Trivia for
Stand by Me (1986) More at IMDbPro »

• When Ace and Eyeball meet up with Gordie and Chris, the plate glass window identifies the place they have just exited as "Irby's Billiards", named after first assistant director Irby Smith.
  
  
• Corey Feldman and director Rob Reiner tested thirty different laughs before deciding upon the one for Teddy Duchamp. The laugh happens to be similar to that described in King's story.
  
  
• Wil Wheaton's grandfather starred in "Wagon Train" (1957), so Wil's grandmother asked that Wagon Train somehow be worked into the dialogue, and it was.
  
  
• The actress pictured on the cover of a vintage movie magazine is Elizabeth McGovern, who was at the time engaged to director Rob Reiner.
  
  
• While filming the scene in which Ace Merrill takes Gordie's brother's Yankees cap, Kiefer Sutherland's first instinct was to put it on, rather than hand it to Eyeball Chambers. Reiner told Sutherland not to put the hat on as a way of showing that Ace was stealing it just to be cruel to Gordie and not because the hat itself was at all important to Ace. Sutherland and Wheaton both confirm in the DVD's behind the scenes documentary that the reason that Gordie never gets the hat back from Ace is that Ace threw it away immediately after stealing it from Gordie.
  
  
• While practicing his lines, Jerry O'Connell was incredibly impressed that, as an 11-year old, he was being allowed to swear.
  
  
• To keep in character while off-camera, Kiefer Sutherland often picked on Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell.
  
  
• The gang sing "I ran all the way home" - this was the theme tune to, All the Way Home (1981) (TV) which starred Frances Lee McCain, Gordie's mother.
  
  
• The movie is based on a short story called "The Body" by Stephen King from a book of short stories called "Different Seasons" which also includes "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" which became The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and "Apt Pupil" (Apt Pupil (1998)).
  
  
• At the insistence of director Rob Reiner (an avid non-smoker who campaigned for anti-smoking laws in California), the cigarettes smoked by the boys were made from cabbage leaves.
  
  
• Another actor was originally cast as The Writer. After those scenes were shot, Richard Dreyfuss was cast in the role and the scenes were re-shot with him.
  
  
• Rob Reiner had trouble casting the role of "The Writer", first casting actor David Dukes, then going to Spinal Tap vet 'Michael McKean' among others, before finally settling on high school friend Richard Dreyfuss.
  
  
• This is Jerry O'Connell's motion picture debut.
  
  
• Mr. Quidacioluo is played by Bruce Kirby, whose real last name is Quidacioluo.
  
  
• 'Adrian Lyn'e, who was set to direct this film, was forced to hand it over to Rob Reiner when _9 Weeks (1986)_ ran over schedule
  
  
• When they were filming the scene where Gordie and Vern are about to be run over by the train, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O' Connell did not look scared enough; In frustration Rob Reiner yelled at them to the point where they started crying and that's when they were able to film the scene.
  
  
• According to Wil Wheaton on the DVD documentary, the scene in which Verne (Jerry O'Connell) can't remember the "secret knock" to the clubhouse was thought of by Wheaton, Phoenix, and Feldman on the day it was shot as another way to make Verne look more pathetic.
  
  
• All four of the films stars have starred in music videos. Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix, appeared in Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" (made for the movie), Corey Feldman appeared in the video for Cyndi Lauper's "Goonies 'R' Good Enough" (made for the movie The Goonies) and Jerry O'Connell appeared in Mariah Carey's music video for her song "Heartbreaker".
  
  
• In an interview by Stephen King in the special features of the DVD, he reveals that the scene with the leeches actually did happen to him, when he was a child.
  
  
• In the Kiefer Sutherland TV show "24" there is a also character named Milo Pressman played by Eric Balfour.
  
  
• The novella and the film take place in the town of Castle Rock (Maine and then Oregon respectively). Castle Rock became the name of Rob Reiner's production company.
  
  
• In the scene where Gordie and Chris race each other through the junkyard, Wil Wheaton could run faster than River Phoenix but Wheaton's character was supposed to lose. Wheaton had to fake a fast run when running slow so that Phoenix's character would win.
  
  
• The apparel of the four boys is the same throughout the entire movie, except for Teddy. From the beginning to the tree house scene, he is wearing a nice shirt with a design on it. Then, he is seen wearing a green shirt, from the part where they all meet up to go on the journey, to the end of the movie. But Gordie, Chris, and Vern are all wearing the same clothes throughout the whole movie.
  
  
• River Phoenix had auditioned for the part of Gordie Lachance, but Rob Reiner thought that he would be better cast as Chris Chambers.
  
  
• Corey Feldman has stated in several interviews that of all the characters he's played, the character of Teddy was actually the closest personality and personal life at the time.
  
  
• The pond the boys fall into was a man made pool because the crew wanted them to be "safe and secure" and didn't want to put them a real pond because they didn't know what was in it. But Corey Feldman stated in a interview the joke of the whole thing was they built and filled it with water in June and by time they got to film the scene it was in August. So it been out in the woods for 3 month and they didn't know what was in it anyway.
  
  
• In the original theatrical release, the final words typed by The Writer, "Jesus, does anyone?" were obviously added in post-production. The size and color of the letters did not match the other words on the computer screen. This was re-shot for subsequent home video releases.
  
  
• In the campfire scene in which Chris breaks down, Reiner was sure River Phoenix could do better. He asked him to think of a time in his own life when an adult had let him down and use it in the scene, which Phoenix did. Upset and crying, he had to be comforted by the director after wards. The result of Phoenix's exercise is the scene that ended up in the final cut.
  
  
• River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell got up to much mischief in the hotel they were staying in during filming. This included throwing all the pool side furniture into the pool, Wheaton fixing video games in the lobby so they could play them for free and Phoenix (spurred on by the other boys) unknowingly covering Kiefer Sutherland's car in mud; only discovering who's car it was when Sutherland confronted a scared and nervous Phoenix about it later.
  
  
• As with most of Stephen King's stories, this one originally contained connections to other books he has written. Ace Merrill later re-appeared in the book Needful Things (1993), although he does not appear in the film. The dog Chopper is compared to Cujo (1983). Characters are familiar with Shawshank Prison, from The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Teddy Duchamp was actually first mentioned in King's first book, Carrie (1976), in which Carrie destroys a gas station he once worked at.
  
  

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