In addition to Petaluma, other locations included Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco, Sonoma, Richmond, Novato, and the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord. The freshman hop dance was filmed in the Gus Gymnasium, previously known as the Boys Gym, at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.
Filming
American Graffiti
American Graffiti | Filming
Petaluma, "Mel's Drive-In" in San Francisco, Sonoma, Richmond, Novato, and the "Buchanan Field Airport" in Concord were some of the locations. Petaluma, Mel's Drive-In, Sonoma, Richmond, Novato, and the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord Petaluma. In addition to Petaluma, other locations included Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco, Sonoma, Richmond, Novato, and the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord.
where was the movie american graffiti filmed at
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The genesis of "American Graffiti" was in Lucas' own teenaged years in early 1960s Modesto. He was unsuccessful in pitching the concept to financiers and distributors, but found favor at Universal Pictures after every other major film studio turned him down. Filming was initially set to take place in San Rafael, California, but the production crew was denied permission to shoot beyond a second day. As a result, production was moved to Petaluma.
American Graffiti | Introduction
Although "American Graffiti" is set in 1962 Modesto, Lucas believed the city had changed too much in 10 years and initially chose San Rafael as the primary shooting location. Filming began on June 26, 1972. However, Lucas soon became frustrated at the time it was taking to fix camera mounts to the cars. A key member of the production had also been arrested for growing marijuana, and in addition to already running behind the shooting schedule, the San Rafael City Council immediately became concerned about the disruption that filming caused for local businesses, so withdrew permission to shoot beyond a second day.
American Graffiti | Filming
Jan D'Alquen and Ron Eveslage are American cinematographers best known for their work with film director George Lucas on the sleeper hit film, 1973's "American Graffiti". "American Graffiti" is a nostalgic portrait of teenage life in 1962 which spawned numerous imitations such as the TV series, "Happy Days", and films like "The Lords of Flatbush". The budget of "American Graffiti" was a mere $750,000 dollars, on a tight 28-day shooting schedule. Nonetheless, the film went on to gross more than $55 million, making it a blockbuster of its day. "American Graffiti" was shot entirely on location in small Northern California towns between the cruising hours of 9:00 p.m., when it was just dark enough, and 5:00 a.m., before the sun would come up.
Jan D'Alquen and Ron Eveslage | Introduction
Petaluma, a similarly small town about north of San Rafael, was more cooperative, and "American Graffiti" moved there without the loss of a single day of shooting. Lucas convinced the San Rafael City Council to allow two further nights of filming for general cruising shots, which he used to evoke as much of the intended location as possible in the finished film. Shooting in Petaluma began June 28 and proceeded at a quick pace. Lucas mimicked the filmmaking style of B-movie producer Sam Katzman ("Rock Around the Clock" and "Your Cheatin' Heart") in attempting to save money and authenticated low-budget filming methods.
American Graffiti | Filming
American Graffiti is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy film directed and co-written by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Harrison Ford, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Bo Hopkins, and Wolfman Jack. Suzanne Somers, Kathleen Quinlan, Debralee Scott, and Joe Spano also appear in the film. Set in Modesto, California, in 1962, the film is a study of the cruising and early rock 'n' roll cultures popular among Lucas's age group at the time. Through a series of vignettes, the film tells the story of a group of teenagers and their adventures over the course of a single night.
American Graffiti | Introduction
In addition to Petaluma, other locations included Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco, Sonoma, Richmond, Novato, and the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord. The freshman hop dance was filmed in the Gus Gymnasium, previously known as the Boys Gym, at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.
American Graffiti | Filming
The movie was written and directed by Bill L. Norton who was picked by Lucas as being suitable due to his California upbringing and experience with comedy. Lucas was involved in the production by acting as the executive producer, editing both Norton's screenplay and the finished motion picture, and even manning a camera for sequences set in the Vietnam War.
More American Graffiti | Production
One character burns his draft card, showing a younger audience what so many Americans had done on the television news ten years before the movie's release. Other characters are shown frantically disposing of their marijuana before a traffic stop as a police officer pulls them over, and another scene shows the police brutality during an anti-Vietnam protest. The fates of the main characters listed at the end of "American Graffiti" are updated at the end of this sequel. Wolfman Jack briefly reprised his role, but in voice only. The drag racing scenes were filmed at the Fremont Raceway, later Baylands Raceway Park (now the site of automobile dealerships), in Fremont, California.
More American Graffiti | Plot
The film was released in the United States on August 11, 1973 to sleeper hit reception. The film had cost only $1.27 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to produce and market, but yielded worldwide box office gross revenues of more than $55 million (equivalent to $ million in ). It had only modest success outside the United States, but became a cult film in France.
American Graffiti | Release
This would allow the studio to advertise "American Graffiti" as "From the Man Who Gave You "The Godfather"." Production proceeded with virtually no input or interference from Universal. The film was released in the United States on August 1, 1973 to sleeper hit reception. The film cost only $1.27 million to produce and market, but yielded worldwide box office gross revenues of more than $55 million. It had only modest success outside the United States, but became a cult film in France. Universal reissued "Graffiti" in 1978 and earned an additional $63 million, which brought the total revenue for the two releases to $118 million.
Gary Kurtz | "American Graffiti"
"American Graffiti" depicts multiple characters going through a coming of age, such as the decisions to attend college or reside in a small town. The 1962, setting represents nearing an end of an era in American society and pop culture. The musical backdrop also links between the early years of rock 'n' roll in the mid- to late 1950s (i.e., Bill Haley & His Comets, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly) and the early 1960s British Invasion, which Don McLean's "American Pie" and the 1972 revival of 1950s acts and oldies paralleled during the conception and filming. The setting is also before the outbreaks of the Vietnam War and the John F.
American Graffiti | Themes
The film American Graffiti was one of the suggestions. Tagasauris found nearly two dozen unkeyworded photos taken on the film's set. ""Computers couldn’t ID humans in the photo but humans couldn’t know the context.""
Tagasauris | Introduction
Lucas spent the rest of 1971 and early 1972 trying to raise financing for the "American Graffiti" script. During this time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures all turned down the opportunity to co-finance and distribute the film. Lucas, Huyck and Katz rewrote the second draft together, which, in addition to Modesto, was also set in Mill Valley and Los Angeles. Lucas also intended to end "American Graffiti" showing a title card detailing the fate of the characters, including the death of Milner and the disappearance of Toad in Vietnam. Huyck and Katz found the ending depressing and were incredulous that Lucas planned to include only the male characters.
American Graffiti | Universal Pictures
Each of more than 40 scenes in the film had a continuously playing background song that had been popular around 1962, when the film's story was set. Michael Sragow has characterized the effect as "using rock 'n roll as a Greek chorus with a beat". Fields then left "American Graffiti". It took another six months of editing to create a shorter, 110-minute version of the film, but upon its release in 1973 "American Graffiti" was extremely successful both with critics and at the box office. Shortly after its release, Roger Greenspun described the film and its editing: ""American Graffiti" exists not so much in its individual stories as in its orchestration of many stories, its sense of time and place.
Verna Fields | George Lucas and "American Graffiti"
More American Graffiti is a 1979 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Bill L. Norton. It is the sequel to the 1973 film "American Graffiti". Whereas the first film followed a group of friends during the summer evening before they set off for college, this film shows where they end up a few years later. Most of the main cast members from the first film returned for the sequel, including Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith, Bo Hopkins, and Harrison Ford. Richard Dreyfuss was the only principal cast member from the original film not to appear in the sequel.
More American Graffiti | Introduction
The film, set over the course of four consecutive New Year's Eves from 1964 to 1967, depicts scenes from each of these years, intertwined with one another as though events happen simultaneously. The audience is protected from confusion by the use of a distinct cinematic style for each section. For example, the 1966 sequences echo the movie of Woodstock using split screens and multiple angles of the same event simultaneously on screen, the 1965 sequences (set in Vietnam) shot hand-held on grainy super 16 mm film designed to resemble war reporters' footage. The film attempts to memorialize the 1960s with sequences that recreate the sense and style of those days with references to Haight-Ashbury, the , the beginnings of the modern woman's liberation movement and the accompanying social revolt.
More American Graffiti | Plot
It was the final live-action theatrical film in which Ron Howard would play a credited, named character.
More American Graffiti | Introduction
During the production of "THX 1138" (1971), producer Francis Ford Coppola challenged co-writer/director George Lucas to write a script that would appeal to mainstream audiences. Lucas embraced the idea, using his early 1960s teenage experiences cruising in Modesto, California. "Cruising was gone, and I felt compelled to document the whole experience and what my generation used as a way of meeting girls," Lucas explained. As he developed the story in his mind, Lucas included his fascination with Wolfman Jack. Lucas had considered doing a documentary about the Wolfman when he attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, but he ultimately dropped the idea.
American Graffiti | Inspiration
As a result, the film's structure became increasingly loose and no longer adhered to Lucas's original "ABCD" presentation. Lucas completed his final cut of "American Graffiti", which ran 112 minutes, in December 1972. Walter Murch assisted Lucas in post-production for audio mixing and sound design purposes. Murch suggested making Wolfman Jack's radio show the "backbone" of the film. "The Wolfman was an ethereal presence in the lives of young people," said producer Gary Kurtz, "and it was that quality we wanted and obtained in the picture."
American Graffiti | Editing
Lucas considered covering duties as the sole cinematographer, but dropped the idea. Instead, he elected to shoot "American Graffiti" using two cinematographers (as he had done in "THX 1138") and no formal director of photography. Two cameras were used simultaneously in scenes involving conversations between actors in different cars, which resulted in significant production time savings. After CinemaScope proved to be too expensive, Lucas decided "American Graffiti" should have a documentary-like feel, so he shot the film using Techniscope cameras. He believed that Techniscope, an inexpensive way of shooting on 35 mm film and using only half of the film's frame, would give a perfect widescreen format resembling 16 mm.
American Graffiti | Cinematography
The film's lengthy casting process was overseen by Fred Roos, who worked with producer Francis Ford Coppola on "The Godfather". Because "American Graffiti"'s main cast was for younger actors, the casting call and notices went through numerous high-school drama groups and community theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among the actors was Mark Hamill, the future Luke Skywalker in Lucas' "Star Wars" trilogy. Over 100 unknown actors auditioned for Curt Henderson before Richard Dreyfuss was cast; George Lucas was impressed with Dreyfuss' thoughtful analysis of the role, and as a result, offered the actor his choice of Curt or Terry "The Toad" Fields.
American Graffiti | Casting
Many other modern classics have used Sonoma County as a filming venue, including "American Graffiti", filmed largely in Petaluma. A few other representative films produced partially in Sonoma County are:
Sonoma County, California | Film
Kroot at the sock hop, and an effort by Bob Falfa to serenade Laurie with "Some Enchanted Evening"—but decided that the film was fit for release only as a television movie. However, various studio employees who had seen the film began talking it up, and its reputation grew through word of mouth. The studio dropped the TV movie idea and began arranging for a limited release in selected theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Universal presidents Sidney Sheinberg and Lew Wasserman heard about the praise the film had been garnering in LA and New York, and the marketing department amped up its promotion strategy for it, investing an additional $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) in marketing and promotion.
American Graffiti | Release
At the end of its theatrical run, "American Graffiti" had one of the best cost-to-profit ratios of any motion picture ever. It was the thirteenth-highest-grossing film of all time in 1977, and, adjusted for inflation, is currently the forty-third highest. By the 1990s, "American Graffiti" had earned more than $200 million in box office gross and home video sales. In December 1997, "Variety" reported that the film had earned an additional $55.13 million in rental revenue.
Gary Kurtz | "American Graffiti"
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
American Graffiti | Accolades
Gary Kurtz and George Lucas' first collaboration was on the 1973 film "American Graffiti". Lucas and producer Kurtz initially took the script to American International Pictures, which expressed interest but ultimately deemed "American Graffiti" not violent or sexual enough by the studio's standards. The pair eventually found favor at Universal Pictures, who allowed Lucas total artistic control and the right of final cut privilege on the condition that he and Kurtz make "American Graffiti" on a strict, low budget. Universal initially projected a $600,000 budget, but added an additional $175,000 once producer Francis Ford Coppola signed on to co-produce with Kurtz.
Gary Kurtz | "American Graffiti"
Principal photography began in July 2006 in New York City. "American Gangster" was filmed over a period of approximately four months in over 180 different locations, most of them across New York; it set the record for containing the highest number of filming locations of a movie. Two months were spent in New York, with all the city's five boroughs being used. Approximately fifty to sixty locations were set in Harlem alone. While in the neighbourhood, Scott stated that he found several interiors that had been untouched since the 1940s. According to production designer Arthur Max, exhaustive location scouting was done to find parts of New York that could still resemble the city of the early 1970s, filming Lucas' headquarters at 116th Street 20 blocks north, on 136th Street.
American Gangster (film) | Filming
It was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1979 or 1980. It was released on DVD in September 2003 and once more as a double feature with "American Graffiti" (1973) in January 2004. It was released on Digital in 2011. It was released on Blu-ray for Europe in May 2012 and for North America in June 2018.
More American Graffiti | Home media
After Warner Bros. abandoned Lucas's early version of "Apocalypse Now" (during the post-production of "THX 1138"), the filmmaker decided to continue developing "Another Quiet Night in Modesto", eventually changing its title to "American Graffiti". To co-write a 15-page film treatment, Lucas hired Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who also added semiautobiographical material to the story. Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz began pitching the "American Graffiti" treatment to various Hollywood studios and production companies in an attempt to secure the financing needed to expand it into a screenplay, but they were unsuccessful. The potential financiers were concerned that music licensing costs would cause the film to go way over budget.
American Graffiti | United Artists
Production of the film began on June 24, 2014, and ended on July 16, 2014. The filming was based in Texas. Scenes were shot in 7 different cities ranging from San Antonio to Dallas.
My All American | Filming
Lucas held firm—his was a story about West Coast teenagers in the early 1960s. Walter was paid the $10,000, and he began to expand the Lucas/Huyck/Katz treatment into a screenplay.
American Graffiti | United Artists
Lucas argued that mentioning the girls meant adding another title card, which he felt would prolong the ending. Because of this, Pauline Kael later accused Lucas of chauvinism. Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz took the script to American International Pictures, who expressed interest, but ultimately believed "American Graffiti" was not violent or sexual enough for the studio's standards. Lucas and Kurtz eventually found favor at Universal Pictures, who allowed Lucas total artistic control and the right of final cut privilege on the condition that he make "American Graffiti" on a strict low budget. This forced Lucas to drop the opening scene in which the Blonde Angel, Curt's image of the perfect woman, drives through an empty drive-in cinema in her Ford Thunderbird, her transparency revealing she does not exist.
American Graffiti | Universal Pictures
Despite unanimous praise at a January 1973 test screening attended by Universal executive Ned Tanen, the studio told Lucas they wanted to re-edit his original cut of "American Graffiti". Producer Coppola sided with Lucas against Tanen and Universal, offering to "buy the film" from the studio and reimburse it for the $775,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) it had cost to make it. 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures made similar offers to the studio. Universal refused these offers and told Lucas they planned to have William Hornbeck re-edit the film. When Coppola's "The Godfather" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in March 1973, Universal relented and agreed to cut only three scenes (about four minutes) from Lucas' cut—an encounter between Toad and a fast-talking car salesman, an argument between Steve and his former teacher Mr.
American Graffiti | Release
"More American Graffiti" opened on August 3, 1979. The Numbers cites the gross at $8.1 million, and Box Office Mojo at $15 million. Despite its minor box office success, its gross was nowhere near as high as that of "American Graffiti", even though Ron Howard, Cindy Williams and Harrison Ford were bigger stars (due to their major roles in the TV hits "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" and the film "Star Wars") in 1979 than they had been in 1973.
More American Graffiti | Box office
Charles Champlin of "The New York Times" called it a "masterfully executed and profoundly affecting movie." Jay Cocks of "Time" magazine wrote that "American Graffiti" "reveals a new and welcome depth of feeling. Few films have shown quite so well the eagerness, the sadness, the ambitions and small defeats of a generation of young Americans." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" was less enthused, writing that the film "fails to be anything more than a warm, nice, draggy comedy, because there's nothing to back up the style. The images aren't as visually striking as they would be if only there were a mind behind them; the movie has no resonance except from the jukebox sound and the eerie, nocturnal jukebox look." She also noted with disdain that the epilogue did not bother to mention the fates of any of the women characters.
American Graffiti | Critical reception
In 1997 the city of Modesto, California, honored Lucas with a statue dedication of "American Graffiti" at George Lucas Plaza. Director David Fincher credited "American Graffiti" as a visual influence for "Fight Club" (1999). Lucas's "" (2002) features references to the film. The yellow airspeeder that Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi use to pursue the bounty hunter, Zam Wesell, is based on John Milner's yellow deuce coupe, while Dex's Diner is reminiscent of Mel's Drive-In. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman conducted the "rear axle" experiment on the January 11, 2004, episode of "MythBusters".
American Graffiti | Legacy
"American Graffiti" received widespread critical acclaim. Based on 49 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of the critics enjoyed the film with an average score of 8.43/10. The consensus reads: "One of the most influential of all teen films, "American Graffiti" is a funny, nostalgic, and bittersweet look at a group of recent high school grads' last days of innocence". Roger Ebert gave the film a full four stars and praised it for being "not only a great movie, but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant".
American Graffiti | Critical reception
Gene Siskel awarded three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that although the film suffered from an "overkill" of nostalgia, particularly with regards to a soundtrack so overstuffed that it amounted to "one of those golden-oldie TV blurbs," it was still "well-made, does achieve moments of genuine emotion, and does provide a sock (hop) full of memories." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote, ""American Graffiti" is such a funny, accurate movie, so controlled and efficient in its narrative, that it stands to be overpraised to the point where seeing it will be an anticlimax." A.D. Murphy from "Variety" felt "American Graffiti" was a vivid "recall of teenage attitudes and morals, told with outstanding empathy and compassion through an exceptionally talented cast of unknown actors".
American Graffiti | Critical reception
Adding to the documentary feel was Lucas's openness for the cast to improvise scenes. He also used goofs for the final cut, notably Charles Martin Smith's arriving on his scooter to meet Steve outside Mel's Drive-In. Jan D'Alquen and Ron Eveslage were hired as the cinematographers, but filming with Techniscope cameras brought lighting problems. As a result, Lucas commissioned help from friend Haskell Wexler, who was credited as the "visual consultant".
American Graffiti | Cinematography
The financial success of "Graffiti" also gave Lucas opportunities to establish more elaborate development for Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound, and Industrial Light & Magic. Based on the success of the 1977 reissue, Universal began production for the sequel "More American Graffiti" (1979). Lucas and writers Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz later collaborated on "Radioland Murders" (1994), also released by Universal Pictures, for which Lucas acted as executive producer. The film features characters intended to be Curt and Laurie Henderson's parents, Roger and Penny Henderson. In 1995, "American Graffiti" was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
American Graffiti | Legacy
Reshoots occurred in late January 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia.
American Made (film) | Filming
There, Lucas met David Picker, then president of United Artists, who was intrigued by "American Graffiti" and Lucas' space opera. Picker decided to give Lucas $10,000 to develop "Graffiti" as a screenplay. Lucas planned to spend another five weeks in Europe and hoped that Huyck and Katz would agree to finish the screenplay by the time he returned, but they were about to start on their own film, "Messiah of Evil", so Lucas hired Richard Walter, a colleague from the USC School of Cinematic Arts for the job. Walter was flattered, but initially tried to sell Lucas on a different screenplay called "Barry and the Persuasions", a story of East Coast teenagers in the late 1950s.
American Graffiti | United Artists
The editor Albert Jurgenson commented that the role of the editing process in the film was more important than usual, and the various elements were so complex that everything could not be foreseen in the planning; the film was thoroughly rebuilt at the editing stage. In the film's epilogue a montage of travelling shots shows a landscape of abandoned and half-demolished buildings in the Bronx, New York, culminating on a starkly contrasted mural of a green tree painted on the side of one of the buildings, providing a moment of relief and pleasure. The camera then moves progressively closer to the mural in a series of shots, causing the whole image to disintegrate into its constituent parts until we can see only fragments of paint on the side of a single brick.
My American Uncle | Production
The film was shot in and around Los Angeles, California.
Don't Answer the Phone! | Production
Lucas had wanted his wife, Marcia, to edit "American Graffiti", but Universal executive Ned Tanen insisted on hiring Verna Fields, who had just finished editing Steven Spielberg's "The Sugarland Express". Fields worked on the first rough cut of the film before she left to resume work on "What's Up, Doc?" After Fields' departure, Lucas struggled with editing the film's story structure. He had originally written the script so that the four (Curt, Steve, John, and Toad) storylines were always presented in the same sequence (an "ABCD" plot structure). The first cut of "American Graffiti" was three and a half hours long, and to whittle the film down to a more manageable two hours, many scenes had to be cut, shortened, or combined.
American Graffiti | Editing
Filming took place in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
The Last Days of American Crime | Production
Producer Coppola encouraged Lucas to cast Wolfman Jack as himself in a cameo appearance. "George Lucas and I went through thousands of Wolfman Jack phone calls that were taped with the public," Jack reflected. "The telephone calls [heard on the broadcasts] in the motion picture and on the soundtrack were actual calls with real people."
American Graffiti | Casting
Adding in semiautobiographical connotations, Lucas set the story in his hometown of 1962 Modesto. The characters Curt Henderson, John Milner, and Terry "The Toad" Fields also represent different stages from his younger life. Curt is modeled after Lucas's personality during USC, while Milner is based on Lucas's teenaged street-racing and junior-college years, and hot rod enthusiasts he had known from the Kustom Kulture in Modesto. Toad represents Lucas's nerd years as a freshman in high school, specifically his "bad luck" with dating. The filmmaker was also inspired by Federico Fellini's "I Vitelloni" (1953). After the financial failure of "THX 1138", Lucas wanted the film to act as a release for a world-weary audience:
American Graffiti | Inspiration
Scenes were also shot at the Alsadek Market on Warren Avenue in Dearborn and in and around Downtown Detroit. At the end of June 2014, the production of the film completed in Dearborn Heights after a month-long shoot around Metro Detroit that employed dozens of Muslims and Arab Americans from California, New York and Michigan. On the last day of production at the Berwyn Senior Citizen Center, more than 100 extras turned out, many dressed in Islamic attire, to shoot a scene depicting a homeless shelter being raided by the police.
American Sharia | Filming and post-production
Dave Kehr, writing in the "Chicago Reader", called the film a brilliant work of popular art that redefined nostalgia as a marketable commodity, while establishing a new narrative style.
American Graffiti | Critical reception
Parts of the film were shot in Folsom State Prison and California Institution for Men. Shooting lasted for three weeks and included 800 inmates and guards, who appeared as extras. Scenes shot in Los Angeles included gang members as extras.
American Me | Production
without a dramatic glue to hold the disparate story elements together, "Graffiti" is too disorganized for its own good, and the cross-cutting between different film styles only accentuates the problem." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and called it "one long confusing movie" that is "really too ambitious for its own good." On "Sneak Previews", Roger Ebert said he thought it was a "much better film" than Siskel did, that he "had no trouble following it" and that "it's a film worth seeing." Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" was also positive, writing that "the protagonists are affecting as before and 'More American Graffiti' is an uncommonly evocative trip back to our common past—a stirring reminder in both style and substance of what we've been through." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" wrote "All this fussy, arbitrary switching of scenes, years and aspect ratios may wow them back in film school, but the complicated framework reveals nothing but one inconsequential or misleading vignette after another.
More American Graffiti | Critical reception
The film was shot in South Africa in late 1990, when martial arts films were becoming well known to shoot there for budgetary reasons. It is believed that the film is set in California, despite its South African location and supporting cast.
American Kickboxer | Production
Although Cindy Williams was cast as Laurie Henderson and enjoyed working with both Lucas and Howard, the actress hoped she would get the part of Debbie Dunham, which ended up going to Candy Clark. Mackenzie Phillips, who portrays Carol, was only 12, and under California law, producer Gary Kurtz had to become her legal guardian for the duration of filming. For Bob Falfa, Roos cast Harrison Ford, who was then concentrating on a carpentry career. Ford agreed to take the role on the condition that he would not have to cut his hair. The character has a flattop in the script, but a compromise was eventually reached whereby Ford wore a Stetson to cover his hair.
American Graffiti | Casting
Shooting took place in New Orleans, Louisiana.
American Hero (film) | Production
In 1967, Fields had hired George Lucas to help edit "Journey to the Pacific" (1968), which was a documentary film written and directed by Gary Goldsmith for the USIA. She had also hired Marcia Griffin for the job, and introduced Griffin and George Lucas; the couple subsequently married. In 1972, Lucas was directing "American Graffiti". While Lucas had intended that his wife would edit the film, Universal asked him to add Verna Fields to the editing team. Over the first ten weeks of post-production, George and Marcia Lucas, along with Fields and Walter Murch (as sound editor), pieced together the original, 165-minute version of the film.
Verna Fields | George Lucas and "American Graffiti"
"American Graffiti" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but lost to "The Sting". Further nominations at the 46th Academy Awards included Best Director (George Lucas), Best Original Screenplay (Lucas, Willard Huyck, and Gloria Katz), Best Supporting Actress (Candy Clark) and Best Film Editing (Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas). The film won Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) at the 31st Golden Globe Awards, while Paul Le Mat won Most Promising Newcomer. Lucas was nominated for Best Director and Richard Dreyfuss was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. More nominations included Cindy Williams by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Lucas for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, and Lucas, Huyck, and Katz by the Writers Guild of America for Best Original Comedy.
American Graffiti | Accolades
Principal photography on the film began on May 18, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming locations there include counties Ball Ground, Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens. Filming on the Georgia Unit wrapped on July 12, 2015. On August 20, 2015, Tom Cruise arrived in Medellin, Colombia, and on August 31, in Santa Marta to scout filming locations for the film. Filming in Colombia commenced on August 26, 2015 and wrapped on September 11, 2015. A week later after Tom Cruise wrapped up filming in Louisiana. Production on the film resumed February 3, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana as filming has been suspended due to a plane crash in Colombia that occurred in September 2015.
American Made (film) | Filming
Universal initially projected a $600,000 budget, but added an additional $175,000 once producer Francis Ford Coppola signed on. This would allow the studio to advertise American Graffiti as "from the man who gave you "The Godfather" (1972)". The proposition also gave Universal first-look deals on Lucas' next two planned projects, "Star Wars" and "Radioland Murders". As he continued to work on the script, Lucas encountered difficulties on the Steve and Laurie storyline. Lucas, Katz, and Huyck worked on the third draft together, specifically on the scenes featuring Steve and Laurie.
American Graffiti | Universal Pictures
Along with "Easy Rider" (1969), "American Graffiti" was one of the first films to eschew a traditional film score and successfully rely instead on synchronizing a series of popular hit songs with individual scenes. "THX 1138" was released in March 1971, and Lucas was offered opportunities to direct "Lady Ice", "Tommy", or "Hair". He turned down those offers, determined to pursue his own projects despite his urgent desire to find another film to direct. During this time, Lucas conceived the idea for a space opera (as yet untitled) which later became the basis for his "Star Wars" franchise. At the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, "THX" was chosen for the Directors' Fortnight competition.
American Graffiti | United Artists
In his interview with ComingSoon.net, Scott stated that "[he] just walked in [...] and [...] just sho[o]t in the house." Several gas masks were brought by producers due to health hazards and sanitary concerns existing in the buildings. Scott found filming in Harlem to be difficult, commenting that the rapid gentrification in Harlem provided poor opportunities for shooting angles. Hand-held cameras were extensively used to depict a "guerrilla filmmaking" style. Other locations for principal photography include the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Old Westbury Gardens, a segment of the George Washington Bridge, and the Brooklyn Supreme Courthouse.
American Gangster (film) | Filming
Parts of the film were shot at Glen Canyon in Utah.
The American Way (film) | Production
The film also featured a 24-track soundtrack featuring music from the movie along with voice-over tracks of Wolfman Jack. The soundtrack is out of print and has never been released on CD. A fictional band named Electric Haze featuring Doug Sahm appears in the film, most notably performing the Bo Diddley song "I'm a Man". An earlier album, also titled "More American Graffiti", was an official album sequel to the first soundtrack to "American Graffiti". The album (MCA 8007) was released in 1975, four years before the film sequel of the same name was released. While only one of the songs in this album was actually used in the 1973 motion picture, this collection was compiled and approved by George Lucas for commercial release.
More American Graffiti | Soundtrack
Principal photography started on March 8, 2013, and wrapped in May 2013. The film was shot in and around Boston, Massachusetts (such as in Worcester), and in New York City. Filming was put on hold in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings with the city in lockdown. After lockdown was lifted, the film wrapped its Boston shoot and spent its final few days of production in New York City.
American Hustle | Filming
The title "Graffiti Bridge" comes from a now torn-down bridge located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The bridge was torn down in the early 1990s to make way for new construction, but to this day remains a local legend.
Graffiti Bridge (film) | Title origin
Principal photography began on the film on October 27, 1986 in South Africa. The film began production under the title "American Ninja 2". By November 1986 the production was filming in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Mauritius.
American Ninja 2: The Confrontation | Filming
George Lucas has been credited for perfecting the genre by writing and directing "American Graffiti" (1973).
Teen film | <a href="George%20Lucas">George Lucas</a>
The other four were "The Hired Hand", "Taking Off", "Silent Running", and "American Graffiti", directed by Peter Fonda, Miloš Forman, Douglas Trumbull, and George Lucas, respectively. Given this freedom, Hopper spent much of 1970 in Peru, bringing many of his actor and musician friends to Peru—including singer Kris Kristofferson and director Samuel Fuller—and shooting the film under the working title "Chinchero". With hours and hours of footage, Hopper holed up in his home editing studio in Taos, New Mexico, but failed to deliver a cut by the end of 1970. He was in a period of severe alcohol and drug abuse (as shown in an extremely rare and barely released documentary called "The American Dreamer", which was directed by Lawrence Schiller and L.M.
The Last Movie | Production
Principal photography took place between September and December 2016 in London, Rome, and Phuket, with additional filming in Valletta and Birmingham.
American Assassin | Filming
The fairground scene was filmed on Parnell Street, Dublin.
In America (film) | Production
The film tells about an artist doing his favorite thing. He is painting graffiti on the walls of the metropolitan subway. Suddenly, bikers attack him, as a result of which he loses a trip to Italy. Instead, he goes to paint in the province, where he expects a lot of new adventures.
Graffiti (film) | Plot
Principal photography lasted about 50 days from December 14, 1998, to February 1999. "American Beauty" was filmed on soundstages at the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, and at Hancock Park and Brentwood in Los Angeles. The aerial shots at the beginning and end of the film were captured in Sacramento, California, and many of the school scenes were shot at South High School in Torrance, California; several extras in the gym crowd were South High students. The film is set in an upper middle-class neighborhood in an unidentified American town. Production designer Naomi Shohan likened the locale to Evanston, Illinois, but said, "it's not about a place, it's about an archetype.
American Beauty (1999 film) | Filming
Internet reviewer MaryAnn Johanson acknowledged that "American Graffiti" rekindled public and entertainment interest in the 1950s and 1960s, and influenced other films such as "The Lords of Flatbush" (1974) and "Cooley High" (1975) and the TV series "Happy Days". Alongside other films from the New Hollywood era, "American Graffiti" is often cited for helping give birth to the summer blockbuster. The film's box-office success made George Lucas an instant millionaire. He gave an amount of the film's profits to Haskell Wexler for his visual consulting help during filming, and to Wolfman Jack for "inspiration". Lucas's net worth was now $4 million, and he set aside a $300,000 independent fund for his long-cherished space opera project, which would eventually become the basis for "Star Wars" (1977).
American Graffiti | Legacy
Modesto is known for the following tourist attractions and historical sites: The 1973 film "American Graffiti", starring Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, and Cindy Williams, was set in 1962 Modesto; however, the scenes of weekend cruising were actually filmed in Petaluma, California.
Modesto, California | Tourism
In December 2018, the production was working out of Palmetto on December 10 and 11.
American Soul | Filming
Principal photography began on May 14, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Filming
Although it is full of the material of fashionable nostalgia, it never exploits nostalgia. In its feeling for movement and music and the vitality of the night—and even in its vision in white—it is oddly closer to some early Fellini than to the recent American past of, say, "The Last Picture Show" or "Summer of '42"." Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas were nominated for an Academy Award for Film Editing in 1974 for their work on "American Graffiti"; while the film won no Academy Awards, Marcia Lucas, Murch, and Fields all won Academy Awards for later work.
Verna Fields | George Lucas and "American Graffiti"
When the studio didn't like the film, I wasn't surprised. But George just said to me, I was stupid and knew nothing. Because I was just a Valley Girl. He was the intellectual." When principal photography had wrapped on "American Graffiti" (1973), George had wanted Marcia to edit the film, but Universal Pictures executive Ned Tanen insisted on hiring Verna Fields, who had just finished editing Steven Spielberg's "The Sugarland Express" (1974). However, Fields worked on the first rough cut of the film before she left to resume work on "What's Up, Doc?" (1972). For the next six months, Marcia edited "American Graffiti" alongside her husband and sound editor Walter Murch to its contractual runtime of 110 minutes.
Marcia Lucas | Feature film editing
'More' in this case is decidedly less. Once you get used to the cross-cutting — which is rather like switching channels between four different TV shows — the realization dawns that none of the segments is particularly interesting."
More American Graffiti | Critical reception
The film was shot primarily in Darien, Connecticut.
Birds of America (film) | Production
The film was shot on location in Akçakoca, Turkey.
Americans at the Black Sea | Production
Locations for other scenes include the Manhattan Bridge, with the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in the background, and the FDR Drive, with the United Nations headquarters visible. On August 10, 1973, Paramount Pictures rejected a demand by the Puerto Rican Action Coalition to withdraw the film for what the coalition called the movie's racism.
Badge 373 | Production
The series filmed in New York City at Eastern Effects Studios in Gowanus, Brooklyn, with Brooklyn street locations in Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Other shooting locations included: Prospect Park, Astoria, Washington Heights, Mamaroneck, Coney Island Avenue, Kew Gardens, Morningside Heights, Farmingdale, and Staten Island. Shooting of the pilot episode began in May 2012 and lasted until mid-June. Filming began for the rest of the first season in November 2012 in the New York City area. The production used location shots to simulate a dramatic setting of Washington, D.C. Early filming was delayed by flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The Americans | Filming and locations
They have their own language, their own signs." The film crew installed fictional alien language signs along Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Colored drawings were made of all stores on both sides of the street for two full blocks. Painted and electrical signs were designed for each building. Graffiti was also carefully planned out. The film crew did their own painting and even took a big blank concrete wall and inserted alien graffiti for a scene involving an early physical confrontation between the main characters. Essentially, the alphabet of the alien citizens had to be designed as an integral part of their environment.
Alien Nation (film) | Set design and filming
The film received negative reviews from critics, in contrast to the critical acclaim received by its predecessor. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 20% of critics were positive based on 10 reviews. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" called it "grotesquely misconceived, so much so that it nearly eradicates fond memories of the original ... The times — the story is scattered like buckshot from 1964 to 1967 — have grown dangerous, but these people haven't awakened at all. They're still the same fun-loving rock-and-rollers, and there's nothing they can't trivialize. So here is a comic look at campus rioting. Here are the beach party aspects of the Vietnam War." Dale Pollock of "Variety" stated in his review that ""More American Graffiti" may be one of the most innovative and ambitious films of the last five years, but by no means is it one of the most successful ...
More American Graffiti | Critical reception
Some scenes were also shot at the Yonkers City Hall, within the Yonkers City Council Chambers where those actual events took place. Additionally, Haggis said that Mary Dorman's house was the actual location. Additional Yonkers locations used were The Department of Buildings at 87 Nepperhan Avenue and Oakland Cemetery. Scenes portraying the Dominican Republic were shot in Puerto Rico. Working with the show's art department, graffiti artist Chris Capuozzo, with assistance of his photographer wife Denise Ranallo Capuozzo, who documented the graffiti in Yonkers during the time of the show, created temporary reproductions of period graffiti at the Schlobohm Houses and on Palisade Avenue.
Show Me a Hero | Filming
Briarcliff Manor in upstate New York had the locations for both the Lucas farm and the estate Lucas buys for his family. Filming locations began setting up in Thailand in November 2006, after Branko Lustig consulted with Suvit Yodmanee, the country's tourism minister. Filming for "American Gangster" concluded in Chiang Mai the following month.
American Gangster (film) | Filming
Filming for the series takes place in Los Angeles, California. The pilot was filmed during the first quarter of 2018. Filming for season one began the following July. Filming took place in Thomas Jefferson High School in South Central Los Angeles known as South Crenshaw High School in the series.
All American (TV series) | Filming
The film was shot in Jacksonville, Florida.
In Old Florida | Production notes
Clearing the music licensing rights had cost approximately $90,000, and as a result, no money was left for a traditional film score. "I used the absence of music, and sound effects, to create the drama," Lucas later explained. A soundtrack album for the film, "41 Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti", was issued by MCA Records. The album contains all the songs used in the film (with the exception of "Gee" by the Crows, which was subsequently included on a second soundtrack album), presented in the order in which they appeared in the film.
American Graffiti | Soundtrack
The song was featured in the 1973 film "American Graffiti".
A Thousand Miles Away | In popular culture
When Eugene Levy was cast, he insisted on being allowed to improvise his lines, as he disliked how his character was written in the script. In the final film, most of his lines were improvised. The film was actually shot in Southern California, most notably in Long Beach using Long Beach Unified School District area high schools. Millikan High School, whose school colors are blue and gold, was used for exterior shots, and Long Beach Polytechnic High School was used for interior shots. Located in Los Cerritos, Long Beach, California, both schools are within five miles of the Virginia Country Club and Los Cerritos Neighborhood (where "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Donnie Darko" were filmed).
American Pie (film) | Production
The American movie "" (1985) was filmed in Tecoanapa.
Tecoanapa | Notes
Location shooting took place at Providencia Ranch, California, and on Universal City sound stages.
Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Production
Filming for the second season commenced in October 2013. Some scenes in the fifth and sixth seasons were filmed in Moscow.
The Americans | Filming and locations
All filming took place in Östersund, Sweden.
American Burger | Filming locations
Veronica tracks down the family of the car that was used in the paintball incident and finds that it is under the control of a group of young people. Keith's underlings state that the bars are actually good at keeping out minors. Veronica reviews security cameras at the restaurant and tracks a person down to be a Jewish man with whom the restaurant owner's daughter has been having an affair. An employee named Nasir (Haaz Sleiman) has taken explicit photos of the two, and Amira's father will disown her if the father finds out. Veronica goes to a photo-developing store and retrieves the photos, but one is stuck in the printer and Nasir gets it.
Un-American Graffiti | Plot synopsis
The gang's hit on Joe was filmed in Quebec. The view of the Manhattan Bridge shown in the film's poster can be seen from Washington Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The shooting script, completed in October 1981 after many delays and a writers' strike between April and July of that year, was 317 pages in length.
Once Upon a Time in America | Filming
Principal photography began on April 14, 2014 in Louisiana near New Orleans and wrapped in mid-June. Filming in Louisiana presented challenges, the production had to deal with snakes, alligators, and torrential rain. Nourizadeh and director of photography Michael Bonvillain emphasized wide shots, and allowed the actors move around the set, with two cameras running to get coverage. The film was shot over a 43 day shooting schedule. The film received tax incentives for filming in Louisiana, and spent $20.4 million in the state and received $6.55 million in tax incentives. The film spent a further $3.3 million in post production in New York, and received $0.9 million in tax credits.
American Ultra | Filming
The film was shot in Los Angeles, California.
Imps* | Filming