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Prior to the film's 19 August 1982 Los Angeles release, a news story reported that the 5 July 1982 Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) bulletin had granted the film an X-rating, due to a love scene between Stacy Hamilton and Mike Damone, which featured full-frontal male nudity. As the picture was "the first major studio film in some time" to be given an X-rating, Universal agreed to edit the scene, allowing the MPAA to re-issue the film as R. Jennifer Jason Leigh explained that teenage test audiences had found the scene "too graphic", and the actress expressed her disappointment that the re-cut version eliminated the sense of awkward hesitancy between the two characters, who weren't ready for sex.
First-time director Amy Heckerling said she was seeking to make a comedy that was less structured than conventional ones, and more like American Graffiti (1973) so that "if you woke up and found yourself living in the movie, you'd be happy. I wanted that kind of feel."
According to Brian Backer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and her family allowed him to stay at their house for no charge till filming wrapped being that he flew down to star in the film from his hometown of Brooklyn and was pretty broke.
Universal originally planned to only release the film in the Western part of the United States for a few weeks before sending it off to cable (regional releases were still common at this time) due to the belief that there was no audience for it. After an excellent response, the film went wide three weeks later with a big opening in the Eastern United States and had a long run in theaters.
Nicolas Cage lied about his age so that he could get a bigger part, but the producers eventually found out that he was only 17.
Near the beginning, right after Mr. Hand sends Spicoli to the office for being late to class, Mr. Hand passes out the class schedule of quizzes. After the paper is passed out, the students put the page up to their noses and deeply inhale. This was a popular school ritual of the 1960s, '70s, and early '80s as photocopying machines were very expensive, so ditto machines were used. The resulting copies did not get you high, but they smelled good.
Nancy Wilson: wife of writer Cameron Crowe and Heart band member appears as the woman in the car beside Brad's, laughing at his pirate costume.
Lana Clarkson: as Mr. Vargas's wife in the high school dance scene. Clarkson was murdered by music producer Phil Spector on February 2, 2003. She is YOUNGER than Jennifer Jason Leigh who plays a student.