Buzz
With a mid-1980s writers' strike on the horizon, John Hughes approached Paramount executive Ned Tanen with a concise idea: "This film will revolve around a teenager skipping school for a day, and that's the gist of it for now." Hughes completed the screenplay in just six days, finishing ahead of schedule. The outcome was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, yet another iconic teen film set in Hughes’ beloved fictional town of Shermer, Illinois, which hit theaters on June 11, 1986.
1. ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL THOUGHT JOHN HUGHES INTENDED FOR HIM TO PORTRAY FERRIS.
Anthony Michael Hall revealed to Vanity Fair that his collaboration with the director ended suddenly after their work on Weird Science, especially as Hall began working with other filmmakers. He was convinced that Hughes had written the characters of Duckie in Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller specifically for him. However, Hughes stated that Broderick was always his envisioned lead while penning the script. Casting directors Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins only seriously considered one other actor for the role: John Cusack.
2. EMILIO ESTEVEZ DECLINED THE PART OF CAMERON.
The role ultimately went to Alan Ruck, who celebrated his 30th birthday shortly after the movie premiered.
3. MATTHEW BRODERICK AND ALAN RUCK WERE ALREADY FRIENDS BEFORE FILMING.
Ruck’s agents persuaded producers to let him audition by highlighting that Ruck and Broderick had portrayed characters of the same age in the Broadway production of Biloxi Blues (despite Broderick being six years younger than Ruck). The duo even shared a trailer on the Ferris Bueller set; since Broderick’s trailer was more spacious, Ruck simply moved in with him.
4. RUCK’S IMITATION OF SLOANE’S FATHER WAS MEANT TO MAKE BRODERICK LAUGH.
Ruck was mimicking Broderick’s portrayal of their Biloxi Blues director Gene Saks, who occasionally became “flustered.” Whenever Saks left the room, Broderick would imitate his exasperated outbursts.
5. MOLLY RINGWALD HOPED TO PORTRAY SLOANE.
Hughes reportedly informed Molly Ringwald that the role wasn’t substantial enough for her. He sought an older actress to play Ferris’s girlfriend and was astonished to learn that Mia Sara was just 18 years old.
6. ROMANCE BLOOMED ON SET.
Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey (who portrayed Jeanie, Ferris’s sister) became engaged shortly before the film’s premiere. Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward, who played Ferris’s parents, met during filming and later married and had two children.
7. BEN STEIN WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO DELIVER HIS LECTURE WITHOUT BEING FILMED.
The student extras found Ben Stein’s speech so hilarious that Hughes decided to feature him on camera. Stein chose to discuss supply-side economics after Hughes requested he talk about a subject he was deeply knowledgeable about. Before gaining fame in movies and TV, Stein—who is also a lawyer—served as a speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford.
8. ROBERT SMITH OF THE CURE COMPOSED A SONG FOR THE ART MUSEUM SCENE THAT NEVER MADE THE FINAL CUT.
Following a dispute between John Hughes and music supervisor David Anderle, Anderle was removed from the project—and Smith’s instrumental piece was scrapped along with him.
9. HUGHES ALSO SUCCEEDED IN UPSETTING PAUL MCCARTNEY.
The former Beatle expressed dissatisfaction with the movie’s version of “Twist and Shout,” claiming it had an excessive amount of brass instrumentation.
10. BRODERICK STRUGGLED TO PERFORM MOST OF THE CHOREOGRAPHY PLANNED FOR THE PARADE SCENE.
Broderick had injured his knee earlier while sprinting through the neighbors’ backyards. The spontaneous shot of a construction worker dancing in the film was genuine—he was captured by one of Hughes’s cameras grooving to the music. Jennifer Grey, not wanting to miss the excitement despite her character Jeanie’s absence, appeared on set in disguise as an autograph seeker wearing a bouffant wig.
11. CAMERON'S DETROIT RED WINGS JERSEY HAS A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.
John Hughes spent the first 12 years of his life in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where he developed a passion for the local hockey team. This explains why Cameron sports Detroit gear in a film set in Chicago.
12. CHARLIE SHEEN FULLY IMMERSED HIMSELF IN HIS ROLE.
He remained awake for over 48 hours to perfect his disheveled police station appearance.
13. THE FERRARI WAS A REPLICA.
While Ferris and his friends "borrowed" a Ferrari from Cameron’s dad, it wasn’t an authentic model. Instead, three replicas of a Ferrari 250GT California Spyder, crafted by Modena, were used during filming. Despite being replicas, one of them fetched $235,000 at an auction in 2013.
14. THE CUBS GAME FERRIS ATTENDS AND THE ONE SHOWN ON THE PIZZA PLACE TV WERE SEPARATE GAMES.
Broderick, Ruck, and Sara were present at the September 24, 1985 game featuring the Montreal Expos against the Cubs. The game shown on the pizza place TV, where Rooney spots the teens, was the June 5, 1985 afternoon clash between the Braves and the Cubs (the Braves and Expos had similar road uniforms that season). In his review, Gene Siskel noted that true Chicago kids would rather sit in the bleachers.
15. AN INITIAL SCREENING OF THE MOVIE WAS A "TOTAL DISASTER."
Broderick, Ruck, and Sara watched the film months before its release and didn’t laugh at all; they walked away convinced they had created a flop. Paramount executives shared the same concerns after viewing an early version. Hughes and editor Paul Hirsch spent two weeks reworking the film, ultimately shaping it into the beloved classic we know today.
