A lot of movies get heralded as being boundary-pushing or genre-defying. But few managed to do so as powerfully and provocatively as Flashdance .
Below are 10+ random facts about Flashdance that fans didn’t know. It’s time to expand your knowledge people!
Break out your leg warmers and slip into your favorite custom-cut sweatshirt. This one is for all you Flashdance maniacs!
1. Director Adrian Lyne almost turned down the chance to work on the film.
Lyne was interviewed for The Directors .
He admitted that at first “I just didn’t like the story. I thought it was kind of dumb . I wasn’t crazy about it, and I turned it down, a couple of times. Maybe three.”
2. Lee Ving, who played Johnny C., was an already infamous musician.
Lee played in the hardcore band Fear. You probably haven’t heard their music but you may have heard about a 1981 visit to SNL .
During a live performance, the band (along with a legion of fans) proceeded to trash the set and stage!
3. The song “Maniac” was inspired by an old horror movie.
The lyrics were a lot darker, too! According to songwriter Michael Sembello (via songfacts.com ) the original lyrics were:
“He’s a maniac, maniac that’s for sure. He will kill your cat and nail him to the door.”
4. “Maniac” went on to be nominated and disqualified for an Oscar Award.
In 1983, the song was nominated for ” Best Song ” at the Academy Awards and then promptly disqualified from contention.
Sambello explains this was done “because the song was changed from the original and was not originally written solely for the film.” This violated the Academy’s rules.
5. Kevin Costner ran a scene with Jennifer Beals for her audition!
At the time, Kevin was still working as a carpenter. According to director Adrian Lyne, Kevin was paid $200 and sent on his way.
Can you imagine if he’d been cast in the movie?
6. The character of Alex may or may not have been based on two Toronto strippers.
Although writer, Tom Hedley , denies this to be true.
Nevertheless, both Gina Healey and Maureen Marder were paid $2300 to sign over the rights to their life stories and never discuss their level of involvement in the movie.
But that didn’t stop Maureen Marder from suing Jennifer Lopez for copyright infringement.
This was in response to Lopez’s music video for ” I’m Glad .” The video isn’t subtle by any means, she’s blatantly using imagery from Flashdance .
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The case was eventually dismissed .
7. Jessica Beals body double wasn’t credited for her work in the film.
Supposedly, there wasn’t enough room left on the credits to include her.
Yeah, right — you can include the freaking dog but not the woman who did 95% of the heavy-lifting in the film? It’s atrocious.
8. Adrian Lyne was sure that the film would bomb.
According to an interview that Adrian gave to EW — so did everyone else!
“In the two weeks before Flashdance came out, I literally couldn’t get anybody on the phone. It was like everybody had run for the hills because they thought it was gonna be a total disaster. I didn’t know either.”
9. Kyra Sedwick auditioned for the role of Alex!
Kyra recalled to The Hollywood Reporter ,
“My agent told me I was supposed to wear a leotard , heels and no tights. I had such bigger balls back in those days. I thought, ‘I’m not wearing a leotard. Instead, I’ll wear a little miniskirt and high heels.’”
10. There’s an Alex Owens Barbie doll!
You really know you’ve hit the big leagues when your character is turned into a Barbie !
Flashdance Barbie comes complete with a grey sweatshirt, black legwarmers, as well as three stackable pillows for maximum pose ability!
11. The song “Gloria” is actually a cover song!
Former ’80s icon Laura Branigan explained that the track was originally an old Italian love song.
Her manager in Germany brought the original version to her and they decided to give it a new American fusion!
“So the hole for my head was too small — I couldn’t get my head through. So I cut around the hole.”
Alex concluded by saying “I wore it to one of the auditions and they liked it.”
Oh, the ’80s — you’ve gotta love that kooky sense of “fashion.”
12. Actress Jennifer Beals was the one who came up with Alex’s iconic sweater.
During an interview with The Star , Alex explained:
“When I was in high school, I had a favorite sweatshirt that had remained in the dryer for too long.”
13. Actress Sunny Johnson died tragically one year after the film’s release.
In the film, Sunny Johnson played Jeanie Szabo, Alex’s best friend. She died suddenly of a cerebral brain hemorrhage.
Sunny was only 30-years-old at the time of her passing.
