Misplaced Pages

#664335

57-465: A bridge, owned by the Great Shasta Rail Trail, which spans Lake Britton (just east of Hwy 89) was used for the railroad bridge scene in the 1986 film Stand By Me . [REDACTED] Media related to Lake Britton at Wikimedia Commons This Shasta County, California -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Stand by Me (film) Stand by Me

114-630: A Reddit "Ask Me Anything" chat in 2017, Reiner said that Stand by Me is his personal favorite of his own films. At the 8th Youth in Film Awards , the film received the Jackie Coogan Award for Outstanding Contribution to Youth Through Motion Picture – Ensemble Cast in a Feature Film (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell). In a 2011 piece entitled "25 years of 'Stand by Me'", writer Alex Hannaford opined that "[for] anyone older than about 33, Stand by Me remains one of

171-538: A "female" version of Stand by Me by many critics. Jonathan Bernstein states the pop culture discussions between characters in films by Quentin Tarantino originate in the similar semi-serious banter between the boys of Stand by Me . Reviewers have seen an influence from Stand by Me in the 2011 movie Attack the Block , directed by Joe Cornish . The movie Mud (2012) has a character (Neckbone) who has been called

228-433: A "perfect fusion of River Phoenix and Jerry O'Connell in 'Stand by Me.'" The writer and director, Jeff Nichols , said of the film "Yeah, you know, I basically remade Stand by Me " when defending the work-in-progress to studio executives. The Kings of Summer , a 2013 coming-of-age film by Jordan Vogt-Roberts , has been reviewed as being inspired by Stand by Me . Love and Monsters (2020) includes an excerpt of

285-540: A brand-new camera for use in the shot, only for it to jam between the rails on the first shot. The locomotive used for the scene, M.C.R.R. 25 , is still in daily operation for excursion service on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad . Telephoto compression was used to make the train appear much closer than it actually was. The actors did not feel a sense of danger until Reiner threatened them by saying, "You see those guys? They don't want to push that dolly down

342-449: A chain reaction that nauseates the entire audience. The next morning, the boys stumble upon a small pond and partake in a swim, but jump out in horror when they find that the pond is teeming with leeches . After a thunderstorm, the boys finally find the dead body. The body of Ray Brower was discovered to be mangled by the train while attempting to escape the locomotive's path. Ace's gang arrives shortly after. During an argument, Chris pulls

399-454: A directing career, making comedies such as This Is Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing . He was sent the script by Scheinman, and his initial reaction was that the script had promise but "no focus". After Lyne withdrew from the project, Reiner signed on to direct in September 1984. In a 2011 interview, Reiner discussed his realization that the film should focus on the character of Gordie: "In

456-484: A fight with his father over Virginia and leaves the house. Along the way, the boys trespass at the town dump and are chased by Chopper, the dump custodian Milo Pressman's dog. Teddy gets into a verbal skirmish with Milo when the latter insults Teddy's father (a WW2 veteran who was given a "Section 8" medical discharge for trauma related to the Normandy invasion) by calling him a "loonie". Gordie and Vern are nearly run over by

513-417: A gang of hooligans led by John "Ace" Merrill have accidentally discovered the dead body of a missing boy named Ray Brower, who was hit by a train. Because the gang found the body while driving a stolen car, they elected not to report the body to the police. The boys get the idea to find the body "officially" so that they may become famous. In preparation for the expedition, Chris steals a gun from his father, and

570-444: A hike to find the dead body of a missing boy. Stand by Me received positive reviews upon release and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and for two Golden Globe Awards : one for Best Drama Motion Picture , and one for Best Director . In 1985, writer Gordie Lachance reads a newspaper article about a fatal stabbing involving his childhood best friend, Chris Chambers. He recalls an incident from when he

627-412: A lawyer, with the two eventually drifting apart. Recently, while attempting to break up a fight in a restaurant, he was stabbed to death. Gordie writes that despite not seeing Chris in over a decade, he will miss him forever. He ends his story with "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" before going outside to be with his son. The film was adapted from

SECTION 10

#1733317933665

684-422: A private early screening of the film, King excused himself for fifteen minutes to compose himself; he later returned to remark, " 'That's the best film ever made out of anything I've written, which isn't saying much. But you've really captured my story. It is autobiographical. ' " In a 2016 interview, King said that Stand by Me was his favorite adaptation of his work, alongside The Shawshank Redemption . In

741-413: A sex film, a bodybuilding film, or another Stephen King horror film. Rob came up with Stand by Me , and it ended up being the least unpopular option." Kiefer Sutherland says, possibly anecdotally, that during the shoot River Phoenix was learning guitar and heard him playing ‘Stand by Me’. They played it together and Reiner walked past saying he loved that song. It’s possible it gave him the idea to change

798-548: A teacher, yet was still suspended as the teacher kept quiet and pocketed the money. Devastated by the teacher's betrayal, Chris breaks down and cries. The next day, the boys wade across a swamp, discovering it filled with leeches. Gordie faints after finding one in his underwear. After more hiking, the boys locate the body. The discovery traumatizes Gordie, who asks Chris why Denny had to die and cries about his father hating him. Chris comforts Gordie and asserts that his father simply does not know him. Ace and his gang arrive to claim

855-401: A train while crossing a trestle. While at a resting point, Gordie tells his friends another story, "The Revenge of Lard-Ass Hogan", in which the titular Davie "Lard-Ass" Hogan exacts vengeance on the town locals for ridiculing his wide girth by downing a whole bottle of castor oil before engaging in the town's annual pie-eating contest and vomiting on the previous year's champion, which causes

912-646: A writer despite his father's disapproval. While crossing a railroad bridge, Gordie and Vern narrowly avoid being killed by an approaching train by jumping off the tracks. In the evening, as the boys camp, Gordie tells a fictional story he created about "David 'Lard-Ass' Hogan", an obese boy who is constantly bullied. Seeking payback, he downs a bottle of castor oil before entering a pie-eating contest and throws up deliberately, inducing mass vomiting among everyone there. That night, Chris complains to Gordie that he hates being associated with his family's reputation. He admits to stealing school milk money but says he confessed to

969-400: Is a 1986 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Rob Reiner . Based on Stephen King 's 1982 novella The Body , with the title deriving from the song of the same name by Ben E. King , the film is set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon , in 1959, and stars Wil Wheaton , River Phoenix , Corey Feldman , and Jerry O'Connell (in his film debut), as four boys who go on

1026-452: The University of Maine . In the present day, Gordie tells how he learned of Chris's death after he was fatally stabbed while trying to stop an argument in a restaurant, about the deaths of Vern and Teddy (in a house fire and car accident respectively), about his successful writing career, and about his recent visit to Castle Rock, where he found that Ace has become an alcoholic and a worker at

1083-543: The Family , gave $ 7.5 million of his own money to complete the film, citing his faith in Reiner and the script. However, since Embassy also would have distributed the film, once the film was completed it had no distributor. The producers showed a print to Michael Ovitz , head of the powerful Creative Artists Agency , and Ovitz promised to help them find a distributor. Paramount , Universal Pictures , and Warner Bros. all passed on

1140-478: The Stephen King novella The Body . Bruce A. Evans sent a copy of The Body to Karen Gideon, the wife of his friend and writing partner Raynold Gideon, on August 29, 1983, as a gift for her birthday. Both Gideon and Evans quickly became fans of the novella and shortly thereafter contacted King's agent, Kirby McCauley , seeking to negotiate film rights; McCauley replied that King's terms were $ 100,000 and 10% of

1197-400: The acting ensemble "wonderful" and particularly praised the performances by Wheaton and Phoenix. Stephen King was very impressed with the film. On the special features of the 25th anniversary Blu-ray set, King indicated that he considered the film to be the first successful translation to film of any of his works. According to a later interview with Gene Siskel , Reiner recalled that after

SECTION 20

#1733317933665

1254-511: The annual event to the fourth Saturday of July beginning in 2025. The Oscar-nominated urban drama Boyz n the Hood has several direct references to Stand by Me , including a trip by four young children to see a dead body, and the closing fade-out of one of the main characters. Director John Singleton has stated that he included the references because he was a fan of the movie. The coming-of-age film Now and Then (1995) has been described as

1311-489: The body and threaten to hurt the boys if they stay. When Chris refuses to back down, Ace draws a switchblade. Gordie gets the gun, fires a warning shot, and stands beside Chris while aiming it at Ace. Ace demands the weapon, but Gordie refuses while insulting and threatening him. Ace and his gang vow revenge and leave. The boys decide that exploiting Brower's death would be wrong and instead report it via an anonymous phone call. They walk back to Castle Rock and part ways. Back in

1368-442: The body. Billy does not want to inform police because it could draw attention to a car theft he and Charlie committed. When Vern tells his friends about the body, the four boys—hoping to become local heroes—decide to look for it. After Chris steals his father's pistol, he and Gordie run into local hoodlums "Ace" Merrill and Chris's older brother, "Eyeball." Ace threatens Chris with a lit cigarette and steals Gordie's Yankees cap, which

1425-498: The book, it was about four boys, but...once I made Gordie the central focus of the piece then it made sense to me: this movie was all about a kid who didn't feel good about himself and whose father didn't love him. And through the experience of going to find the dead body and his friendship with these boys, he began to feel empowered and went on to become a very successful writer. He basically became Stephen King." Reiner has said that he identified with Gordie, as he himself struggled with

1482-451: The boys camp out in a nearby field. Over the course of the narrative, the adult Gordie recalls his first published story, Stud City , about the life of a simple man named Edward "Chico" May whose older brother also died. He has a girlfriend, Jane, who he does not have particularly strong feelings for. Chico knows that his stepmother Virginia slept with his brother before he died, but he hesitates to tell his father about it. One day, Chico has

1539-545: The fictional town in which the film is set. The Body (King novella) The Body is a novella by American writer Stephen King . The Body was published in King's 1982 collection Different Seasons and later adapted into the 1986 film Stand by Me . The story takes place during the summer of 1960 in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine . After a boy disappears and is presumed dead, twelve-year-old Gordie LaChance and his three friends set out to find his body along

1596-593: The film a "trite narrative" and said that "Reiner's direction hammers in every obvious element in an obvious script." In his review for the Chicago Tribune , Dave Kehr wrote that there was "nothing natural in the way Reiner has overloaded his film with manufactured drama". In contrast, Sheila Benson called the film "[a treasure] absolutely not to be missed" in her review for the Los Angeles Times . Paul Attanasio , reviewing for The Washington Post , called

1653-502: The film as a "coming-of-age classic" and as a film that stood at "the apex of the '80s kids' movie boom". Brownsville, Oregon has held an annual "Stand By Me Day" since 2007. The event has attracted international participants. On July 24, 2010, a 25th Anniversary celebration of the filming of Stand by Me was held in Brownsville. The event included a cast and crew Q&A session, an amateur pie-eating contest, and an outdoor showing of

1710-442: The film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Reviewing the film for The New York Times , Walter Goodman opined that Reiner's direction was rather self-conscious, "looking constantly at his audience". While the lead actors were "individually likable", Goodman called

1767-456: The film until Evans and Gideon agreed to give up half of their share of profits to meet Lyne's asking price. Lyne was going to direct the film, but had promised himself a vacation following the production of 9½ Weeks , and would not be available to start production until the spring of 1986. Reiner was better known at the time for playing Michael Stivic in All in the Family and had just started

Lake Britton - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-491: The film. In 2013, July 23 was designated as Stand By Me Day by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. To encourage tourism, the city has embedded a penny in the street at a location where the fictional Vern found one in the film. An advertising mural painted for the movie production has survived. Following the 23 July 2024 Stand By Me Day, its event organizers—after input from businesses, fans, volunteers—decided to fix

1881-962: The film: The movie's success sparked a renewed interest in Ben E. King 's song " Stand by Me ". Initially a number four pop hit in 1961, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1986, eventually peaking at number nine in December of that year. The song was also reissued in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, where it topped the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart , respectively, for three consecutive weeks in February 1987. The movie

1938-406: The film; Columbia Pictures production head Guy McElwaine screened the film at his house because he was feeling ill, and the positive reaction of his daughters convinced him to distribute the film. In March 1986, Columbia Pictures , concerned that the original title, The Body , was misleading, renamed the film Stand by Me . According to screenwriter Raynold Gideon, The Body "sounded like either

1995-450: The four main actors together for two weeks to play games from Viola Spolin 's Improvisation for the Theater (which Reiner called "the bible" of theater games) and build camaraderie. As a result, a friendship developed among the actors. Wheaton would recall "When you saw the four of us being comrades, that was real life, not acting." Before settling on Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator (and

2052-537: The greatest films to come out of the Eighties." Hannaford added that the film "has a charm and depth that seems to resonate with each generation". In 2016, several writers commemorated the 30-year anniversary of the film's release. Rolling Stone ' s Charles Bramesco called Stand By Me "timeless", "a staple of youthful nostalgia for its deft straddling of the line between childhood and adulthood", and "the rare movie that necessarily gets better with time". Others described

2109-406: The gross profits. Although the money was not an issue, the share of gross profits was considered excessive, especially considering that no stars could be featured to help sell the movie. In response, Evans and Gideon pursued an established director, Adrian Lyne , to help sell the project. After reading the novella, Lyne teamed up with Evans and Gideon, but all the studios the trio approached turned

2166-495: The gun on the gang and forces them to leave, but Ace promises reprisals. Tired, depressed and fearing retaliation, the boys decide there is nothing more to be done with the body and return home. Subsequently, one of the gang members reports the body as an anonymous tip, and the gang members severely beat all four boys. The four friends eventually drift apart, but Gordie and Chris remain close. Chris decides to prepare for higher education, and with Gordie's support, they both graduate from

2223-441: The idea for The Body from a short story McLeod had been working on, but these claims are disputed by King. McLeod requested a portion of the royalties from The Body and Stand by Me ; King refused. McLeod sued, which ended their friendship. Since then, King has refused his fans' requests to read their manuscripts for advice; King has explained that he is concerned that there may be further accusations of plagiarism. The Body

2280-492: The present day, Gordie is finishing a memoir of the experience. He notes that Vern and Teddy separated from him and Chris in junior high. Vern married after high school, had four children, and became a forklift operator. Teddy tried getting into the Army but his damaged ear and poor eyesight disqualified him. He ended up serving jail time and working odd jobs. Chris took college prep courses with Gordie and, despite struggling, later became

2337-492: The project down except for Martin Shafer at Embassy Pictures . Embassy spent four months negotiating the rights with McCauley, settling on $ 50,000 and a smaller share of the profits, and Evans and Gideon spent eight weeks writing the screenplay. Evans and Gideon asked to also produce the film, but Shafer suggested they team up with Andrew Scheinman , a more experienced producer. Embassy was unwilling to meet Lyne's salary for directing

Lake Britton - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-668: The railway tracks. During the course of their journey, the boys, who all come from abusive or dysfunctional families, come to grips with death and the harsh truths of growing up in a small factory town that does not seem to offer them much of a future. Gordon "Gordie" Lachance reminisces about his childhood in Castle Rock, Maine. At that time, Gordie's elder brother Dennis (also known as Denny), whom his parents favored, had recently died, leaving Gordie's parents too depressed to pay much attention to him. In 1960, Gordie and his three friends − Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio − learn that

2451-489: The role of the adult Gordie), Reiner considered David Dukes , Ted Bessell , and Michael McKean . Principal photography began on June 17, 1985, and ended on August 23, 1985. Parts of the film were shot in Brownsville, Oregon , which stood in for the fictional town of Castle Rock. The town was selected for its small-town 1950s ambience. Approximately 100 local residents were employed as extras. The "barf-o-rama" scene

2508-405: The shadow of fame cast by his comedian father, Carl Reiner . The writers incorporated Reiner's suggestions, producing a new script by December 1984 for Embassy's review and approval. Days before the shooting started in the summer of 1985, Embassy was sold to Columbia Pictures , which made plans to cancel the production. Norman Lear , one of the co-owners of Embassy and the developer of All in

2565-511: The song " Stand by Me " and shortly after a scene involving large poisonous leeches. Dan Mangan 's song "Rows of Houses" (2011) is based on the film and takes the perspective of Gordie Lachance. The movie is mentioned in Yung Gravy 's 2022 single C'est La Vie (with bbno$ and Rich Brian ). In 1987, following the success of Stand by Me , Reiner co-founded a film and television production company and named it Castle Rock Entertainment , after

2622-476: The title. In a 2011 interview with NPR , Wil Wheaton attributed the film's success to the director's casting choices: Rob Reiner found four young boys who were the characters we played. I was awkward and nerdy and shy and uncomfortable in my skin and sensitive, and River was cool and smart and passionate and even at that age kind of like a father figure to some of us, Jerry was one of the funniest people I had ever seen in my life, either before or since, and Corey

2679-544: The town's mill. The Body was published in King's 1982 novellas collection Different Seasons . It incorporates two earlier short stories by King: "Stud City" (published in Ubris in 1969) and "The Revenge of Lard-Ass Hogan" (published in The Maine Review in 1975). In Lisa Rogak 's unauthorized biography Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King , a friend of King's, George McLeod, claimed that King had cribbed

2736-399: The track anymore. And the reason they're getting tired is because of you... I told them if they weren't worried that the train was going to kill them, then they should worry that I was going to. And that's when they ran." Jack Nitzsche composed the film's musical score. On August 8, 1986, a soundtrack album was released containing many of the 1950s and early 1960s oldies songs featured in

2793-474: Was 12 years old when he, Chris, and two other friends, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio, went searching for the body of a missing boy named Ray Brower near the town of Castle Rock, Oregon , during Labor Day weekend in 1959. As a child, Gordie's parents largely ignored him as they grieved the death of their elder son, Denny. Unlike their parents, Denny paid more attention to Gordie. Vern overhears his big brother, Billy, talking with his friend, Charlie, about finding

2850-401: Was 848 theaters, and it ended up earning $ 52,287,414 overall, well above its $ 8 million budget. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 64 reviews and a rating average of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads: " Stand by Me is a wise, nostalgic movie with a weird streak that captures both Stephen King's voice and the trials of growing up." On Metacritic ,

2907-461: Was a gift from Denny. The boys begin their trip. After stopping at a junkyard for water, they are caught trespassing by owner Milo Pressman and his dog, Chopper. Once they escape over a fence, Milo calls Teddy's mentally ill veteran father a "loony" and refers to how he almost burned Teddy's ear off. An enraged Teddy tries to attack Milo but the other boys restrain him. The four continue their hike, and Chris encourages Gordie to fulfill his potential as

SECTION 50

#1733317933665

2964-422: Was also filmed in Brownsville. A local bakery supplied the pies and extra filling, which was mixed with large-curd cottage cheese to simulate the vomit. The quantity of simulated vomit varied per person, from as much as 5 US gallons (19 L) during the triggering event to as little as 1 ⁄ 16 US gallon (0.24 L). The scene where the boys outrace a steam train engine across an 80-foot tall trestle

3021-496: Was cast based on how his personality fit the role, saying "Rob wanted us to understand our characters. He interviewed our characters. [...] I tried to stay like Vern and say the stupid things Vern would. I think I was Vern that summer." Reiner and the producers interviewed more than 70 boys for the four main roles, out of more than 300 who auditioned; Phoenix originally read for the part of Gordie Lachance. Ethan Hawke auditioned for Chris Chambers. Before filming began, Reiner put

3078-563: Was filmed on the McCloud River Railroad , above Lake Britton Reservoir near McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in California. The scene took a full week to shoot, making use of four small adult female stunt doubles with closely cropped hair who were made up to look like the film's protagonists. Plywood planks were laid across the ties to provide a safer surface on which the stunt doubles could run. The film crew even brought

3135-561: Was re-issued on Blu-ray in 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and again on 4K Blu-ray in 2019. This 4K release included previously unreleased deleted scenes. The film was a box office success in North America. It opened in a limited release in 16 theaters on August 8, 1986, and grossed $ 242,795, averaging $ 15,174 per theater. The film then had its wide opening in 745 theaters on August 22 and grossed $ 3,812,093, averaging $ 5,116 per theater and ranking number 2. The film's widest release

3192-434: Was released in both countries the following month. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Stand by Me was released on VHS on March 19, 1987, by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. A DVD was issued on August 29, 2000, with a director's commentary, multiple language options (subtitles and audio), scene selections with motion images, and a featurette titled "Walking The Tracks: The Summer Of Stand by Me ". The film

3249-429: Was unbelievably angry and in an incredible amount of pain and had a terrible relationship with his parents. Feldman recalled how his home life translated into his onscreen character: "[Most kids aren't] thinking they're going to get hit by their parents because they're not doing well enough in school, which will prevent them from getting a work permit, which will prevent them from being an actor." O'Connell agreed that he

#664335