Trivia
The Smithereens were commissioned by Cameron Crowe to write the theme song for the movie, and they came up with "A Girl Like You". Crowe thought that the lyrics were too leading (they outline the entire plot), so he rejected it in favor of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes". "A Girl Like You" went on to be included in The Smithereens' next album, "11", and in the movie Backdraft by Ron Howard.
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Director Cameron Crowe couldn't find the love song he wanted until he heard Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes". Gabriel asked to see part of the movie. Crowe had the production company send him an unfinished cut. Gabriel responded by saying he would let them use the song, as he liked the film. He was, however, wary about the part where the lead character overdosed at the end. It was then that Crowe realized that Gabriel had been sent a copy of Wired instead.
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When Lloyd (John Cusack) drives along 45th street in Seattle, he passes the Guild 45th Theatre, which is showing Tapeheads, in which Cusack also appeared.
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Cameron Crowe said in an interview, "Few people know this, but Stone Gossard is actually in Say Anything... He plays a cab driver, and Ione Skye looks at him and kind of flirts with him a little bit as they're stuck in traffic on her way to graduation."
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John Cusack's kick boxing scenes in the ring, including the one where his nose is broken, are done with Don 'The Dragon' Wilson who is a real-life kick boxing champion.
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Christian Slater auditioned for the role of Lloyd Dobbler but director Cameron Crowe was adamant about getting John Cusack. Also, there was a tie between Ione Skye and actress Jennifer Connelly for the role of Diane Court.
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The dojo featured in this movie is the same one that was used in The Karate Kid as the Cobra Kai dojo.
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When Lloyd holds up the radio, it is actually playing a song by the group Fishbone. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel was added post-production.
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Lloyd makes several references in the movie to "Bell Square" mall, short for Bellevue Square (located in Bellevue, Washington). When Lloyd is driving in the rain and sees the mall, he is actually driving by Westlake Center (located in downtown Seattle).
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Producer James L. Brooks said what inspired this movie was an incident where Brooks saw a man walking with his daughter. He saw them and wondered what would happen if the father committed a crime. Those thoughts were used to create the story.
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John Cusack put a scar on his right eyebrow for Lloyd's character. He says that the story behind that is that someone threw a rock at Lloyd when he was a kid.
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The movie's line "I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen." was voted as the #73 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
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Lloyd and Diane's school appears to be based on The Lakeside School, which is a very prestigious Seattle private school. In the movie, the school is called "Lakewood" (and has a rooster mascot, rather than a lion), but in Lloyd's first phone conversation with Diane, John Cusack mentions that at his annual party, Lloyd "dresses up as the Lakeside rooster."
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Ione Skye once dated Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose song "Taste the Pain" opens the movie.
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Loren Dean, Peter Berg and Todd Field auditioned for the role of Lloyd Dobler. Dean eventually ended up playing the role of Joe.
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Director Cameo
Cameron Crowe:
and wife Nancy Wilson as pedestrians in front of the mall as Lloyd passes by while recalling the site of their first "date".
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