Trivia / Local Hero

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Burt Lancaster eventually took the role of Happer because he wanted a comedic role for once in his career. His salary was still non-negotiable, though.
• Breakaway Pop Hit: Granted, the very fact that it's called "Going Home: Theme from Local Hero" is a pretty good clue that the iconic piece of music is from a soundtrack, but it's arguable that the theme is more well known than the movie by this point.
• Defictionalization:
  • According to the IMDb trivia entry for Local Hero, "After the movie came out, many people went in search of the village with the phone booth. Since it didn't exist, they were always disappointed. The village where the movie was filmed finally decided to put up a phone booth for the sake of the visitors."
  • The asteroid "7345 Happer" is named after the fictional Happer, which sort-of fulfilled his wish to have a comet named after him.
• Executive Meddling: Bill Forsyth wanted the film to end with Macintyre alone in his apartment in Houston. After photography had finished, Warner Bros. insisted on an upbeat ending. The ambiguous final shot was added as a compromise, using leftover footage.
• Production Posse: John Gordon Sinclair from Gregory's Girl has a small role.
• The Red Stapler: After the movie came out, many people went in search of the village with the red phone booth. It can be found in the village of Pennan on the Moray Coast, Scotland — it was built to satisfy the tourists.
• Technology Marches On:
  • Some of the fancy aspects of Happer's office almost reach Zeerust proportions.
  • Mac's obsession with phone calls and being "more of a Telex man" are now outdated. In modern times, he would do everything online.
• Throw It In!: Ben's aside when sand slips through his fingers while he negotiates with Macintyre was improvised by Fulton Mackay.
• What Could Have Been: Michael Douglas and Henry Winkler both actively pursued Bill Forsyth for the role of Macintyre.

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