School Daze (1988)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee (written by)

Release Date:

12 February 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Plot:

A not so popular young man wants to pledge to a popular fraternity at his historically black college.

Plot Keywords:

College | Historically Black College | Feud | Interracial | Directed By Co Star

Cast

Laurence Fishburne	...	Dap
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Julian
Tisha Campbell-Martin	...	Jane Toussaint (as Tisha Campbell)
Kyme	...	Rachel Meadows
Joe Seneca	...	President McPherson
Ellen Holly	...	Odrie McPherson
Art Evans	...	Cedar Cloud
Ossie Davis	...	Coach Odom
Bill Nunn	...	Grady
James Bond III	...	Monroe
Branford Marsalis	...	Jordan
Kadeem Hardison	...	Edge
Eric Payne	...	Booker T. (as Eric A. Payne)
Spike Lee	...	Half-Pint
Anthony Thompkins	...	Doo-Doo Breath
Guy Killum	...	Double Rubber
Dominic Hoffman	...	Mustafa
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Yoda (as Roger Smith)
Kirk Taylor	...	Sir Nose
Kevin Rock	...	Mussolini
Erik Dellums	...	Slim Daddy (as Eric Dellums)
Darryl M. Bell	...	Big Brother X-Ray Vision
Rusty Cundieff	...	Big Brother Chucky
Cylk Cozart	...	Big Brother Dr. Feelgood
Tim Hutchinson	...	Big Brother Lance
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Big Brother General George Patton (as Leonard Thomas)
Joie Lee	...	Lizzie Life
Alva Rogers	...	Doris Witherspoon
Delphine T. Mantz	...	Delphine
Terri Lynette Whitlow	...	Terri
Tanya Lynne Lee	...	Tanya
Jacquelyn Bird	...	Jacquelyn
Traci Tracey	...	Traci
Sharon Ferrol-Young	...	Sharon (as Sharon Ferrol)
Laurnea Wilkerson	...	Laurnea
Stephanie Clark	...	Stephanie
Eartha Robinson	...	Eartha
Angela Ali	...	Velda
Jhoe Breedlove	...	Kim
Paula Brown	...	Miriam
Tyra Ferrell	...	Tasha
Jasmine Guy	...	Dina
Karen Owens	...	Deidre
Michelle Whitney-Morrison	...	Vivian (as Michelle Whitney Morrison)
Greta Martin	...	Greta
Sharon Owens	...	Sharon
Frances Morgan	...	Frances
Monique Mannen	...	Monique 'Mo-Freak'
Gregg Burge	...	Virgil Cloyd
Cinqué Lee	...	Buckwheat (as Cinque Lee)
Kasi Lemmons	...	Perry
Toni Ann Johnson	...	Muriel
Paula Birth	...	Carla
Tracy Robinson	...	Roz
A.J. Johnson	...	Cecilia
Cassi Davis	...	Paula (as Cassandra Davis)
Michelle Bailey	...	Tina
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Leeds
Edward G. Bridges	...	Moses
Dennis Abrams	...	Eric
Albert B. Cooper IV	...	Spoon (as Albert Cooper)
Tracy Lewis	...	Counter Girl (as Tracey Lewis)
Kelly Woolfolk	...	Vicky
Florante P. Galvez	...	Student in Bathroom
Leslie Sykes	...	Miss Mission
Dawn Jackson	...	1st Attendant
Angela Lewis	...	2nd Attendant
Reginald Tabor	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
Robert L. Cole Jr.	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
Lester McCorn	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
William N. Ross	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
Keith Wright	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
Derek W. Jones	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
Harold L. Boyd III	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
Rod Hodge	...	Alpha Phi Alpha Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Phyllis Hyman	...	Phyllis (uncredited)
Keith John	...	Singer at coronation (uncredited)
Andre' LaMont	...	Student Protestor (uncredited)
Janice White Nelson	...	Student (uncredited)
M.V. Oliphant	...	Dancer / Student Protester (uncredited)

Directed by
Spike Lee

Writing credits
Spike Lee		(written by)

Produced by
Grace Blake	....	executive producer
Loretha C. Jones	....	co-producer
Spike Lee	....	producer
Monty Ross	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Bill Lee

Cinematography by
Ernest R. Dickerson		(photographed by) (as Ernest Dickerson)

Film Editing by
Barry Alexander Brown

Casting by
Robi Reed-Humes		(as Robi Reed)

Production Design by
Wynn Thomas

Art Direction by
Alan Trumpler		(as Allan Trumpler)

Set Decoration by
Lynn Wolverton-Parker		(as Lynn Wolverton)

Costume Design by
Ruth E. Carter		(as Ruthe Carter)

Makeup Department
Larry M. Cherry	....	assistant makeup artist (as Larry Cherry)
Teddy Jenkins	....	hair stylist
Teddy Jenkins	....	makeup artist
Janay Shabbaz	....	assistant hair stylist
Janay Shabbaz	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Matia Karrell	....	production manager
Brian O'Kelly	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shirlene Alicia Blake	....	additional assistant director
Parnes Cartwright	....	additional second assistant director
Randy Fletcher	....	first assistant director
Roderick Giles	....	additional second assistant director
Lisa Jones	....	additional second assistant director
David Taylor	....	second assistant director

Art Department
George Balomes	....	scenic artist
Everett Douglas	....	construction crew
Ron Goldsmith	....	set dresser
Harley Gould	....	construction crew
Michael Hitchcock	....	sculptor
Rhett Johnson	....	construction crew
John R. Johnston	....	construction crew (as John Johnson)
Gretchen Kibbe	....	scenic artist
Irby Langley	....	construction coordinator
Alba Leone	....	lead person
Suzi Margolin	....	property master
Anthony 'Wolf' Mays	....	construction crew chief
Bruce Morton	....	property production assistant
Michael Shannon	....	set dresser
Suzanne Silver	....	scenic artist
Tyler Smith	....	sculptor
Christine A. Soloperto	....	assistant property master (as Christine Soloperto)
Pam Stephens	....	art department production assistant
Brian Stultz	....	scenic construction
Buckey Weatherall	....	master carpenter
Mark Welch	....	scenic artist
Richard Blake Wester	....	set dresser (as Richard Webster)
Edward Hotchkiss	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Stuart Deutsch	....	boom operator
Michael DiCosimo	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Mike DiCosmo)
Harriet Fidlow	....	looping editor (as Harriet Fidlow Winn)
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rudy Gaskins	....	assistant sound editor
J. Kathleen Gibson	....	assistant sound editor
Kenton Jakub	....	assistant sound editor
Bruce Kitzmeyer	....	foley editor
Dan Korintus	....	assistant sound editor
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Kevin Lee	....	sound editor
Peter Odabashian	....	sound editor
Rolf Pardula	....	sound mixer
Leander T. Sales	....	apprentice sound editor (as Leander Sales)
Maurice Schell	....	sound designer
Ira Spiegel	....	sound editor
Alex Steyermark	....	assistant sound editor
Brunilda Torres	....	assistant sound editor
Leo Trombetta	....	assistant sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Daniel Aguar	....	grip
Norman Andrews	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Louis 'Bolaji' Bailey	....	grip production assistant
Larry Banks	....	gaffer
Bill Bennett	....	grip
Alton Brown	....	Steadicam operator
Allan Bullard	....	pre-rig grip
Ron Burchfield	....	pre-rig grip
Marivee Cade	....	pre-rig gaffer (as Marifee Cade)
Addison Cook	....	fifth electrician
Sam Enriquez	....	second assistant camera
Eddie Evans	....	pre-rig grip
Carl Johnson	....	third electrician
Mustapha Khan	....	second assistant camera: second unit (as Mustafa Khan)
David Lee	....	still photographer
Scott W. Leftridge	....	dolly grip (as Scott Leftridge)
Todd MacNicholl	....	key grip (as Todd McNichol)
John F. Massie	....	fourth electrician (as John Massey)
Tully McCulloch	....	best boy grip
Mark Moore	....	best boy electric
LeRoy Patton	....	second camera operator (as Leroi Patton)
D.L. 'Pete' Peterson	....	generator operator (as Dennis 'Pete' Peterson)
Frank Prinzi	....	second camera operator
Nate Ranger	....	assistant camera
Larry Robertson	....	lighting designer: concert lighting
Robert Shuford	....	grip
Karma Stanley	....	first assistant camera
Marcus Turner	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Mike West	....	additional first assistant camera: "b" camera

Casting Department
Hillary Francais	....	casting assistant
Mikki Powell	....	casting assistant: Los Angeles

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jennifer Ingram	....	wardrobe supervisor
Willi Smith	....	costume designer: Miss Mission College court gowns

Editorial Department
Cinqué Lee	....	apprentice editor
Noëlle Penraat	....	negative matcher
Meredith Woods	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Terence Blanchard	....	musician
Louis Cerborino	....	music editor (as Lou Cerborino)
Branford Marsalis	....	musician
Consuela Lee Morehead	....	assistant music supervisor
James 'Jabbo' Ware	....	music copyist

Transportation Department
Louis 'Bolaji' Bailey	....	driver
William Butler	....	driver (as Bill Butler)
Albert B. Cooper IV	....	transportation coordinator (as Albert Cooper)
John Monroe	....	driver
Arnold Shipman	....	driver
Victor Townsend	....	driver
Erwin Wilson	....	driver

Other crew
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer
Tony Bingham	....	intern
Zelmer Bothic	....	technical advisor: fraternity life (as Zelmer 'Z-Dog' Bothic)
Tom Burns	....	intern (as Tommie Burns)
Tommie Burns	....	intern
James Cheeseman	....	piano tuner
Willa Clinton	....	unit publicist
Luther Conley	....	intern
Jeffrey Cooper	....	office production assistant (as Jeff Cooper)
Miranda Dowdy	....	intern
Tyrone Harris	....	location scout
Dyane Harvey	....	assistant choreographer
Felicia 'Fifi' Hopkins	....	intern
Alison Howard-Smith	....	assistant production office coordinator
Graig Hutchison	....	auditor (as Graig Hutchinson)
Pamm R. Jackson	....	assistant: Spike Lee (as Pamm Jackson)
Stephanie Jones	....	set production assistant
Steve Jones	....	office coordinator: New York
Kim Kearse	....	intern
Mustapha Khan	....	set production assistant (as Mustafa Khan)
Reni Mosley	....	intern
Donnell Nelson	....	intern
Dale M. Nielsen	....	production coordinator (as Dale M. Pierce)
Eric Oden	....	assistant auditor
Dale Pierce-Johnson	....	production office coordinator
Joe Rodman	....	set production assistant
Mindy Rodman	....	script supervisor
Otis Sallid	....	choreographer
Mevelyn Shannon	....	intern
Angela Carla Smith	....	intern
Alton Strange	....	intern
Shiela Tenney	....	intern
Tracey Willard	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures of Canada (1988) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:18 (original rating) | Iceland:L | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Trivia:

The matching kneepads that Kyme and 'Tisha Campbell' are wearing in the Straight and Nappy scene were not part of the wardrobe. Tisha Campbell had a knee injury throughout the shoot and the stylist gave Kyme a kneepad to match.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the Gamma Rays are singing I Don't Want to Be Alone Tonight, towards the end of the song, the audio and picture don't add up. The audio is slightly ahead.

Quotes:

Monroe:Learn to articulate, you juvenile delinquent!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Birth of a Nation: The Making of 'School Daze' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Kick Out the Tigers

It's not a good movie because you didn't go to a Black school?

So what if you went to Harvard and not Hampton, this film is still well-shot, well-acted and damn funny. If you can't understand the light vs. dark, town vs. gown, Greeks vs. GDI conflicts, maybe you don't... under... stand... English... well. I never saw the movie in its entirety until I was about 20 (and pledging at an HBCU, but that's another story) but it just got better as I got older. This movie is like many of Spike's: it's for a group of people (Black ones) that rarely get to tell their own stories. If other people get it, super. On a sidenote, what's so "universal" about Dirty Dancing? I've never had to drop out of a contest because of my botched abortion that Lenny from Law & Order had to come help me out with. I've also never been a small, Jewish man in New York City, but people seem to find Woody Allen's movies "universal" enough. Why don't these issues come up with movies made by whi... (ahem) other filmmakers?