Category: 80s movies

Posted on

Pop Culture Moments That Changed Millennials Forever

Millennials aren’t teenagers anymore. The oldest in the generation are nearing 40, and even the youngest are out in the workforce, perhaps married, perhaps with children or thinking about it at this point.

That means they came of age in the 80s and 90s, which means we can blame at least some of their quirks and other odd behaviors on these 14 moments that television and movies thought were okay for kids.

14. Gmork from The Neverending Story.

Honestly there wasn’t a whole lot from that movie that wasn’t nightmare fuel.

13. The reveal at the end of the Thriller video.

HE HAD YELLOW EYES WHAT WHY.

12. The Thundercats early nudity.

I’m still not over it, to be honest.

11. Large Marge.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure wasn’t all big fun.

10. Depressed Big Bird.

He turned blue in Follow that Bird and it was extremely disconcerting.

9. Return to Oz.

The closet of heads. The wheelers. The shock therapy. All of it.

8. Herbie Hancock’s Rockit video.

The 80s had a strange relationship with mannequins.

7. The death of Optimus Prime.

Transformers: The Movie was unexpectedly emotional.

6. The alien in Mac & Me.

I maintain it was a demon masquerading as an alien.

5.When Fievel was lost in An American Tail.

I mean, some of us also still don’t quite trust cats (which I say is wise).

4. The anti-Christmas monologue on Gremlins.

Terrifying on so many levels.

3. When Will watches himself get guillotined.

Something Wicked This Way Comes indeed.

2. All of the Drug-Free America commercials.

Particularly this one, where the drug dealer is an actual snake.

1. The clown doll under the bed in Poltergeist.

Also the entire movie but especially the clown doll.

I definitely agree with many of these – so that’s what’s wrong with me!

Or some of it, anyway.

Do you have a memory of something from your childhood that totally messed you up? If it’s missing from the list, tell us in the comments!

The post Pop Culture Moments That Changed Millennials Forever appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

‘Gremlins’ Is Coming Back to Theaters This December

Gremlins hit theaters in 1984, and it’s safe to say that the horror/comedy film has become a cult classic that a whole lot of people watch around Christmas.

Let’s all have a refresher and watch the original trailer, okay?

If you’re a fan of this fun, freaky, fright-fest, I have great news for you! Gremlins is returning to theaters for one week only: December 5 – December 11.

It makes sense, because the film is set during Christmastime and some consider it a “holiday movie” (omg that scene…you know that one I’m talking about).

If you’ve never seen Joe Dante’s Gremlins, let’s get all caught up. A man buys his son a gift at a store in Chinatown. What does he buy? A ‘mogwai’, an adorable little creature that comes with a few rules. The shopkeeper tells the man not to expose the creature to bright light or water…and don’t feed it after midnight.

Well, you can probably imagine what happens next. I’ll leave the rest up in the air, just in case you’ve never seen it before.

The film will screen in 4DX, which Regal describes as “immersive cinematic experience presents the future of the movie industry.” Or, as one website put it, “4DX at Regal is the ultimate experience involving motion chairs and special effects like wind and rain.”

Which sounds legitimately awesome.

Be sure to check out the Regal Cinemas page to see if and where Gremlins will be playing by you in December.

Do you remember the first time you saw Gremlins? Tell us about it in the comments! And remember, whatever you do, don’t feed them after midnight!

The post ‘Gremlins’ Is Coming Back to Theaters This December appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

10 Righteous Facts About ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’

It seems like only yesterday I saw Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure at Oak Park Mall in my hometown in Kansas. It was glorious…and I still quote the movie to this day.

The film celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019, and in honor of this most excellent piece of cinema, we’d like to present you with 10 facts about the movie.

But first, check out the original trailer for a refresher.

1. The duo were born in an improv class

Classmates Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson formed an improv workshop at UCLA. Solomon recalled, “One day, we decided to do a couple of guys who knew nothing about history, talking about history. The initial improv was them studying history, while Ted’s father kept coming up to ask them to turn their music down.”

2. There was originally another character, Bob

Bill, Bob, & Ted? When the skit originated, the guy who played “Bob” wasn’t crazy about it, so Solomon and Matheson got rid of him and stuck with Bill and Ted.

3. Opposite auditions

Photo Credit: Orion Pictures

We all know Keanu Reeves plays Ted and Alex Winter plays Bill, but both actors originally auditioned for the opposite roles. Keanu Reeves remembered, “I got a call saying that I got the part. So I went to the wardrobe fitting… assuming I was playing Bill, and I get there and Alex Winter, who eventually played Bill, went to the wardrobe fitting thinking he was playing Ted. Then we were informed that that wasn’t the case.”

4. Pauly Shore in the mix

Shore, along with hundreds of other actors, auditioned for the role of Ted. Hey, don’t feel too bad for him, he got to be in Encino Man.

5. Not nerdy enough

Photo Credit: Orion Pictures

Reeves and Winter weren’t nerdy enough for the roles, according to co-writer Ed Solomon. He said,

“Bill and Ted were conceived in our minds as these 14-year-old skinny guys, with low-rider bellbottoms and heavy metal T-shirts. We actually had a scene that was even shot, with Bill and Ted walking past a group of popular kids who hate them. But once you cast Alex and Keanu, who look like pretty cool guys, that was hard to believe.”

6. Hard to picture this one

We all know Bill and Ted travel through time in a phone booth, but it was originally supposed to be a van: a 1969 Chevy van to be precise. Warner Bros. showed early interest in the script and folks there thought a time-traveling van sounded too close to the hit Back to the Future. Director Stephen Herek suggested a phone booth because he thought the visuals would be impressive.

Plus, Doctor Who hadn’t really made it in the States yet.

7. A happy accident

Alex Winter called the casting of the legendary George Carlin “a very happy accident.” Winter added they were originally looking for serious actors at first, “like Sean Connery. And someone had the idea, way after we started shooting, of George. That whole movie was a happy accident. No one thought it would ever see the light of day.”

8. The booth is out there

As part of a promotion when the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure came out in 1991, one lucky winner received the actual phone booth from the film. Reddit tracked down the winner, Kenneth Grayson, in 2011 and he participated in an “Ask Me Anything” Q&A.

9. They’re coming back!

Rumors have been floating around for years that there will be a third film in the series (after 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey) and now it’s official.

Excellent!

10. The script was written in four days

Photo Credit: Orion Pictures

Solomon and Matheson wrote the script in four days…by hand, during meetings at various coffee shops.

The post 10 Righteous Facts About ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ appeared first on UberFacts.