Weird Science

Weird Science was released on August 2, 1985. It written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock. It is based on the 1951 pre-Code comic "Made of the Future" by Al Feldstein, which appeared in the magazine of the same name. Bill Paxton, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Russler, Suzanne Snyder, Judie Aronson, Vernon Wells and Michael Berryman are in the supporting cast. Model Kelly Emberg was initially cast as Lisa, but she left after two days due to "creative differences". LeBrock was hired as her replacement. Vernon Wells reprises his memorable biker character Wez from Mad Max 2 but is credited in this movie as "Lord General". The film's theme song, "Weird Science", was performed by Oingo Boingo and written by the band's frontman, Danny Elfman. Filming was originally planned to begin on September 24, 1984 in Skokie, Illinois. It was ultimately delayed to October 2, 1984, at the Northbrook Court Shopping Mall. Most of the location shooting was filmed around neighbourhoods outside of Chicago, Illinois, whereas the rest of production was filmed on sound stages and the backlot at Universal City Studios in Los Angeles, California. Production wrapped on December 21, 1984. The production was kept closed in order to keep the film's plot a secret.

John Hughes wrote the script in only two days. He wasn't happy during filming of this movie, because it interfered with another project he cared about much more and resulted in his working a punishing schedule for months, but he agreed to direct it because Universal gave him a deal where he could also direct his more-valued project if he started this one first. The other film: The Breakfast Club (1985). Shermer High School is also the name of the high school in The Breakfast Club. Anthony Michael Hall makes a reference to a girlfriend from Canada. His character "Brian" from The Breakfast Club also makes a reference to an imaginary girlfriend from Canada. Robert Rusler said the first scene he ever filmed as a professional actor was when his character Max dumps the Slushee on Gary and Wyatt. He also said the celebratory handshake he does with Robert Downey Jr. right before pouring the Slushee was improvised between the two of them. He also said the scene when the rocket came up through the floor was a complicated shot to set up. Right before cameras rolled, Anthony Michael Hall farted, breaking the cast members' concentration and ruining the take. Rusler estimates the scene cost $100,000 to shoot. Because the take was blown, it had to be filmed in reverse, with additional tweaks in post-production. On the last day of filming, Robert Rusler auditioned for the role of Ron Grady in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985). Robert Downey Jr. drove him to the audition. Kelly LeBrock's character name was inspired by Apple Computer's first GUI computer, the Apple Lisa. According to Bill Paxton, Chet's line "How about a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?" was based on something his father John Paxton used to say to him when Bill was hungover from a night of drinking. When Bill Paxton is speaking to Kelly LeBrock while interrogating everyone over what had happened the previous night, in the background, Suzanne Snyder and Anthony Michael Hall are struggling to stay in character, but it is clear they are laughing. John Hughes chose to use this take in the completed film. In the shower scene, Kelly LeBrock was wearing a bikini bottom, with her nipples covered with black tape. The piano girl (October 1982 Playboy Centerfold Kym Malin) performed her own stunts. This included the use of a scaffold when hoisted up where the chimney is a makeshift vacuum, where her clothes were ripped off, and a crane when hoisted in the air, where the piano girl lands in the swimming pool half-naked (in real life, her Playboy centerfold pictorial used a swimming pool in the background). In the John Hughes documentary Don't You Forget About Me (2009), Kelly LeBrock describes her character Lisa as "Mary Poppins with breasts."

Roger Ebert called LeBrock "wonderful" in her role and thought that as a result the film was "funnier, and a little deeper, than the predictable story it might have been." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "Mr. Hughes shows that he can share the kind of dumb joke that only a 14-year old boy could love. There are enough moviegoing 14-year old boys to make a hit out of Weird Science," Anthony Michael Hall passed on starring in National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) to be in this film. As a result, neither Russ Griswold nor his sister Audrey were ever played by the same actors from film-to-film until Dana Barron reprised her role of Audrey in Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003). A television series based on the film ran for 88 episodes, from 1994 to 1998. Following the same basic plot as the film, the series starred Vanessa Angel as Lisa, Michael Manasseri as Wyatt, John Mallory Asher as Gary, and Lee Tergesen as Chet. In 2017, Ilan Mitchell-Smith talked about a sequel to Weird Science starring Channing Tatum. The film is now regarded as a cult classic.