'Ferris Bueller's Day Off': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About This '80s Classic
Alan Ruck, who played Cameron Frye in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," once had an idea for a sequel that would have been set decades later, with an ancient Ferris breaking Cameron out of the rest home for one last day of fun. It doesn't seem that far-fetched anymore, given that 30 years have already passed since the teen comedy's release on June 11, 1986.
The John Hughes classic continues to have an outsized impact on pop culture; even this year's superhero hit "Deadpool" featured a "Ferris" shout-out. Yet there are still things you may not know about Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron's epic day of hooky in Chicago -- who almost starred in it, what was left out, and its various life-imitates-art moments. So fire up your friend's father's Ferrari as we fly through these forgotten Ferris factoids.
1. Hughes (pictured left) wrote the script in a week, trying to get it done before the onset of a Writers Guild strike.
2.Matthew Broderick was Hughes's first choice for Ferris; nonetheless, the filmmakers considered John Cusack, Michael J. Fox, Tom Cruise, and the then-little-known Jim Carrey.
3. Hughes refused to cast his regular leading lady Molly Ringwald as Sloane, arguing the part was too small for her. He was impressed, however, with Mia Sara's air of maturity, even though she was just 18.
4. Alan Ruck was 29 when cast as high school senior Cameron. He remains grateful to Hughes's "Breakfast Club" star Emilio Estevez for turning down the role that made Ruck's career.
5. Ferris and Cameron's camaraderie came easily to Broderick and Ruck, who had co-starred on Broadway in "Biloxi Blues." Ruck's pushy, authoritative telephone voice when he's imitating Sloane's father is actually his impression of "Biloxi" director Gene Saks.
6. Cameron's Detroit Red Wings jersey with Gordie Howe's No. 9 on the back was Hughes's tribute to the hockey icon of his youth. In fact, he got Howe himself to send him the jersey used in the film.
7. Some of the parade scenes were staged for the film, but the close-ups of Ferris performing "Twist and Shout" required Broderick to crash an actual parade, Ferris-style.
8. Left on the cutting room floor were all the scenes of Ferris and Jeanie's (Jennifer Grey) kid brother and sister. Never filmed was a scene that would have had the three school-ditching teens visit a strip club.
9. The film cost a mere $5.8 million to make. It earned back $70.1 million to become the 10th-biggest hit of 1986.
10.Lyman Ward and Cindy Pickett, who played Ferris and Jeanie's parents, met on the "Ferris" set, fell in love, and got married in real life. They played a couple again in the 1992 horror movie "Sleepwalkers."