i'm danny epperson and i'm inside the nostalgic commodore dinner theater in downtown portsmouth thanks for joining me for whro cinema 15 and our presentation of the 1986 coming of age comedy stand by me not only is stand by me beloved by the people who saw it it was a deeply personal film for the people who made it the rob reiner movie is a classic coming of age story about four boys in 1959 together for one last adventure on the weekend before they enter middle school the movie is based on the novella the body by the
king of horror stephen king feel good movies aren't typically considered king's genre he's an author better known for writing terror-filled blockbusters like it the shining cujo and kerry for king stand by me struck closer to his heart his story is based on a real event in his past and the character gordy is his most autobiographical rob reiner was at a turning point in his life in 1985. don't start up nothing with me meet him the director was searching for a story to separate himself from his role as meathead in all in the family evolved from
being the son of legendary comedian carl reiner and established his voice as a skilled director he liked what he read in king's story and knew that if audiences liked this film then they were going to like him and the kinds of stories he wanted to tell reiner interviewed over 300 boys for the four parts before finally settling on will wheaton for gordy lachance river phoenix for chris chambers corey feldman for teddy duchamp and jerry o'connell for vern tessio oh man way to hear this as you'll see each young star gives a remarkable performance reiner chose
them all because they each had personalities and personal histories similar to the characters they were about to play but what made their relationships so convincing on screen was the behind-the-scenes friendships they developed before shooting began reiner had the boys spend a few weeks together playing improv theater games and just hanging out all that time goofing off paid off and the four boys remain one of the most enduring ensembles on screen i'll be back after the movie to tell you about how rob reiner made stephen king cry but for now grab some blueberry pie a lollipop
hit the lights enjoy stand by me such a great song stand by me by benny king was a top 10 hit in 1961. it returned to the top 10 in 1986 thanks to this film since its debut the song has been recorded over 400 times and ranks as the fourth most performed song of the 20th century speaking of hits after reiner screened the film for stephen king the author was moved to tears and declared it the best film adaptation of his work he was so pleased that he gave reiner's production company first dibs at future
big screen adaptations of his books reiner's castle rock entertainment named for the fictional town and stand by me went on to produce film versions of stephen king's misery delores claiborne the shawshank redemption and the green mile one of all the terrifying king stories adapted for the big screen few movie moments remain as terrifying as the blueberry pie eating contest the pie scene came from king's original story but rob reiner agonized about including it in the movie ultimately the debate over whether or not to shoot the scene proved much easier than figuring out how to shoot
it filming projectile vomit was tricky the actor playing david hogan had a tube taped to the side of his face while off camera the effects crew pushed blueberry pie and cheese curds throw a vacuum hose with a plunger the end result is definitely unforgettable if you're interested in reliving that moment for yourself the town of brownsville oregon still celebrates stand by me every july 23rd with film screenings 50s themed events and of course a pie eating contest although you may want to skip the blueberry pie that's all i have for this week i'm danny epperson
and i will see you next time for whro cinema15 and another classic movie jefferson here's a classic movie quiz stand by me from 1986 has an all-star cast including river phoenix it's like god gave you something man all those stories that you can make up what novella is the movie based on you guys want to go see a dead body the body by stephen king you provide the popcorn the couch and the tv we'll provide great movies like stand by me watch cinema 15 saturday night at 8 on whro tv 15.
