“Peege” was Randal's USC master's thesis at USC in 1972.
Randal Kleiser has directed two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: “Peege” (1973) and “Grease” (1978).
John Travolta recommend Randal to direct “Grease” (1978) after having worked with him on “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” (1976).
The cast had a sock hop on the first day of rehearsal to learn dance moves and get to know each other.
"Greased Lightning" was supposed to be sung by Jeff Conaway's character, Kenickie, as it is in the stage version. John Travolta used his clout to have his character sing it. Director Randal Kleiser felt it was only right to ask Conaway if it was okay. At first, he refused, but he eventually gave in.
The final musical scene, "You're the One That I Want", was filmed with the help of a traveling carnival. Director Randal Kleiser decided the next day that additional shots were needed for close-ups. The carnival had left town, so set decorators were called in to build replica backgrounds that matched the carnival rides' construction for the close-ups.
Randal Kleiser shot a scene of Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) and Rizzo (Stockard Channing) getting into a heated argument, which explained their attitude towards each other in the diner scene (where Rizzo threw the malt at Kenickie). The fight scene was cut because it didn't match the tone of the rest of the movie. It was much grittier, described by one crew member as "looking like something Martin Scorsese might have directed."
Dame Olivia Newton-John requested to have a screentest before she accepted the role of Sandy Olsson. Director Randal Kleiser agreed and they shot the "drive-in movie" scene with Danny and Sandy as a trial. Newton-John was pleased and went on with filming.
Originally, Sandy was not supposed to participate in the dance contest at all. She was supposed to be sidetracked and subdued by Sonny before the contest even started, allowing Cha Cha to jump in and take her place and win the contest. But Dame Olivia Newton-John was anxious to do some dancing in the movie, even though she was not a professionally trained dancer like John Travolta. So she convinced Director Randal Kleiser to let her dance with Danny in the contest for a few minutes, and then for Sonny to jump in and subdue her a few minutes later.
“Grease” is among the 25 films on the American Film Institute's 2006 list of AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.
Randal turned down an offer to direct “Blade Runner” (1982) and was considered at one point to direct “Flashdance” (1983), “The King of Comedy” (1982), and “Splash” (1984). He was also attached to direct “Annie” (1982) before a dispute between Columbia Pictures' then-president Frank Price and him over the length of “The Blue Lagoon” (1980) forced him out of the project.
In “The Blue Lagoon” (1980) most of the nude scenes depicting Emmeline Lestrange include a body double. Brooke Shields always had to have her hair glued to her chest for the other scenes.
Christopher Atkins did most of his nude scenes in “The Blue Lagoon” (1980) without the use of a body double. Reportedly, he had to stand nude every morning before shooting these scenes while a female makeup artist got his body ready.
At the time of filming “The Blue Lagoon”, Brooke Shields stood 5' 10 and Christopher Atkins stood 5' 6. In order to make the movie so that Brooke wouldn't tower over Christopher, Brooke walked in shallow trenches that had been dug into the beach in order to make her appear shorter. Christopher would later describe the experience in his own words as like having the Statue of Liberty standing beside him.
Christopher Atkins would later play Mr. Christiansen in “Blue Lagoon: The Awakening” (2012).
The idea for the film “Summer Lovers” (1982) occurred to writer-director Randal Kleiser while touring the Greek islands on vacation. Kleiser found fascinating the uninhibited, free-form lifestyle created by literally thousands of young adults from all over the world.
Randal Kleiser's first draft of the screenplay “Summer Lovers” (1982) depicted more of a true three-way relationship between the main characters, with Cathy and Lina being more intimate, and Cathy even questioning whether she was more attracted to Michael or Lina. Kleiser later admitted that he fully expected the studio to reject this element of the story, and sure enough, they forbade any suggestions of attraction, much less intimacy, between the two women. Daryl Hannah and Valérie Quennessen nonetheless tried to play their roles as if there was an unspoken attraction between the two.
The villa where Michael (Peter Gallagher) and Cathy (Daryl Hannah) stayed is located in Oia, Santorini. It was purchased by a couple in 1987 and now exists as a gift shop named "Summer Lovers".
Daryl Hannah's character in “Summer Lovers” (1982) Cathy Featherstone remarks, "I used to dream I was a mermaid." Two years later, Hannah starred as the mermaid Madison in “Splash” (1984).
The song "She's like the wind" was originally written by Patrick Swayze for "Grandview USA" (1984) as a love theme for the characters played by him and Jamie Lee Curtis. It was scrapped due to the comedic and somewhat raunchy nature of the film. The track would later eventually be used three years later in Swayze's film 'Dirty Dancing' (1987).
Grandview of the 'Grandview, USA' (1984) title is a real life place in the United States of America, situated in Illinois in the state's Sangamon County but this picture did not film there though the production did scout locations there.
For the film “Flight of the Navigator” (1986) director Randall Kleiser brought in his brother Jeff as the visual effects supervisor, who oversaw the use of reflection mapping software to create the ship's chrome-like appearance. The result was one of the first successful examples of what would later be known as CGI - a full 5 years before the groundbreaking T-1000 of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991).
When David's parents in “Flight of the Navigator” (1986) pull up to their house in the beginning of the movie, the song playing on the car radio is "You're The One That I Want" from Grease (1978), also directed by Randal Kleiser. The movie's initial setting of 1978 is also the year that “Grease” was released.
Due to “Pee-wee's Big Adventure” (1985) and “Big Top Pee-wee” (1988) being produced by different studios (Warner Brothers for "Adventure," Paramount for this one), Danny Elfman's famous score for the earlier film could not be reused, so he had to compose a new score for ‘Big Top’.
The idea of making the second Pee-Wee Herman movie a circus story came from Paul Reubens who had grown up in Sarasota, Florida and had been inspired to go into entertainment by the Ringling Bros. performers he saw when they came down to their winter headquarters.
The costume worn by Kris Kristofferson as "Mace Montana" in “Big Top Pee-wee” (1988) is identical to that worn by Charlton Heston in “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) in which Heston plays the manager of the Ringling Bros. Circus.
Director Randal Kleiser wanted Walter Matthau to play the role of Clifford Sterling in the film “Honey, I Blew Up The Kid” (1992) but he was busy with other projects and declined. Kirk Douglas was also under consideration but didn't feel comfortable with it being such a small role. He also considered Sid Caesar whom he directed in a supporting role in Grease (1978) but Caesar was also unavailable. Due to the previous year's success with “Hot Shots!” (1991) Lloyd Bridges was asked and agreed to take the role.
“It’s My Party” (1996) is based on real characters; and a real party that occurred December 1992. Many of the actors appearing in the film knew the person on whom the main character is based.
As there was only a small budget for “It’s My Party” (1996), cast and crew members made use of their own things to meet the story's needs. Director Randal Kleiser used his house and pool for the scenes set in Brandon's home. Eric Roberts provided his own white horse to ride in flashback scenes. Lee Grant used a favorite coin ring for Amalia's gift from Nick. Sally Kellerman brought her own dog, and so on.
Bruce Davison was shooting another movie and could only clear one Saturday to film “It’s My Party” (1996). All his scenes were shot on that one day, and he had no script. Randal the director explained the arc of the scene, and Davison improvised all his lines.
In the scene where Nick signs his name next to his picture on the wall, a black and white photo with the name "Harry Stein" beside it can clearly be seen. Harry Stein was the basis for Nick's character in “It’s My Party” (1996). The newest DVD edition of the film includes a tour of his home, led by his ex-boyfriend, writer/director Randal Kleiser, after his death.
Randal Kleiser’s house used as "Jennifer's" in the movie "Scream 3".
Trivia items from IMDB
Listen to my fascinating conversation with celebrated director Randal Kleiser by clicking on the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 33 - HERE
Episode 34 - HERE
