OPEN POST: "Saturday Night Fever" Is Almost Fifty Years Old!
You're getting old, dear. Did you know? "Saturday Night Fever" is 48 years-old this year, or like many of you, within spitting distance of 50. "How can this be?" you ask in horror. Sorry, Margaret, get out those crutch tips. Time marches on for everyone.
Fun facts: The movie was based on a 1976 New York magazine article - "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night," by British author Nik Cohn - which was a complete lie. As in totally made up. No, really. He was a newcomer to the U.S., didn't know the Brooklyn disco scene at all, so he based "Tony," the lead character, on an English, so-called "mod fellow" he knew. He also pocketed a nice chunk of change from Paramount and producers when they bought the rights to the article, thinking it was real. Smooth move, Nik!
As for the casting of Donna Pescow, this was based almost entirely on her looks. Studio executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg initially thought she was "too pretty" for the role of "Annette." So to get the part, she quickly plumped up nearly 20 pounds. Which brings me to ask, where's her Oscar like DeNiro got for "Raging Bull?" Huh? Huuuuuuuh?
And get this: John G. Avildsen, the original director, was fired at the last second. John Travolta may not have been a huge star at the time, but his opinion mattered. He objected to John G.'s concept of a "sweet and light" story with an upbeat ending like John G.'s previous movie, "Rocky." The producers agreed with him - they all wanted something grittier - and after John G. was given the boot, another John, John Badham, the movie's real director, was given mere days to prepare before shooting started (interestingly, he was also last-second replacement just a few years later on "Blue Thunder," a not bad thriller with Roy Scheider, and a last-second replacement on the now classic "War Games").
Poor Travolta. He was already exploring the whole Scientoly-hole religious scam at the time, but not to any serious degree. His next movie was "Grease," and given its successes, he rocketed to superstardom. His asking price went through the roof - and the Scientoly-holes, realizing his worth, latched on to him big-time. What might have been if he'd merely explored it, then run in the opposite direction, like Patrick Swayze did at the time. We'll never know, and neither will all those sexually assaulted male Hollywood masseuses. But at least we can enjoy the movie and his strut (and the music):
And get this: John G. Avildsen, the original director, was fired at the last second. John Travolta may not have been a huge star at the time, but his opinion mattered. He objected to John G.'s concept of a "sweet and light" story with an upbeat ending like John G.'s previous movie, "Rocky." The producers agreed with him - they all wanted something grittier - and after John G. was given the boot, another John, John Badham, the movie's real director, was given mere days to prepare before shooting started (interestingly, he was also last-second replacement just a few years later on "Blue Thunder," a not bad thriller with Roy Scheider, and a last-second replacement on the now classic "War Games").
Poor Travolta. He was already exploring the whole Scientoly-hole religious scam at the time, but not to any serious degree. His next movie was "Grease," and given its successes, he rocketed to superstardom. His asking price went through the roof - and the Scientoly-holes, realizing his worth, latched on to him big-time. What might have been if he'd merely explored it, then run in the opposite direction, like Patrick Swayze did at the time. We'll never know, and neither will all those sexually assaulted male Hollywood masseuses. But at least we can enjoy the movie and his strut (and the music):
Photo Credits: Paramount Pictures
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