1512 01:25:21,720 --> 01:25:23,799 Speaker 1: are we gonna pay for all this? So they scaled 1513 01:25:23,840 --> 01:25:26,680 Speaker 1: it all back because of the relatively micro budget of 1514 01:25:26,760 --> 01:25:29,400 Speaker 1: the movie, and the last remaining trace of this idea 1515 01:25:29,640 --> 01:25:33,400 Speaker 1: is when Um crater faces hubcaps have the kind of 1516 01:25:33,479 --> 01:25:36,800 Speaker 1: like knives on the end and they slice through John 1517 01:25:36,840 --> 01:25:41,839 Speaker 1: Travolta's car greased lightning, like Ben her. Yeah, exactly. Speaking 1518 01:25:42,080 --> 01:25:45,439 Speaker 1: of the drag race victory, that is for some reason 1519 01:25:45,560 --> 01:25:50,640 Speaker 1: the catalyst that compels sandy to give herself he radical maker, uh, 1520 01:25:52,120 --> 01:25:55,719 Speaker 1: you know, change yourself completely in order to be seen 1521 01:25:55,960 --> 01:26:02,320 Speaker 1: as worthy of a guy who wins races. Um, you're 1522 01:26:02,360 --> 01:26:07,160 Speaker 1: an original Sandy. You're you're at not a new sandy guy. Yeah, no, 1523 01:26:07,720 --> 01:26:11,160 Speaker 1: I I mean that probably reveals more about my own 1524 01:26:11,200 --> 01:26:16,240 Speaker 1: inner psyche then. Yeah, I think you're in the minority 1525 01:26:16,320 --> 01:26:19,400 Speaker 1: for that one. I know, I know, I thought that. 1526 01:26:19,520 --> 01:26:22,400 Speaker 1: I thought that that original. I think I think living 1527 01:26:22,439 --> 01:26:24,360 Speaker 1: and John referred to them as good sandy and bad 1528 01:26:24,439 --> 01:26:28,439 Speaker 1: sandy and I liked good sandy. Well, again, you're wrong, 1529 01:26:28,720 --> 01:26:33,680 Speaker 1: because the casting crews. Casting crew were extremely into the 1530 01:26:33,960 --> 01:26:36,519 Speaker 1: bad sandy look. Olivia John came up with the makeup 1531 01:26:36,560 --> 01:26:39,240 Speaker 1: and hair herself and when she came onto the set 1532 01:26:39,320 --> 01:26:42,840 Speaker 1: to show random Klaiser, the crew just flocked around her, 1533 01:26:42,920 --> 01:26:47,439 Speaker 1: whistling and cat calling her, because men are disgusting. They 1534 01:26:47,439 --> 01:26:50,320 Speaker 1: didn't even know it was her. Apparently he didn't recognize her. Yeah, 1535 01:26:50,360 --> 01:26:55,280 Speaker 1: they just all started. He said they swarmed like wolves. Oh, 1536 01:26:55,520 --> 01:26:57,960 Speaker 1: I laughed to keep him crying. Yeah, she said she 1537 01:26:58,120 --> 01:27:00,600 Speaker 1: enjoyed this sort of reinvention to the car because it 1538 01:27:00,680 --> 01:27:03,360 Speaker 1: allowed her to kind of act out of her, you know, 1539 01:27:03,560 --> 01:27:06,160 Speaker 1: usual role. She said later that was such a stretch 1540 01:27:06,320 --> 01:27:09,240 Speaker 1: and something I was really worried about, but when it happened, 1541 01:27:09,320 --> 01:27:12,040 Speaker 1: it was just this amazing feeling. It was very freeing, 1542 01:27:12,520 --> 01:27:14,920 Speaker 1: not just for sandy but for me as well, because 1543 01:27:14,920 --> 01:27:16,920 Speaker 1: I was always the girl next door, and then I 1544 01:27:16,960 --> 01:27:18,920 Speaker 1: got into that trailer with those guys and they put 1545 01:27:18,960 --> 01:27:20,960 Speaker 1: me into that outfit in the hair and I walked 1546 01:27:21,000 --> 01:27:23,439 Speaker 1: out to show Randall and the whole crew turned around 1547 01:27:23,880 --> 01:27:27,080 Speaker 1: and the look on their faces, she says. I Remember Thinking, 1548 01:27:27,560 --> 01:27:33,080 Speaker 1: Oh my I've been doing this all wrong. Uh. Travolta, 1549 01:27:33,439 --> 01:27:36,240 Speaker 1: with his inimitable way with words, said I thought it 1550 01:27:36,400 --> 01:27:39,479 Speaker 1: was the bomb. She was like Marilyn Monroe mixed with 1551 01:27:39,600 --> 01:27:45,200 Speaker 1: some motoris, motorcycle chick, Jesus Christ John. The Mix of 1552 01:27:45,320 --> 01:27:48,800 Speaker 1: that I knew was going to be outrageous. In the 1553 01:27:48,880 --> 01:27:50,960 Speaker 1: play it was a laugh. In the movie it was 1554 01:27:51,080 --> 01:27:55,280 Speaker 1: like wow. The famous story about those skin tight pants 1555 01:27:55,360 --> 01:27:57,519 Speaker 1: was that they were vintage from the nineties and the 1556 01:27:57,600 --> 01:28:00,080 Speaker 1: Zipper was broken, so Olivia Newton John had to be 1557 01:28:00,280 --> 01:28:04,040 Speaker 1: sewn into them the morning of the shoot. Of course, 1558 01:28:04,560 --> 01:28:07,760 Speaker 1: her first thought was, well, what if I have to pee? Uh, 1559 01:28:07,840 --> 01:28:09,920 Speaker 1: and she didn't want to slow down production with a 1560 01:28:09,960 --> 01:28:14,599 Speaker 1: bathroom break, so she avoided drinking water for the entire day, 1561 01:28:15,200 --> 01:28:17,880 Speaker 1: which not a smart move. It was a hundred and 1562 01:28:17,920 --> 01:28:21,479 Speaker 1: two degrees out and everything, as we've discussed, smelled of pork. 1563 01:28:22,760 --> 01:28:27,120 Speaker 1: Different school, different school, but that's no, that's no, that's Canada, 1564 01:28:28,080 --> 01:28:30,320 Speaker 1: overall the clothes and everything. Yet you're right. Yeah, the 1565 01:28:30,560 --> 01:28:34,759 Speaker 1: entirety of the grease shoot smelled of pork. Um, pork grease, 1566 01:28:35,000 --> 01:28:39,800 Speaker 1: if you will. If you'd like to tweet us about 1567 01:28:39,800 --> 01:28:42,599 Speaker 1: this episode, please do so using the Hashtag it smelt 1568 01:28:42,640 --> 01:28:47,800 Speaker 1: of pork. Olivia actually owned those pants for years but understandably, 1569 01:28:47,960 --> 01:28:51,840 Speaker 1: never wore them again. Uh, then, in she auctioned off 1570 01:28:51,880 --> 01:28:55,040 Speaker 1: her outfit to raise money for her cancer research charity. 1571 01:28:55,479 --> 01:28:59,880 Speaker 1: They were bought by the founder of spanks for four 1572 01:29:00,080 --> 01:29:04,439 Speaker 1: hundred and five thousand and seven hundred dollars and, uh, 1573 01:29:04,960 --> 01:29:08,920 Speaker 1: they are on display at the SPANKS headquarters. Sure, the 1574 01:29:09,040 --> 01:29:12,040 Speaker 1: leather jacket was bought by an anonymous bidder who later 1575 01:29:12,200 --> 01:29:16,320 Speaker 1: returned it to her, which is just adorable. The funniest 1576 01:29:16,320 --> 01:29:18,040 Speaker 1: part of all this is that the cast and crew 1577 01:29:18,200 --> 01:29:20,679 Speaker 1: showed up on the field to film that number. You're 1578 01:29:20,680 --> 01:29:22,920 Speaker 1: the one that I want, without having rehearsed any kind 1579 01:29:22,960 --> 01:29:24,960 Speaker 1: of dance, and this was a new song in the movie, 1580 01:29:25,000 --> 01:29:27,000 Speaker 1: so I didn't have any history with the musical. In 1581 01:29:27,040 --> 01:29:29,880 Speaker 1: an interview with Vanity Fair, the director Randall says that 1582 01:29:29,960 --> 01:29:32,439 Speaker 1: they had just been handed this newly recorded song that 1583 01:29:32,880 --> 01:29:37,200 Speaker 1: day and he and Pat Birch whipped up choreography in 1584 01:29:37,280 --> 01:29:41,400 Speaker 1: about twenty minutes. They were scrambling to do that scene. 1585 01:29:41,400 --> 01:29:43,760 Speaker 1: They hadn't even seen the carnival stuff. They just made 1586 01:29:43,800 --> 01:29:46,160 Speaker 1: it up on the spot. The actor Kelly warred, who 1587 01:29:46,200 --> 01:29:50,200 Speaker 1: played putsy, told Yahoo in it was lightning fast work 1588 01:29:50,360 --> 01:29:52,360 Speaker 1: and no one was really quite sure how it would 1589 01:29:52,400 --> 01:29:55,160 Speaker 1: play because it's such a different kind of music than 1590 01:29:55,200 --> 01:29:58,599 Speaker 1: the rest of the score, and nonetheless everyone threw themselves 1591 01:29:58,680 --> 01:30:01,679 Speaker 1: into it. It wouldn't even yeah, that's insane. It's also 1592 01:30:01,840 --> 01:30:03,920 Speaker 1: he's right. It's a very different kind of song. Like 1593 01:30:04,040 --> 01:30:06,320 Speaker 1: it's not a Doo woppy song. It's like it's a 1594 01:30:06,439 --> 01:30:09,280 Speaker 1: it's a seventies country and western song, sort of like 1595 01:30:09,560 --> 01:30:13,479 Speaker 1: pop song, country Western pop song. Yeah, this whole scene 1596 01:30:13,560 --> 01:30:15,679 Speaker 1: is nuts. They only had a day to shoot, which 1597 01:30:15,800 --> 01:30:18,799 Speaker 1: is not a lot of time for such a complicated sequence, 1598 01:30:19,000 --> 01:30:21,080 Speaker 1: and you can see it in the reaction shot when 1599 01:30:21,200 --> 01:30:24,639 Speaker 1: Danny Sees Sandy for the first time. The background behind 1600 01:30:24,760 --> 01:30:27,920 Speaker 1: him is dark because the sun is setting, like it 1601 01:30:28,080 --> 01:30:31,000 Speaker 1: was just a long day and hilariously, one of the 1602 01:30:31,080 --> 01:30:33,080 Speaker 1: things that took a long time to shoot was the 1603 01:30:33,200 --> 01:30:35,840 Speaker 1: moment when sandy takes the cigarette out of her mouth 1604 01:30:35,920 --> 01:30:38,200 Speaker 1: and drops it at her feet in front of Danny, 1605 01:30:38,240 --> 01:30:42,040 Speaker 1: who's on the ground worshiping her. The cigarette kept bouncing 1606 01:30:42,760 --> 01:30:45,240 Speaker 1: and the prop guy I finally said put a bobby 1607 01:30:45,320 --> 01:30:47,519 Speaker 1: pin in there and in the land and will stay there. 1608 01:30:47,680 --> 01:30:50,880 Speaker 1: So they burned God knows how many minutes trying to 1609 01:30:50,920 --> 01:30:54,280 Speaker 1: get that to happen. Um. All in all, they had 1610 01:30:54,320 --> 01:30:57,040 Speaker 1: to do everything very, very fast. They had to do 1611 01:30:57,120 --> 01:31:01,120 Speaker 1: the close ups in the shake shack, you know that, like, yeah, yeah, 1612 01:31:01,200 --> 01:31:03,120 Speaker 1: like Fun House he thing. They had to do that 1613 01:31:03,280 --> 01:31:05,439 Speaker 1: on a sound stage because they wanted to go do 1614 01:31:05,560 --> 01:31:09,120 Speaker 1: some reshoots and the carnival already moved on. Carney's dude, 1615 01:31:09,200 --> 01:31:13,000 Speaker 1: don't like they don't like staying in one place. Oh 1616 01:31:13,160 --> 01:31:18,280 Speaker 1: my God. Weirdly, not one but two incredibly famous directors 1617 01:31:18,800 --> 01:31:22,360 Speaker 1: visited the set that day, which must have been terrifying 1618 01:31:22,920 --> 01:31:25,760 Speaker 1: for Randall Kliser, a first time movie director. George Q 1619 01:31:25,960 --> 01:31:29,000 Speaker 1: cor and John Schlessinger were on the set of the 1620 01:31:29,080 --> 01:31:31,920 Speaker 1: day they filmed, but we go together. Song number. I 1621 01:31:31,960 --> 01:31:34,880 Speaker 1: don't know how or why that happened. Uh George Qcre 1622 01:31:35,360 --> 01:31:37,719 Speaker 1: just directed some of the best movie musicals of all time. 1623 01:31:37,840 --> 01:31:40,679 Speaker 1: He did my fair lady, and the Judy Garland version 1624 01:31:40,760 --> 01:31:44,599 Speaker 1: of star was born John Schlessinger. What old he did? 1625 01:31:44,800 --> 01:31:50,120 Speaker 1: You midnight cowboy. That's the only Mer. Marathon man too, Yo. Yeah, 1626 01:31:50,280 --> 01:31:56,439 Speaker 1: so was it? Was it safe? Uh So, to honor 1627 01:31:56,520 --> 01:31:59,640 Speaker 1: these two titans? Randall Kliser ran the whole we go 1628 01:31:59,760 --> 01:32:03,920 Speaker 1: to other number just for them. We're watching, sitting on 1629 01:32:03,960 --> 01:32:07,439 Speaker 1: the bleachers, watching, no cameras rolling, no nothing, just for 1630 01:32:07,520 --> 01:32:10,559 Speaker 1: these two guys, which must have made him extremely popular 1631 01:32:10,600 --> 01:32:12,599 Speaker 1: with the cast and crew, considering it was a hundred 1632 01:32:12,600 --> 01:32:14,880 Speaker 1: and two degrees out and they had no time. But 1633 01:32:15,120 --> 01:32:18,559 Speaker 1: the dancers all did the number. You know, flips head 1634 01:32:18,600 --> 01:32:21,280 Speaker 1: over heels lands right at George Kre's feet, you know, 1635 01:32:22,320 --> 01:32:26,760 Speaker 1: King of movie musicals the decade before. Kere just looks 1636 01:32:26,840 --> 01:32:32,479 Speaker 1: over the director, Russell Claiser, and said very spirited. I 1637 01:32:32,560 --> 01:32:37,080 Speaker 1: can't tell if that's shade or just understatement. Anyway, this 1638 01:32:37,240 --> 01:32:41,200 Speaker 1: brings us to the controversy surrounding the end of Greece, because, 1639 01:32:41,400 --> 01:32:44,960 Speaker 1: let's be real, it's a truly terrible message. Change to 1640 01:32:45,080 --> 01:32:47,400 Speaker 1: please the one you love. There's really no way to 1641 01:32:47,439 --> 01:32:50,519 Speaker 1: get around it. Not to get all Pearl clutching, but 1642 01:32:50,720 --> 01:32:54,280 Speaker 1: the smoking element is also really troubling considering how many 1643 01:32:54,439 --> 01:32:58,479 Speaker 1: kids love this movie Um Greece. Co Creator Jim Jacobs 1644 01:32:58,560 --> 01:33:00,960 Speaker 1: has said that this ending was actually meant to spoof 1645 01:33:01,040 --> 01:33:04,280 Speaker 1: fit these teen movies where the rebel always gives up 1646 01:33:04,320 --> 01:33:06,120 Speaker 1: as bad boy ways at the end of the movie 1647 01:33:06,160 --> 01:33:08,320 Speaker 1: and begins a new life on the straight and narrow. 1648 01:33:08,479 --> 01:33:10,599 Speaker 1: And in this case he thought it would be funny if, 1649 01:33:10,640 --> 01:33:13,639 Speaker 1: instead of the bad boy repenting, the good girl, in quotes, 1650 01:33:13,720 --> 01:33:15,880 Speaker 1: would go bad and it was just a funny way 1651 01:33:15,920 --> 01:33:19,000 Speaker 1: to play with the audiences expectations. But the joke was 1652 01:33:19,040 --> 01:33:22,320 Speaker 1: a lot more obvious and such an obviously satirical play, 1653 01:33:22,800 --> 01:33:24,760 Speaker 1: which is a very different vibe than the movie, and 1654 01:33:24,840 --> 01:33:27,280 Speaker 1: the Writers of the playoff said that the look at me, 1655 01:33:27,400 --> 01:33:30,280 Speaker 1: I'm Sandra d song was meant to suggest a class 1656 01:33:30,360 --> 01:33:34,400 Speaker 1: conflict between Rizzo and Sandy, and the writers of the 1657 01:33:34,400 --> 01:33:37,320 Speaker 1: play themselves were more biased towards the Greasers, and the 1658 01:33:37,439 --> 01:33:39,360 Speaker 1: song look at me, I'm Sandra D was meant to 1659 01:33:39,479 --> 01:33:43,639 Speaker 1: satirize middle class phony nous and shallowness. So when Sandy, 1660 01:33:44,000 --> 01:33:47,439 Speaker 1: you know quote, conforms to the Greasers at the end 1661 01:33:47,479 --> 01:33:50,400 Speaker 1: of the play. They felt that she'd broken free of 1662 01:33:50,479 --> 01:33:53,639 Speaker 1: this phony middle class value system and that was something 1663 01:33:53,680 --> 01:33:56,519 Speaker 1: to celebrate. It was actually a happy ending. She was free. 1664 01:33:57,760 --> 01:34:00,240 Speaker 1: This all rings a little different in the movie Vie, 1665 01:34:00,479 --> 01:34:02,719 Speaker 1: where you know a little bit where she sings goodbye 1666 01:34:02,880 --> 01:34:08,960 Speaker 1: Sandra d right after the drag race. Has some sadness. Students. 1667 01:34:09,160 --> 01:34:11,920 Speaker 1: As far as I was concerned, it's like saying goodbye 1668 01:34:11,960 --> 01:34:14,639 Speaker 1: to a part of herself. It's kind of troubling to hear, 1669 01:34:15,280 --> 01:34:17,479 Speaker 1: and I guess I'm not alone in feeling that. After 1670 01:34:17,600 --> 01:34:22,200 Speaker 1: the BBC aired grease in December, they got inundated with 1671 01:34:22,360 --> 01:34:25,639 Speaker 1: angry letters and messages on social media claiming that Greece 1672 01:34:25,720 --> 01:34:30,280 Speaker 1: promoted misogyny, racism and homophobia. And soon after Living Newton 1673 01:34:30,360 --> 01:34:33,160 Speaker 1: John defended the movie during an episode of an Australian 1674 01:34:33,240 --> 01:34:37,040 Speaker 1: podcast called a life of greatness, saying those who criticized 1675 01:34:37,040 --> 01:34:39,200 Speaker 1: Greece need to relax a little bit, and she called 1676 01:34:39,240 --> 01:34:42,439 Speaker 1: the comments kind of silly, before adding the movie was 1677 01:34:42,479 --> 01:34:45,400 Speaker 1: made in the seventies, about the fifties. It's a fun movie, 1678 01:34:45,479 --> 01:34:48,439 Speaker 1: musical not to be taken so seriously. I think everyone 1679 01:34:48,600 --> 01:34:51,240 Speaker 1: is taking everything so seriously. We need to relax a 1680 01:34:51,320 --> 01:34:53,960 Speaker 1: little bit and just enjoy things for what they are. 1681 01:34:54,720 --> 01:34:56,760 Speaker 1: And she added that she doesn't view grease in the 1682 01:34:56,800 --> 01:34:59,040 Speaker 1: way that her critics do. And then it's, quote, just 1683 01:34:59,200 --> 01:35:02,720 Speaker 1: a fun movie that entertains people. That's all. Both of 1684 01:35:02,760 --> 01:35:06,560 Speaker 1: those are true. It's still be a terrible message that 1685 01:35:06,760 --> 01:35:10,519 Speaker 1: people still take away too seriously. Yeah, I mean, welcome 1686 01:35:10,560 --> 01:35:14,799 Speaker 1: to the Internet. Speaking of the Internet, well, Proto Internet 1687 01:35:14,960 --> 01:35:17,920 Speaker 1: conspiracy theories, the film ends with a shot of Danny 1688 01:35:17,960 --> 01:35:21,320 Speaker 1: and sandy driving grease lightning alongside an assembled crowd of 1689 01:35:21,400 --> 01:35:27,679 Speaker 1: all of their friends, before the car flies into the sky. Yeah, 1690 01:35:27,920 --> 01:35:30,519 Speaker 1: just this scene has given rise to a theory that's 1691 01:35:30,520 --> 01:35:34,120 Speaker 1: spread through Reddit in Sen thanks to, weirdly enough, a 1692 01:35:34,200 --> 01:35:37,760 Speaker 1: Co signed by Sarah Michelle Gellar. As with a lot 1693 01:35:37,800 --> 01:35:41,240 Speaker 1: of Reddit theories, it is deeply bizarre and very dark. 1694 01:35:41,560 --> 01:35:44,000 Speaker 1: The theory goes that sandy actually drowned on the beach 1695 01:35:44,080 --> 01:35:46,679 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the movie. Hence the line saved 1696 01:35:46,720 --> 01:35:49,880 Speaker 1: her life. She nearly drowned, the line that Danny sings 1697 01:35:50,120 --> 01:35:54,479 Speaker 1: and the entire movie is her quote. Coma Fantasy. Ah, 1698 01:35:55,439 --> 01:35:57,240 Speaker 1: I think, also a band we played with. It got 1699 01:35:57,280 --> 01:36:00,840 Speaker 1: a few years back. The final liveway scene in the 1700 01:36:00,920 --> 01:36:03,679 Speaker 1: movie is her ascending to Heaven courtesy of the cute 1701 01:36:03,720 --> 01:36:07,160 Speaker 1: angels she met on the beach. Randall Kaiser has insisted 1702 01:36:07,200 --> 01:36:09,599 Speaker 1: that there was no deeper meaning. It's just a fun 1703 01:36:09,840 --> 01:36:13,240 Speaker 1: ending and Uh said that he would address the theory 1704 01:36:13,320 --> 01:36:16,479 Speaker 1: further in upcoming memoir, which sounds more like a plug. 1705 01:36:17,720 --> 01:36:20,240 Speaker 1: Olivia Newton John Actually commented on this during an appearance 1706 01:36:20,240 --> 01:36:22,720 Speaker 1: on the today show, saying I thought that means we 1707 01:36:22,800 --> 01:36:25,439 Speaker 1: were the first Zombie movie ever and we looked pretty 1708 01:36:25,479 --> 01:36:29,320 Speaker 1: good for zombies. Don't you reckon? I love her so much. 1709 01:36:29,720 --> 01:36:34,120 Speaker 1: Great soundbite. Um, not the first Zombie movie ever, though, Olivia. 1710 01:36:34,280 --> 01:36:39,120 Speaker 1: It's mental living Ted. Please get serious. Uh. The movie 1711 01:36:39,280 --> 01:36:41,240 Speaker 1: does end with Sandy waving to the camera, but that 1712 01:36:41,360 --> 01:36:43,639 Speaker 1: wasn't supposed to be the final ending. There was actually 1713 01:36:43,680 --> 01:36:45,679 Speaker 1: supposed to be a final scene of Danny and sandy 1714 01:36:45,800 --> 01:36:48,640 Speaker 1: having a kiss before the credits roll, but it is 1715 01:36:48,760 --> 01:36:52,519 Speaker 1: missing and currently lost. H cut by a mistake during 1716 01:36:52,640 --> 01:36:56,639 Speaker 1: editing and lost before theatrical release. reshoots were deemed too 1717 01:36:56,760 --> 01:36:59,320 Speaker 1: expensive and so the production team just rolled with what 1718 01:36:59,439 --> 01:37:03,000 Speaker 1: they had. A low quality black and white version of 1719 01:37:03,080 --> 01:37:05,799 Speaker 1: the shot does exist and can be seen on Youtube. 1720 01:37:05,840 --> 01:37:09,920 Speaker 1: If you're a completist like my esteemed coast Randall Kaiser 1721 01:37:10,000 --> 01:37:12,680 Speaker 1: has repeatedly tried to colorize it over the years and 1722 01:37:13,040 --> 01:37:16,519 Speaker 1: included on various releases, but so far he's been unhappy 1723 01:37:16,600 --> 01:37:19,519 Speaker 1: with the results. He is hoping that the technology will 1724 01:37:19,560 --> 01:37:24,640 Speaker 1: improve in time for the film's Fiftieth Anniversary in and 1725 01:37:24,720 --> 01:37:28,000 Speaker 1: so he can reinstate the intended ending. Sounds like a 1726 01:37:28,120 --> 01:37:31,000 Speaker 1: long time to wait for just a shot of someone, 1727 01:37:31,439 --> 01:37:35,160 Speaker 1: for as a kiss, the lost kiss. Now there's something 1728 01:37:35,200 --> 01:37:43,360 Speaker 1: poetic about that kiss. Yeah, yeah, Um not the only 1729 01:37:43,439 --> 01:37:46,720 Speaker 1: post production snafe the filmmakers had on their hands. There 1730 01:37:46,760 --> 01:37:50,200 Speaker 1: are a lot of obvious sensor blurs in the scenes 1731 01:37:50,240 --> 01:37:53,160 Speaker 1: at the frosty palace diner. Uh, that is to get 1732 01:37:53,280 --> 01:37:56,320 Speaker 1: rid of Coca Cola ads. One version you've heard of 1733 01:37:56,360 --> 01:37:58,479 Speaker 1: this is that they had a product placement deal with 1734 01:37:58,840 --> 01:38:02,280 Speaker 1: coke and then that fell through and they went with Pepsi. Yeah, 1735 01:38:02,320 --> 01:38:04,320 Speaker 1: and you can see a Pepsi logo in the animated 1736 01:38:04,400 --> 01:38:06,920 Speaker 1: opening of the movie. Then, when they were cutting it, 1737 01:38:07,040 --> 01:38:09,720 Speaker 1: the producers realized that Pepsi would not be happy to 1738 01:38:09,800 --> 01:38:13,760 Speaker 1: see significantly more ads for coke in the movie and 1739 01:38:13,920 --> 01:38:16,880 Speaker 1: once again, as is becoming a theme with this movie, 1740 01:38:16,960 --> 01:38:22,240 Speaker 1: deemed too expensive to reshoot. So they just totally blurted out. Overall, 1741 01:38:22,280 --> 01:38:26,120 Speaker 1: aside from this whole Coke Pepsi Snuffo, paramount were pretty 1742 01:38:26,160 --> 01:38:28,560 Speaker 1: hands off when it came to this movie. They just 1743 01:38:28,600 --> 01:38:30,879 Speaker 1: thought it was a little team musical with limited appeals, 1744 01:38:30,920 --> 01:38:33,240 Speaker 1: so they didn't find it worth their time to really 1745 01:38:33,280 --> 01:38:36,000 Speaker 1: give notes. And the first time any executives saw it 1746 01:38:36,120 --> 01:38:38,960 Speaker 1: was during a screening in New York, uh, and a 1747 01:38:39,080 --> 01:38:42,840 Speaker 1: bunch of the top brass balked. They declared it unreleasable. 1748 01:38:44,160 --> 01:38:46,120 Speaker 1: I guess they decided to let it out. I don't 1749 01:38:46,160 --> 01:38:49,000 Speaker 1: really know what changed, but they apparently put the Kabosh 1750 01:38:49,120 --> 01:38:52,880 Speaker 1: on plans for an immediate sequel. And remember the scene 1751 01:38:52,880 --> 01:38:54,599 Speaker 1: at the end of the movie at the Carnival where 1752 01:38:54,720 --> 01:38:57,000 Speaker 1: the tea birds are throwing pies at the coach and 1753 01:38:57,040 --> 01:38:59,800 Speaker 1: he says I'll see you in summer school. According to 1754 01:39:00,120 --> 01:39:02,160 Speaker 1: D Khan, who played French eat, there was supposed to 1755 01:39:02,200 --> 01:39:05,200 Speaker 1: be an immediate sequel called summer school, and she told 1756 01:39:05,240 --> 01:39:08,200 Speaker 1: huving and post. John Travolta wanted to do it, Olivia 1757 01:39:08,240 --> 01:39:10,000 Speaker 1: wanted to do it, everybody wanted to do it, but 1758 01:39:10,120 --> 01:39:12,559 Speaker 1: paramount was looking at the dailies and said, Oh it's 1759 01:39:12,600 --> 01:39:15,200 Speaker 1: a cute movie but it's not going anywhere, and so 1760 01:39:15,400 --> 01:39:17,800 Speaker 1: they passed. But at least the cast were having a 1761 01:39:17,880 --> 01:39:21,360 Speaker 1: good time. Apparently no one remembers the rap party very well, 1762 01:39:21,439 --> 01:39:24,800 Speaker 1: because someone made extra strong pot brownies, which it's a 1763 01:39:24,960 --> 01:39:28,720 Speaker 1: very un UN seventies disco era type thing to have 1764 01:39:29,000 --> 01:39:31,640 Speaker 1: at your party, I guess. But the guys playing the 1765 01:39:31,720 --> 01:39:35,280 Speaker 1: tea birds handed out buttons of themselves mooning the camera. 1766 01:39:35,960 --> 01:39:39,479 Speaker 1: That's classic. That's fun. Yeah, the film premiered on June 1767 01:39:39,600 --> 01:39:43,960 Speaker 1: four at Grauman's Chinese theater in Los Angeles and John 1768 01:39:44,040 --> 01:39:46,560 Speaker 1: and Olivia pulled up in an old convertible, just like 1769 01:39:46,640 --> 01:39:49,599 Speaker 1: the end of Greece really, with John and his tea 1770 01:39:49,640 --> 01:39:52,599 Speaker 1: bird leather jacket and Olivia in her White Prom Dress 1771 01:39:52,800 --> 01:39:55,560 Speaker 1: as sandy number one. And then after the movie she 1772 01:39:55,680 --> 01:39:57,960 Speaker 1: did a quick outfit change and exited the theater as 1773 01:39:58,080 --> 01:40:00,800 Speaker 1: sandy number two and a pink span x outfit, and 1774 01:40:00,880 --> 01:40:04,680 Speaker 1: the streets were predictably a mob scene, predicting the Gargangel 1775 01:40:04,720 --> 01:40:07,560 Speaker 1: in success that was to come Alan Carr through his 1776 01:40:07,680 --> 01:40:10,439 Speaker 1: own release party at Studio fifty four in New York 1777 01:40:10,479 --> 01:40:13,320 Speaker 1: a few weeks later, and it was a typical big 1778 01:40:13,400 --> 01:40:16,519 Speaker 1: budget themed Studio Party. The entrance way that the club 1779 01:40:16,640 --> 01:40:19,160 Speaker 1: was all lined with lockers and the dance floor, I 1780 01:40:19,280 --> 01:40:22,240 Speaker 1: love this, had a bunch of big finned fifties cars 1781 01:40:22,400 --> 01:40:25,479 Speaker 1: on loan from a local museum. And the only problem 1782 01:40:25,640 --> 01:40:27,600 Speaker 1: was just before the doors opened for the Party, the 1783 01:40:27,720 --> 01:40:30,200 Speaker 1: Fire Marshal reminded them that they needed to empty the 1784 01:40:30,280 --> 01:40:33,280 Speaker 1: gas out of the tanks for fire code reasons. So 1785 01:40:33,479 --> 01:40:35,599 Speaker 1: each vehicle had to be taken out onto the street 1786 01:40:35,640 --> 01:40:38,479 Speaker 1: where it's tank was emptied, I guess, just into like 1787 01:40:38,560 --> 01:40:42,000 Speaker 1: the sewer, and then they pushed them back inside by hands. 1788 01:40:42,920 --> 01:40:45,320 Speaker 1: And Yeah, the party went off without a hitch, except 1789 01:40:45,360 --> 01:40:48,960 Speaker 1: for a minor incident where some partiers climbed into a 1790 01:40:49,080 --> 01:40:52,599 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty Chevy convertible and set fire to the seats. 1791 01:40:56,120 --> 01:40:59,040 Speaker 1: Rightly so. This movie, instantly out of the gate, became 1792 01:40:59,080 --> 01:41:03,160 Speaker 1: a phenomenon. Sixty six million dollars on a six million 1793 01:41:03,160 --> 01:41:06,320 Speaker 1: dollar budget, making it obviously the highest grossing film of 1794 01:41:07,360 --> 01:41:10,799 Speaker 1: the highest grossing live action musical of all time, beating 1795 01:41:10,840 --> 01:41:13,920 Speaker 1: out a then thirteen year old records set by the 1796 01:41:14,000 --> 01:41:17,000 Speaker 1: sound of music. Greece held that as you mentioned earlier. 1797 01:41:17,080 --> 01:41:24,800 Speaker 1: Greece held that title until a Miss Um, director sweet boy, 1798 01:41:24,920 --> 01:41:27,720 Speaker 1: Randall Klaiser, was so new to this that when the 1799 01:41:27,800 --> 01:41:30,360 Speaker 1: studio called him to tell them how crazy the first 1800 01:41:30,439 --> 01:41:33,120 Speaker 1: weekend money on this films, he said, is that good? 1801 01:41:35,280 --> 01:41:38,280 Speaker 1: It was so popular during this uh it's released that 1802 01:41:38,439 --> 01:41:41,479 Speaker 1: some theaters were playing it literally back to back to 1803 01:41:41,600 --> 01:41:44,679 Speaker 1: meet demand, but they couldn't even turn over the audience 1804 01:41:44,720 --> 01:41:46,840 Speaker 1: get the midnight of the theater fast enough, so that 1805 01:41:46,880 --> 01:41:49,400 Speaker 1: by the time the last viewers took their seats, the 1806 01:41:49,479 --> 01:41:52,000 Speaker 1: movie had already started and was part of the way through. 1807 01:41:52,760 --> 01:41:55,519 Speaker 1: And this worked out in their favor, because you couldn't 1808 01:41:55,520 --> 01:41:57,680 Speaker 1: see an entire screening of the movie because you were 1809 01:41:57,720 --> 01:42:00,840 Speaker 1: being shoved in like Japanese subway pass in juicy, and 1810 01:42:00,920 --> 01:42:02,960 Speaker 1: you had to see it multiple times to finally get 1811 01:42:03,000 --> 01:42:06,200 Speaker 1: the whole thing. Uh. This soundtrack launched four singles to 1812 01:42:06,200 --> 01:42:09,519 Speaker 1: billboard top ten, sold thirteen million copies in its first 1813 01:42:09,600 --> 01:42:12,680 Speaker 1: year alone, making it the second best selling album of 1814 01:42:12,800 --> 01:42:15,800 Speaker 1: the year, behind the soundtrack for Saturday night fever, which 1815 01:42:15,960 --> 01:42:19,200 Speaker 1: also starred Travolta, and it has gone on to become 1816 01:42:19,439 --> 01:42:22,880 Speaker 1: one of the top selling sounds ever. Twenty eight million 1817 01:42:23,040 --> 01:42:27,200 Speaker 1: copies sold and hopelessly devoted you scooped up on Oscar 1818 01:42:27,320 --> 01:42:31,640 Speaker 1: nom all that said, reviews were not great. Greece was 1819 01:42:31,760 --> 01:42:34,639 Speaker 1: savaged in a lot of prominent outlets. The New York 1820 01:42:34,720 --> 01:42:37,400 Speaker 1: Daily News said the film should really be covered on 1821 01:42:37,520 --> 01:42:43,040 Speaker 1: the obituary page, that it had been made quote by Knitwitz, 1822 01:42:43,080 --> 01:42:46,560 Speaker 1: who haven't the faintest idea what a camera is, and 1823 01:42:46,680 --> 01:42:50,360 Speaker 1: that its music was atrocious, and that Olivia Newton John 1824 01:42:50,680 --> 01:42:54,080 Speaker 1: Sounds like a tone deaf cow and makes a screen 1825 01:42:54,240 --> 01:42:59,160 Speaker 1: debut that has all of the charisma of rancid buttermilk. Oh, 1826 01:43:00,560 --> 01:43:03,759 Speaker 1: today's show critic Geane Schalett called it visual junk food, 1827 01:43:03,840 --> 01:43:09,040 Speaker 1: which Time magazine said Director Randall Klaiser doesn't seem to 1828 01:43:09,080 --> 01:43:12,280 Speaker 1: know what he's talking about. Charles Champlin, writing the l 1829 01:43:12,360 --> 01:43:14,640 Speaker 1: a time, said I didn't see grease on stage, but 1830 01:43:14,760 --> 01:43:19,679 Speaker 1: on the testimony of this strident, cluttered, uninvolving and unattractive movie, 1831 01:43:20,320 --> 01:43:24,080 Speaker 1: it is the fifties, maybe the last innocent decade allowed 1832 01:43:24,120 --> 01:43:30,599 Speaker 1: to us played back three grotesquely distorting seventies consciousness. Washington 1833 01:43:30,680 --> 01:43:33,519 Speaker 1: Post critic Gary Ronold said I've never seen an uglier 1834 01:43:33,640 --> 01:43:37,360 Speaker 1: large scale musical wait till Zanna do buddy. And finally, 1835 01:43:37,439 --> 01:43:40,759 Speaker 1: Pauline Kale, queen of movie reviews in this era dismissed 1836 01:43:40,800 --> 01:43:45,400 Speaker 1: the movie with a single word, Klutzburger. We have KLUTZBERGER 1837 01:43:45,560 --> 01:43:49,760 Speaker 1: versus ZANNA. Done for the pitheist pans of this late 1838 01:43:49,840 --> 01:43:54,240 Speaker 1: seventies Jordan. Take us out. Talk US about Greece too. Yes, 1839 01:43:54,560 --> 01:43:59,360 Speaker 1: critics hated Greece. Then they really hated the sequel in Greece, 1840 01:43:59,479 --> 01:44:03,559 Speaker 1: to starting Michelle Peiffer and some other guy, Alan Carr, 1841 01:44:03,680 --> 01:44:06,160 Speaker 1: cast after seeing him appear nude as a hustler in 1842 01:44:06,200 --> 01:44:09,599 Speaker 1: an off Broadway play. The movie basically flipped the premise 1843 01:44:09,680 --> 01:44:12,160 Speaker 1: of grease on its head. A biker girl meets a 1844 01:44:12,200 --> 01:44:15,160 Speaker 1: preppy boy. All at all paramount. Really whiffed it by 1845 01:44:15,240 --> 01:44:17,559 Speaker 1: not doing that sequel the summer school thing, as they 1846 01:44:17,600 --> 01:44:20,720 Speaker 1: originally proposed, because that would have been awesome. It was 1847 01:44:20,720 --> 01:44:24,040 Speaker 1: supposed to follow Knickie and Rizzo and whilst their relationship progress. 1848 01:44:24,120 --> 01:44:26,519 Speaker 1: But yeah, I went with Greece too, and it has 1849 01:44:26,560 --> 01:44:29,840 Speaker 1: its defenders, but I've never seen it all the way through. 1850 01:44:30,280 --> 01:44:32,040 Speaker 1: I didn't like what I did see. I know a 1851 01:44:32,080 --> 01:44:33,560 Speaker 1: lot of people didn't like it and it didn't do 1852 01:44:33,680 --> 01:44:37,760 Speaker 1: particularly well, and producer Alan Carr, who was really the 1853 01:44:37,840 --> 01:44:41,640 Speaker 1: one responsible for making the whole grease phenomenon happen. He 1854 01:44:41,840 --> 01:44:44,920 Speaker 1: sort of flamed out after the success of Greece. The 1855 01:44:45,040 --> 01:44:47,960 Speaker 1: next thing he did was nineteen eighties, can't stop the music, 1856 01:44:48,200 --> 01:44:53,160 Speaker 1: which was a splashy musical extravaganza that, along with Zanna do, 1857 01:44:53,720 --> 01:44:57,200 Speaker 1: helped inspire the creation of the Golden Raspberry awards of 1858 01:44:57,280 --> 01:45:00,120 Speaker 1: the razzies for the worst film of the year. And 1859 01:45:00,400 --> 01:45:03,880 Speaker 1: in nine he produced an overblown opening segment for the 1860 01:45:04,040 --> 01:45:07,519 Speaker 1: Oscars which is so insanely tacky and coked out that 1861 01:45:07,680 --> 01:45:11,880 Speaker 1: it defies description. UH, check it out. Rob Lowe duets 1862 01:45:11,960 --> 01:45:14,400 Speaker 1: with a woman dressed as snow white. I'm proud Mary. 1863 01:45:14,520 --> 01:45:18,879 Speaker 1: For some reason it's uh, it's pretty out there, widely 1864 01:45:18,960 --> 01:45:23,560 Speaker 1: accepted as the worst moment in Oscar's history. Um, after that, 1865 01:45:24,080 --> 01:45:26,720 Speaker 1: Alan Carr spent several years living as a recluse in 1866 01:45:26,800 --> 01:45:30,919 Speaker 1: his Hollywood mansion. Vanity Fair described him as Norma desmonds 1867 01:45:31,000 --> 01:45:35,800 Speaker 1: with donuts, which ouch, but not inaccurate. Uh. He attempted 1868 01:45:35,840 --> 01:45:39,679 Speaker 1: to come back but died of liver cancer at age 1869 01:45:39,720 --> 01:45:42,920 Speaker 1: sixty two, taking with him any chance of a grease three, 1870 01:45:43,120 --> 01:45:46,000 Speaker 1: which most of the original cast and tendively agreed to do. 1871 01:45:46,479 --> 01:45:48,680 Speaker 1: They wanted to maybe set it in the seventies, and 1872 01:45:49,520 --> 01:45:51,800 Speaker 1: I don't know how their kids involved or something. Yeah, 1873 01:45:51,920 --> 01:45:55,439 Speaker 1: but after Alan Carr died that kind of went out 1874 01:45:55,479 --> 01:46:01,120 Speaker 1: the window. David Geffen, another similarly huge evand's music mogul, 1875 01:46:01,200 --> 01:46:04,559 Speaker 1: later told Alan Carr's biographer Greece was the best thing 1876 01:46:04,640 --> 01:46:07,680 Speaker 1: that happened to Alan and it was also the worst thing. 1877 01:46:08,080 --> 01:46:10,880 Speaker 1: And Yeah, it kind of sums it up. There was 1878 01:46:10,920 --> 01:46:14,360 Speaker 1: a live television production of grease that aired in with 1879 01:46:15,560 --> 01:46:18,280 Speaker 1: Carly Ray Jeppson being the only person that I can 1880 01:46:18,400 --> 01:46:20,680 Speaker 1: be bothered to recall from it. Everyone else, I think 1881 01:46:20,760 --> 01:46:24,400 Speaker 1: Julianne Huff. Yeah, it looked it looked terrible. I tried 1882 01:46:24,439 --> 01:46:27,640 Speaker 1: to revisit it before taping this and then I just 1883 01:46:27,920 --> 01:46:30,280 Speaker 1: even just looking at the graphics for it and I 1884 01:46:30,680 --> 01:46:33,720 Speaker 1: turned it off. Yeah, it was bad, um, but the 1885 01:46:33,800 --> 01:46:37,120 Speaker 1: only person to appear in grease one, grease two and 1886 01:46:37,280 --> 01:46:39,960 Speaker 1: the live TV version is our beloved D D Con 1887 01:46:40,040 --> 01:46:43,439 Speaker 1: Who Played Frenchie. So God bless her. However, there is 1888 01:46:43,479 --> 01:46:47,479 Speaker 1: a grease prequel announced in twenty nineteen, called Summer Lovin, 1889 01:46:48,000 --> 01:46:51,040 Speaker 1: with scriptwriter John August, who did big fish. That's a 1890 01:46:51,080 --> 01:46:53,840 Speaker 1: good movie. Charlie's angels less good. A bunch of Tim 1891 01:46:53,920 --> 01:46:57,519 Speaker 1: Burton stuff charlie and the chocolate factory, bad corpse, bright man, 1892 01:46:57,680 --> 01:47:00,600 Speaker 1: frank and Wheeney. UH, will it be good? I'll go. 1893 01:47:00,680 --> 01:47:07,439 Speaker 1: What do you think? I mean it's announced in ten yeah, 1894 01:47:07,720 --> 01:47:09,400 Speaker 1: I guess we've got to give him the grace period 1895 01:47:09,479 --> 01:47:12,519 Speaker 1: from covid but I mean, has it even been? They 1896 01:47:12,560 --> 01:47:17,400 Speaker 1: even got a script out? I don't know. I wonder 1897 01:47:17,400 --> 01:47:19,080 Speaker 1: if I would. You know what, I would actually prefer 1898 01:47:19,160 --> 01:47:21,439 Speaker 1: it if it was like a like a gritty reboot, 1899 01:47:22,600 --> 01:47:24,880 Speaker 1: if it was like the like the original play. Yeah, 1900 01:47:25,320 --> 01:47:29,479 Speaker 1: like a loan, like like a loan based register piano 1901 01:47:29,680 --> 01:47:36,080 Speaker 1: key banging out the AUSTINADO and they're like Danny. It 1902 01:47:36,240 --> 01:47:42,240 Speaker 1: was always a little bit different, you know, like a joker, 1903 01:47:43,040 --> 01:47:45,920 Speaker 1: a joker version the whole new meeting too. Did she 1904 01:47:46,040 --> 01:47:54,360 Speaker 1: put up a fight? Oh well, we've been talking about 1905 01:47:54,400 --> 01:47:57,120 Speaker 1: this movie for the last six hours. Um, Jordan is 1906 01:47:57,120 --> 01:48:00,519 Speaker 1: in a fever dream. Yeah, it's now past one in 1907 01:48:00,560 --> 01:48:03,360 Speaker 1: the morning my time. We should probably let everyone get 1908 01:48:03,400 --> 01:48:06,080 Speaker 1: back to their lives. Do you have anything else to add, Heigel, 1909 01:48:06,720 --> 01:48:08,840 Speaker 1: I got nothing. I got nothing. I'm happy to take 1910 01:48:08,880 --> 01:48:13,400 Speaker 1: this journey with you and uh, yeah, man, I was 1911 01:48:13,439 --> 01:48:15,880 Speaker 1: gonna say something about the smell of pork. I think 1912 01:48:15,880 --> 01:48:20,080 Speaker 1: I already beat that one into the ground earlier. Well, 1913 01:48:20,200 --> 01:48:22,040 Speaker 1: thank you for indulging me, and that goes to the 1914 01:48:22,080 --> 01:48:24,960 Speaker 1: rest of your listeners as well. We truly go together 1915 01:48:25,080 --> 01:48:29,000 Speaker 1: like Rama, Lama, Lamma, d Ding Dong, something like that. 1916 01:48:31,280 --> 01:48:36,920 Speaker 1: Do you smell toast, are you folks? Thank you for listening. 1917 01:48:37,280 --> 01:48:40,120 Speaker 1: This has been too much information. I'm Alex Heagel. My 1918 01:48:40,280 --> 01:48:42,720 Speaker 1: name is Jordan runt Hog, and I feel it's only 1919 01:48:42,840 --> 01:48:44,599 Speaker 1: right to end off on a bit of Doo wop. 1920 01:48:44,760 --> 01:48:47,599 Speaker 1: I'm not sure if we're allowed to, but let them 1921 01:48:47,640 --> 01:48:50,200 Speaker 1: sue for the ride out. Tonight we're gonna play you 1922 01:48:50,280 --> 01:48:52,200 Speaker 1: a new old favorite of mine, taking it back to 1923 01:48:52,240 --> 01:48:55,200 Speaker 1: the year of our Lord, Nineteen fifty seven. It's the 1924 01:48:55,439 --> 01:48:58,880 Speaker 1: five royals, and this one's dedicated to the one I love. 1925 01:48:59,080 --> 01:49:01,080 Speaker 1: That means all of you. Those guys are all dead. 1926 01:49:01,120 --> 01:49:04,440 Speaker 1: They're not sing us. Good night, everybody. This is dedicated 1927 01:49:04,880 --> 01:49:21,160 Speaker 1: to the one I lord. Wow, too much information. Was 1928 01:49:21,240 --> 01:49:24,320 Speaker 1: a production of I heart radio. The show's executive producers 1929 01:49:24,360 --> 01:49:27,400 Speaker 1: are Noel Brown and Jordan run talk. The supervising producer 1930 01:49:27,479 --> 01:49:30,519 Speaker 1: is Mike John's. The show was researched, written and hosted 1931 01:49:30,560 --> 01:49:33,519 Speaker 1: by Jordan run talk and Alex Heigel, with original music 1932 01:49:33,600 --> 01:49:36,479 Speaker 1: by Seth Applebaum and the Ghost funk orchestra. If you 1933 01:49:36,560 --> 01:49:38,840 Speaker 1: like what you heard, please subscribe and leave us a review. 1934 01:49:39,120 --> 01:49:41,360 Speaker 1: For more podcasts and I heart radio, visit the I 1935 01:49:41,520 --> 01:49:44,479 Speaker 1: heart radio APP apple podcast, or wherever you listen to 1936 01:49:44,479 --> 01:49:45,360 Speaker 1: your favorite shows,