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Spoilers (1)
Keanu Reeves observed real FBI agents in L.A. to study for the role. He also practiced with UCLA quarterback coaches to help with the football scene.
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Tyler explains to Johnny Utah that Patrick Swayze's character is named Bodhi, the Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is a term in the Buddhist religion meaning an enlightened being who, out of compassion, forgoes nirvana in order to save others. Bodhi means "wakefulness".
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Matthew Broderick was originally offered the role of Johnny Utah. Others who auditioned were Johnny Depp and Charlie Sheen .
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Two scenes from the movie that were deleted from the final cut but were shown in the theatrical trailer are:
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- Bodhi and Utah are in Bodhi's truck. Utah is shooting with a gun on the left side. Bodhi says, "This is gonna be a great day, Johnny!"
- Utah meets Harp at his office with his surfboard. Harp is angry and says, "You are not here to pick up girls, Utah." Utah replies, "The original term is 'babes', sir!"
During the raid on the drug dealers' house, a poster for Metallica's hit single One is briefly visible.
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Johnny reports to Angelo on Bhodi's movements that day. He comments on how he ate lunch at Patrick's Roadhouse, which is an actual restaurant in LA. It might also be construed as a reference to Patrick Swayze's movie Road House.
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When Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) is introduced to Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) on the beach, he remarks that Utah's surfboard reminds him of a '57 Chevy he used to have. Swayze previously drove a '57 Chevy in Dirty Dancing.
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Another title considered for the movie was "Johnny Utah", but Patrick Swayze's star was still on the rise, and the idea was dropped.
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This is the first movie that Keanu Reeves would play a former Quarterback from Ohio State. He would later appear as another former Quarterback from Ohio State in The Replacements.
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In this movie, Johnny Utah is a former football player-turned FBI agent. In Black Dog, Sonny, one of the characters, is a football player-turned FBI agent.
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The beach spot where the football game at the beginning of the film is the same spot used for the soccer game in The Karate Kid.
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The girl seen dancing (after the guy shakes his tongue at the camera) when Utah enters Bodhi's house party is the same dancer in Billy Idol's 'Cradle of Love' music video
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In-Joke/Obscure Reference: In one scene, Johnny Utah (Reeves) tells Bodhi (Swayze), "Meet me at Patrick's Roadhouse". Road House is a movie starring Patrick Swayze made just 2 years prior.
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In her DVD commentary for her movie Strange Days, director Kathryn Bigelow describes filming the foot chase scenes in Point Break using a stripped-down, hand-held 35mm camera nicknamed the "Pogo-Cam". The camera weighed 18 pounds and was equipped with gyro-stabilizer borrowed from a Steadicam. A wire loop on top of the camera gave Steadicam operator 'James Muro' a rough idea of what was in the frame as he followed the actors at breakneck speed.
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The skinny, long-haired guy in Warchild and Bunker's gang is none other than Anthony Kiedis, lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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During the party scene, the song If 6 Was 9, performed by Jimi Hendrix is played in the background. The film's director Kathryn Bigelow and Hendrix share the same birth date (both on November 27).
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