FILMFACTS

PRODUCTION

Making Stand By Me

1986

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Pez...Cherry flavored Pez... No doubt about it!

Kiefer Sutherland plays 'Ace' - The older bully

Production

Go behind the scenes on the 1986 Teen Drama movie starring River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell

Kiefer Sutherland, Richard Dreyfuss, John Cusack, Casey Siemaszko, Gary Riley, Bradley Gregg, Jason Oliver, Marshall Bell, Frances Lee McCain, Bruce Kirby, William Bronder, Scott Beach Update Cast

We believe the following info is all legit. If it's bogus or you have additional info, please update us.

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Update

Keifer Sutherland was very offhand to his young co-stars so that they would be genuinely afraid of him on set.. Which they were! It has to be said that, despite his excellent performance as a bully, in reality, Kiefer is a charming, soft spoken and highly intelligent person who is the exact opposite of the character of "Ace".

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Update

The names of all the towns (except Castle Rock) in the movie (set in Oregon) are real places in Maine, where author Stephen King grew up and lives.

Thanks to Stormi

Update

Corey Feldman and Rob Reiner tried 30 different laughs before they came up with the one for Teddy Duchamp

Thanks to Stormi

Update

Wil Wheaton's grandfather was in "Wagon Train" and so his grandmother asked Rob if somehow it could be worked into the script.

Thanks to Matt

Update

The location for the swamp scene with the leeches wasn't originally a swamp. People working on the movie dug a large hole and filled it with water. When they came back weeks later, it naturally evolved into a real swamp.

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Update

The boys got to rehearse together and get to know one another for two weeks before production started, so that they would gain the chemistry of real friends.

Thanks to Anonymous

Update

In an interview, Keifer Sutherland told a story about Jerry O'Connell, who was eleven at the time of filming.

In Oregon, where they were filming, there was a huge Renaissance Fair, and a bunch of hippies came in from the mountains to sell their stuff. So one night, Jerry managed to tie his baby-sitter to the banister so he could go out to the fair.

He went and got some toys and cookies, but unfortunately he didn't know that they were pot cookies. They found him two hours later crying in a parking lot, and they had to halt shooting for a day. Can you imagine an eleven-year-old Jerry O'Connell high on pot cookies crying in a parking lot? Poor kid!

Thanks to Angie B

Update

For the scene where the boys are crossing the railway bridge, director Rob Reiner thought they weren't showing the right emotion as the train comes up behind them. He yelled at them so much he made Wil Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell cry, which is exactly what he was hoping for in the scene.

Thanks to A Stockdale

Update

During the filming of Stand By Me, Corey Feldman walked in on River Phoenix smoking dope and getting high. Feldman had been smoking it also. Wil Wheaton also kept disabling the pinball machine in the hotel where the four boys were staying so they could get free games. (infomation taken from THE RIVER PHOENIX BIOGRAPHY which is the greatest biography ever written, of a highly commended actor and humanitarian -I highly recommend it!)

Thanks to Sarah

Update

In the first couple of takes, River Phoenix couldn't perfect his crying for the scene where Chris breaks down and cries to his best friend, Gordie. So Rob Reiner told him to go away and think of a time where he had been let down by an adult. River returned and completed the scene at once. Although nobody knows what moment he remembered, the tears are real.

Thanks to Sarah

Update

When Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix are racing in the junkyard, apparently, in real life, Wil was the better runner than River and Wil didn't know how to make it look like River could beat him. So, Rob (the director) told Wil to move his arms more to make it look like he was trying to beat River.

Thanks to Stephanie

Update

The boys aren't smoking real cigarettes in the film. They were actually lettuce leaves, being that Rob Reiner was and still is, a staunch anti-smoker.

Thanks to Robert E Morrison III

Update

In the swamp scene with the leeches, real leeches were apparently used during filming.

Thanks to Ebony

Update

During the making of the film, the young boys soaked Corey Feldman's clothes in beer then dried them so he smelled like a wino.

Thanks to Ryan

Update

In the scene where Vern is digging for his lost pennies under the porch, you can see that it is far too well lit, but the director Rob Reiner wanted the audience to see the full picture so that all of the holes Vern has dug can be seen clearly.

Thanks to Anonymous

Update

Due to the boys rowdiness and misbehaviour at the hotel they were staying in, the hotel security even registered their names, photos and numbers.

Thanks to Jazz

Update

In the scene where Chris cries to Gordie, at the Campfire, they had done a few shots, and Rob Reiner just wasn't getting enough emotion from River, and he asked him "Just think of a time that an adult in your life let you down. You don't have to tell me what it is.

So they shot the scene, River generated a lot of emotion. When the camera stopped rolling, Rob approached River Phoenix and told him he was proud and that he loved him. River jumped on top of him and gave him a hug. Rob said that it was then that he knew that River trusted him completely.

Thanks to Mia

Update

There were some "firsts" during that 1985 summer. River Phoenix lost his virginity. Corey Feldman smoked pot, drank, and kissed a girl for the first time as well

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Next Section: Deleted Scenes

Deleted Scenes

There are often scenes cut from the final version of a movie. Sometimes these will have been seen by preview audiences, or be included in Blu-ray or DVD extras etc.

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Next Section: Alternate Versions

Alternate Versions

Sometimes, there will be several versions of a movie floating about on cable, tv or video etc. Other times, a Director may release a special cut of the movie on Blu-ray or DVD.

Aw, man.. We don't know of any alternate versions of "Stand By Me". If you know better, please add one for others to enjoy. It's quick & easy

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1986 Columbia/Tristar
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