The most notorious fan theory suggests that Sandy is in fact dying throughout the movie and the story only plays out in her imagination. Arguably one of the most famous movie theories of all time, it offers a completely different perspective on the movie's otherwise mostly upbeat tone, adding darkness to the musical's joyous light. And while the theory has its detractors, it remains incredibly popular, because it is tied to the film's strangest mystery: what its end really means. It is precisely because of that ending's weirdness and one particularly pertinent line from Grease's first big musical number - "Summer Nights" that a fan theory suggested a grim undercurrent to the classical musical including a dying teenage girl living her last moments "down in the sand". The fantasy sequences of "Greased Lightnin'" and "Beauty School Dropout", which very much play out in the imaginations of the characters singing those songs. The former is the T-Birds imagining their triumphs and how well the car will boost their boyish boasts of machismo, while the latter is Didi Conn's Frenchy imagining the bleakness of her future if her dream fails. Both are very much tied to dreams, but that makes the final sequence of Grease all the more confusing, because when Danny and Sandy fly off from the carnival in Greased Lightnin' it happens in real-time in the real world. Sandy's shock is nothing compared to that of the audience, who have just watched a fairly conventional high-school musical that operates within normal rules of reality end with a car literally flying off into the distance. In that respect, it was no wonder that there was an opportunity for a fan theory to fill in the gap in logic. The starting point of the theory, which was initially posted on Reddit, is one of the lines in "Summer Night" dedicated Sandy and Danny telling each of their listening audiences what happened during their holiday romance at the beach. While the Grease prequel, 'Summer Lovin', will tell the actual story of what happened during that tryst, the only account the audience can trust is the mention of the young couple bowling in the arcade, holding hands, and drinking lemonade. Crucially, the lyrics suggest that Danny and Sandy met when she got a cramp while swimming and Danny saved her from drowning, before showing off "splashing around". While it might sound like empty bragging, the theory suggests that Sandy actually did drown and everything that follows is Sandy fantasizing about what her life could have been as she dies. From the prolog onwards, every event that happens plays out in Sandy's mind, and the reason everything wraps up so perfectly for every character, despite all of the conflict on the way to the finale is that it's all Sandy's tragic wish fulfillment. As a newcomer to Rydell High, Sandy would have been an outsider, but her reality plays out just as a dream would; she is immediately accepted by the coolest group (the Pink Ladies), meets the boy of her dreams (again), and overcomes every issue. And it's not just her: Rizzo's pregnancy scare, the dance competition that Danny wins (albeit with Cha-Cha), the drag race on Thunder Road Everything ends with a happy ending, no matter what the seeming obstacles. It's all a little too convenient and then when Greased Lightnin' takes off for its maiden flight, the reason becomes clear. It's all a fantasy. The theory also suggests that Sandy's mournful reprise of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and the final two lines "Take a deep breath and sigh, Goodbye to Sandra Dee..." specifically secretly confirm that Sandy lost her battle to live. In that respect, the image of Greased Lightnin' flying off with Danny alongside Sandy at the end of Grease is actually symbolic of her ascending to the afterlife and her transformation is not one of self-realization, but of death. That metaphorical rise, then, is her rising to heaven in the final moments of her life eking out with her final breaths on the sand. It's tragic and dark, but there is a hint of beauty to it. The theory gained enough attention that stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John both commented on it. The former called it fun, though told USA Today that he knew "the writers of Grease, and I was around in the original days. I can't take it too far." Sandy's actor, Olivia Newton-John herself called it "hilarious" and reveled in the idea of Grease being the first ever zombie musical. Unfortunately for fans of the theory, the most notable respondent to the theory was Grease creator Jim Jacobs, who wasn't as big a fan and poured water on the idea of Sandy being dead. He told TMZ that "Whoever made up the theory must have been on acid. Sandy was very much alive." But then, it's rare that the wishes of the creator are taken into account when fans come up with theories, and this one in particular actually does improve the Grease viewing experience, true or not.
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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Fan of Ghostbusters or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Ghostbusters
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When Alice the librarian is asked whether anyone in her family had ever had any history of mental illness, she says she had an uncle who thought he was St. Jerome, the patron saint of librarians.
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In the dubbed French version, Venkman mentions Joseph Stalin as the potential embodiment of evil. In the Italian version, it's Adolf Hitler, although he's called "Adolfo Hitler." In the Spanish dub, it's Zedong Mao.
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Ivan Reitman didn't like the Deluxe Laserdisc Edition. The higher-density lighting made a lot of the matte work too obvious to ignore.
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John Candy quit the role of Louis Tully because his ideas for the character were being rejected. According to Ivan Reitman in the DVD commentary, among Candy's suggestions he wanted the character to have a German accent and have a pair of schnauzer dogs. No one felt the German accent was appropriate for the character and since there was "dog imagery" in the movie (i.e.: the Terror Dogs), they felt having Tully own dogs was "too much". So John Candy quit early in production and Rick Moranis was cast at the last minute; Candy and Moranis are both veterans of SCTV (1976), along with Harold Ramis. Candy did, however work with each main Ghostbuster - Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in Stripes (1981), Dan Aykroyd in The Great Outdoors (1988), The Blues Brothers (1980) and Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Annie Potts in Who's Harry Crumb?? (1989), and Ernie Hudson in Going Berserk (1983). He was also featured in the Ghostbusters music video.
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The original script had a budding romance between Janine and Egon, but most of it was edited out of the film. The special edition DVD features a deleted scene of Janine giving Egon a coin for luck before he goes off with the other Ghostbusters to fight Gozer. The relationship between Janine and Egon was explored more in The Real Ghostbusters (1986).
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Ivan Reitman got the idea for the lights behind the door from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
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The eggs that fry themselves are sitting next to a package of "Stay-Puft" marshmallows. A large advertisement for "Stay-Puft" marshmallows (complete with the marshmallow man) is visible on the side of a building when the ghosts are freed during the "Magic" montage.
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Paddi Edwards dubbed over Gozer's lines because Slavitza Jovan's accent came across as comedic.
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Scenes in the montage of the Ghostbusters running and driving the Ectomobile around New York were done on the first day, largely without film permits. In one scene, someone who looks like a security guard begins chasing them, and Dan Aykroyd is driving the Ectomobile.
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Dana Barrett's apartment is 2206.
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Venkman uses Zener Cards in his ESP experiment. Zener Cards use five simple symbols, and all appear in the scene: a star, a circle, a square, a cross, and a set of wavy lines. They do not include a figure-eight, which is one of Jennifer's guesses.
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The music video for the song "Ghostbusters" featured numerous celebrities who didn't appear in the film, including: Chevy Chase, Irene Cara, John Candy, Melissa Gilbert, Ollie E. Brown, Jeffrey Tambor, George Wendt, Al Franken, Danny DeVito, Carly Simon, Peter Falk, and Teri Garr. The Ghostbusters themselves (in costume) danced down Times Square right behind Parker. Cindy Harrell played the girl in the haunted house.
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Christopher Walken, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Goldblum were all considered for the role of Dr. Egon Spengler.
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In May 2017, the Royal Society of Open Scientist dug up the preserved remains of a new species of dinosaurs called a crurivastator (translates to "destroyer of shins") in the US state of Montana. One of the scientists remarked that the skull of the crurivastator resembled Zuul the Terror Dog and the dinosaur's skeleton was put on display at the Royal Ontario Museum and the dinosaur was named after the Terror Dog.
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The interiors for the hotel scene were mostly filmed at the famous Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, on the corner of 5th and Grand. This famous location has been used for hundreds of films, TV shows, and commercials, plus a few music videos. The three doors that the Ghostbusters walk through in the movie are actually located on the entrance on 5th St. The Grand Avenue entrance leads to the main lobby, which used to be the hotel ballroom. The room's formerly solid walls have been replaced by glass doors (at the entrance) and archways. The reception desk is where the long banquet table was located in the film. To the right would have been the bar that Egon blasts. The bar to the right of the main lobby has a picture of the old ballroom on one of the walls, giving a better perspective of what the room looked like in the early 1980s.
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Eddie Deezen was considered for the role of Louis Tully.
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When Venkman mentions the time Spengler tried to drill a hole in his head, Spengler's response ("That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me") was actually ad-libbed by Harold Ramis.
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Ghostbusters - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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