I have to keep reminding myself that I can compose offline in ecto. Oh, related to that: I really like ecto, and feel comfortable endorsing it and recommending it to anyone who is looking for a full-featured offline editor for their blog.
Anyway, I guess AMC ran Stand By Me on DVD TV last night. Apparently, I’m the only person in the world who didn’t know about this, because I got tons of e-mail about it, and it appears that a lot of people who’ve never read my blog before are dropping by today to see what it’s all about. That fills me with performance anxiety, and makes me wish I had one of those “my favorite posts” posts to point you to. Maybe my Best of 2006 entry (which was a cleverly disguised starting point for The Happiest Days of Our Lives ) or a story like Blue Light Special would give you an idea of what I typically blather on about on my particular section of the ‘tubes.
OH! You know what I just thought? It would be totally cool — well, cool for me, anyway — if some readers wanted to leave links to their favorite posts in the comments. That way, I could, you know, lazyweb my way to a “readers favorites” post at some point in the future.
AMC has some really terrific blogs now, including a Sci-Fi blog that John Scalzi’s contributing to. There’s a post in their Future Classics blog that Stand By Me fans will probably enjoy about how Stephen King’s childhood inspired Stand By Me.
I really wish I’d seen it, because I’m always interested to know if other people remember things the same way I did, and because it’s really fun to know what else was going on outside of my 12 year-old acting bubble.
I guess they said that I was “upset” that Gordie never got his baseball cap back from Ace, which isn’t entirely accurate. I remember asking Rob why Gordie didn’t make Ace give him back his Yankees cap at the end of the movie, since it seemed like the sort of thing that should happen if Gordie and his friends “won.” (This made perfect sense to me when I was 12.)
Rob said that Ace didn’t keep the cap, and threw it away as soon as he walked around the corner. It wasn’t about the cap, Rob told me, as much as it was about Ace being cruel.
I learned a lot about filmmaking and storytelling in that conversation with Rob, and I still feel its influence on my creative life.
AMC also said that Kiefer Sutherland was a bully to all of us in real life. I don’t remember it that way at all, though I know Corey and Jerry have both said that he was pretty tough on them — method acting, I guess. It was different for me; I was certainly intimidated by him, but I don’t recall him going out of his way to be cruel or anything when the cameras weren’t rolling. In fact, my two clearest memories of him are being afraid that he was going to accidentally burn River’s face with the cigarette near the beginning of the movie, and that he wanted me to point the gun straight at his face near the end of the movie, which made me nervous, even though it wasn’t loaded.
Okay, one more memory and then I really have to get back to work: In that final scene, when Gordie pulls the gun on Ace, my instinct was to yell at him, like I was trying to intimidate him (again, this made sense when I was 12.) Rob let me rehearse it that way, and then he very calmly pulled me aside and asked me to try it again, but to keep my voice quieter. “Let the gun do the talking,” he said. “It’s more powerful.”
I was 12, so I said that I thought I should do it my way. (Ah, the impertinence of youth, how glad I am to be rid of it.) Rob nodded patiently and said, “Okay, listen to this.” He took a few steps away, and pointed his finger at my face. “No, Ace, just you,” he said. Gravely, quietly, seriously.
Then, he pulled that finger back and held it up.
“Now,” he said, “listen to this.” He took a deep breath, pointed his finger at my face again, and screamed, “NO ACE JUST YOU!”
His voice echoed off the river, as he asked, “Which one is scarier? Which one is stronger?”
I laughed nervously. “It’s scarier when you yell at me, but it’s stronger to be quiet, which is guess is scarier if you’re Ace.” I said.
“So let’s try it that way,” he said, kindly.
People always give me credit for being great in that movie. The truth is, I don’t think I deserve as much credit for it as I’m frequently given. I think back on my limited experience and my silly ideas, and then I see what a magnificent performance Rob Reiner coaxed out of me. The difference is striking.
Stand By Me is a classic film because of Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirshenson, who cast it, Rob Reiner,who directed it, Andy Scheinman, who produced it, and Ray Gideon and Bruce Evans, who wrote it. I was really good at taking direction, so I’ll take a little credit for that, but all of us were standing on the shoulders of giants.
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Stand By Me has always maintained its standing in the top 10 list of this film-o-phile, Wil, and is the sole reason I ever tuned into TNG in the first place.
I love that you mention Jane and Janet. They are so my favorite casting team that my sister and I will still say “Oh good, casting by Jane and Janet” when we start watching a new movie. It bodes well.
That scene in Stand By Me, where Gordie tells Ace off is so powerful. It really is a great tribute to both Reiner (who knows how to get a great performance out of his actors) and to you, because you were smart enough to listen to him even when your ego wanted to do it your way. Thanks for telling us those little stories that give such great insight into the process.
Now I might have to go home and watch my (signed!) copy of Stand By Me this evening.
STAND BY ME is gonna be on my top 5 movie list of all time. my top 5 movies list is:
STAND BY ME
THE GOONIES
THE LOST BOYS
THE MONSTER SQUAD
NEWSIES (the only one that’s not from the 80’s)
Still one of the greatest coming of age movies ever made. I really, really wish you’d do a Stand By Me commentary podcast, in real time with the movie.
FOREVER!
Just going to re-iterate what has already been said. Stand By Me is in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. Each character in the film has called out to me in different ways through the years. Except the junkyard owner I guess.
It’s funny, I’ve been reading your blog for so long that in my mind you are just a funny/intelligent guy who writes a blog I love. It’d slipped into my sub-conscious that you were Gordy. I guess that’s the sign of a well played part then right? The actor is not the character, the character is the character.
Either way Wil, thanks for the entertainment as a kid, and thanks again for the entertainment as an adult.
I agree with Shane. Podcast plz.
Though I haven’t watched the full movie in years, we watched part of it last night. It not only holds up as a fantastic coming-of-age movie, but the performances by you guys, considering that you’re all so young, are really fantastic. You can credit everyone else all you want, but don’t sell yourself short – you kicked ass. Own that shit.
Er, that should be especially considering that you’re all so young. Preview is my friend.
I haven’t had a chance to read the book that I got from you at SuperCon, but if it reads anything like this post, I am going to be really happy. I watched Stand by Me the other night for the first time since it came out in the theaters and agree that it was well directed, but I think you deserve credit for your acting as well. Don’t worry about “performing” Wil, just be honest with us and I think you will make your fans happy.
I’m not much of a commenter, but since this post is about my all-time favorite movie by my all-time favorite author, I just had to…
Whatever Rob did to get that performance out of you was pure genius. And how you pulled off the BEST. LINE. EVER: “Suck my fat one, you cheap dimestore hood.” Was that Rob’s doing, too?
Anyway…great movie, superb acting, and a good story. Love your blog, and your tweets!
http://www.twitter.com/tamarwallace
Part of me wants to see you in a movie with similar depth of character now. Something that’s not just a quick, fun bit of character to play, but a bit more like a balanced hero with flaws that grows up a bit in the movie and realizes “something.”
Okay, I’ve use “something” too much now.
Those movies where there’s a catch near the end of the movie when the movie tries to hit us upside the head, as in “this is what the movie’s about” or “this is what’s important” are ones that are, perhaps a little trite but are what I like. To me, these are films like “Local Hero” or “The Caine Mutiny” and this is a movie I’d like to see you, Mr. Wheaton, in.
I understand these are not the types of films that come along very often for anyone let alone someone who professes to be more into writing than doing the acting thing much any more. But still, I think it would be a kick for me to see you in that. Sometimes (ugh! I used it again!) sharing things via a blog, no matter how antiseptic, or reading a book by that person, make seeing the person act more meaningful and make some of us feel like we were, in some small way part of it. In other words, it’d be a vicarious thrill for my silly life.
Thanks for your early acting efforts and here’s to your potential future efforts.
I agree with Kathleen — you were brilliant and there’s no way Rob could have pulled that performance out of you if it wasn’t somewhere within you. You were the right person in the right place at the right time.
Stand By Me is one of my favorite movies of all time. I am so honored to have your autograph on my DVD! And even more honored that you were moved to give me a separate captioned/autographed still from the movie. Totally beyond fangirl moment.
I am still holding out hope that you will record (and sell) your own commentary track.
Oh, and I totally could have told you “Second Chance” was done by .38 Special 😉 My husband saw them in concert… with Bon Jovi as the opening act. Ahh the 80s….
“Last Starfighter” was on over the weekend, too. I guess not NEARLY as important as “Stand By Me” but still, I watched it just to see your name in the credits (VBG)
Hey wil. to let you know from a fellow geek. i was you in stand by me. i was you in STNG. at 33, i am you now. i drink great Stone beer. i love tech. i write. i voice act. i just love to do what i want. and my wife loves me for it. thanks for being there.
t.
Wil,
I love the fact that you are so humble and gracious in this post. It says a lot about you as a writer and you as a person.
Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself through your blog and your work.
I appreciate your generosity.
Chad
Wil –
I am about 6 months younger then you and actually saw this movie when it was released, even though it was R and my mom said no .. It was the first movie I ever snuck out to see.
It was really powerful for me, mostly because of you and Jerry, since I totally related. I was overweight and picked on like Jerry’s character watching you all bond through out the movie was a great experience and changed the way my 12, going on 13 year old mind worked and helped to let people who were genuinely being nice to me in to my life.
While I realize you took direction for the most part, you exhibited a HUGE amount of talent, and affected a young geeks life in profound way…
Thanks
Stephen
Woo! Wil Wheaton’s using my blogging software 🙂
Thanks for the compliments!
Just FYI, Stand By Me is now in the $5 bins in Wal-Marts.
My wife said when we were watching SBM on AMC, “Oh, you read his blog. I know who he is now.”
She watched that movie with her grandmother when she was a child, which was a nice memory for her as her grandmother just died in February.
I would tell you what my favorite post of yours is, but I can’t because I’m still waiting for you to write it – a recap of your memories from working on Toy Soldiers. 🙂
Toy Soldiers totally rocked. I was very impressed by the fact that they let Wil’s character mess up with the submachine gun.
I think that Stand By Me was an incredibly well structured film. I have always loved the way it flowed. I think it is sad that it wasn’t quite the happy experience it looked. I think it would have been really cool if they could have gotten the remaining cast together to reminisce, I guess I just don’t “get” how Hollywood works.
I think I’m sorta glad about that.
I watched Stand By Me last night, too. I had often wondered about you and where you are now. Glad to have found you.
I don’t generally read blogs (and I’m sure many that drop by have said the same) but yours is well worth coming back to.
Thank you for providing a little more flesh to the many assumptions made in the commentary as I watched.
I haven’t watched Stand By Me in ages. Maybe I should watch it again.
Oh, my favorite blog entry of yours (which I tried searching for, but alas, could not locate), is that hilarious banter between you and Anne about monkeys stealing dice. It was a classic GeekWil moment, and incredibly cute.
I only recently discovered your blog but I was so thrilled to find it. I guess last week was Wil Wheaton on TV week because Lifetime Movie Network played “The Girls’ Room”.
But, on the topic at hand…
Not long after SbM came out, my older brother was killed in a railroad accident, so “Stand By Me” was a very difficult movie for me to watch but I thought your portrayal of Gordie was excellent. I think ‘you as Gordie’ helped me learn to grieve, because at 12, I didn’t know how. You helped one confused little girl move forward.
Thank you for that.
(*whispers* Also, maybe I crushed on you the teensiest bit then.)
I DVR’d it so I can watch it later. (Stand By Me)
My favorite post? Hmm… there was a post about what it means/how hard it is to be a stepfather. I’d guess it was a year or so ago. I think that’s probably my favorite.
Thank you for this. I say that because I watched Stand by Me on AMC last night and it was the first and only time I have seen that movie. I disagree with anyone who thinks the acting in that movie wasn’t first rate. I love Rob Reiner’s films too but it wasn’t all his directing and that is what brought me here. Unfortunately, all the trivia they showed distracted me from the movie (though I stand by my opinion) and I think Wil should watch it just to see what was said. I don’t think he will ever get that message but it’s now out there.
Anyway, it brought me here last night and back tonight for reasons I cannot explain as there is no real reason for me to be here. I think I fell closer to the faction of people who hated the Wesley character, for no good reason I should add. So I am here, not as a fan but just a random person, albeit a very geeky one. To anyone who thinks they are geekier than me, you are wrong.
The writing is great and I am glad I was home last night and caught that film. I have been kind of sick lately and this has been the best medicine ever.
Thank you. I am sorry I rambled, it’s been a long day and I always find typing to be therapeutic but blogging diarreah is never attratctive.
Interestingly, after last night’s AMC showing of “Stand By Me” I learned that Stephen King revisited a grown-up, coke-headed Ace in his novel “Needful Things.”
Among other details, we learn Ace did a short turn in Shawshank Prison, and that he still carries a grudge against Chris, Gordie, Teddy, and Vern for “cheating” him out of his big chance at notoriety for being the one to find Ray Brower’s body.
Ace especially despises Gordie for having left Castle Rock, and gone on to become a successful author with a big house elsewhere in Maine.
Anyhow, after the events of “The Body,” Ace–now abandoned by his old greaser pals–officially becomes the town loser, his ass glued to a barstool, while blaming everyone else for his problems.
He does, however, play a fairly significant role in “Needful Things,” though. Apparently, Ace’s is not a cameo role where he makes a brief appearance, and does nothing else.
Like I said, interesting. No?
I watched ST:TNG with my dad as I was growing up (had a huge crush on you – I was about 12), then got into reading Stephen King and read The Body, which lead me to Stand By Me, and back to Wil Wheaton. And then I went on to PAX 2007, which lead me back to Wil Wheaton. In fact, it seems that most things just keep leading back to Wil.
My favorite post of yours, and the only one I have bookmarked, is “Let Go“. I bawl when I read it, but it so closely mirrors my own loss of a beloved pet that it’s comforting.
Silly to write, but I’m going to anyway.
Stand By Me is the reason I fell in love with Wil Wheaton! I had to be 9 years old or so when I first watched it. I still love it! Of course I watched it last night,even if it drove my hubby nuts because I have it on DVD and have watched it numerous times.
I must say, my biggest memory of the movie (from when I was a kid) was when Gordie found the leach on his Woo hoo woo hoo. I remember I put my head down because I was afraid I was gonna see it!
The Woo hoo woo hoo that is!
Good grief.
I’m still kind of creeped out that you actually became a writer. Either life imitates art, or they have psychic casting directors now. Personally, I’m eagerly awaiting Stand By Me II: the wrath of Ray Brower.
You want a Stephen King moment? Imagine what your life would have been like if George Lucas had directed that movie.
I can’t find a link, but one of my favorite posts is when you talk about the induction of Gene Roddenberry into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
I twittered you about that last Tuesday.
Maybe the twitter firehose isn’t the best way to get you information.
It was nice to see Stand By Me again. The most amusing comment at the bottom of the screen…Rob Reiner said that the reason Wil Wheaton was so good as Gordi was because he had that doe eyed innocent yet intelligent look. According to them, Wil Wheaton’s response: “But I’m not a whimp.”
This movie is a classic simply because of the way it connects us to our childhoods. All of the actors did a great job. It does Mr. Reiner credit that just about all of the child actors from this movie attribute their acting to his directing. But the truth is that all the great, inspiring direction in the world cannot coax a convincing performance from a bad actor. There has to be something there in the first place. Some of us like Wil Wheaton the actor as much as they enjoy Wil Wheaton the blogger, Wil Wheaton the author, and Wil Wheaton the geek.
Stand By Me will always be one of my favorite films, though it always makes me sad to see River Phoenix and to hear the seemingly prophetic statement of his character’s death in the ending voice-over of the film.
I have a question for you, unrelated to that: Do you know if the guy who played Charlie “Lard Ass” Hogan (the pie eating contest guy) had any problems playing the fat guy whom everyone made fun of? It always seems to me that that would bother me if I were in that type of role.
Thanks for sharing Wil! I love it when you mention little things about SBM ‘cuz it’s one of my all-time favorites and I agree with the Podcast commentary idea… That’d be awesome. AMC also mentioned your blog in the trivia section… guess you’ll be getting more new readers soon! 😉
Don’t sell yourself short, Wil. You were only 12, first of all, and second, at least you did learn from your mistakes *before* they were immortalized on film. It’s a little hard for me to watch that film nowadays, but that’s because of River’s passing, not because of the acting. That still gets me, all these years later, how his character (as an adult) died in the movie, and then River died just a few years later…
I identified with Gordie so much as a kid. I just felt like I never fit in with the world around me, and when I watch Gordie, that’s what I see in him – a kid who doesn’t quite fit in the world around him, and his struggles to at least try to make it work.
Always wanted to ask – you had a few scenes with John Cusack – what was it like working with him?
Favorite blog entry… I don’t know that I have any specific favorites, but I think the ones where you talk about spending time with your sons, the poignant moments that happen in the course of everyday life, are the ones I like the best.
I really enjoy when you share these behind-the-scenes anecdotes and reflections on the past. Posts like that, as well as your step-parenting stories, are my favorites.
Stand By Me is one of my all time favorite movies, and your performance is one of my favorites in the movie. But I’ve also never seen a Rob Reiner movie I haven’t at least liked, if not loved, so if you want to give him the credit for coaxing the performance out of you, that’s also fine. 🙂
While I have an affinity for any movie filmed in my state (except, perhaps, for Short Circuit), I have to say that Stand by Me holds a special place in my heart.
It is a rare thing for an ensemble cast of that caliber at that age. Think about it: if a single role had been miscast, the whole effect would have been stilted and it would lose its authenticity. Instead, it was beautifully conceived, beautifully executed, and indescribably well acted. You may attribute part of that to Rob Reiner, but I think much of what was achieved had to do with the native talent of the actors in the show.
That’s why it has stood up so well for so many years. It’s not something that you remember fondly because you saw it once upon a time; even now, having seen it dozens of times, I still find it engrossing, moving, and thoughtful.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, Wil. It’s really interesting to learn what it was like from the other side of the lens. Of course, you have a knack for making almost anything you write about (poker, even!) interesting.
One of my absolute favorites!!!
So I’m going to write another one and link here…
Hope You don’t bother….
Find me at http://gandhiseinblogg.blogg.de
just curious as to why you never mention richard dreyfuss – i’m thinking it’s because his parts were filmed when you weren’t around?
i always thought his stuff was a major part of why i loved that movie so much…
I hadn’t ever seen Stand by Me, but I made a point to catch it today because I read your blog and your Twitter. (I guess that shows that I’m a little younger: TNG to this blog to Stand By Me.) I was surprised, both by how powerful the movie was (even censored, although I intend to see the movie uncut soon) and by the fact that you played the main character. However, the fact that you did it so well was no shock, and it’s great to see how much of a learning experience that was for you.
Isn’t it funny that you became a writer in your adult years? It’s almost like the movie was foreshadowing.
I think that William Goldman said it best in the book version of “Princess Bride, 25th Anniversary Edition,” when he talks about movies and says that once the filming starts, all the hard work has been done. If the movie script was good, the cast was right, and the director was good, then the movie would be good.
I think “Stand By Me” is a perfect example of that.
Because I want to be “totally cool” I’m leaving links to some of my favorite wwdn posts.
First, nerd revenge, wherein Wil recounts the bet his friend and fellow ACME performer Annie lost, forcing her to create her own blog. Hilarious.
and now for something completely different. Wil auditions for Numb3rs.
when come back, bring π Happy π day to all.
the butterfly tree For those of you who haven’t yet read Wil’s books, this is classic Wheaton.
on writing… Wil goes back to school.
TV Squad TNG Reviews. More great reading from Wil.
an explosion of horrible, entropic freedom. Wil vs. Izze soda.
early morning conversations with my brain. If you’re a writer, this is the funniest thing ever.
Radio Free Burrito Episodes 0-12. Tired of reading? Listen to Wil’s podcasts instead.
I don’t have a favorite post, so this is going to have to be a Desert Island Discs sort of thing, but with blog posts instead of records, obviously, because I don’t have a “Best of Wil Wheaton on 45” album, not that you can find vinyl nowadays for love nor money… I’ll come in again.
I first read “Houses in Motion” in “Dancing Barefoot”. I lost my dad when I was 20 and the story resonated with me so much. I had one of those restless nights after reading it, when the mortality of the people I love really hits home.
http://www.wilwheaton.net/2002/10/houses_in_motion_2.php
I’ll agree with queentess on “Let Go”. It reminds me how precious it is to have a pet in your life. I was too young / self-absorbed to really be affected when our first dog died and I wasn’t living with them when Mum’s second dog got leukemia. Now I’m a proper dog owner, although he can (literally) be a pain, I know I’m going to miss him when he’s gone.
http://www.wilwheaton.net/2005/03/let_go.php
“Blue Light Special”. Wow. Just. Wow. That would have been me if I’d not had such a Lego fixation, had a younger brother, a nap-needing sister, a K-Mart and a sudden need for a pyrrhic victory over my Mum… OK, not so much, then. But every time I see my forlorn AT-AT or cockpit-windshield-less Falcon sat safely, but abandoned, in the attic, I can hear that story in my mind. http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2006/09/blue_light_spec.html
And for those of you who want to hear Wil reading “Blue Light Special”:
http://www.pulpgamer.com/specials/134046/wil-wheaton-reading-at-phoenix-cactus-comicon-2008/
Oh, and I haven’t seen “Stand By Me” all the way through yet *ducks and covers*
…
Typepad called my epic comment “possible comment spam” *cries*.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have tried to link to that post where Wil humorously, yet insightfully, discussed his first time trying Viagra while downloading lost Heroes episodes and .PIF files containing pictures of Yvonne Strahovski. Man, that was a classic…
The wife unit, whom you signed the totally cool special edition of Stand By Me for in Montreal, stumbled on this last night just as you were telling the lardass story. We both commented on how great a performance you had, and regardless of what you say, Rob only directed you, you did the acting. Sure he deserves some credit, but in the end you chose to listen to him and execute his instructions in a way only you can.
First, my favorite post. I know it may be something of a cliche answer, but I’ve always thought that your annually relinked Fourth of July post is such a powerful piece of writing. I’ve spent a great deal of time recently reliving my own childhood memories in front of my laptop, in hopes that I’ll have them for my own kids to read. I have to confess that the original inspiration and model for my work was that 2002 blog post. (http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001654.php)
As for Stand By Me, it is just one of those movies that you can’t help but to walk away from as a better person. It certainly offered me significant perspective on my own childhood, and has in its own way inspired my current project.
I’m sure you hear it a lot, but thanks for filling my work with a strength of purpose.
I would like to second, third and fourth the motion to have you make (and sell) a podcast commentary for Stand By Me. You could also make podcasts for TNG, Toy Soldiers, etc… As you know who would say, “Make it so, Mr. Wheaton.”
I actually watched Stand By Me a few weeks ago – my wife had never seen it, much to my horror. It stands up surprisingly well given the time that’s passed, and all the performances are top notch.
Glad you still have good memories of being a part of it in spite of that Jerry O’Connell bullying thing a few months ago.