Rewatchables Reference

• The mouthwash basement party – 4 parts 100-proof vodka, 2 parts peppermint schnapps, 1 part creme de menthe.
• The roll call scene – Luis Cali reading off the kids' parents' jobs, Joey Trotta vs. Cali.
• Joey Trotta's death scene – 'Fuck my father. And fuck you.' Then immediately gets shot.
• Billy escaping – timing the guards, running, the suspense of getting back before the count.

• Opening in Barranquilla, Colombia – judge thrown from helicopter.
• 'They will explode' line delivery from the villain.
• Wil Wheaton's accent, earring (ankh), and general demeanor.
• The score – compared to John Williams / Indiana Jones, 'kind of incredible.'
• Phone sex lines as a period artifact.

• The ending group hug helicopter shot.
• The judge being thrown from the helicopter in the opening.

The microchip swap plot device – the paper airplane chip and the terrorist remote control chip being interchangeable. Confusing in 1991, more confusing in 2023.

• No internet, no cell phones – completely different movie in 2023.
• Only two female characters in the entire movie: one pushed off a balcony, the other a phone sex operator.
• Tone among students – no real terror, kids kicking hacky sacks during a hostage crisis. Post-school-shooting era makes this feel unrealistic.
• Jerry Orbach being uncredited – bizarre.

• Bill: Wishes there had been a sequel at a girls' boarding school in ~1994 – 'perfect Reese Witherspoon range, maybe early Sarah Michelle Gellar.'
• Kyle: Sean Astin's hairstyle is exactly Martin Riggs ('Lethal Weapon'), and Luis Cali's hairstyle is exactly Steven Seagal.

• John Schlesinger was supposed to direct but dropped out for Pacific Heights.
• Corey Feldman auditioned but 'was not in the right place.'
• Lillo Brancato (the Bronx Tale kid) would have been perfect for Joey Trotta.

Luis Cali (Andrew Divoff) – the screaming, coming unhinged at the end, the 'noodle gunshot' to the head.

Michael Champion – also in 'Total Recall' running around with Ironside, 'playing basically the same role.'

Jerry Orbach – shows up uncredited for a nothing part as Albert Trotter, the mob boss. 'You're kind of intoxicated because he's famous.'

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Yogurt (~15 at the time).
• Lillo Brancato as Joey Trotta.
• For the villain: Steven Bauer or Jimmy Smits.

• Budget $10 million, grossed $15 million.
• Based on a 1988 novel by William P. Kennedy.
• Billy eating a banana and throwing the pill in the trash was improvised.
• Wil Wheaton prepared by renting all the Godfather movies. Was told to do a New York accent by the director.
• Keith Coogan had success with Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead but a billing dispute derailed his career.
• Body count: 18.

• Boarding school hostage movies – yes.
• Throwing judges out of helicopters – yes.

• Moving the Dean's entire office furniture into the quad – that's hours of work.
• The cigarette burning long enough to ignite matches under a fire alarm – impossible.
• Kids can tap into a phone line but nobody thinks to communicate with the outside world.
• Terrorists brought no clothes – Champion wearing the same vest for ~4 days.

• A 10-episode Hulu series like Prison Break. Could be Cali's son avenging his father's death.
• Jason Blum rumors about a potential sequel.

Sean Astin for the lead role.

• Wil Wheaton's ankh earring.
• The model airplane.

• Don't try a New York Italian accent if your name is Wil Wheaton.
• The most enterprising kid in school might not have the best grades but he's the one who saves everyone during a terrorist attack.

Iron Eagle – double Gossett.

Sean Astin – runaway. Does 'Rudy' two years later, eventually Lord of the Rings.

Craig Horlbeck: had never heard of the movie. Was shocked by Ebert's one-star review. 'Couldn't believe how much this movie grew on me.' Loved the premise – people trapped in one location is the best movie format.