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Whoa, man! Can you believe that three decades have pbaded since The excellent adventure of Bill & Ted first public shaken with their most triumphant phone booth trip on the big screen? Well, this may surprise you: if you think about it, we are like in the future noweven if people call it the present. Right? Travel back in time with the spirit. Bodacious.
"Time flies," says Keanu Reeves, aka Ted, at The Hollywood journalist. "Over the years, it has been very nice to meet people who love these characters and movies, and it's fun to hear fans who have become parents who have shown them to their kids. The bubbling spirit of [Bill and Ted], and the humor of the movie characters and the adventure that they pursue – I think it's always funny. "
The film survived the bankruptcy of its production company, a major role yet to be discovered a few weeks from the end. shooting, and an original ending that was so inadequate that it had to be totally changed into reprograms. But when Excellent adventure opened on February 17th 1989 she then raised more than $ 40 million (about $ 81 million today) and became a cultural touchstone, thanks to the chemistry between Reeves and Alex Winter (AKA Bill).
"We went through a very tumultuous period, even going so far as to make it appear on the screen," said director Stephen Herek. "There was a period of time when it would not even be published.And then it's even more gratifying than when it was released, it's really good.And then the icing on the cake has a conversation with you 30 years later about that. "
Before the main production in the spring of 1987, composers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon wrote a humorous screenplay featuring two optimistic and yet dark characters in a travel adventure in the time they worked standing at college. Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan must pbad their story report or risk failing the course – and changing the story. To solve their dilemma, they are offered a quick phone booth in front of the local Circle K (where "strange things are getting ready") and proceed to gather characters like Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte, Billy the Kid, Socrates, Ghengis Khan, Sigmund Freud, Ludwig van Beethoven and Joan of Arc – as well as two historical girls for girlfriends while they are there – contribute to their presentation.
"The story has been incredibly crazy to laugh," says Herek, congratulating Matheson and Solomon for the meaning of the humorous timer. "They have written such adorable characters and their jokes are always a bit eccentric. I remember a few times just after reading the script, I thought, "Wow, it's going to be a huge success, or a huge failure." There would be nothing in between, because it was very acute in his jokes and [for] a very specific audience. "
Get out of the success of low-budget science fiction comedy bugsHerek says he's auditioned between 200 and 300 actors for the lead roles. "When Keanu came in, he was one of the first. It was really like, "Wow, it's Ted," and there was a kind of adorable clumsiness. And then we tried to find him the partner. "
The team recalled 24 hopes and mixed and matched different actors. At the end of the day, Reeves and Winter had the best relationships together.
"Everyone was auditioning for both roles," recalls Reeves. "When I arrived at the rehearsal place, I had just met Alex. There was no one there yet. We had things in common – we both played bbad – and we're just starting to talk. We got along well. We have a kind of humor and similar interests, and then, when we were working together, there was something else that was cool. "
The duo developed a shortcut almost immediately.
"We realized that we saw the characters in the same way and that we could somehow be a symbiotic unit," says Winter. "Keanu and me [agreed], & # 39; They must be human beings with whom we can play. It can not be just caricatures and they can not have a kind of comic distancia. They really have to worry about what's happening to them. The way Keanu and I interpreted the characters was sort of a mixture of hyper-real and absolute sincerity. "
Reeves remembers discussing this as "being a kind of commedia dell'arte. "
"We were playing these clowns, fools, but in an epic sense, they face the tragedy with boiling," says Reeves. "They never say to die, they never give up."
Herek had a particular mentality about how he wanted to portray the friendly main characters, while keeping their comedy anchored in the fantastic elements.
"He was great – very collaborative," said Reeves. "He knew what he wanted to work with the frame and through the editing. I think he really had Chris and Ed, the characters, the world and the tone, and I thought he had done a great job. "
Herek's approach to shooting a scene was to take a few shots to get the choreography and presentation, then to play with space and see what else they could find. Maintaining the consistent tone of Bill and Ted's characters is what he calls "the puppy's factor." The director explains with a chuckle, "I ended up summing it up in one sentence that I was telling Alex and Keanu: & # 39; I need more Labrador Retriever. Because I felt that these guys were kind of like cute labs. And strangely, they understood what I was talking about.
Winter recalls specific opportunities to be spontaneous in the final cup thanks to Herek's encouragement to play: Star wars The laser saber fight we had with Keanu and myself happened spontaneously because we were in this extremely heavy and real armor, incredibly painful, hot and heavy, and so we started making riffs . "
Herek chose what would remain in the film this way: "If something that appeared was improvisation and we were laughing – and often, the team was also laughing – we liked it."
The production had a busy schedule and as the company moved from Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, to Italy, the role of Rufus, the time traveler and his mentor, remained vacant, despite the efforts of the producers.
"We contacted all kinds of people, including Eddie Van Halen, but we were a movie nobody could watch," Herek recalls. "We wanted Eddie to be involved in a certain way, because we are constantly talking about Van Halen in the movie, and then we say," Well, why not Rufus? "With all the rock motif, we were trying to find people who had an acting experience, or their stamp at the time was big enough to take the chance that they would not be totally steep. We met 20 to 25 people, including Ringo Starr, probably Roger Daltrey. "
Herek adds, "The three most important personalities in the world were supposed to be ZZ Top."
Bill and Ted Screenwriter Solomon knew Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street and The Tubes' Fee Waybill and recruited them alongside Martha Davis of The Motels. Continuing in rock, Herek introduces Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's as Joan of Arc.
"On the basis of many paintings, she looks a lot like some of her interpretations," says the director. "And just having that kind of chain mail goblin, I thought it was pretty bady. [The Go-Go’s] were very popular at the time. Working with her was very entertaining.
But just a few weeks from the film, still not Rufus.
"They just could not find anyone," Winter says. "Imagine this opening monologue with Charlie Sheen, Sean Connery and Ringo Starr. These are the names that have been mentioned. And curiously, none of them is really funny. It seems quite logical to reach a comedian for this role and I am very happy that they did it. There is Bandits of time allusions to Connery, [but] I have the impression that it would have been a little too nodding. "
Then George Carlin's idea came up. "[Producers] Scott Kroopf and Bob Cort had worked with George in Outrageous Fortune,Said Herek. "They proposed the idea to Chris and Ed, saying," Hey, I know that's what you thought of, but we're coming up a bit at the 11th hour. "And of course, George is a legend, it's like "Well, shit yeah" & # 39;
"When I was a kid, I went to the library to listen to George Carlin's comedy albums. Seeing his work on television, I was one of his fans from my teenage years. It was so extraordinary to meet him, said Reeves.
"Carlin was like a glbad of cool water," Winter says. "He was shy, he was reserved, just a very nice guy, very respectful, not at all a public figure. Keanu and I are very politically engaged people and Carlin is a very politically engaged person. We spent a lot of time talking about politics.
Defying the hope of playing all the scenes in which he was, Carlin proved to be a very controlled and submissive actor. "George took it all seriously when he arrived and he was totally prepared," Herek recalls. "He did not even like to improvise a lot, which even seemed interesting to me. I thought it would be a little more understated, but it stayed pretty tight in the scenario. From time to time, he had some sort of witty word, and of course, he would not do it before having permission to do it. Which, again, surprised me. "
Winter points out that the end for Bill and Ted The picture that was originally taken was "completely different and really bad: it's me and Keanu sitting on Bernie Casey's desk, which literally present a really boring story lesson to a small clbadroom in the suburbs. So, it's visually really ugly. There was no scale at all. It was an audience of nine, and there was not much room for exchanges. And then we go to the ball with our princesses. On the Internet, we have images of this scene where we wear tuxedos with shorts. But it just did not play. During the shooting, we knew that it was a failure. "
Herek accepts that this end is felt as "disappointing".
"I thought it had to be more opera," Herek explains. "When you put it in the clbadroom, everything seemed really tiny.
Reeves also thought the end was not working, but he appreciated the fact that they had another chance, eventually putting Bill and Ted in a more dramatic, concert-like scene with a great show. much more suited to their rock'n'roll dreams. "It was cool that resources were made available to pull the end that is in the [final cut] to give it a little more scale to connect all the characters. There are some good guys in this, "he says.
And then, there was the reality of filming in this now iconic phone booth that travels in space and time.
Reeves remembers his desire to make tight space elements work on the set: "I think what was great was that there was real cooperation with everyone, with historical personalities, and that the whole world was saying to itself, "How can we literally go together, and where is the humor? How can we solve this puzzle? 'For me, it was just roll up the sleeves and imagine that. And then playing was very fun for me.
But the novelty of stuffing more than ten characters into this craft quickly disappeared as the days went by and the spooky throws required a lot of trial and error – at least according to Winter.
"We're all in an ordinary phone booth with our boiling costumes and body odors mingling, you know?" Winter said with a laugh. "Everything that involved the Circuits of Time was not going according to plan, because it was a rickety shit; We were nine or ten to stagger, duct glued to a hydraulic power station against a green screen in a studio in Tempe, Arizona, like a death canoe of the worst carnie you've ever done. "
The first draft of The excellent adventure of Bill & Ted It was "two hours and 25 minutes tedious" before the scenes and moments began to calm down, says Herek. This included a great opening issue which Winter remembers very well, Reeves has no recollection of, and Herek does not like to discuss it too much.
"We are at a bus stop, we are waiting for the bus to go to school and we are entering this dance number of the air guitar – this complex and choreographed thing," recalls Winter. "We are in our heads, with our music and our pbadion, then we get on the bus and they make fun of us. And there is this whole scene in the bus on the way to school that day, and that's how the movie starts. All this went in the direction of the dodo.
Anyone who has seen this promotional photo of Bill and Ted "doing really aggressive air guitars" at a bus stop can only imagine what would happen next to the characters. "It does not appear anywhere in the film because it's the opening number of the dance," says Winter, adding that "Stevie Nicks had a dance studio at her home in Phoenix, so Keanu and I have been rehearsing for weeks with an excellent choreographer. "
Many do not know The excellent adventure of Bill & Ted Almost never saw the light of day because his production company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. "The film has been put on the back burner," says Winter. "DEG went bankrupt and the movie was dead as a doornail. We really did not think it was going to come out. I canceled it completely and went back to work on my films. "
Herek notes that a couple of DEG executives went to Nelson Entertainment, "and so they got the negative rights for virtually nothing, and then they were able to do it with Nelson. And then finally, he landed at Orion to be released.
Winter first saw the film during a test screening in the San Fernando Valley, reminding that it had "pbaded like a gangbusters".
"Then I really took care of my [own filmmaking] and I got carried away by that, "says Winter. Then I knew that there was an ad in the trades, the picture of me and Keanu, a double in the center, with us sitting on stacks of money. And that's when I realized that the film was doing something. "
The film is open and the duo's life has changed; they were part of the history of pop culture.
"It was really nice to get positive feedback," recalls Reeves. "You know, being on the street and people saying," Excellent! "- it was all fun."
Then, it was Bill and Ted mania in the middle of the pop culture landscape for the next two years. An animated series of two seasons, interpreted by Reeves and Winter in 1990-1991, a television series animated in 1992 and featuring two clones of Reeves and Winter, and of course that of 1991. The journey of Bill & Ted continued, directed by Peter Hewitt. And do not forget the merchandising, including video games, playing cards, romanization, action figures and Bill and Ted cereal.
"The cereals have been particularly tragic, I must say," Winter said with a smile. "It was made by Purina, which makes dog food. Not a good start. This is not the most nutritious food. And it was weird. Entering a supermarket when you're an ordinary schmo living in Venice in a shitty apartment – we were not winning the kind of money the actors are earning today for that sort of thing – and here you are on a box of cereals. You dissociate yourself as, "There is this strange interpretation of me there."
Reeves adds with a laugh: "It was just funny. Oh, here's a lunch box with Bill and Ted! And here is a cereal! And here is a cartoon! This was an example of verticality. "
Nevertheless, Winter is philosophical about all the links: "The merchandising confirms for you that the film adheres to the culture in a certain way, and it is flattering. We all worked very hard on this film. The idea that we had infiltrated so many minds with some of these stuff made me happy. I was really proud of it.
And 30 years later, these infiltrated spirits still approach actors daily to share their love forBill and Ted – and their hope for another sequel, finally underway (his official Twitter account) declared February 6, "We are totally verified, man! * Air Guitar Shred* ").
"A few years ago, we all imagined an idea that deserved to be pursued," Winter says. Bill and Ted compete against music, with a premise which finds that the guys facing the dilemma they have left have not yet written the music that will end the war and poverty and align the planets on a universal harmony. No pressure…
"We four, mainly Keanu, myself and the two writers had this idea. Chris and Ed have written it. We had fun one night and came across something that, in our opinion, had legitimate potential, "Winter said. We then embarked on a very long road to try to follow up on a major film shot a quarter of a century ago. there is, which is not common. We are all very busy doing something else and in a way that really helped us because we did not really have this idea of "Oh, we have to do it." Our attitude was if it is not creative exactly what we want. to do, we are perfectly happy to continue our life. "
Reeves says the time is right for a third movie.
"The writers have come up with a great story for the characters that makes a lot of sense now," says Reeves. "So it's an adventure to find the right script, then to approach the commercial part of show business with rights and agreements. The film has always had a kind of complicated past of show business. We have come up with a scenario that we think would be great to start, and we hope we can fix it and make a good movie. "
Dean Parisot, filmmaker of Galaxy Quest, is committed to achieving, with Bil & Ted veteran Scott Kroopf producing.
"We have Bill Corso who is helping to work on makeup ideas, Kevin Yagher would lead the makeup load – a rather extraordinary talent group," Winter said. "It has been set up in some ways like the others, namely independently, and it takes time, and it's bumpy."
Reeves gives a glimpse into Bill's 50th birthday story and Ted's children: "They were introduced in the second movie and they grew a spell, and I'm sure they can not help but have a little of their mothers and fathers in them. We will see how that will be expressed.
So why, after all these years, do fans still have a healthy appetite for two wacky guys who dreamed of playing with Eddie Van Halen and who thought Julius Caesar was "a guy in vinaigrette"?
"At the end of the day, these two people are saving the world," says Herek, who does not understand why the film continues so strong today. "I am not the most religious man in the world, but I have a certain faith, and it is a little sweet that will inherit the earth. I wanted to create the most benevolent and adorable characters, and it's sort of because of their spirit, what shines through them, it's what influences people. They may not be the smartest and meanest in the book, yet they are guided by something – themselves, their love of life. In one way or another, they will eventually make the right choice, even though it may seem like the wrong choice. "
As for the winter?
"The film is legitimately idiosyncratic in a way that has played in its favor in terms of sustainability," Winter said. "I do not think anyone really knows when we make a movie why they stay in the long run. Were not Casablanca. Were not The Godfather, right? … When you watch the movie, you look at two friends who really care about each other and who really care about others, trying to navigate a world that is very strange and difficult for them, which is obviously very relatable. And that does not do it in a very heavy way, nor in a way that preaches or does not respect. And I think that largely explains why it lasts. "
"Thank you for helping to celebrate our 30th anniversary," says Reeves in an optimistic climate.
The most excellent. Remember, man, all we are, is dust in the wind.
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