The film’s screenwriter went undercover in a high school to research the movie
Fast Times at Ridgemont High started life as a book by Rolling Stone journalist Cameron Crowe. Having become a professional writer early, Crowe never graduated high school, so at 22 he decided to go undercover at a high school under the pretences of being a senior. His observations and interactions with teenagers formed the basis of the book.
The book caused such a stir, the film rights were optioned before it was even published. Crowe wrote the screenplay himself, marking his first steps into film. He would go on to become a very successful filmmaker in his own right, writing and directing the acclaimed hits Say Anything…, Singles, Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous.
The producers originally wanted David Lynch to direct
Fast Times at Ridgemont High would ultimately be directed by Amy Heckerling, but she wasn’t the first director the studio had in mind. Originally, they pursued a very different filmmaker to helm the project: David Lynch, known at the time for surreal cult classic Eraserhead and Oscar-winning biographical drama The Elephant Man.
Unsurprisingly, Lynch declined on the grounds that it wasn’t really his kind of movie. Around the same time, Lynch also turned down George Lucas’ offer to direct Return of the Jedi. Instead, he would go on to make 1984 sci-fi Dune before writing and directing such acclaimed cult hits as Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and TV’s Twin Peaks.
Director Amy Heckerling had never made a full-length movie before
Largely unknown filmmaker Amy Heckerling was hired for Fast Times at Ridgemont High on the strength of one project alone. Before landing the movie, Heckerling had only written and directed Getting It Over With, a short film followed a teenage girl attempting to lose her virginity.
The producers were so impressed with the short film’s realistic and irreverent tone, they offered Heckerling the opportunity to direct her first-ever feature. This gave Heckerling her big break, and she went on to direct gave her the opportunity to direct National Lampoon’s European Vacation, the Look Who’s Talking films and Clueless.
Sean Penn originally auditioned to play Brad
It’s hard to imagine Sean Penn playing anybody but the laidback Jeff Spicoli, but he originally auditioned to play the uptight Brad, the role that went to Judge Reinhold. However, casting directors looked at him and became immediately convinced that he would make the perfect Jeff, and it didn’t take long to convince him.
After a short conversation, Penn quickly agreed that it was the perfect part for him. In fact, he loved the character so much that he stayed in character at all times, even when he was just hanging around on-set. Whether he was between takes or not even shooting on set that day, he insisted that people referred to him as Spicoli, not Sean.
The film had a ‘spiritual sequel’ which completely flopped
Fast Times At Ridgemont High made $27 million against a budget of $4-5 million, meaning it was a resounding success. As a result, Crowe was pretty confident in his idea to follow up the movie with The Wild Life. A ‘spiritual sequel,’ the film had a similar tone but followed slightly older characters, with a cast that included Rick Moranis and Lea Thompson.
Unfortunately, The Wild Life didn’t enjoy anything like the same level of success as Fast Times At Ridgemont High. With a higher budget of $6 million, it only made $11 million at the box office. The Wild Life has since been all-but forgotten, whereas Fast Times endured on home video and television and remains a classic of the era to this day.
The character of Jeff Spicoli single-handedly popularised Vans
When you think of teen movies that inspired fashion trends, Fast Times At Ridgemont High probably isn’t the first film to spring to mind. However, the film is credited by shoemakers Vans as the single biggest force that popularised their brand and gave it mainstream appeal.
According to the company, before the movie was released, the only people wearing slip-on Vans were skaters and surfers. This all changed after Sean Penn’s Spicoli was seen to wear the shoes throughout Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This prompted viewers to buy pairs of their own, cementing Vans as a brand that any kind of teenager could wear.
There was a very short-lived television spin-off
When a movie does well at the box office, it’s not unusual for the studio to consider making a spinoff TV show. This happened to Fast Times At Ridgemont High, which spawned spinoff TV show Fast Times in 1986. Unfortunately, it proved a flop and was cancelled after only seven episodes.
Despite the show being directed by Amy Heckerling, the director of the movie, a lot of things were lost in translation. Most of the movie’s cast did not return to participate in the TV show, and TV regulations of the time forced them to be much cleaner and more family-friendly, so it lost the mature edge that helped make the film so beloved.
Many cast members were hired just because they knew the writer and director
Fast Times At Ridgemont High was a family affair of sorts, as many of the people in the movie were hired due to pre-existing relationships. As well as the soundtrack being comprised of bands managed by one of the film’s producers, many of the cast members either personally knew screenwriter Cameron Crewe or director Amy Heckerling.
Brad actor Judge Reinhold was Heckerling’s upstairs neighbour, Heckerling’s ex-husband fronts the band at the high school dance, and an ex-boyfriend of Heckerling plays the teacher on the biology trip. Even the girl in the car who laughs at Brad’s pirate costume was Nancy Wilson, guitarist of rock band Heart and Crowe’s then-girlfriend.
A male nude scene was cut so the film could get an R-rating
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was noted for being considerably edgier than a lot of teen comedies at the time, tackling mature themes in a frank and realistic manner. However, the original cut of the movie went even further than the version that made it to screens, with a scene in which Mike, played by Robert Romanus, appeared fully nude.
The scene was supposed to be funny rather than sexy, but it still would have landed the film with an X rating, so it was cut. There are no interviews that suggest whether Romanus was relieved or disappointed that the scene didn’t make it into the final film, nor is there any record of how early test audiences responded to the scene.
Brian Backer and Jennifer Jason Leigh were roommates during filming
Most of the actors in Fast Times At Ridgemont High were newcomers to the film industry who didn’t exactly have money to burn while shooting the film. In particular, Mark Ratner actor Brian Backer was struggling with funds at the time, and the movie’s shooting location was a long way from his home.
Rather than let him pay to stay in a hotel near the set or have huge commutes, one of the cast member’s family let him stay with them. Backer ended up staying with the family of Jennifer Jason Leigh for the entire duration of the film shoot. The two actors became close as a result, and remained friends once the project was over.
Nicolas Cage lied about his age to get on the movie
It’s usually the case that movies set at high school feature many cast members who are well over high school age. Fast Times At Ridgemont High is definitely not the worst offender in this regard, as most of the actors are at least close to the right age. In fact, one notable cast member was actually a little too young to be there.
Due to labour laws, all cast members needed to be over 18, but this didn’t stop a 17-year-old unknown named Nicolas Coppola from showing up to audition, lying about his age in the process. The producers did eventually find out his real age, but he was still cast and given a relatively significant part in the film. This gave the young actor his film debut, and he later adopted the stage name Nicolas Cage.
Nicolas Cage bragged about his uncle being Francis Ford Coppola on the set
The future Nicolas Cage may have been a total newcomer with an extremely small role, but definitely had a leg up on the rest of the cast. That’s because he’s the nephew of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, and Cage didn’t hide that fact at all. (The actor went on to appear in a number of his uncle’s films, including Rumble Fish and Peggy Sue Got Married.)
At that point, he hadn’t even changed his name to Cage, and was going by Nicolas Coppola both professionally and personally. According to his castmates, Cage would constantly namedrop his uncle and brag about how influential and talented his family were. The other people in the cast apparently got very sick of this, and soon began to avoid him as much as possible onset.
The cast got their own back on Nicolas Cage
As Cage (then known Coppola) annoyed everyone with his constant bragging about his family heritage, the cast found a way to get back at him: following him around and quoting lines from his uncle’s film Apocalypse Now. In particular, they started misquoting Robert Duvall’s famous line in the movie, saying ‘I love the smell of Nicolas in the morning’ instead.
Their hazing worked, as Cage was famously miserable on set, and he adopted the stage name Nicolas Cage shortly after filming wrapped up. As you’ll know, he did eventually find major success under his pseudonym, so he clearly has his former castmates to thank!
The studio didn’t think the film would make any money
Movies aimed at teenagers have always been a pretty safe bet at the box office, particularly as they tend not to cost too much to make. With that in mind, it’s pretty baffling that studio executives were afraid that Fast Times At Ridgemont High would completely flop. They had so little faith in the project that they almost gave it a straight-to-video release.
In the end, they really didn’t have to worry, since the movie more than made back its budget. Along with 1981’s Porky’s, Fast Times became one of the key titles in the teen comedy boom of the early 80s, helping pave the way for the hugely celebrated high school movies of writer-director John Hughes as well as raunchier movies like Revenge of the Nerds.
The film starred a bunch of future Oscar winners
You might not think it from the film’s humble origins and often crass tone, but Fast Times has a cast who would go on to very big things. Three of the core cast of the movie went on to win Academy Awards for Best Actor: Sean Penn, Forest Whitaker and Nicolas Cage all achieved that honour.
Penn has been nominated for Best Actor five times and has won twice, for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009. Whitaker won the Best Actor Oscar on his very first nomination, for The Last King of Scotland in 2007. Cage has two nominations and one win to his name, for Leaving Las Vegas in 1996. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also an Oscar nominee for 2015’s The Hateful Eight.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston recently recreated the movie on Zoom for charity
In 2020, Dane Cook assembled an all-star cast for a read-through of Fast Times on a Zoom call. Morgan Freeman acted as the narrator, while Shia LaBeouf took the role of Spicoli with relish. Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn and Henry Golding also joined Cook’s cast.
However, perhaps the most surprising element of this re-enactment was the reunion of divorcees Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. The former couple took the roles of Brad and Linda in the read-through, which of course included a re-enactment of the film’s notorious swimming pool scene.
Some other big names almost starred
The cast of Fast Times At Ridgemont High was relatively unknown at the time, but a number of well-known actors auditioned only to miss out. Carrie Fisher, already massively famous for the Star Wars movies, was turned down, as were the soon-to-be-famous actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Elisabeth Shue.
There was also serious competition when it came to the male parts, with Matthew Broderick and Ralph Macchio unsuccessfully auditioning. Macchio would later find fame alongside Shue in The Karate Kid, whilst Broderick had his breakthrough in WarGames. Pfeiffer, meanwhile, would get her big break (of sorts) in Grease 2.
Phoebe Cates didn’t want to film the dream scene
Even the most seasoned actors find nude scenes uncomfortable, so it’s not surprising that Phoebe Cates was a little apprehensive about filming her own topless scene. However, Cates wasn’t actually nervous about being the nudity, as she had performed such scenes in her previous project, Paradise.
Instead, Cates was nervous about the shooting location, which was a private home in West Hills. The actress was concerned that neighbours would be watching from their windows. It was the idea that she was being spied on while filming that made her uncomfortable, not the nudity itself.
Cates’ look of shock in that scene was real
By far the most infamous scene in Fast Times At Ridgemont High is the one in which Linda walks in on Brad enjoying a private moment with himself. The scene was obviously scripted, but you would be forgiven for thinking that it was improvised, given that Phoebe Cates look of shock is seriously realistic.
The filmmakers managed to capture such a candid look of shock and disgust by not telling Cates exactly how the scene would be filmed. As a result, when she walked in on Judge Reinhold miming the (ahem) actions of his character, her shocked and repulsed reaction was totally genuine.
Heckerling wanted to make a movie you’d like to live in
Amy Heckerling wanted her directorial debut to appeal directly to the young people seeing themselves and their own life experiences reflected on screen. Speaking to the Director’s Guild of America in 2009, Heckerling noted that she had plenty of creative freedom to pursue this, because “Universal had bigger fish to fry.”
She said she keen for Fast Times to emulate 1973’s American Graffiti, a comedy about the summer before college starts for a group of high-school friends. “That felt like a movie about young people that, if you woke up and found yourself living in the movie, you’d be happy,” Heckerling said. “I wanted that kind of feel.”
Bruce Springsteen’s sister makes her film acting debut
Born in New Jersey in 1962, Pamela Colleen Springsteen is one of two sisters to rock legend Bruce Springsteen. She began acting at a young age, and found her film debut in Fast Times, playing the cheerleader Dina. (She was also dating her co-star Sean Penn around the same time.)
Pamela Springsteen’s other film appearances include Reckless, Modern Girls, Dixie Lanes and Scenes from the Goldmine, although she’s best known as serial killer Angela Baker in slasher movie series Sleepaway Camp. Eventually she walked away from her acting career to become a successful photographer in Los Angeles.
Rat was based on a teen Andy Rathbone, who became a real ‘geek god’
Cameron Crowe carried out the research for his original novel at Clairemont High School, San Diego. There, he met Andy Rathbone, who struck him as the perfect muse for the character Mark ‘Rat’ Ratner, Mike’s gentle and younger best friend, who works as an usher at the local cinema.
In 1995, People Weekly magazine noted Rathbone’s connection to the film in an article entitled ‘Geek God’. Rathbone has written around 50 books in total, most famously authoring a number of the ‘… for Dummies’ books.
Forest Whittaker had only just started making movies
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was Forest Whittaker’s second movie. Not unlike his character in the movie, Charles Jefferson, Whittaker had himself played football at high school, and this landed him a football scholarship to California State Polytechnic University. However, he suffered a back injury that interfered with his playing, and he chose to switch subjects.
Eventually Whittaker moved into acting, and this resulted in a long and varied career including key roles in such diverse hits as The Color of Money, Platoon, The Crying Game, Panic Room and Black Panther, not to mention his Oscar-winning turn in The Last King of Scotland.
Several cast members were born into showbusiness
Though Fast Times was definitely Sean Penn’s big break, he wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with the world of Hollywood before he got the part. Penn was the son of famous actress Eileen Ryan and TV director Leo Penn, so he had essentially grown up in the entertainment industry. Nor was Penn the only second-generation performer in the cast.
Jennifer Jason Leigh, who played Stacy, was the daughter of TV star Vic Morrow. As for Phoebe Cates, who plays the knowledgable and worldly Linda, her father was the Broadway and TV producer Joseph Cates. The casting directors didn’t intentionally cast second-generation performers, but it gave much of the cast a shared experience to draw on.
The movie has no score
Lots of movies have supplemented a traditional instrumental score with popular music, whether it’s nostalgic classic rock or current pop hits. Fast Times is different in that it features only a soundtrack, and has no instrumental score of any kind.
This was the decision of Irving Azoff, who thought that the soundtrack-only approach would make the movie seem more grounded in the world of the teenage characters. It helped that Azoff wasn’t only a producer – he was also a manager who managed the careers of performers like The Eagles and Stevie Nicks. He was able to convince the acts he managed to record original songs for the movie.
The crew are visible in a shot
Keeping the camera crew and equipment out of shot is one of the most basic filmmaking tasks, but it’s one that Fast Times at Ridgemont High failed. In the scene in which Brad and Stacey arrive at the bowling alley, when Stacey opens her car door a number of crew members are clearly visible in the reflection.
An actress in the film was murdered by Phil Spector
The actress who portrays Mrs. Vargas during the dance scene is Lana Clarkson, a model who rose to fame during the 80s. On February 3rd 2003, Clarkson was fatally shot by Phil Spector, with the record producer eventually convicted of her murder and sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Sean Penn got drunk for a scene
According to Amy Heckerling, Sean Penn asked if he could have a few drinks before shooting the scene in which he falls out of the bus on the way to school. Heckerling gave him permission, since it was his last day of shooting, although she clarified that it was the only substance-related story she had from the film.
Stacey’s bedroom has two doors
Stacey’s bedroom is, for all intents and purposes, pretty typical for an American high school girl, except for one unusual detail: it has two doors. One door, at the rear of the room, is used by Stacey’s mother, and the other is used by Stacey and Rat when they get together.
The 2021 re-release of the film restored some nudity
Damone and Stacey’s sex scene was originally intended to include a shot of Robert Romanus completely naked, but in the end it was reframed to avoid the full frontal nudity. In 2021, Fast Times at Ridgemont High was re-released as part of the Criterion Collection, and the original shot was restored.
Todd Rundgren recorded a song for the film that wasn’t used
Todd Rundgren’s record Attitude was written and recorded specifically for Fast Times at Ridgemont High, after Cameron Crowe requested he contribute a song to the movie. While it ultimately wasn’t used, in 2001 Rundgren released the track as part of Demos and Lost Albums.
People damaged rental copies by pausing on Phoebe Cates’ topless scene
In order to soothe Phoebe Cates’ fears about her nude scene, director Amy Heckerling assured her that the shot of her topless would only last a couple of seconds. After the film was released on VHS, workers at video stores would often joke that rental copies would start flickering during the scene, due to having been paused at the topless moment so many times.
Sean Penn wore half a wig
In the film’s commentary track, director Amy Heckerling reveals that Sean Penn is wearing half a wig throughout the film. The top half of the actor’s hair is really his, but the long flowing locks he sports in the movie were the creation of the costume department.
There’s a Van Halen related coincidence
In Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Damone sells a pair of Van Halen tickets. At the time the movie was released, David Lee Roth was the singer of the band, but he was replaced not long afterwards by Sammy Hagar, a singer whose song is used in the film.
Heckerling’s agoraphobia impacted the film
According to Amy Heckerling, the decision to set much of the movie inside a shopping mall was motivated by her agoraphobia. On the movie’s commentary track, the director states “I don’t like going outside, so the idea of a bunch of fast-food places on a strip outside in fresh air was frightening to me.”
Jennifer Jason Leigh worked at a pizza restaurant
It wasn’t just the movie’s screenwriter that found inspiration by going undercover. Before production began, Jennifer Jason Leigh got a job at the real-life Perry’s Pizza in the Sherman Oaks Galleria mall, spending several months working in the restaurant that employs her character in the film.
Art Linton was upset a scene wasn’t sexier
Art Linton, one of the producers of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, was upset that the scene in which Linda and Stacey practice a certain lewd act on carrots wasn’t as sexy as it could have been. Linton apparently complained that the scene should have featured more gratuitous close ups of the girls’ lips.
Fans were upset with Brian Backer
According to Cameron Crowe, fans were livid with Brian Backer on account of Rat – his character in the film – not making a move on Stacey after their date. Apparently, some fans even verbally abused Backer at early screenings, a turn of events which Crowe found ludicrous and infuriating in equal measure.
Cameron Crowe hurt Phoebe Cates’ feelings
After the pool scene, Phoebe Cates asked Cameron Crowe how he thought it went. Crowe replied that she “did great, for a model,” which apparently upset Cates and caused her to avoid him for a while. Reflecting on the incident, Crowe admitted that he regretted the way he phrased his feedback.
The studio had concerns about how the movie was turning out
In an interview, Amy Heckerling revealed that the studio had major concerns about the way the film was turning out during production, even dispatching John Landis to the set to keep an eye. Apparently, the studio was worried because what they expected to be a comedy was turning into a movie about “people crying and getting abortions.”
Heckerling wanted Fred Gwynne to play Mr. Hand
After the film’s release, Amy Heckerling revealed that her first choice for the character of Mr. Hand was Herman Munster himself, Fred Gwynne. After reading the script, however, Gwynne passed on the grounds that the movie contained “too much nasty stuff,” and the role went to Ray Walston.
Cameron Crowe’s parents distracted Sean Penn
Cameron Crowe’s parents wanted to visit the movie’s set, but the only time they were free was the day that Sean Penn was filming the scene in Spicoli’s bedroom. Knowing Penn hated non-essential crew members being present, Crowe kept his parents out of the actor’s eyesight, but after the scene Penn stated that he “felt” their presence.
Amy Heckerling wanted the sex to seem uncomfortable
If you thought that the sex scenes in Fast Times at Ridgemont High were distinctly unsexy, that’s because they were meant to be. Amy Heckerling wanted to convey what for most people is the awkward reality of losing their virginity, with the director explaining that she deliberately depicted the sex as “scary and uncomfortable.”
The football game is at the wrong time of year
The football game that Ridgemont plays against Lincoln takes place after Christmas in the movie, even though the football season would long be over by that point. While it’s technically possible the film’s events were intended to unfold non-chronologically, it’s more likely that this was simply an oversight.
Sean Penn tried many variations of his “Oh, gnarly” line
Spicoli’s “Oh, gnarly” line during the organ removal scene is one of the character’s most iconic moments, and Sean Penn spent a long time getting it right. The actor experimented with different facial expressions and tones of voice while delivering the line, filming many different variations before settling on the final version. Sadly, Universal binned the footage in 1985.
Rob Lowe wanted to be in the film
In his autobiography, Rob Lowe admitted that he wanted a role in the movie, but was unable to secure a meeting with producers. Lowe’s disappointment probably didn’t last very long, as he was soon handed a starring role in The Outsiders, which was released the year after Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Amy Heckerling was shocked at the idea of teens driving
When Amy Heckerling was asked to pick out a car for Brad to drive, she had no idea what to go for because, hailing from Brooklyn, the idea of teens driving was completely alien to her. Heckerling initially suggested an old, rundown car, but Cameron Crowe persuaded her to go with the now-iconic Buick LaSabre instead.
Sherman Oaks Galleria got closed down
Many of the events of Fast Times at Ridgemont High take place at Sherman Oaks Galleria, a shopping mall in Los Angeles. In 1999, while recording the movie’s commentary, Cameron Crowe informed Amy Heckerling that the mall had closed down, news which devastated the director.
An improvised scene was cut
While Nicolas Cage generally weirded out everyone on set with his improvisations, he wasn’t the only member of the cast to go off script. An entirely improvised scene was filmed in which Damone gives Spicoli advice on where to find new music, but in the end it was cut from the film.
The opening song was almost different
According to Amy Heckerling, the film’s producers wanted The Ravyns’ record Raised by the Radio to be used for the movie’s opening scene, as they were convinced it was going to be a big hit. Heckerling stuck to her guns and used We Got the Beat by The Go-Gos instead, but she did include The Ravyns’ record in the soundtrack.
Arnold is holding a very on-theme book
Arnold is seen holding a book while he places bets on the outcome of the football game. The title of the book is Childhood’s End, an oblique reference to the movie’s themes of adolescence and the loss of innocence that accompanies the transition from childhood to adulthood.
The band Damone took their name from the film
American rock band Damone named themselves after Mike Damone, who was played by Robert Romanus in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The band had a successful run during the early 2000s, but disbanded in 2011 after their drummer died from liver and kidney failure.
The dream sequence was supposed to include The Tonight Show
The sequence in which Spicoli dreams about winning a surfing award was initially supposed to include the character getting interviewed on The Tonight Show. Johnny Carson turned down the cameo, as did Tom Snyder – the outgoing host of The Tomorrow Show – who replied: “I’m gonna go get drunk now, but thanks for thinking of me.”
Another nude scene was cut
The original draft of Fast Times at Ridgemont High had a lot of nudity that didn’t make into the final cut. The scene in which Linda explains to Stacey how to perform a certain sex act was originally supposed to take place with both characters fully nude in a hot tub. This idea was eventually scrapped so that the film wouldn’t get an X rating.
Sean Penn’s brother starred in the spiritual sequel
While Cameron Crowe’s 1984 film The Wild Life was technically unrelated to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it was clearly billed as a kind of follow up, with the marketing stating ‘From the creators of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”… something even faster.’ The movie even starred Sean Penn’s brother Chris in a very Spicoli-like role.
