History Trivia / FerrisBuellersDayOff

** Creator/MatthewBroderick throwing Creator/MiaSara into the pool after pushing Cameron in was unscripted. Her screams of surprise were genuine and the playful nature of the moment convinced Hughes to include the shot in the final cut if the film.

Other Trivia:

** The replicas were very unreliable and were hated by the crew. The scene of Ferris giving it to the valets had to be reshot over a dozen times because the replica wouldn't start.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Ferris' house is actually in Long Beach, California and the restaurant they go to is in West Hollywood.

** A video of Ferris dancing on the parade float or him catching the foul ball at Wrigley Field would have most likely made its way to Website/{{Youtube}} today, and the jig would be up.
** Ferris' line, "I asked for a car. I got a computer. How's that for being born under a bad sign?" doesn't work the same as it did. While any teen expecting a car would still be disappointed to only get a computer, computers are now much more desirable for teens than they were in the 1980s, and virtually every teen would expect to get their own eventually. For that matter, plenty of teens back in the '80s would have dreamed of having their own computer.
*** Furthermore, it's much less common for teens to have cars than it was in the 80s, since the internet means you don't need one as much as you used to.

** A&M Records was annoyed at Hughes for not putting out a ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' soundtrack album. "A&M was very angry with me over that; they begged me to put one out, but I thought "who'd want all of these songs?" I mean, would kids want "Dankeschöen" and "Oh Yeah" on the same record? They probably already had "Twist and Shout," or their parents did, and to put all of those together with the more contemporary stuff, like the (English) Beat - I just didn't think anybody would like it. But I did put together a seven-inch of the two songs I owned the rights to - "Big City" on one side, and... I forget, one of the other English bands on the soundtrack... and sent that to the mailing list. By '86, '87, it was costing us $30 a piece to mail out 100,000 packages. But it was a labor of love. I cared about my audience and I cared about these movies."

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Ferris' leopard pattern vest he wears throughout the film places it firmly in the eighties. EightiesHair and suspenders add to it.

** Creator/MatthewBroderick throwing Creator/MiaSara into pool after pushing Cameron in was unscripted. Her screams of surprise were genuine and the playful nature of the moment convinced Hughes to include the shot in the final cut if the film.

** The replicas were very unreliable and were hated by the crew. The scene of Ferris giving it to the valets had to reshot over a dozen times because the replica wouldn't start.

* DawsonCasting: Mia Sara, (Sloane) who was 18 (playing a high school junior), Matthew Broderick (Ferris) who was 23, Jennifer Grey (Jeannie) who was 25, and Alan Ruck (Cameron) who was ''29'' when the film was shot during the fall of 1985.

** Lara Flynn Boyle made her film debut in a small part, but none of her scenes made it into the final movie.

* WordOfSaintPaul: [[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/why-cameron-wore-a-red-wings-jersey-for-almost-the-entirety-of-ferris-bueller-s-day-off-a7087126.html According to Alan Ruck]], the reason Cameron wears a Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings jersey is because Cameron had a grandfather in Detroit, whom he had a great relationship with, that used to take him to Red Wings games. He also claimed that an alternate ending had Cameron's father killing him by throwing him out the window upon coming home and that Ferris and Sloane later got married.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Cameron Frye was originally envisioned as being chunky and "homely in a lovable way". Creator/JohnHughes then remembered the tall, thin, very attractive (29-year-old!) Alan Ruck from auditions for ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' (he didn't make the cut that time), and cast him based on that performance. What followed was what is considered to be one of the most soulful, enduring portrayals in Hughes' oeuvre. It probably also helped, however, that Ruck and Creator/MatthewBroderick had previously co-starred together in ''Film/BiloxiBlues'', and as a result of this, according to Ruck, "We didn't have to invent an instant friendship like you often have to do in a movie. We ''were'' friends."

* BigNameFan: This is former U.S. Vice President UsefulNotes/DanQuayle's favorite movie, as well as film critic Creator/RichardRoeper.

*** Creator/RobLowe, Creator/TomCruise, Creator/JimCarrey, Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/EricStoltz, and Creator/RobertDowneyJr were also considered for the part of Ferris Bueller before the casting of Broderick.
** Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall and Creator/EmilioEstevez were approached for the role of Cameron Frye before the casting of [[Series/{{Succession}} Alan Ruck]]. Hall turned down the offer due to fears of being [[Main/{{TypeCasting}} typecast]] as the geeky best friend.

** [[Film/TheBreakfastClub Paul Gleason]] was considered for the role of Ed Rooney before Creator/JeffreyJones was cast.

** Ferris' line, "I asked for a car. I got a computer. How's that for being born under a bad sign?" doesn't work the same as it did. While a modern teen expecting a car would still be disappointed to only get a computer, computers are now much more desirable for teens than they were in the 1980s, and virtually every teen would expect to get their own eventually. For that matter, plenty of teens back in the '80s would have dreamed of having their own computer.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The movie didn't have a soundtrack album for decades because Hughes himself blocked one back in the 1980s, because he felt the movie's music was too eclectic to make a coherent album. Many were delighted when Creator/LaLaLandRecords released an official album (there have been ''bootleg'' releases) in 2016. So this is an AvertedTrope as long as the album is in-print.

* DawsonCasting: Averted with Mia Sara, (Sloane) who was 18 (playing a high school junior). Played straight with Matthew Broderick (Ferris) who was 23, Jennifer Grey (Jeannie) who was 25, and Alan Ruck (Cameron) who was ''29'' when the film was shot during the fall of 1985.

** The script called for a Mercedes AMG with gullwing doors, but Creator/JohnHughes saw the Modena Spyder replica of the Ferrari 250 GT in an issue of ''Car and Driver'' and, after seeing it in person, changed it.

** A contemporary viewer born after the 80s might be caught off guard to hear that Ferris's suggestion to run the car in reverse to take miles off the odometer isn't him being naive or a smart aleck. Before the 1970s, there was no mechanism to prevent it from running backwards when the car ran in reverse; this didn't come around until the Federal Odometer Act of 1972. [[spoiler:Of course, his suggestion proves to be moot anyway since it inexplicably has an anti-rollback odometer (because the prop vehicle was a replica built on a late-1970s MG MGB).]]

* Three replica [[CoolCar 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California]] replicas were used in filming.
** The Hero car was built by Mark Goyette and leased to Paramount for filming. This one was used in almost all exterior shots, and is the one that jumps over the camera. When filming was completed, it was returned to Mark, with the exhaust crushed and the rear body panels cracked. He repaired it and sold it to a young couple in California. The husband ran it off the road, and Mark rebuilt the front end. The couple later sold it in the '90s, and it resurfaced in the early 2000s, but hasn't emerged again since.
** A kit was sold to Paramount for their stunt car, but they did such a poor job assembling it that it was unusable for anything but falling out the window of Cameron's house at the end. It was later rebuilt and ended up in Planet Hollywood Minneapolis, but fell off the map along with Planet Hollywood Minneapolis.
** A third kit, meant to be a shell to be dropped out of the window, was bought but never completed. Mark Goyette mentions he heard it was completed and sold off, but it could just as likely be sitting in a backlot at Paramount.

** A contemporary viewer born after the 80s might be caught off guard to hear that Ferris's suggestion to run the car in reverse to take miles off the odometer isn't him being naive or a smart aleck. When the odometer was measured mechanically on older cars, there was no fail-safe to prevent it from running backwards when the car ran in reverse; this didn't come around until electronically measured odometers. [[spoiler:Of course, his suggestion proves to be moot anyway since they racked up too many miles on it.]]

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/JohnHughes actually disliked the TV adaptation and actually tried to block its release. Unfortunately, however, he was unable to do so, and the best that he could do was to stipulate that Creator/{{NBC}} and Creator/{{Paramount}} not use his name to promote the series.

* FlipFlopOfGod: The DVD commentary pegs Ferris as a spoiled jerk. However, Hughes intentionally cut a scene that ''explicitly'' makes Ferris a thief, and cast Creator/MatthewBroderick in the role because he felt Broderick was the only one who could make Ferris likable. So do we empathize with Ferris or not? Either interpretation of the character is equally valid. And it doesn't help that both interpretations ''can'' work concurrently with each other (i.e. Ferris is a jerk and trickster, but he's OUR jerk and trickster).

* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: Ben Stein originally only had his iconic "Bueller......Bueller" scene, but Creator/JohnHughes thought he had such distinctive voice that he asked Stein to just talk about any subject he knew a lot about, which led to the short scene of him teaching a class on the Great Depression.

* ShoutOut: Sloane got her name from Sloane Tanen, daughter of then Paramount Film Group president Ned Tanen.

** [[Film/TheBreakfastClub Paul Gleason]] was considered for the role of Ed Rooney before Creator/JeffreyJones was cast.

* This is former U.S. Vice President UsefulNotes/DanQuayle's favorite movie.

** Creator/MichaelJFox was Creator/JohnHughes' first choice for the role of Ferris Bueller before Creator/MatthewBroderick was cast, but turned it down due to scheduling commitments to ''Series/FamilyTies''.

** At one point in the film there was a scene in which Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane would visit a Chicago radio station and Ferris would talk about how "come next year, I'll be the first kid to ride on the Space Shuttle". It was even featured in the film's trailer. Unfortunately, however, less than five months before the film was to be released, the [[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} Challenger]] exploded 73 seconds after launch, resulting in the deaths of all seven aboard, including New Hampshire school teacher Christa [=McAuliffe=]. Because of this, Creator/JohnHughes had the trailer recalled from theaters and the line was edited out of the final film.

* ActorAllusion: The voice Cameron uses on the phone to Dean Rooney is based on on Matthew Broderick used to use when imitating their director, Gene Sax when Broderick and Ruck starred in the play of ''Film/BiloxiBlues''.

* TooSoon: As mentioned above, John Hughes originally shot a scene in which Ferris would discuss on a radio show wanting to be the first kid to ride the Space Shuttle, but ended up excising that scene due to the Challenger accident.

* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/CharlieSheen stayed awake for 48 hours before filming his scene so that he would appear tired and strung-out. Now he prefers the quicker method of good, all-natural cocaine.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The movie didn't have a soundtrack album for decades because Hughes himself blocked one back in the 1980s, because he felt the movie's music was too eclectic to make a coherent album. Many were delighted when Creator/LaLaLandRecords released an official album (there have been ''bootleg'' releases) in 2016.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The movie didn't have a soundtrack album for decades because Hughes himself blocked one back in the 1980s, because he felt the movie's music was too eclectic to make a coherent album. Many were delighted when La-La Land Records released an official album (there have been ''bootleg'' releases) in 2016.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The scenes with Mr. Rooney become harder to watch after learning that actor Jeffrey Jones was arrested for sex crimes involving a minor.