Trivia / Bolero

• Creator Backlash: Nobody who was involved with the film seems to be very happy about it.
• Creator Killer: Bo Derek and director John Derek waited five years to make another film. The result was Ghosts Can't Do It, which was the finishing blow to both their careers.
• Dawson Casting: Bo Derek was 27, yet the character is supposedly 18.
• Executive Meddling: Producer Menahem Golan told the Dereks to make the movie more explicit than they intended. And then when the movie opened to controversy over the explicit sex, Golan blamed the Dereks for making it too sexy!
• Executive Veto: Given the movie is unashamed smut, MGM requested cuts to avert an X-rating. The producers refused it, and the studio dropped the film due to standards policies even if they had a distribution deal with The Cannon Group, who ended up releasing it in theaters with no MPAA rating. (Ironically, the current DVD is by MGM, and rated R, even if the NC-17 rating already existed for unsuitable content by then.) This ended up damaging the two companies' relationship, and ended their lucrative distribution deal.
• Fake Nationality:
  • British Olivia d'Abo as the Spanish Paloma. At least we think she's Spanish (Word of God says she's Roma).
  • Spanish bullfighter Angel is played by Italian actor Andrea Occhipinti.
  • The "Arabian" Sheikh is played by an obviously-Caucasian Greg Bensen.
• The Other Marty: Fabio Testi was originally cast as Angel, but bowed after several weeks due to a medical condition affecting his face. The part was recast with Andrea Occhipinti, and several days worth of filming had to be reshot.

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