Rewatchables Reference

• The Wave of Mutilation scene – Mark plays the slow Pixies version, leans back smoking, montage of everyone listening (Bill's pick: 'Probably the greatest minute of my life').
• The 'consider the life of a teenager' speech after Malcolm dies.
• The first scene where we meet Hard Harry – fake masturbation, 'an exhausted decade'.
• The driving radio show at the end in the Jeep.

• The soundtrack – Leonard Cohen, Pixies, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden.
• Samantha Mathis / Nora Diniro – 'The Velvet Underground record for an entire generation'.
• The superhero movie in disguise structure – Clark Kent with a radio show.
• The gay kid calling in scene – braver and more direct than a lot of teen entertainment today.
• Nora as a fully realized female character, not a manic pixie dream girl.

• The gang leader / only Black character – 'the man who works with gangs downtown'.
• His radio shows being too short (~8 minutes) to believably build a following.
• Christian Slater's wraparound sunglasses – 'looks like Max Headroom'.

• John Cusack was the director's first choice – said 'I've just played my last teenage role'.
• Drew Barrymore pursued the Nora role hard; director pushed for Samantha Mathis instead.

The Humphrey principal – classic terrible villain actor with after-hours brandy sipping from a snifter.

• Seth Green (mullet Seth Green) – also in 'Can't Buy Me Love' as Patrick Dempsey's little brother.
• Robert Schenkkan as the guidance counselor – Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.
• Lin Shaye – parent at the PTA meeting, went on to be incredibly creepy in 'Insidious'.

Ally Sheedy as the English teacher – Breakfast Club alum now grown up, umbilical cord to the John Hughes era.

• Slater became physically ill several times from all the cigarette smoking during filming.
• The school was based on a Montreal high school where the director's sister taught.
• Slater's driver's license was suspended so they couldn't have him drive – Nora drives in the final scene.
• Slater overruled the director on the masturbation dance sequence – wanted it spontaneous.

• Christian Slater – yes, this is his apex.
• Samantha Mathis – 'not just her apex mountain but we should change the name to Nora Diniro Mountain'.
• Pirate Radio – this is the apex for pirate radio in movies.
• The Pixies' Wave of Mutilation drop – debate vs. 'Where Is My Mind' in 'Fight Club'.
• PO Boxes – yes (Unabomber later killed PO boxes).

• How easy it would have been to figure out Hard Harry's identity – dumbest parents on earth.
• The FCC should have found him within five minutes.
• Doing a pirate radio show from a moving car is completely absurd technologically.
• The PA system prank – impossibly complex device that the entire school staff can't shut down.

Christian Slater has been having meetings about bringing an updated version to life – what happened to Mark Hunter? Now everyone has a podcast.

Samantha Mathis / Nora Diniro – 'She is the Velvet Underground record for an entire generation'.