15 Slacker Movies With Eyebrow-Arching Backstories

As these stories show, making a slacker movie takes a lot of work.
15 Slacker Movies With Eyebrow-Arching Backstories

They’ve got a real attitude problem, these kids. They’re slackers, they’ll always be slackers. No slacker has ever amounted to a single thing in the history of cinema. From Ferris Bueller to Marty McFly, slackers are famous for doing basically nothing, unless they occasionally play in a band, so, nothing.  

Slacker films are like stoner films, but only instead of horrible jokes, the movies are populated by long boring shots of a street while someone talks about how the shark in Jaws is a metaphor for incest, or a dog poops on someone’s art homework, metaphorically, in black and white. Some of America’s favorite films are slacker films – including former President Clinton, whose favorite film is Ferris Bueller; and President Obama, whose favorite film is The Godfather, which is kinda like the Italian version of a slacker film, if you think about it. 

Here are some facts about some of the best, weirdest, or most memorable slacker films since before the term was even coined.

Bill and Ted thought they were cast as the other one until costume fitting

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE The two actors were cast as the other role... but it wasn't cleared up until the costume fitting. Alex Winter said that Keanu Reeves was like, These clothes don't fit me! What is this half-shirt sweater thing, I can't fit in this!

Source: Express

Dana Carvey is actually playing the drum solo in Wayne's World

WAYNE'S WORLD Wayne and Garth are music and stoner loser layabouts. But talented ones! When Dana Carvey's Garth plays a rocking drum solo, that actually is Carvey playing the drums. Не did a solo on SNL in character as well.

Source: Screen Rant

Matthew Broderick was John Hughes’ only choice for Ferris Bueller

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF Matthew Broderick was the only choice for Ferris Bueller. I had to have that look, John Hughes has said. That charm had to come through. Jimmy Stewart could have played Ferris at 15. I needed Matthew.

Source: New York Post

Jeff Lebowski is a real man – Jeff Dowd inspired most of the Dude’s eccentricities

THE BIG LEBOWSKI The Dude's name and mannerisms all come from a real man-producer Jeff Dowd. Не even had a rug that tied the whole room together.

Source: History vs. Hollywood

Writer Cameron Crowe went undercover for his role in the film

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH Undercover Baby? Writer Cameron Crowe graduated high school at only fifteen, so when he wanted to research Fast Times at twenty-two, he went back inside-going undercover at a local school and making friends, even sticking some of them into the script.

Source: TV Overmind

The original Clerks ending was much darker, with Dante ending up dead

CLERKS Dante is shot dead by a robber in the original cut. After the film was bought, Kevin Smith was told to cut the bleak ending, which led to every View Askew movie being possible. And almost all of them feature Dante.

Source: ClerksVideo/YouTube

The first draft of Superbad was written when writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were 13 years old

SUPERBAD If Superbad felt immature and juvenile, there's a good reason for that. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the first draft when were only 13 years old. There was even a reading of the film back in 2001.

Source: Decider

Slacker had a remake in 2011, with various filmmakers redoing the different segments

SLACKER After twenty-some years, Slacker was reborn as Slacker 2011-a remake that had each segment created by a different team of filmmakers. Despite not being involved, director Richard Linklater said it would be against the slacker ethics to stand against such a film.

Source: The New York Times

Scott Pilgrim’s Michael Cera was the only choice for the role

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Michael Cera was the only choice for Scott Pilgrim. According to director Edgar Wright, he never envisioned anyone else in the role - even wanting Cera during his Arrested Development years.

Source: Looper

Detroit Rock City features Gene Simmons’ wife Shannon Tweed in a small role

DETROIT ROCK CITY The cougar in the bar? That's KISS frontman Gene Simmons' own wife, Shannon Tweed. No wonder Hawk is so excited.

Source: Ultimate Classic Rock

A sequel to Dude, Where’s My Car? is coming. Maybe.

DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? Darker and bleaker, the sequel to Dude, Where's My Car was in consideration as recently as the mid 2010s! If they ever get the script down, we'll be seeing those guys again.

Source: The Independent

Eric Stoltz recorded footage before Michael J. Fox was brought in to replace him

BACK TO THE FUTURE There was a different Marty for the first six weeks of production. Eric Stoltz was in the role but the film just didn't work with him. So Michael J Fox was brought in, and the rest is history.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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