Line #18 Trivia/TheWarriors


1	!!The Book
2	* WriteWhatYouKnow: Sol Yurick had been a social worker with troubled youth for over a decade when he wrote the novel. The book puts emphasis on how the gang members are mere teenagers who come from broken homes.
3
4	!!The Film
5	* AbilityOverAppearance: Creator/WalterHill initially wanted a Puerto Rican actress for the role of Mercy, but Deborah Van Valkenburgh's agent convinced the film's casting directors to see her, and she was eventually cast.
6	* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: Thomas G. Waites (Fox) was fired eight weeks into principal photography, for being difficult and arguing with Creator/WalterHill, so his character is removed from the movie when a cop throws him into the path of a train during a fight. To this day, Hill has felt bad about the rough times he had with Waites. Waites is not in the final credits because he demanded that his name be removed. However, he did return to reprise the role in the game.
7	* BeamMeUpScotty: It's not "Warriors, come out and play!" It's "Warriors, come out ''to'' play!"
8	* BreakawayPopHit: Joe Walsh originally co-wrote and recorded "In the City" for this film. When he re-recorded it on the Music/{{Eagles}} album ''The Long Run'' a few months later, it became a staple of rock radio (though it was never actually released as a single).
9	* CastTheExpert: Many of the extras and supporting bit parts were played by real-life gang members.
10	* CastTheRunnerUp: Irwin Keyes was strongly considered for the role of Ajax, but Creator/JamesRemar was cast instead. Keyes was cast as the cop who arrests Ajax in the sting operation.
11	* DawsonCasting: With the exception of Rembrandt, the gang all look like they're at least in their mid-twenties (Michael Beck was actually 30), but Fox mentions that they have a youth worker. Swan and Mercy are also compared to a group of kids coming from prom. These suggest that the gang is supposed to be in their teens.
12	* DeletedRole: Pamela Poitier was cast as Cleon's girlfriend Lincoln, who was originally intended to appear at the start of the movie, seeing the Warriors off and warning Cleon she has [[CassandraTruth a bad feeling]] about the conclave. However, all her scenes were deleted due to the opening scene being substantially rewritten.
13	* DisownedAdaptation: Sol Yurick, the author of the novel, liked Creator/WalterHill's direction of the film, but wasn't pleased with the many changes to the story, the slightly LighterAndSofter tone of the film compared to the novel, and Roger Hill's performance as Cyrus, who Yurick didn't think came across as a realistic gang leader.
14	* DuelingMovies: Released the same year as ''Film/TheWanderers'' with both films sparking discussion about youth gangs. The studios raced to beat each other to the punch, but ''The Warriors'' came out first and had the more lasting impact.
15	* ExecutiveMeddling: Originally, the film was a going to have an all black and Hispanic cast much like in the book. The studio forced Hill to cast some white actors as well so [[MinorityShowGhetto the film would have broader appeal]].
16	* HostilityOnTheSet: Thomas G. Waites (Fox) proved difficult to work with during film production, to the point that he was fired and his character was brutally killed early in the story. Most notably, he constantly feuded with both Creator/WalterHill and Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Mercy), who was supposed to be his love interest.
17	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Thomas G. Waites being fired not only caused his character's death, it unintentionally had further consequences that could've been a disaster. According to Sean Eagan's 2021 book about the film, Deborah Van Valkenburgh fractured her wrist filming Fox's death scene with Waite's double. She was in a cast for almost a month while the crew shot around her. When Hill finally ''had'' to have her start shooting again, he pulled a denim jacket from costume, threw it over Mercy -- and the still-obvious cast -- and [[LampshadeHanging hung the following lampshade]] pretty much on the spot:
18	-->'''Mercy:''' Hey, wait! There's still cops all over the place.\
19	'''Swan:''' Where's the Fox?\
20	'''Mercy:''' A cop grabbed him.\
21	'''Swan:''' So how come you hung around?\
22	'''Mercy:''' I don't know.\
23	'''Swan:''' Where'd you get the coat?\
24	'''Mercy:''' You ask a lot of questions.\
25	'''Swan:''' Don't give me that!\
26	'''Mercy:''' I stole it. Cops are looking for somebody in a pink top.
27	* RoleReprise: Dorsey Wright (Cleon), Michael Beck (Swan), Creator/JamesRemar (Ajax), David Harris (Cochise), Thomas G. Waites (Fox) and Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Mercy) all return to voice their characters in the game.
28	* SequelInAnotherMedium: There's a comic book that follows up on the events of the film. It received a sequel titled ''Jailbreak'' by Erike Henriksen which addresses Ajax's fate. Both were published by Creator/DynamiteComics.
29	* SimilarlyNamedWorks: The film and book are not to be confused ''Franchise/WarriorCats'', which is occasionally called ''Warriors''.
30	* ThrowItIn:
31	** Creator/WalterHill realized that the scene where Luther and the Rogues confront the Warriors at Coney Island was missing something, so he asked Creator/DavidPatrickKelly to come up with something for his character to do. Kelly recalled a crazy man from his youth who would taunt him by shouting, "Come out to play!" so he ad-libbed the lines. He originally requested dead pigeons to hold in his hands, but the production couldn't come up with that, so he substituted clinking the beer bottles in his fingers.
32	** Ajax's Creator/JamesRemar ad-libbed his line, "I'll shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a Popsicle!"
33	* UncreditedRole: Thomas G. Waites (Fox) demanded that his name be removed from the credits.
34	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
35	** An opening narration was planned, voiced by Creator/OrsonWelles. It's included on the director's cut DVD, along with comic book-style transitions between scenes.
36	** A real-life gang leader was cast to play Cyrus, but mysteriously disappeared shortly before principal photography.
37	** If Hill wouldn't have been able to make this movie, his backup plan was to do a western film called ''Last Gun''.
38	** The story was originally set in Los Angeles.
39	** Originally, it was Fox who was supposed to be the sympathetic character whom Mercy goes with in the end. The director and the actor playing Fox had a falling out, [[spoiler: so Fox gets hit by a train]]. Furthermore, Vermin was supposed to die at the hands of the Lizzies, but his actor was likable enough that the director decided to spare him. Swan was supposed to be kidnapped by a gang with a penchant for anal rape, but escape and return for the final showdown.
40	** Snow was originally named Snowball and did not say a single word until the end when he gave a small statement about how they should fight the Rogues to avenge their fallen friends.
41	** Creator/TonyDanza was set to play Vermin, but chose to star on the sitcom ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', instead.
42	** Creator/TonyScott tried to get a remake off the ground for several years, which was ended by his suicide in 2012.
43
44	!!The Video Game
45	* TheOtherDarrin: While this is averted for the most part, Luther, Vermin, Cowboy, Snow and Cyrus (except for his iconic speech) were all recast for the video game. Rembrandt's actor had died in 1986 due to complications from AIDS.
46	* ScrewedByTheLawyers: The Playstation 4 re-release omits “In The City” by The Eagles in favor of "Last Of An Ancient Breed". This is a particularly egregious example since “In the City” was only used to match up to the end of the film’s credits, though "Last Of An Ancient Breed" did originally play during the credits after "In The City".
47	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
48	** Possibly. In the arena mode, two of the stages are at the graveyard the Warriors regroup at after Cyrus is shot. They are the only stages not present in the actual levels. In one mission you can overhear a conversation between a group of Jones Street Boys, and sometimes they'll talk about a time The Warriors screwed them over in the graveyard, which is mentioned nowhere else in the game. It seems that at least one additional level was planned, but scrapped for whatever reason.
49	** A spiritual sequel (unrelated to the film) was planned by Rockstar. The game was to be titled ''We Are the Mods'' and was to be set in 1960s England during the mods and rockers brawls. Unfortunately, the only thing left over from the planned game is a texture that can be found inside of one of the motorcycle clubs as wall art.

Context Trivia / TheWarriors