The Wild Life (film)

Last updated

The Wild Life
The Wild Life film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Art Linson
Written by Cameron Crowe
Produced by
  • Cameron Crowe
  • Art Linson
Starring
Cinematography James Glennon
Edited byMichael Jablow
Music by
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • September 28, 1984 (1984-09-28)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million
Box office$11 million

The Wild Life is a 1984 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Art Linson and written by Cameron Crowe. [1] The film stars Chris Penn, Lea Thompson, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Jenny Wright, Eric Stoltz, Rick Moranis, Hart Bochner, and Randy Quaid.

Contents

The Wild Life was theatrically released in the United States on September 28, 1984, by Universal Pictures. While the film is not a direct sequel to Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), it was seen by many as a spiritual sequel due to Crowe's involvement in both and the films' shared universe/style of being R-rated comedy/dramas set amongst young people finding their way in Southern California.

Plot summary

The plot concerns three teenagers living in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Bill has just graduated from high school and got his first apartment. His younger brother Jim, who is fixated on Vietnam and the Vietnam war, spends a lot of time practicing with his Nunchakus, getting high, listening to heavy metal on his boombox, and hanging out with Vietnam vet Charlie. Other important characters include Tom, a hedonistic high-school wrestling champ who works with Bill at a bowling alley; Harry, a trendy department store manager; Anita, Bill's ex-girlfriend who works at a donut shop; and Eileen, Anita's friend and Tommy's girlfriend who works at the department store with Harry. Anita has a fling with a cop named David, who, unknown to Anita, is married. The three boys set out for a night of fun and craziness at a strip bar and later on have a party at Bill's apartment.

Cast

Soundtrack

"The Wild Life" is a song written and performed by English female pop music vocal group Bananarama. It was composed for and included in the movie and on its soundtrack. The single peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1984. [2]

Eddie Van Halen wrote and performed the score for the film, but was unable to finish mixing due to Van Halen's touring schedule, and left that task to the band's long-term engineer Donn Landee. The instrumental "Donut City" was the only Eddie Van Halen track appearing on the official soundtrack album. The instrumental "Out The Window" from Eddie Van Halen's score was later used during the "My name is Darth Vader, I come from the planet Vulcan" scene in the following year's Back To The Future.

The film's soundtrack album also contained newly recorded music by Andy Summers and Charlie Sexton & Ronnie Wood. [3] The soundtrack of the film itself further contained music by Prince, Madonna, Little Richard, Van Halen, Billy Idol, Steppenwolf, and Jimi Hendrix, with the requisite licensing fees having prevented The Wild Life from receiving an uncut release on DVD. Universal formerly offered a made-to-order disc in its Vault series, with many of the songs removed. [4]

When Universal created the alternate soundtrack for VHS/Laserdisc/TV broadcast, they also revised the end credits and removed the songs that were replaced on the soundtrack. Universal's "Vault Series" DVD-R did not use these revised end credits even though it used the alternate soundtrack.

More recently, the HD broadcast version has all of the songs intact. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Halen</span> American rock band (1973–2020)

Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and for the virtuosity of its guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Anthony (musician)</span> American bassist

Michael Anthony Sobolewski is an American musician who was the bassist and backing vocalist for the hard rock band Van Halen from 1974 to 2006. He performed on Van Halen's first 11 albums and was their longest-tenured bassist. Following his 2006 departure, Anthony has collaborated with fellow former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar for the supergroups Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle. In addition to his music career, he markets a line of hot sauces named Mad Anthony and related products. Anthony was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lee Roth</span> American singer

David Lee Roth is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints; from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when they disbanded in 2020. He has also had a successful solo career, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums. After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2012, Roth and Van Halen released the comeback album A Different Kind of Truth. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patty Smyth</span> American singer

Patricia Smyth is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock band Scandal and went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice and new wave image gained broad exposure through video recordings aired on cable music video channels such as MTV. Her debut solo album Never Enough was well received, and generated a pair of Top 100 hits. In the early 1990s she reached the top 10 with the hit single "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough," a duet with Don Henley of the Eagles. She performed and co-wrote with James Ingram the song "Look What Love Has Done" for the 1994 motion picture Junior. The work earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Crowe</span> American filmmaker

Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career as a contributing editor and writer at Rolling Stone magazine in 1973 where he covered numerous rock bands on tour.

<i>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</i> 1982 film directed by Amy Heckerling

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story, and starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, and Ray Walston. Crowe went undercover at Clairemont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammy Hagar</span> American rock singer (born 1947)

Samuel Roy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed further commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the lead vocalist of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996. He returned to the band from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen. His musical style primarily consists of hard rock and heavy metal.

<i>Singles</i> (1992 film) 1992 American romantic comedy film by Cameron Crowe

Singles is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, and Matt Dillon. It features appearances from several musicians prominent in the early 1990s grunge movement in Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Stoltz</span> American actor, director and film producer

Eric Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

<i>Van Halen III</i> 1998 studio album by Van Halen

Van Halen III is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 17, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Mike Post and Eddie Van Halen, it was the band's first studio album in three years after Balance (1995), the band's only studio album to feature Extreme lead vocalist Gary Cherone, and the last to feature bassist Michael Anthony, who only appears on three of the album's songs while the rest of the bass parts are played by Eddie Van Halen; his son Wolfgang replaced Anthony on subsequent tours and recordings. Eddie Van Halen's extensive involvement in the album's production, instrumentation and writing have led some, including Anthony, to consider Van Halen III more of a solo project than a collective band effort. Clocking in at over 65 minutes, Van Halen III is their longest album.

<i>The Best of Both Worlds</i> (Van Halen album) 2004 greatest hits album by Van Halen

The Best of Both Worlds is the second greatest hits album by American rock band Van Halen, released on July 20, 2004, on Warner Bros. The compilation features material recorded with lead vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, but omits Gary Cherone's three-year tenure with the band. Prior to The Best of Both Worlds's release, Hagar reunited with Van Halen, and the band recorded three new tracks to include on the release.

<i>1984</i> (Van Halen album) 1984 studio album by Van Halen

1984 is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members, although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen's debut are Van Halen's best-selling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jump (Van Halen song)</span> 1983 single by Van Halen

"Jump" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in December 1983 as the lead single of their sixth studio album, 1984. It is Van Halen's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song differs from earlier Van Halen songs in that it is driven by a keyboard riff, although the song does contain a guitar solo. David Lee Roth dedicated the song to martial artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, of whom he was a student. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Inside may refer to:

Donn Landee is an American record producer and recording engineer. Much of his work as an engineer has been done with producer Ted Templeman at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. The pair worked with a wide variety of artists for Warner Bros. Records during the 1970s and 1980s, including Van Halen, and the Doobie Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Wait</span> 1984 single by Van Halen

"I'll Wait" is a song by American rock band Van Halen, taken from their sixth studio album, 1984 (1984). It was written by band members Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, along with Michael McDonald, and produced by Ted Templeman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right Now (Van Halen song)</span> Van Halen song

"Right Now" is a song written by the group Van Halen for their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The song reflects on living for the moment and not being afraid of making a change.

<i>Into the Wild</i> (soundtrack) 2007 studio album / soundtrack album by Eddie Vedder

Into the Wild is the debut solo studio album by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder, and is based on his contributions to the soundtrack for the film of the same name. It was released on September 18, 2007, through J Records.

"Guaranteed" is a song written and performed by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder from the Into the Wild soundtrack (2007). It is the final track on the album, and also features a hidden track of "Guaranteed" after about two minutes of silence following the regular version of "Guaranteed".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Van Halen</span> American rock guitarist (1955–2020)

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex in 1972.

References

  1. Maslin, Janet (September 28, 1984). "'The Wild Life' Opens". The New York Times . Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  2. "Hot 100". Billboard . December 15, 1984.
  3. Original Soundtrack - Wild Life Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic , retrieved April 10, 2023
  4. Williams, Owen (June 17, 2015). "Distribution Denied! 25 Films You Can't Get on DVD". EmpireOnline. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  5. "Blu-ray Forum - View Single Post - the Wild Life (1984) coming from Kino".