50 Fun Facts About American Graffiti

Who directed American Graffiti?

It was Lucas's second feature after THX 1138 and the first film produced under the Lucasfilm banner.

The film is set over one night in which California city?

It was Lucas's home town, but he thought it had changed too much in ten years and shot elsewhere.

In what year is American Graffiti set?

The night is Sunday, September 2, the last day of summer vacation, two months before the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Which burger joint is the friends' meeting place at the start of the film?

The scenes were shot at the real Mel's in San Francisco, which was demolished soon after filming.

Who plays Curt Henderson, the graduate having second thoughts about leaving for college?

More than 100 unknowns auditioned; Lucas was so taken with Dreyfuss's reading of the part that he offered him his pick of Curt or Toad.

Ron Howard plays which character?

Howard took the part to escape his child-actor image, then played the almost identical Richie Cunningham on Happy Days.

What is the nickname of Terry Fields, played by Charles Martin Smith?

He tells Debbie he is known as 'Terry the Tiger'; Bob Balaban had turned the part down for fear of typecasting.

The blonde who mouths 'I love you' to Curt is driving what car?

A cut opening scene had her drive through an empty drive-in cinema, transparent, revealing she does not exist.

What is the greaser gang called that makes Curt hook a chain to a police car?

Their leader tells Curt the blonde is a prostitute, which he refuses to believe.

Which vehicle does Terry actually own, as he finally admits to Debbie?

She decides it is 'almost a motorcycle' and agrees to see him again; the shot of him arriving on it was an on-set goof Lucas kept.

How old is Carol, the girl who talks her way into John Milner's car for the night?

Mackenzie Phillips was the same age, so producer Gary Kurtz had to become her legal guardian for the shoot under California law.

What did Harrison Ford insist on before taking the part of Bob Falfa?

The script called for a flattop; the compromise was a Stetson. Ford was concentrating on carpentry at the time.

Where does the climactic drag race between Milner and Falfa take place?

Falfa's tyre blows and his car rolls and burns; the scene was actually shot on Frates Road outside Petaluma, where two camera operators were nearly killed.

Where does Curt go to ask that a message for the blonde be read on the air?

The man who tells him the Wolfman 'is everywhere' and the shows are taped turns out to be the Wolfman himself.

According to the epilogue, what became of Curt Henderson?

Curt was modelled on Lucas's own personality in his USC years; the other three fates go to Steve, Toad and Milner respectively.

The epilogue says Terry 'The Toad' Fields was reported missing in action in 1965 near which place?

Pauline Kael criticised the epilogue for giving the fates of the four boys and none of the girls; Lucas said another title card would drag the ending out.

Which producer challenged Lucas to write a mainstream coming-of-age film during the making of THX 1138?

Coppola's name went on the film after The Godfather so Universal could sell it as 'from the man who gave you The Godfather'.

Which Fellini film did Lucas cite as an inspiration for the story?

Fellini's 1953 film follows a group of young men drifting through life in a provincial town, much as Lucas's friends drifted through Modesto.

What was the working title of the project before it became American Graffiti?

Universal later pushed more than 60 alternatives, including Coppola's Rock Around the Block, because executives did not know what 'graffiti' meant.

Which husband-and-wife writing team co-wrote the treatment and later drafts with Lucas?

They left mid-project to make their own film, Messiah of Evil, and returned to help fix the Steve and Laurie storyline.

Which studio gave Lucas $10,000 to develop the treatment into a screenplay, then rejected the script?

The same studio passed on Lucas's untitled space opera; both projects then landed at Universal, which took a first-look deal on Star Wars.

Universal's original budget was $600,000. Roughly how much did it add once Coppola signed on as producer?

The final cost was about $777,000, which the film returned many hundreds of times over.

Filming began in San Rafael, but the city withdrew permission after how many days?

The production moved 20 miles north to Petaluma without losing a single shooting day.

Most of the film was shot in which small town north of San Rafael?

The town still holds an annual cruise night in the film's honour; the sock hop was shot at Tamalpais High in Mill Valley.

Which cast member ended up in hospital after an allergic reaction to walnuts?

Le Mat also threw Dreyfuss into a pool, gashing his forehead the day before his close-ups.

Le Mat, Ford and Bo Hopkins were said to hold nightly climbing competitions up which structure?

Ford was thrown out of his room at the same motel, and one actor set fire to Lucas's.

Lucas shot the film in which inexpensive widescreen format that uses only half of each 35mm frame?

The format gave the documentary look he wanted but caused lighting problems, so Haskell Wexler was brought in as 'visual consultant'.

Which editor, fresh from The Sugarland Express, did Universal insist on hiring for the first rough cut?

Lucas had wanted his wife Marcia; Fields left to work on What's Up, Doc? and later cut Jaws.

How long was the first cut of the film?

Cutting it to 112 minutes broke Lucas's strict 'ABCD' rotation of the four storylines.

Which sound designer suggested making Wolfman Jack's radio show the 'backbone' of the film?

The phone calls heard on the broadcasts were real calls from Wolfman Jack's own tapes.

Which major star is absent from the soundtrack because his label refused Universal's flat-fee deal?

RCA would not take the same fee as every other publisher; clearing the rest cost about $90,000 and left nothing for a score.

MCA's soundtrack album was titled how many 'Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti'?

The only song from the film left off was 'Gee' by the Crows, which turned up on a second volume.

Universal initially planned to release American Graffiti in what form?

Word of mouth among studio staff changed minds; it opened in selected theatres in Los Angeles and New York and became a sleeper hit.

When Universal wanted to re-edit Lucas's cut, what did Coppola offer to do?

Fox and Paramount made similar offers; Universal only relented after The Godfather won Best Picture in March 1973.

Universal eventually cut only three short scenes. Which of these was one of them?

The others were Toad with a fast-talking car salesman and Steve arguing with his old teacher Mr. Kroot; all were restored in the 1978 reissue.

The film premiered in August 1973 at a festival in Locarno, which is in which country?

The Locarno festival screening came nine days before the U.S. release; the film later became a cult hit in France.

American Graffiti became Universal's highest-grossing film ever, until which 1974 film passed it?

It had taken the crown from Airport (1970); Jaws would reset everything a year later.

How many Academy Award nominations did the film receive?

They included Best Picture and Best Director; Candy Clark was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The film was added to the National Film Registry in which year?

The Library of Congress selects films it deems culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.

Why was John Milner's epilogue death date moved from June to December 1964 for the 1978 reissue?

More American Graffiti (1979) follows the characters through four New Year's Eves from 1964 to 1967.

The airliner in the final airfield scene had earlier been leased by which rock band?

The Magic Carpet Airlines DC-7C flew the band on tour from March to June 1971 before it turned up at Buchanan Field in Concord.

Which future Star Wars star was among the Bay Area hopefuls seen during the casting process?

Casting director Fred Roos, who had cast The Godfather, ran the search through high-school drama groups and community theatres.

The film's success is credited with inspiring which long-running TV sitcom starring Ron Howard?

The show launched in 1974 and ran eleven seasons; Cindy Williams got a spin-off of her own in Laverne & Shirley.

Which casting director, a Godfather veteran and ex-Andy Griffith Show hand, suggested Ron Howard for Steve?

Howard took the role to break out of his child-actor mould, then played the similar Richie Cunningham on Happy Days.

Which actor turned down the role of Terry 'The Toad' Fields for fear of typecasting, and later regretted it?

Charles Martin Smith took the part; Lucas had offered Richard Dreyfuss his choice of Curt or Toad.

How was Harrison Ford's long hair hidden, given the script called for Bob Falfa to have a flattop?

Ford, then focused on carpentry, refused a haircut in case he was offered contemporary 1970s roles.

Which producer had to become 12-year-old Mackenzie Phillips's legal guardian during filming under California law?

Cindy Williams, cast as Laurie, had hoped for the part of Debbie, which went to Candy Clark.

How much did Lucas set aside from his American Graffiti windfall as an independent fund for his space opera project?

The film made him an instant millionaire with a $4 million net worth, and the project became Star Wars.

What altered licence plate does John Milner's yellow deuce coupe carry, referencing Lucas's earlier film?

After filming the coupe went unsold in newspaper ads even at $1,500; only Ron Howard's '58 Impala found a buyer.

Which director credited American Graffiti as a visual influence on Fight Club (1999)?

Lucas's own Attack of the Clones nods to the film with Anakin's yellow airspeeder and Dex's Diner.