Lots of Goonie-ness to delve into this week with the movie’s director, Richard Donner turning 84 — and even bigger news, a possible Goonies II. Don’t start doing the truffle shuffle just yet though; rumors of a Goonies sequel have been floating around since 1985 with both Donner and executive producer Steven Spielberg saying that it probably wouldn’t happen since the movie’s appeal was its “likable young stars.”
Though that was then and this is 2014. What a Goonies sequel would be and who would be in it is a complete mystery, but Donner recently spilled the beans to TMZ that Spielberg already has the perfect concept in mind.
I’m sure Corey Feldman is chomping at the bit for that Goonies II money, but whether or not we ever get some more Goonie action, the rumor is enough reason to dive into some obscure movie trivia. This one’s for you, Sloth.
1. The pirate ship was a pretty big deal. An actual pirate ship was built for the movie and none of the cast was permitted to see it before filming to maintain its allure. When the kids finally did see it for the first time several of them blurted out curse words in awe and the scene had to be re-filmed without the cursing. After filming wrapped, the ship was put on the market, but apparently nobody had a use for a pirate ship and it was scrapped.
2. Data promised his mom he wouldn’t cuss. When Data falls from the cave ceiling he screams “holy s-h-i-t” as a way of getting around the curse word after he promised his mother he wouldn’t curse in the film.
3. Sloth spent up to five hours in the makeup chair. Getting Sloth’s wonky eye to look just right was no easy task and former Oakland Raiders player John Matuszak had to spend up to five hours in the makeup chair for the attachment of Sloth’s goofy eye, which was mechanically operated by remote control. It was very important that Sloth’s face not get wet, as water could cause the eye to malfunction — something that happened more than once during the pirate ship scenes.
4. Jeff Cohen wasn’t thrilled about being the fat kid on set. While Jeff Cohen was fully committed to his role — even showing up with the chicken pox out of fear of calling in sick and losing his part — he didn’t enjoy being the fat kid in the movie. Cohen has said that the actors in the “chubby kid” position are often expected to be eating throughout the entire movie and after filming he wanted to slim down. In an interview, Cohen said that the only time he’s done the “truffle shuffle” since the movie was at a college football game:
“The one time I did it was at Berkeley. I was the mic man at the football games, trying to pump them up. I wasn’t certain everyone knew who I was, I got up there to Say “GO BEARS” and this frat guy in the back row started screaming “truffle shuffle.” then the last 3 rows started chanting it. Next thing you know it caught on and 10,000 students were cheering “truffle . . . shuffle!”
5. The lost octopus. During the pirate ship scenes a separate scene was filmed with an octopus trapping some of the Goonies underwater. For whatever reason, it never made it in the movie even though the soundtrack included a song specially written for the scene entitled “8 Arms To Hold You” by The Goon Squad.
6. Sean Astin’s mother trashed the treasure map. Sean Astin said that upon completion of the film he was allowed to have One-eyed Willy’s old treasure map as a keepsake. Several years later his mother found it while cleaning the house and thinking it was just an old piece of crinkly paper, threw it out with the garbage.
7. Spielberg instructed to the cast act distant to director Richard Donner. As part of an elaborate surprise Spielberg told the cast to act distant to their director during the film’s final week of shooting. After shooting was wrapped, director Richard Donner flew to his home in Hawaii where Spielberg had flown the entire cast in to surprise Donner with a celebratory cookout.
8. Cyndi Lauper’s single for the film “Goonies R Good Enough” features numerous celeb cameos. Lauper’s 7-minute music video works as a bit of a musical version of the film and features appearances by executive producer Steven Spielberg, the Bangles and André the Giant as Sloth.
9. The original poster art was completely different than the movie’s video release. While most of us are probably familiar with The Goonies poster of the gang gathered around Willy’s treasure, the original art featured the crew dangling from each other’s feet. Several newspaper ads even featured the characters drawn in different order from top to bottom.
10. The yard gate contraption makes a reference to cartoonist Rube Goldberg. While Chunk waits outside to for the bowling ball to run its course on the yard gate contraption the name “Rube G” can be seen painted on the device. This is a nod to Rube Goldberg, the Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who drew machines that performed simple tasks in complex ways.
11. One-Eyed Willy’s head was an actual human skull. Today Willy’s head sits in the home of director Richard Donner, along with a model of the pirate ship. In the script Willy’s full name is listed as William B. Pordobell. Willy’s last name is a reference to Portobelo, which was a Panamanian port that was often frequented by pirates in the 17th century.
12. The kids were reunited with their actual parents at the end of the movie. When the kids escape the Fratellis and are reunited with their parents on the beach, some of children’s actual parents were present. Several crew members were also in the scene such as Jennie Lew Tugend, assistant to director Richard Donner, playing Data’s mom.
The woman on the left is Chunk’s real mother.