John Hughes is known for making popular movies about teenagers in the 1980s. He started as a National Lampoon's Magazine writer and then began writing scripts in 1979. In 1984, he directed "Sixteen Candles". The next year, he directed two well-known movies, "The Breakfast Club" and this 80s flick. Many people think "The Breakfast Club" is better, but this one is special because it mixes comedy with science fiction. The movie is about two unpopular boys in high school who use a computer to create the "perfect woman." The woman they create, Lisa, is beautiful and has magical powers. This leads to many funny and exciting situations. If you'd like to hear more about "Weird Science" from 1985, you can listen to this podcast episode with Tim Williams and guest co-hosts Ben Carpenter, Darby Mirocha, and Laramy Wells.
Here are some additional behind-the-scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
- The pianist at the party, played by Kym Malin, did her own stunts, which were quite elaborate. For the scene, Malin was attached to a scaffold and lifted up the chimney where a large vacuum tore her clothes off. After that, a crane lifted her out of the chimney and dropped her into the backyard swimming pool.
- The film went by some very different titles in different movie markets across the globe. In Japan, the film was called "Electric Venus", in Germany, it was named "Cool Magic with Lisa". In Denmark, it was released as "Touch Me, I’m Yours", while in Finland and Sweden, the film was known as "Dream Woman".
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://screenrant.com/behind-scenes-facts-about-making-of-weird-science/
https://www.firstforwomen.com/entertainment/movies-shows/weird-science-10-bizarre-behind-the-scenes-facts
https://www.eightieskids.com/things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-weird-science/
Some sections were composed by ChatGPT
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