Secrets From Behind the Scenes of ‘Weird Science’ As Cult Classic Celebrates 40th Anniversary

“Weird” perfectly describes the making of the late John Hughes‘ teen fantasy comedy, Weird Science!

The 1985 cult classic tells the story of Shermer High School nerds Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) who use a computer program to create the perfect woman, Lisa – Kelly LeBrock – after being bullied by senior jock Ian (Robert Downey Jr.) and Max (Robert Rusier) for crushing on their cheerleader girlfriends, Deb (Suzanne Snyder) and Hilly (Judie Aronson). Bill Paxton has a memorable role as Wyatt’s mean older brother, Chet. Naturally, hilarity ensues.

The germane idea came from the 1950s comic book Made of the Future by William M. Gaines, and the film carries the same name as the series of stories in the comic book, according to First For Women.

Hughes penned the script in just two days while also working on The Breakfast Club. In fact, both films are set at Shermer High, and John Kapelos plays Carl the janitor in both of them.

The prolific writer talked about his idea for Weird Science with Hall while they were shooting The Breakfast Club. “He wrote 30 pages that night,” Hall recalls in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “He was truly prolific. I mean, to go home and write the first act of another screenplay [when] you’re shooting The Breakfast Club? He was amazing.”

Director-writer Hughes wasn’t happy working on Weird Science at first because he was more interested in The Breakfast Club, but he was mollified when Universal Pictures honchos told him he would finish The Breakfast Club after Weird Science filming was finished.

He also used some footage of the school’s exterior (actually the now-gone Niles East High School, in Skokie, Ill.) from Sixteen Candles.

LeBrock initially turned down the chance to play Lisa, the character Hughes named after an early Apple computer model.

In an interview with Adam Lawton, LeBrock recalls, “When I was first offered that role, I turned it down because I was having way too much fun in the South of France with Sting, and I didn’t want to go back to the U.S. So they had hired someone else.”

Demi Moore and Robin Wright both auditioned for the part, and model Kelly Emberg was initially cast.

However, Emberg was fired for creative differences after two days. The former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue model never really pursued an acting career, and her passion for gardening led her to become Kelly Emberg the Model Gardener, offering advice on growing organic veggies.

After the shake-up, “They called me and said, ‘We will give you whatever you want,’ so the next day I was on a plane to Chicago,” says LeBrock. “My first scene was the shower scene, and I was forced to wear the previous actress’ wardrobe. She was a completely different body type than I was, so a lot of the outfits had to be modified for them to work.”

Meanwhile, Hall opted to play Gary over reprising his 1983 National Lampoon’s Vacation role as Rusty Griswold in the 1985 comedy National Lampoon’s European Vacation.

Hughes encouraged the actors to ad-lib lines, and the late Paxton took full advantage! His character’s offer to Gary to make him “a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray” is something Paxton’s father would say to him when he was hungover, per Entertainment Weekly.

The movie also features Hughes’ signature of having actors break the fourth wall and look directly at the camera as if to involve the audience. In Weird Science, Wyatt looks at the camera after his onscreen brother Paxton yells at him, “Wearing women’s underpants? Next thing you know, you’ll be wearing a bra on your head.”

Like their characters, Downey and Rusler pulled a number of pranks on set, creating disruptions that nearly got them fired!

Now considered by fans to be a cult classic, Weird Science cost a mere $7.5 million to make but ended up raking in nearly $40 million at the box office.