Line #8 Trivia/Platoon


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2	* ActorInspiredElement: Several of the actors wrote messages on their helmets worn throughout the movie. Creator/CharlieSheen's helmet reads, "When I die, bury me upside-down, so the world can kiss my ass", while Creator/JohnnyDepp's simply reads, "Sherilyn", a tribute to Creator/SherilynFenn, whom Depp was dating at the time. Mark Moses (Lieutenant Wolfe) had on his helmet a drawing of MAD magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman with the phrase "What, me worry?" and, according to Creator/TomBerenger, this caused Creator/OliverStone to laugh hysterically once during filming.
3	* BannedInChina: Banned in Vietnam for having the American soldiers destroy a village. Banned in Malaysia for its excessive profanity and violence.
4	* CaliforniaDoubling: The UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} for Vietnam.
5	* CastTheExpert: Director Creator/OliverStone and technical adviser Dale Dye are both Vietnam veterans.
6	* CastTheRunnerUp:
7	** Creator/OliverStone wanted to cast Creator/JohnnyDepp as Chris, but the studio felt he was too young and he got a smaller part. Ironically, Sheen is three years younger than Depp.
8	** Creator/WillemDafoe was considered for Sgt. Barnes and Rhah before being cast as Sgt. Grodin.
9	** John Spencer was originally cast as Sergeant O'Neill, and Creator/JohnCMcGinley was originally offered the part of Tony. But Spencer dropped out, and Stone offered [=McGinley=] the larger role. Ivan Kane ended up playing Tony.
10	* DeletedScene: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7KuOLVMk0 Here]], complete with an alternate ending where [[spoiler:Barnes lives]].
11	* DyeingForYourArt: This was one of the first films where the actors had to go through basic training similar to the real military to get them into character and act like real soldiers. Dale Dye actually approached Creator/OliverStone with the idea after being unsatisfied with the depiction of soldiers in previous war films and trained them himself. The success eventually led to him becoming the go to professional for actors' boot camps.
12	* EnforcedMethodActing: Dale Dye's boot camp for the actors was incredibly stressful. Those who went through it came out of the experience exhausted and on edge, which helped them portray soldiers serving in a tense and ambiguous environment. Creator/CharlieSheen, however, rebelled and refused to show that Dye's training and discipline was wearing him down, which further reinforced his portrayal of Chris Taylor as someone trying to hold onto his morals and dignity in a war that is stripping them away.
13	* FatalMethodActing: Averted. Creator/CharlieSheen credits Creator/KeithDavid with saving his life during production. While shooting in an open-doored Huey gunship, the helicopter banked too hard and Sheen was thrown towards - and would have gone through - the open door. David grabbed him by the back and pulled him back in.
14	* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/OliverStone was very rough and abusive in his treatment of the actors during filming. According to Creator/JohnCMcGinley, everyone hated Stone for the entire duration of the shoot, but this was Stone's specific aim, in order to expose the cast to something resembling the horrors of war and get the most realistic performances. Most cast and crew members agree that Stone's behavior sometimes bordered on psychotic, from a combination of sleep deprivation, post-traumatic stress disorder and the intensity of the shoot itself. The editor claimed that one day, Stone yelled at him for taking away footage of a scene that they hadn't even shot yet. Creator/JohnnyDepp recalled that during one particularly stressful scene, he was so intimidated by Stone's aggressive behavior that he came close to vomiting. Stone still insisted on a second take.
15	* InMemoriam: The film is "Dedicated to the men who fought and died in the Vietnam War".
16	* OrphanedReference: Creator/OliverStone originally was looking for a Native American actor to play Sergeant Elias. When he failed to do so, he cast Creator/WillemDafoe instead. Several scenes with Elias reflect Stone's original idea of the Native American spirit embodying Elias.
17	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/OliverStone intentionally cast Creator/TomBerenger and Creator/WillemDafoe against type (Berenger, who played the ruthless, sadistic Sgt. Barnes, was mostly famous at that point for playing good guys, while Dafoe, who had primarily played villains up until then, played the heroic, compassionate Sgt. Elias). The casting worked, and both men received Oscar nominations for their work.
18	* StarMakingRole: This is what basically launched Creator/CharlieSheen's career, after a couple of memorable smaller roles. He lampoons his role in this movie in ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux'' (along with his dad Creator/MartinSheen for ''Film/ApocalypseNow''), "I loved you in ''Film/WallStreet''!" Creator/KeithDavid also found considerable success after this film, though he became more of a veteran of voice acting than screen acting.
19	* ThrowItIn:
20	** During the opening credits, Big Harold falls and rolls down a hill. Creator/ForestWhitaker claims it was a real, unintentional fall.
21	** The scene where O'Neill offers to light Barnes's cigarette, his Zippo fails to ignite and Barnes just stares at him annoyed until he successfully lights it on the second try was a real flub due to the lighter failing to ignite. Creator/OliverStone used that take because Creator/TomBerenger and Creator/JohnCMcGinley stayed in character and their actions subtly underlined their personalites; Barnes perturbed because a subordinate soldier failed him and O'Neill such a brown nosing sycophant that he immediately tries again to get back into Barnes' good favor.
22	** After Taylor takes his revenge on Sgt. Barnes, the other platoon arrives to look for survivors and someone asks Taylor if he's okay. As he does, Taylor quickly drops a grenade. The script didn't call for it, but Creator/CharlieSheen thought his character would be suicidal at that point in the movie, and Creator/OliverStone liked it and kept it in the movie.
23	** The ending where Chris cries inside the Huey was actually real tears and Charlie Sheen was really crying in that scene.
24	* TroubledProduction: The filming was almost cancelled due to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution the EDSA revolution]] happening in the Philippines, which was used for CaliforniaDoubling. Creator/WillemDafoe remarked that it was "[[https://youtu.be/b5fNif_WGdc?t=181 an incredible feeling because a revolution happened]]" while he was in the streets waiting for the filming to resume.
25	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
26	** Creator/JohnCusack, Creator/KyleMacLachlan and Creator/KeanuReeves turned down the role of Chris Taylor. Originally Creator/CharlieSheen was turned down for the main role of Chris because it was felt he was too young for the part. His older brother Creator/EmilioEstevez was offered the part but the project fell apart due to financial problems. Two years later the project was given the go-ahead, but Estevez had already committed to other projects. Charlie Sheen again read for the part and won it.
27	** Stone at one point wanted Creator/MickeyRourke for Barnes and Creator/NickNolte for Elias, but they both turned it down.
28	** Creator/KevinCostner was offered the role of Barnes, but he turned it down, as he had a brother who served in Vietnam and didn't want to disrespect him. Creator/WilliamPetersen was offered the role, but declined, as it meant spending six weeks away from his family. Creator/ThomasFWilson applied for the role, but lost out.
29	** Creator/JeffBridges was considered for Elias and Creator/DenzelWashington was interested. Creator/ValKilmer auditioned for the role. According to Stone, he gave a bizarre audition where he portrayed the character as an Indian shaman. Creator/KrisKristofferson was also considered.
30	** Creator/JamesWoods turned down a role because he couldn't face [[Film/{{Salvador}} working with Stone in another jungle]].
31	** Creator/GarySinise auditioned but it fell through due to the film's financial problems after a producer left.
32	** A young Creator/BenStiller auditioned for a part in the movie, but reportedly, Stone immediately rejected him before Stiller could even read his lines because he found him "cute".
33	* WriteWhatYouKnow: The film was heavily based on Creator/OliverStone's experiences in Vietnam. For example, the scene in which Chris saves a Vietnamese girl from being raped is based on an incident in which he intervened in an assault on a villager in Vietnam.
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Context Trivia / Platoon