Trivia / Airheads

• Completely Different Title: The French release of this film is called Radio Rebels.
  • In Japan, Hardrock Hijack.
  • On Chinese sites this gets loosely translated to Rock and Roll Army.
• Dawson Casting: 36-year old Steve Buscemi as a twenty-something heavy metal bassist. Actually works, though, as he ends up looking more authentic than actual twenty-somethings Fraser and Sandler.
• Executive Meddling: Steve Buscemi originally wore a shirt that said "BLOW ME". Studio executives freaked out when they saw the first dailies and ordered that it be changed, which is why Rex's wardrobe changes without explanation.
• Friendship on the Set: Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler became good friends during filming, which led to Buscemi becoming a part of Sandler's Happy Madison Productions Production Posse.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Chris Farley, famous for playing larger-than-life characters, as mild-mannered LAPD Officer Wilson.
  • Similarly, Michael Richards, famous for playing Cloudcuckoolander Kramer on Seinfeld, as the highly neurotic station CPA Doug Beech.
  • Adam Sandler, famous for playing abrasive jerks or Jerks With A Heart Of Gold, as meek drummer Pip.
• Technology Marches On: Chazz and his band might not have gotten in as much trouble if they had their demo on an iPod or available online. Also, if Kayla had a cell phone, Chazz might have gotten through to her sooner, and might not have needed the LAPD to scour the LA strip to find her.
  • The Lone Rangers could have promoted their music through social media websites, eliminating the need for them to sneak into a radio station.
  • The radio station would likely be going to an all-news format instead of easy listening (or closing completely) as in-car mp3 player options and satellite radio become ever more ubiquitous.
• Those Two Actors: Brendan Fraser and Amy Locane also played love interests in School Ties two years earlier.
• Vindicated by Cable: The movie bombed at the box office and was thrashed by critics. But due to the fact that it was played heavily on Comedy Central during the late 1990s it has managed to achieve Cult Classic status — especially among fans of hard rock and Heavy Metal music, due to all the rock & roll in-jokes and the cameos by famous rock musicians.
• What Could Have Been:
  • At least two bands were considered for a cameo as the performer at the Whiskey A Go Go before White Zombie was chosen:
    • Cannibal Corpse, who later appeared in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, was asked if they wanted to do it, but they were unable due to being on tour.
    • Testament was also considered but turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts. The irony is that, at the time of this film's release, John Tempesta was the drummer of Testament and later replaced Phil "Philo" Buerstatte in White Zombie; Tempesta would stay in that band until its breakup in 1998.
    • It's also been reported that Metallica, who were riding high off the success of their 1991 Black Album, also turned down the chance to appear in the Whiskey A Go Go scene. The Whiskey A Go Go was where Metallica played their second-ever gig in 1982, opening for British heavy metal band Saxon.
  • The role of Chazz was originally meant for John Cusack before Brendan Fraser was cast.
    • The studios reportedly tried to pressure the crew into putting Dennis Miller into the film, but they refused.
  • Christina Applegate was considered for the role of Kayla.
  • The trio was originally supposed to look more edgier than what they ended up being; Sandler was going to have a neck tattoo, Buscemi originally wore a shirt that said "Blow Me", and Fraser wore leather pants. The studios interjected though, and was how we ended up with the final looks:
    Brendan Fraser: "Michael Lehmann really wanted to make an edgier movie than the studio was allowing us to. They wanted us to look like Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." That is about as edgy as they were willing to come."
  • According to Sandler, Pauly Shore was the first choice in mind for the role of Carter.

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