Of all the lessons director Penelope Spheeris took away from “Wayne’s World,” the most important was: Always ask if your lead actor can drive.
Mike Myers arrived on the set, and to Spheeris’ horror, was unable to take the film’s signature 1976 AMC Pacer out for a spin. He’d grown up near Toronto using public transportation and didn’t have a license.
“I thought we were screwed,” Spheeris tells The Post. “We got him driving lessons. He was staying at the Four Seasons [hotel] and the valet would say, ‘Sir, your car is here,’ and it would be Sears driving school.”
Regardless of Myers’ ability to operate a motor vehicle, the movie went on to become a pop-culture phenomenon, earning some $183 million globally.
This month, “Wayne’s World” celebrates its 25th anniversary with a two-night theatrical rerelease Tuesday and Wednesday. The event will include a videotaped discussion among Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere and other cast members, as well as Spheeris and producer Lorne Michaels. (For tickets, visit WaynesWorld25.com)
The film was based on a popular “Saturday Night Live” sketch that premiered Feb. 18, 1989, with Myers and Carvey as two headbangers who broadcast a public-access show from a basement.
Myers started doing the character at parties when he was just 11, and later performed Wayne on Canadian television.
Carvey’s socially awkward Garth was based on the comedian’s older brother, Brad. Carvey had trotted out a version of Garth at his “SNL” audition.
The sketch, with its memorable “schwing!” and “party on” catchphrases, became such a hit that Paramount greenlit a feature film — only the second based on an “SNL” sketch after 1980’s “The Blues Brothers.”
Could a sketch carry an entire movie?
“That was a big concern from, not only the studio, but from the writers and Mike and Dana and Lorne,” says Spheeris, who was hired, in part, because she’d recently made a documentary about heavy metal.
The film had to be shot quickly — in just 34 days during the summer of 1991 — because of Myers’ and Carvey’s “SNL” schedule and a chintzy $14 million budget.
“Wayne’s World” helped make Rob Lowe a viable comedic actor and also marked the feature debut of Chris Farley, who had a cameo as an enthusiastic partygoer.
“Lorne called and said, ‘I found this funny guy and he’s extremely shy, so you have to be really careful with him,’ ” Spheeris says. “Chris was so uncomfortable in his own skin. We played on his nervousness.”
The film’s most memorable scene is its opener, in which Wayne, Garth and some friends lip-sync to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” while driving around in the Pacer.
The studio had hoped to include a Guns N’ Roses song, but Myers insisted on Queen. During the song’s harder bit, Spheeris suggested the guys vigorously bang their heads. Myers threw his neck out, and it’s clear in other scenes filmed the following two days that he’s having trouble turning his head.
Carvey failed to memorize the song’s lyrics, so he just mumbled in his close-up shots.
The audience was going nuts. I and the studio were astounded. They knew right then they had a hit.
Other bands failed to give the film their blessing. Myers wanted Aerosmith to perform, but the band insisted it was “too busy.” Alice Cooper got the gig instead.
Expectations for the film were low, and even Myers thought it was awful. An early test screening proved otherwise.
“The audience was going nuts,” Spheeris says. “I and the studio were astounded. They knew right then they had a hit.”
Myers was later comforted when he saw ticket buyers lining up for shows at the 84th and Broadway cinema across the street from his apartment.
The film’s success spawned numerous “SNL” adaptations — none of which did as well.
“The fact that it connected with so many people is mind-boggling,” Spheeris says.
This is Wayne’s World. We’re all still just living in it.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
