Behind the Scenes of The Goonies.
There seems to be a trend of movies that was very prevalent in the eighties. That is the mature, yet appropriate film that explores what it was like to truly be a child at the time. Movies such as The Never Ending Story and Stand by Me came out at this period and wowed audiences with their gritty stories and brilliantly written children characters. The kids in these movies just had such bright and fun-loving personalities while still trying to be serious, like normal kids. In many people’s opinions, the movie that best emulated this was Spielberg’s The Goonies. This is an excellent tale of adventure and fun as a group of young friends go off in search of pirate treasure to pay off their prents’ debts. Still resonating with fans to this day, a cult has formed around this movie in all of its comedic and adventurous glory. Let’s see what treasures we can find ourselves as we take a behind the scenes look at the 1985 hit, The Goonies.
Pirate Ship Set
Raise the main sails and chart a new heading. The enormous pirate ship that houses the long lost treasure of One-Eyed Willy in the film is truly a marvel in set design. There is a definite sense of authenticity that this construct has from its design and its aged and decrepit look. The effects and set team truly outdid themselves with this accomplishment.
It is said that the head set-designer tried various different techniques on the wood to acquire that antiquated feel to this ship which is meant to be from the 16th century. Eventually, it was decided upon that the best course of action to do a combination of various actions.
One such was to carve into the wood, producing scratches and grooves throughout the exterior design. This helped damage and wear to appear on the hull, like you would expect to see on a veteran pirate ship that has weathered many battles and storms. Another method utilized was to concoct a special stain for all of the wood used that would preserve it while giving it an ancient dullness.
You can also see in the image, cranes and lighting equipment that were utilized for the actual scenes with this ship and even the pit the characters would jump into as they were forced from the ship.
Laughter of the Fratellis
A nice bit of fun in the middle of shooting, here we see two of the actors who play the Fratelli family as they laugh in between scenes. This family of hardened criminals that act as the main antagonists of the film were more goofy in terms of how they bumbled up their own plans. Despite this, they still were a menacing presence throughout the story, even going so far as to threaten the lives of our protagonists.
There were four of them in total, an unnamed mother and her three sons; Jake, Francis, and Sloth. After discovering the possibility of finding the treasure of One-Eyed Willy, they took up residence in an old building with a way into the caverns where it was hidden.
Mama Fratelli was played by Anne Ramsey, a woman who only really turned to acting in her later years. She appeared in a few small roles in various television series and was nominated for an academy award for her other movie Throw Momma from the Train. Jake was played by a director named Robert Davi who also acted in such films as Die Hard and License to Kill.
Francis was Joe Pantoliano another smaller television actor. The final child, Sloth, was played by John Matuszak a football player who won two Super Bowls in his career.
Deleted Gorilla Scene
The original screenplay for this film actually was a very long and quite convoluted story. There were original parts and characters in the movie that added little to the overall structure and were just some strange bits of world building. Because of their little consequence, these scenes were cut from the final product.
One example of these is the gorilla brothers stealing Troy’s car. No that wasn’t a typo. As you can see from the picture, there was a scene . . . in the original movie . . . where gorilla brothers broke out of the zoo . . . and stole Troy the bully’s car.
Apparently, this was meant to be part of the opening car chase to further increase the hectic nature of that scene. After realizing that Troy would need his car in order to pester the protagonists, (and hopefully also realizing how ridiculous this idea was) it was determined that cutting this scene would be in the film’s benefit.
These two oddly-placed apes were simple character actors in gorilla suits that were meant to just drive the car around in a haphazard manner.
Michael Jackson Meets Chunk
Here we see an image of one of the most iconic men of the eighties, Chunk, as he meets Michael Jackson. All joking aside, this is a peculiar picture considering that Michael Jackson never appeared in the film.
Also because of the fact that Michael Jackson didn’t even have a single work on the soundtrack. Not even in the original script was there a part for an appearance by the prince of pop. In fact, the only way Jackson was even involved with the movie in the least is in the fact that Chunk claims he (Jackson) came to his (Chunk’s) house to use the bathroom.
It seems that the way this peculiar picture happened is that director Richard Donner actually invited Michael Jackson over to the site of filming and he met the cast. So, it seems the picture was just taken during a visit from the celebrity.
Another peculiar way Michael Jackson is intertwined into the making of the film, there is also an interesting tidbit about a scene. While filming the scene in which the pipes burst on them, Donner couldn’t get the reaction from the cast that he was looking for. As a result of this, Donner told them that Michael Jackson would be watching the filming and that got exactly what he was looking for.
School Time
As is the case with nearly every movie that involves actors and actresses at this young of an age, there was required schooling for all the kids in The Goonies. Even though there was a bit of diversity among the cast here in terms of ages, they all shared a single teacher and worked in this same trailer.
Books were brought in along with supplies, and the young ones were even hired a personal teacher to live on set and help them keep up with the education that the non-acting children in their age-groups were completing.
The name of this teacher who sacrificed so much to help these kids keep up with their peers is Rhoda C. Fine. She was described by the cast as a very sweet and motherly figure to them, caring and always watching the filming to make sure her students were alright.
You can see her standing in the picture with the blue shirt and the glasses as she oversees the studies of her pupils. Fine was dearly loved by all of the cast as a great mentor. It is even reported that the actress who played the character Andy, Kerri Green, left her a gift that was a carving that said, “Goonies 4 Ever.”
The Unused Octopus
I ask our readers to briefly think back to the peculiar entry that detailed the unused scene in which two gorillas were meant to steal a character’s car. This is another one of those scenes that was cut from the final product, but luckily, this one is a much less out-there idea.
It is still outlandish, but it does fit the actual mood and context of the movie. This scene is when the gang first comes upon the pirate ship of One-Eyed Willy. In the original shots, it seems a giant octopus was meant to attack them and act as a sort of guardian over the hidden treasure.
The characters were supposed to try and swim up to the boat originally as there was no way to climb aboard from dry land. As they were swimming, Data was supposed to mention that he kept on feeling something trying to grasp his leg. At the beginning, no one believed him and thought he was merely being paranoid.
The wooden constructed octopus was supposed to be controlled like a puppet from the inside. It would swing its arms and grab at the characters, but no harm would truly befall them, and they would make it to the ship all right.
Crafting Sloth
An interesting look into the talents of the special effects department, this picture shows a progression as they slowly turn an actor into a character. An intense amount of makeup and prosthetic was required in order to craft Sloth’s face.
The original actor for this part, football player John Matuszak, was quite a large man with a powerful stature. That is the reason he was selected to play the part, because the casting wanted to make Sloth a large and imposing man so that he could help save them in that final scene in which he holds the way open for his friends to escape.
The name of the man in charge of the makeup department was Ellis Burman. He decided that the best way to make Sloth look deformed was to really make his eyes unusual. Because of this, they created a prosthetic mask that would appear to alter the structure of Matuszak’s face.
One eye was set normally so he could actually see during filming, but the other one was a fake that was set lower. His true eye on that side was covered by the mask. His teeth were also modified for the part. They built a strip in the mask that would cover up his real teeth and display the fake ones in the mask to make them look real.
Civil Disobedience
There was one final deleted scene that got cut from the movie. This one was simply removed because of time constraints and because it didn’t add much to the plot that wasn’t already established without it. More or less, the Goonies were just putting up signs on that morning before they would be forced to move out of their hometown.
The signs were just simple ones, with slogans like “Save the Goon Docks.” This was the name of their neighborhood which was soon to be torn down in order to become land for a nearby country club to expand into. This area was based on small neighborhoods out on the coast of Oregon.
Because of the cast already voicing pretty well what their situation was during their first few scenes, director Richard Donner decided it wouldn’t really be necessary to include this scene in the final product. After all, the movie was already running past its initially estimated runtime, so sacrifices had to be made, just like with the octopus scene.
Although it never truly found its place in the movie we know and love, it still serves quite a purpose. It is a great photo of our main Goonies as they are in character and costume on the set. It serves as such a definitive look as the characters together, which is really the most important part of the movie.