Ahead of the release of American Ultra, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart’s new stoner comedy, CineFix has put together a video about the classic Dazed and Confused, with seven things we apparently didn’t know about the film. Some of the facts are a little too mellow, so below are the highlights.
– Director Richard Linklater spent more money on the first two minutes of the film than on the entirety of Slacker, by shelling out $100,000 to use Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” in the opening. Aerosmith then didn’t let Linklater include the song on the soundtrack, which then sold a ton of copies.
– Linklater also wanted to depict his characters painting a Ronald McDonald statue so that it looked like KISS’ Gene Simmons, but the company refused permission. So, some obscure KISS statue joke wasn’t featured as prominently in the final cut.
– Wiley Wiggins (Mitch) lied in his audition, saying that he knew how to play baseball when he had never played before. When it came time to shoot that pivotal throw-a-pitch-then-get-a-beatdown scene, Linklater had to use a body double for Wiggins.
– Renee Zellweger had a non-speaking role in the movie (I’m sure a lot of people knew that).
– Rory Cochrane had to wear a “hat wig” to convincingly play a stoner. LOL.