Saturday Night Fever - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Saturday Night Fever or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Saturday Night Fever

[aaron]

Letting off steam at the end of the shoot, John Travolta and members of the crew filmed a mock wedding at the disco, for laughs, with John dressed as the bride and one of the grips appearing as the groom.

[melinda]

When they shot the first bridge scene, director John Badham kept secret from Donna Pescow the fact that when the guys "fell off" the bridge, they actually landed on a platform a few feet below. Badham and the other actors did not tell her about the platform because they wanted a genuine look of horror and anger on Annette's face when Tony, Double J. and Joey appeared to fall off. Therefore, Donna's reaction to them falling, and her facial expressions turning from horror and shock to outright anger, were real, and her next line, "You fuckers!", was not scripted.

[fred]

One piece of music from the soundtrack, "Manhattan Skyline" by David Shire, became very popular as background instrumental music. It has been played in movie trailers, promotional films and commercials. It's the piece that Stephanie is dancing to when Tony invites her to coffee.

[jim]

Val Bisoglio (Frank Sr.) and Donna Pescow (Annette) both appeared in The Sopranos (1999).

[bryan]

To try to throw off John Travolta's fans, John Badham and his team took to shooting exterior scenes as early in the morning as possible before people caught on - often at the crack of dawn. They would also generate fake call sheets. The tactics worked well enough that Badham was usually able to get the scenes done before significant crowds had time to gather.

[nina]

There was some early grumbling about Karen Lynn Gorney when filming began. Certain crew members felt she was too old for the part, and that her dancing wasn't up to par (she had sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle accident a few years earlier).

[ray]

There were no special effects in the film, except for the smoke rising from the dance floor. Bill Ward, the film's sole gaffer, explains that it wasn't from dry ice or a smoke machine but a toxic mix of burning tar and automobile tires, pinched from a Bay Ridge alley." It created such heat and smoke that at one point they had to wheel in oxygen for John Travolta. The filmmakers also went to great trouble and expense--$15,000--to put lights in the dance floor, designed to pulsate to the music. The walls were covered with aluminum foil and Christmas lights. When the club's owner saw the dailies for the first time, he said, "Holy shit, you guys made my place look great!"

[linda]

Bobby's car is a 1964 Chevy Impala hardtop. While director John Badham insisted on the Impala as Bobby's car, he was later told by Brooklynites that they would only drive an old Cadillac--and never an Impala. Each Impala (there were two used) was purchased by the film company for $1200. The Impala hardtop (with no post) is difficult to find and would cost quite a bit more than the $1200 it did in 1977.

[lena]

John Travolta ran two miles a day and danced for three hours daily to get in shape for this film. In the end, he dropped 20 pounds.

[jessica]

The film was rated "R" when it was released in December 1977. Paramount was so eager to attract a wider audience to the film--because they were buying the soundtrack - Paramount went on to edit six minutes out of the original film, giving it a PG rating. The PG edition was released in 1979. Both versions were released on VHS but only the "R" version was released on DVD.

[chad]

Tony's alcoholic drink of choice was a "7 and 7", a 7-up soft drink and a Seagram's 7 Crown Whiskey.

[ella]

Jessica Lange, Kathleen Quinlan and Carrie Fisher were all considered for the role of Stephanie Mangano. Amy Irving was one of the finalists for the role.

[willard]

John Badham got his inspiration for the disco's multi- colored lighted dance floor from dining at a well known establishment named "The Club" in Birmingham, AL, which had a similar floor.

[jeffrey]

The bridge that Tony knows all about is the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge that connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.

[darrell]

Norman Wexler's screenplay was adapted from the "non-fiction" magazine article written by Nik Cohn. Years later, Cohn admitted that the story, supposedly a fact-based account detailing the lives of Brooklyn teenagers in the early days of the disco craze, was a complete fabrication.

[bryan]

The scene where Fran Drescher puts her hand on John Travolta's butt was not in the original script. Travolta and director John Badham thought that it would be something that a woman like Connie (Drescher's character) would do, however, so it was kept in.

[steve]

Opened in the US on December 14, 1977 at the height of the disco era. Less than two years later, the disco era ended.