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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022
“Wayne’s World”
starred Mike Myers,
left, and Dana Carvey.
ILLUSTRATION BY BRANDEN
BARKER/USA TODAY
NETWORK; FILE PHOTO
A LOOK BACK AT ‘WAYNE’S WORLD’ AS THE MOVIE TURNS 30
Brian Truitt USA TODAY
Thirty years after the release of her comedy hit “Wayne’s World,”
director Penelope Spheeris would like to clear up a “crazy gossipy
thing.”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” became a cultural touchstone thanks to
the movie’s iconic head-banging scene with Mike Myers and Dana
Carvey’s rock-loving, cable-access dudes from “Saturday Night
Live.”
But internet rumors persist that Spheeris really wanted a Guns N’
Roses song in that sequence instead of the memorable Queen num-
ber. (In 2018, Myers told Stephen Colbert he threatened to walk off
the movie when the studio pushed for GNR.)
“That’s just nuts,” Spheeris tells USA TODAY. She had tried to
cast Axl Rose’s band in her 1988 documentary “The Decline of West-
ern Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.”
“They were on board for most of the time and then right before
we were going to shoot, they bailed. So there was no way I was going
to hire Guns N’ Roses. I was mad at them!” She laughs and adds:
“Although Slash is a very good friend right now. I love him.”
“Wayne’s World” audiences loved the comedy catchphrases of
Wayne Campbell (Myers) and Garth Algar (Carvey), from “Party
time!” to “We’re not worthy!” But Spheeris, a longtime documentar-
ian and music video director, gave pop culture an excellent lesson in
rock history with a hit soundtrack featuring Cinderella, Black Sab-
bath, Jimi Hendrix and more.
“I will always, if I’m making a movie, try and boost it up wherever
I can with music that I feel makes a difference,” Spheeris says. “To
me, a movie is half visual and half audio – it’s not mostly visual like
most people think. The audio is so extremely important and you can
get so much more emotion if you choose the right song.”
And for “Wayne’s World” (which celebrated its 30th anniversary
last week with a new limited-edition SteelBook Blu-ray), that was
definitely “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with the movie renewing interest
worldwide in both the tune and Queen. The film kicks into high gear
early on with this instant-classic needle drop as Wayne, Garth and
their friends head-bang in the “Mirthmobile” (a blue 1976 AMC Pac-
er) on their way to a concert.
The scene proved to be a tough one to film, with Myers and Car-
vey complaining about neck and head pain during two arduous
overnight shoots. But Spheeris was “pretty confident” all their
head-banging was going to be worth it because she test-drove the
same bit in her 1987 movie “Dudes,” where Jon Cryer and Flea (from
the Red Hot Chili Peppers) rock out to “Hava Nagila” in a blue Volks-
The most famous scene from “Wayne’s World” had the
characters head banging to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
wagen.
“So I knew it was a fun scene, but I didn’t know that the ‘Bohe-
mian Rhapsody’ version of that was going to be so iconic and so
remembered and loved by so many people forever,” Spheeris says.
“It just struck a note, excuse the pun.”
The movie is riddled with celebrity and music cameos, from
rock icon Alice Cooper to Chris Farley in his first movie role. Rob
Lowe’s portrayal of smarmy and villainous TV producer Benjamin
Kane, who steals Wayne and Garth’s show out from under them,
helped revive his acting career after a sex-tape scandal in the late
’80s: “He told me, ‘I had no idea I could actually be the straight
funny guy,’ ” Spheeris says.
And before legendary rocker Meat Loaf had his own huge music
comeback in 1993 with “Bat Out of Hell II: Back in to Hell,” Spheeris
cast her old friend in a small part as a bouncer named Tiny. Sphee-
ris knew the singer from record-label parties at clubs like the Rain-
bow Bar and Grill on the “insane” Sunset Strip in the 1980s.
“He loved doing it. It was just a little tiny moment just like Chris
Farley, but people remember them. Meat Loaf sure did know how
to be a bouncer at a door because he and I walked through many of
those doors and came up against those bouncers,” says Spheeris,
adding it was “very shocking” to hear about the musician’s death
last month at age 74. “I’m really sorry about it. My gosh, he was too
young.”
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