50 Fun Facts About School of Rock

Who directed the 2003 film School of Rock?

The Austin filmmaker behind Dazed and Confused personally scouted the country for 13-year-old musicians who could really play.

Who plays Dewey Finn?

His performance earned a Golden Globe nomination, which he lost to Bill Murray for Lost in Translation.

What is the name of the band that fires Dewey at the start of the film?

The replacement guitarist is called Spider, and the band goes on to win the Battle of the Bands anyway.

What ends Dewey's final performance with his old band?

The gag was inspired by a real stage dive gone wrong that the star once saw Ian Astbury of The Cult attempt.

Whose identity does Dewey steal to get the substitute-teaching job?

The roommate is played by screenwriter Mike White, whose girlfriend Patty is played by Sarah Silverman.

What is the name of the prep school where Dewey teaches?

The building is really Main Hall at Wagner College on Staten Island, and every hallway scene was shot in a single corridor.

Why does Dewey tell the class to call him "Mr. S"?

He behaves so erratically on day one that the class has no idea what to make of him.

How many months behind on rent is Dewey when the film begins?

Patty pushes Ned to demand the money, which is what drives Dewey to try selling his gear and then to steal the teaching job.

Which student becomes the band's lead guitarist?

His overbearing father disapproves of rock, and it is Zack's own song the band plays at the Battle of the Bands.

Katie plays which classical instrument before Dewey moves her to bass?

The kids in the film were all real young musicians recruited in a nationwide search.

What job does the precocious Summer Hathaway land in Dewey's project?

The role was Miranda Cosgrove's film debut, three years before iCarly.

Which student is too self-conscious to audition despite having an amazing voice?

Dewey coaxes her out by pointing to plus-sized singers like Aretha Franklin, and she ends up with a show-stopping solo.

What lie gets the band an audition slot after the Battle of the Bands bill is full?

The idea comes from Summer, whose ruthless management skills earn her the job in the first place.

Dewey bonds with Principal Mullins over her love of which singer?

"Edge of Seventeen" is on the soundtrack, and Andrew Lloyd Webber insisted the musical keep a Stevie Nicks song too.

Who plays Principal Rosalie Mullins?

On Broadway the part went to Sierra Boggess, whom critics called the closest thing the show had to a female lead.

How does Ned discover that Dewey has been impersonating him?

Dewey begs him not to tell Patty, who ends up bringing the police to parents' night anyway.

Who wins the Battle of the Bands?

The crowd chants for an encore from the kids anyway, and Dewey ends up running School of Rock as an after-school program.

What real-world recordings inspired screenwriter Mike White's concept?

The Canadian schoolchildren's recordings of pop songs from the 1970s became a cult release in 2001.

The school exteriors and hallways were shot at which real campus?

The concert theatre in many shots was the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, New Jersey.

How did the filmmakers persuade Led Zeppelin to allow "Immigrant Song" in the film?

The plea was sent straight to Page, Plant and John Paul Jones, and the video is included on the DVD.

Which band backed the kids on the soundtrack recording of the title song and co-wrote it?

Sammy James Jr. wrote it with Mike White; the band also appears on the closing AC/DC cover.

Which AC/DC song do the kids cover for the encore in the finale?

The band reunited to play it again at the film's tenth-anniversary screening in Austin in 2013.

Which Darkness track was swapped onto the CD soundtrack because the film's version had too much foul language?

The soundtrack album came out on September 30, 2003, three days before the film.

Which Doors song does Dewey sing to Lawrence while the boy plays the keyboard part?

Lawrence's worry is that he is not cool enough for the band, which Dewey fixes with a lesson in attitude.

What was the film's production budget?

It grossed about $131 million worldwide, almost four times that figure.

Which 2015 film overtook School of Rock as the highest-grossing music-themed comedy?

The film opened at number one and stayed in the top ten for six weeks.

Which studio released the film in October 2003?

The same studio's television arm later teamed with Nickelodeon to make the TV adaptation.

What award did the star win at the MTV Movie Awards for the film?

The film also won Best Comedy Film at the 2004 British Comedy Awards.

What was the working title of the long-discussed sequel?

The plot would have followed Dewey taking summer-school students on a cross-country trip through rock history; the star declared it dead in 2012, then hinted at a revival in 2023.

Which composer bought the stage rights and wrote the musical's score?

It was his first show to open on Broadway before London since Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971.

Who wrote the book of the stage musical?

The Downton Abbey creator was an unlikely choice for a heavy-metal school comedy; Glenn Slater wrote the lyrics.

At which Broadway theatre did the musical open in December 2015?

The composer was returning to the house where his Cats had run for 18 years.

Who originated Dewey Finn on Broadway?

One critic called him "a gentler version of Jack Black, though still loud and rambunctious".

Why did the musical premiere on Broadway rather than in London?

The composer also credited America's after-school rock programs for producing kids who could actually play the show.

The West End production opened in November 2016 at which venue, then known as the New London?

It opened months earlier than planned because the child musicians proved easy to find, and the staging added a revolving stage and action in the aisles.

How many performances did the Broadway musical run before closing in January 2019?

It grossed just over $160 million during the run.

On which channel did the School of Rock TV series air from 2016 to 2018?

The show ran three seasons and moved the story to Austin, Texas.

In which city is the 2016 television series set?

The film's tenth-anniversary reunion screening had been held in the same city, the director's home base.

Who played Dewey Finn in the 2016 television series?

The cast also included Breanna Yde and Jade Pettyjohn as students in the secret band.

Which future iCarly star made her film debut as Summer Hathaway?

She went straight from the film to Drake & Josh and then iCarly.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give the film?

He praised it as proof that a family film could be "alive and well acted and smart and perceptive and funny—and that rocks."

On what date did filming begin?

Most scenes were shot around the New York City area, with the release following ten months later.

Which comedian plays Patty, Ned's domineering girlfriend?

Screenwriter Mike White himself plays Ned, who finally ends the relationship and shows up for the Battle of the Bands.

Jack Black lost his Golden Globe nomination for the film to which actor?

Murray won Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for Lost in Translation; Black did pick up an MTV Movie Award.

What is the name of the guitarist who replaces Dewey in No Vacancy?

Dewey discovers the swap when he turns up for rehearsal the day after his disastrous stage dive.

What approval rating does School of Rock hold on Rotten Tomatoes?

Metacritic scored it 82, 'universal acclaim', and CinemaScore audiences gave it an A-minus.

Which producer, later known for No Country for Old Men and The Social Network, produced School of Rock?

The film was written by Mike White and directed by Richard Linklater, best known for the Before trilogy and Boyhood.

Roughly how much did School of Rock gross worldwide?

That was almost four times its budget, with $81 million coming from the US and Canada after six weeks in the top ten.

Which singer's real-life stage dive gone wrong, witnessed by Jack Black, inspired Dewey's opening mishap?

Mike White's overall concept, meanwhile, came from The Langley Schools Music Project recordings.

In which New Jersey city is the Union County Performing Arts Center, a theatre used in many shots?

Most of the film was shot around New York City, with the school scenes at Wagner College on Staten Island.