Trivia / Great Balls of Fire!

• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $16-18 million. Box office, $13.7 million.
• Creator Backlash: Jerry Lee Lewis despises this film, considering it a one-sided account by his (now ex-) wife, Myra. He also hates the accompanying book that it was based on. That being said, he absolutely praised Dennis Quaid's portrayal of him.
• The Danza: Melissa Levine plays Missy, one of the Kreme Cup waitresses.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Dennis Quaid was 34 when he played Jerry Lee Lewis in his early twenties.
  • Seventeen-year-old Winona Ryder portrayed thirteen-year-old Myra Gale Brown.
• Died During Production: This was the final film for character actor Trey Wilson. He died at age 40 from a cerebral hemorrhage in January 1989, prior to the film's release.
• Disowned Adaptation: Jerry Lee Lewis hated both this film and his ex-wife Myra Lewis' autobiographical book which was a source. Linda Gail Lewis, Jerry Lee Lewis' sister, also thought this film was a poor and unjustified version of the real Jerry. The book's co-author Murray Silver Jr. was outraged by the film, which he thought departed from the book or the truth. Silver made several criticisms such as, "The movie was phony." For that matter, Myra herself wasn't entirely pleased with the book, as it was originally meant to be more her memoir about surviving adversity but the publisher pushed it to focus more on Jerry Lee Lewis. She was also frustrated that the movie refused her any direct input.
• Real-Life Relative: Art director Jon Spirson's daughter appeared as Jerry Lee and Myra's baby son Steven Allen Lewis.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Martin Scorsese was going to make a Jerry Lee Lewis biopic starring Robert De Niro at one point.
  • At one point, Mickey Rourke was considered to star with Michael Cimino directing.
  • Sean Penn was considered for the lead role.
  • Drew Barrymore was originally in mind as Myra Gale Brown.

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