Did You Know?
The song that Milla Jovovich plinks on her guitar whilst gazing at the stars is an excerpt from The Alien Song, a song from Milla's 1994 album, The Divine Comedy.
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Matthew McConaughey's production company's name, JKL Productions, comes from Wooderson's life credo: Just Keep Livin'!
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On Thursday 7 October 2004, former high school classmates of Linklater filed a lawsuit against Universal Studios saying that the director did not get their permission to use their likenesses and surnames and now suffer from ridicule. The three men are Bobby Wooderson, Andy Slater and Richard Floyd. The three men still live in Huntsville, Texas where according to the lawsuit "we had fun in high school." The lawsuit was eventually dismissed due to the statute of limitations having expired.
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Reportedly one-sixth of the film's budget was spent on acquiring the rights to 1970s pop hits on the soundtrack.
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Pink's belt buckle is really a pipe; this is evident when Wooderson and Dawson are talking about the freshman girls in front of the Emporium.
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While filming in Texas, Milla Jovovich (Michelle) and 'Shawn Andrews' (Kevin Pickford) eloped to Las Vegas and got married. However, Jovovich was only 16/17 at the time and her mother had the marriage annulled.
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The beer drunk by most of the cast (excluding minors) was actually real beer. Jason London, however, refused to drink the beer and was trying to stop smoking as well.
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All the wooden paddles were custom designed by the stars themselves. Check for one that says "17 yrs", noticing the year difference between the movie and the plot setting.
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Adam Goldberg, in a 2003 Texas Monthly feature recapping the movie, said that the fight scene between his and Nicky Katt's characters was what specifically led him to want the role.
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Rory Cochrane, who played Slater in the movie, actually wore a long-hair wig in the film. He said that he'd never had long hair before and that, despite the "cosmopolitan" atmosphere of Austin, Texas, he still got a lot of strange looks from people outside the set.
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When Randall "Pink" Floyd drives Mitch Kramer home, the 8-track they have playing in the car is "Frampton Comes Alive".
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Prior to filming, Wiley Wiggins (Mitch Kramer) had never thrown a baseball in his life. Because of this, a double was used in the pitching scenes.
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In the scene where the kids are building the paddles the teacher in the shop (sleeping) is actually a real teacher at that school and still works there.
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Vince Vaughn auditioned for Benny, but was turned down after director Richard Linklater decided that he and Ben Affleck resembled each other too closely. Cole Hauser was cast in the role instead.
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O'Bannion's car is a 1972 Plymouth Duster 340 and Pickford's car is a 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge.
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Led Zeppelin recorded a song entitled "Dazed and Confused" on the album "Led Zeppelin 1" released in 1969. There is a subtle reference/homage to Led Zeppelin in the movie. In the scene where Don gets Benny out of woodshop, just after Don gets Slater's attention to signal Benny, listen for Slater's line, "Man, I ain't belivin' that shit about Bonham's 1-hour drum solo...I mean, 1 hour on drums...you couldn't handle that shit on strong acid, man." This is a reference to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham who would frequently perform extended drum solos at concerts. His typical solo was entitled "Moby Dick".
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The statues which Milla Jovovich adds 'KISS' makeup to were featured more prominently in the shooting script. Several scenes were filmed from their theft to their confiscation by the police. Some of these scenes were included as DVD bonus features, but several have never been officially released. Shortly after the film's release, Gene Simmons reportedly purchased the two statues for his private collection. He later sold them at the Butterfield's KISS Auction in 2000, for $6,000.
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Mike, Tony and Cynthia featured in additional scenes, including one in which they steal beer from Cynthia's neighbor's garage (accompanying this scene was Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath"). This scene was shot but was not included in DVD bonus footage.
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Ron talks about how George Washington grew marijuana on his plantation at Mount Vernon which is true but it was not grown for people to smoke. He had large fields of cannabis on his plantation, which were used for fiber production. The tough fiber of the plant, cultivated as hemp, has numerous textile uses.
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Richard Linklater originally wanted the Led Zeppelin song 'Rock and Roll' for the movie playing during the end credits, but he didn't get it. Jimmy Page agreed for Linklater to use the song, but Robert Plant denied.
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Renée Zellweger auditioned for a larger role as one of the senior girls but was given the uncredited non-speaking role of Nesi White.
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Top Notch Burgers, the drive-in restaurant in the movie, closed November 14, 2008, after the owner James Stanish passed away. Mr. Stanish worked at Top Notch for 38 years since he was 12 years old. His father originally started the business which he eventually took over. The restaurant has since been reopened (4-12-09).
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Shawn Andrews and Jason London did not get along during the shoot, and Richard Linklater eventually had to break them up from fighting at one point. This wound up changing the ending, as it was to feature Pickford instead of Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey). This also accounts for their virtual lack of dialogue between each other, despite being in each other's scenes quite a bit.
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Bob Dylan's "Hurricane", which plays as Wooderson, Pink and Mitch walk into the pool hall, does not appear on either volume of the Dazed and Confused soundtrack.
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The shirt Wooderson is seen wearing throughout the movie has the Ted Nugent album "Amboy Dukes" on it.
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Parker Posey and Joey Lauren Adams appeared in the movie Coneheads as friends of Michelle Burke's character.
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