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Scooter Stevens, who plays Badger, doesn't say a word the entire movie!  Amanda Wyss, who played Beth, also played Tina in "Nightmare on Elm Street". She was Freddy Krueger's first victim. -Thanks to Dash BranaghanJohn Cusack allegedly hates and detests this movie and, along with 'One Crazy Summer', he considers them the worst movies he's made. -Thanks to MartyCurtis Armstrong who played Lane's friend Charles, was also in "Revenge of the Nerds" and had a supporting role on tv's "Moonlighting" with Bruce Willis. One of the Nerds in the Geometry class (the one that opens his suitcase that has a computer inside) played a role as John Cusacks Nerd friend in "Sixteen Candles". Apparently playing a Nerd was this guys Cup O' Tea! -Thanks to JordanCusack and Savage Steve Holland also teamed up in "One Crazy Summer" -Thanks to MuzzledoxSavage Steve Holland, who directed and personally did the animated drawings for Better off Dead, designed all of the animations of the "Whammy" on the 1980s game show "Press Your Luck" -Thanks to Brian A. HenegarElizabeth Daily sings in the movie and plays herself. She now does quite a bit of voice work, including playing the voice of Buttercup in "The Powerpuff Girls". -Thanks to ImproviusElizabeth Daily also had parts in Valley Girl in 1983 and in the creepy 1988 movie Bad Dreams, under the name E.G. Daily. -Thanks to DeniseAt the very end of the credits it says "The film's over- you can go now." A homage to a previous teen classic: Porky from "Porky's", owns 'The Pig Burger' in "Better off Dead". The hamburger is singing like David Lee Roth but is playing Eddie Van Halen's signature guitar. The ducks in the puddle of water they land the car in during the drag race climb out of the driver's side of the vehicle when they arrive at school. The Camaro that was used in "Better Off Dead" has been restored. You can read the incredible story of how one fan tracked down the car and see some current pictures of it on the "finished car" page at his website. Lane gets fired from Pig Burger, but is still able to get inside with Monique after hours. The owner of Pig Burger gave lane the keys to the establishment when they first met. The fat guy threw them at Lane and Lane asked him "What's that?" Fat guy responded with "those are the keys to this establishment....." He later tossed him out, presumably without having the chance to take the keys back. -Thanks to Raj MehtaDuring the school dance scene, one of Lane Myer's friends is sporting a red & green striped sweater. Which was an homage to Amanda Wyss's role in "Nightmare on Elm Street". -Thanks to Brad SilzerAmanda Wyss also played Woody's girlfriend from home on Cheers. She guest stared in two of three episodes. Her name was Beth on the show. -Thanks to KathyDan Schneider, who plays "Ricky" in the film, went on to play "Dennis Blunden" in the TV show "Head of the Class" from 1986-1991. -Thanks to DanFanLaura Waterbury who played Mrs. Smith in "Better Off Dead" is also the crossing guard in "One Crazy Summer." -Thanks to LouDiane Franklin, who played "Monique", also co-starred in another 80s cult classic, "The Last American Virgin", as well as having a bit part as one of the princesses in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure". -Thanks to Dan DuffyDiane Franklin also features in one of the "Amityville" sequels, and a low budget comedy/horror called "terrorvision" -Thanks to Leigh RussellI believe Diane Franklin also starred as the evil step-mother in "How I got into college" -Thanks to FabrizioLane's mother in the movie is played by Kim Darby, who played opposite John Wayne in True Grit -Thanks to MikeLane's Dad was also Winchester in the TV series MASH. -Thanks to LanceNotice the characters/actor connections between "Better Off Dead" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High": 1) Vincent Schiavelli plays the lovable but quirky biology teacher in "Fast Times" and is the lovable and quirky geometry teacher in "Better Off Dead." 2) Amanda Wyss plays the bored girlfriend who breaks up with the guy (Judge Reinhold) in "Fast Times" and plays the bored girlfriend who breaks up with the guy (John Cusack) in "Better Off Dead." 3) Taylor Negron plays the sarcastic pizza delivery boy in "Fast Times" and plays the sarcastic mail delivery boy in "Better Off Dead." -Thanks to Brian JardineOn the show South Park, Show 603, they recreate the ski scene in the movie, except it is between Stan and a cocky teen named Tad, and on the mountain called the K-13. -Thanks to SnobrdrTrey Parker and Matt Stone wrote an episode of South Park in which Stan gets trapped in a knock-off of "Better off Dead". The South Park episode is entitled "Ass-pin" (a parody of "Aspen"), -Thanks to AnabelAll of the race scenes with the two Asian 'Howard Cosell' brothers in the orange car are filmed at the same stoplight! The 'Howard Cosell' impersonator is played by Yuji Okumoto from "Karate Kid part II". The ski slope in the movie is called the K-12, which may be a joke for anyone who knows about slope ratings. The highest (hardest) slope rating is 9. -Thanks to ImproviusK-12 may also be a pun on Lake Tahoe, CA ski resort Squaw Valley's KT-22, which was named by the wife of Squaw's owner when it took her 22 kick turns to descend that part of the mountain, which rises imposingly from Squaw's base area. It's not impossible to ski by any means, but it is an experts only area (see www.squaw.com). Given that B.O.D. was supposed to be set in Northern California, there's a pretty good chance that the K-12 was a pseudonym for KT-22 at Squaw (aka Squallywood). -Thanks to SomeYoungGuyI always assumed K-12 was a play on K2, which is the second highest mountain in the world. -Thanks to John HoffThe actor who played Laine's Math teacher, Vincent Schiavelli, passed away recently in 2005. He was also the Science teacher, Mr. Vargas, in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. -Thanks to Anna MontagIn the scene where Lane falls and accidently pulls down the cheerleaders outfit, the girl playing the cheerleader had the set cleared except for essential personnel only. Bashful, I guess. (I know this b/c I was one of the basketball player extras in this movie.) I was the one on the far left in that scene and the one eating the baby food at the cafeteria table, closest to the camera. -Thanks to Peter FranksNone of the math that is being done in movie actually makes any sense. However the problem done in Mean Girls is the correct answer. -Thanks to DevolutionYano Anaya, who played the Paper boy is also Grover Dill (the toadie) from "A Christmas Story". The scene where Lane is being chased by the paperboys, then scrambles behind his car and exclaims "KEYS!!" is a homage to the a scene in the Richard Pryor classic 'Which Way Is Up?' where Pryor,as a no-good preacher, is being chased by his congregation and scrambles to his car mumbling to himself "KEYS! KEYS!" -Thanks to Bryant CarrThe college used for the dance scene with Monique & Ricky (where Monique & John Cusack first talk to each other) is the same as in "Sixteen Candles". -Thanks to Rebecca DolanIn one of the cafeteria scenes the members of the basketball team are eating baby food. -Thanks to Rob AikinsWhen Charles and Lane are in the grocery store and Charles claims, "I can't even get real drugs here", he is purchasing whip cream in an aerosol can. -Thanks to Mindle PohlThe contraption Badger sent off for and made was a rocket ship made from household appliances. -Thanks to Kelly VickersThe voice of the Asian teen who learned English by watching Howard Cosell is done by comedian Rich Little. Rich also does the voice of Barney Rubble, when Barney, while Lane is watching the Flintstones, asks Lane if he could go out with Beth. -Thanks to Lawrence MilesDuring the ski training with Lane, Monique is obviously played by a man wearing a wig. The hair is much much too big, so it could cover more face. -Thanks to Kevin Allustiarti« Click here to add some Better Off Dead trivia Rediscover your favorites! If you like Better Off Dead or 80's Comedy classics, then be sure to check out this list: ..... Tootsie ..... Raising Arizona ..... Good Morning, Vietnam ..... Blues Brothers ..... Heathers ..... Fast Times At Ridgemont High ..... This Is Spinal Tap ..... Naked Gun ..... Adventures In Babysitting ..... Airplane ..... License To Drive ..... Money Pit ..... Porky's ..... Risky Business ..... Twins ..... Soul Man .....[More] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Featured Movie Location: Lane's HouseWanna see the real life filming location used for Lane's House in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at a private residence, located in Glendale, S. California. [New! Show Google Map] The French foreign exchange student lived in the house across the street at 1633 Virginia Avenue. This is at the top of Virginia Avenue near Cumberland Road. [Thanks to Steve Taylor] Lane's High School is the Hollywood High School, 1521 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA The school dance sequence (exterior) was filmed at Clark Junior High School, which is now called Clark Magnet High School, located at 4747 New York Ave., La Crescenta, CA 91214. [Thanks to Bill Cook] The street with the mountains in the background where Lane is consistently harassed by the two Howard Cosell-voiced Asian brothers in their car, is located near the foothills of an L.A. suburb called Monrovia, right next to Pasadena. An even smaller suburbia known as Duarte may also have been used. The high school in the film was mostly shot at Hollywood High, Hollywood, CA. However, some extraneous shots were executed both at a Thousand Oaks Jr. High and some fifty miles away from there in San Bernadino County in the city of Upland (i.e. the scenes where you can see the snow-capped mountains in the background). Verdugo Hills High School, 10625 Plainview Ave, Tujunga, CA also claims that they were used for exterior shots, with one particularly great shot of the senior lawn and campus tower early on. Can anyone confirm the actual situation? And, of corse, "Dod-gey Sta-di-oom" (home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) was portrayed in the film by Dodger Stadium.[Thanks to Haji for these locations] Alta, Brighton and Snowbird Ski resorts near Salt Lake City, Utah were used for skiing action scenes. Also, the scene where Lane and Charles DuMar are in line at the grocery store was filmed at Dan's Foods at 3900 S. Wasatch Drive in Holladay, Utah. [Thanks to Jerry] The "Mid Gad" lift in the background of the ski pole duel at the end of the film is located at the Snowbird ski resort in Utah, just a few miles west of Alta [Thanks to Steve] The Camero exits the ski resort at Big Bear ski resort in California. The part when the news boy wants his two dollars and he gets cleaned off the roof, was filmed in Burbank at "In-N-Out Service Ctr", 1420 N San Fernando Blvd. [Thanks to Michael Biggs] The scene where Lane jumps off the bridge and lands in a garbage truck was filmed in the area of the 110 Fwy in between Atwater and Downtown LA. [Thanks to Gary Coleman] Can you help? Do you know any of the S. California (or any other) filming locations used for Better Off Dead? [Please send them in] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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An assortment of sonds performed by various artists including Rupert Hine. Tracks are: 1. With One Look - Rupert Hine 2. Arrested By You - Rupert Hine 3. Shine - Martin Ansell 4. Better Off Dead (Title Music) - Rupert Hine 5. Dancing In Isolation - Teri Nunn 6. Come To Your Rescue - Thinkman 7. A Little Luck - Elizabeth Daily 8. The Falcon Beat (Inst) - Rupert Hine 9. One Way Love (Better Off Dead) - Elizabeth Daily 10. Race The K-12 (Inst) - Rupert Hine « Click here to add new music trivia for Better Off Dead Soundtrack Available: On CD | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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