History Trivia / TheLastStarfighter

** In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS9E4BestFriendsForever Best Friends Forever]]", Kenny gets a high score on a [[UsefulNotes/PlaystationPortable PSP]] game, meaning he's worthy to lead the armies of heaven to stave off an invasion from hell.

** Atari did develop a full ''The Last Starfighter'' video game and cabinet, but it was never released to the public. ''VideoGame/StarRaiders'' programmer Doug Neubauer was developing an UsefulNotes/Atari2600 game based on the movie, but that project was also canceled after Atari's takeover by former Commodore head Jack Tramiel. It was eventually {{Retool}}ed into a game called ''Solaris''.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: The British TV guide, ''TV Quick'' synopsis of this movie says that Alex gets contacted by an alien from the future even though movie doesn't feature TimeTravel.

** ''VideoGame/UniverseAtWar'' makes it the special of the Novus ''Dervish'' fighter.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://thelaststarfighter.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter_Wiki The Last Starfighter Wiki]].

* VindicatedByCable: While the film did make money in theaters, it was a hit on video and {{Creator/HBO}}.

* TheDanza: If you listen real carefully, there is exactly one scene in the entire movie where Mrs. Boone is referred to by her first name, Bunny, which is the same first name as the actress who plays her, Bunny Summers.[[note]]Pee-Wee Herman fans will know her as the costume lady in ''Big Top Pee-Wee''.[[/note]]

** The Pkunk ''Fury'' from ''VideoGame/StarControl'' can spin very fast, and has three short-range weapons firing three different directions. A popular move with this ship is to spin wildly while emptying the weapons battery, which is frequently called the "Death Blossom" by [[FanNickname fans]].

** Even if called with another name (''RIPStar'', if memory serves right), a power-up in the videogame ''Blasteroids'' when used causes your ship to spin wildly while shooting in all directions. It can be seen being at work in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEZN8nnZDb0 the game's attract mode]]

* FollowTheLeader: ''Franchise/StarWars'', which director Nick Castle admits in the DVDCommentary, and that there was some work to try to distance the movie from both those movies and movies by Creator/StevenSpielberg.

** Composer Craig Safan was also doing the music for ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', and some of the more wistful music in the film was incidental music from the sitcom.

** Director Nick Castle was also Michael Myers in the original [[{{Halloween1978}} Halloween]]!

* HeAlsoDid: Composer Craig Safan was also doing the music for ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', and some of the more wistful music in the film was incidental music from the sitcom.

* InspirationForTheWork: According to Screenwriter Jonathan Beutel, the idea for this movie came about because he wandered into a video arcade and saw a young boy playing a video game, and also at that time, he read the book "The Once and Future King" by T.H White, and it occurred to him, that what if a video game had been a sword in a stone, and a boy had scored an incredible number in the video game, which sent out a ripple effect across the universe.

** In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', Kenny gets a high score on a [[UsefulNotes/PlaystationPortable PSP]] game, meaning he's worthy to lead the armies of heaven to stave off an invasion from hell.
** Similar to the South Park version, in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ClerksTheAnimatedSeries'', Randal plays a game about being a slave building pyramids, and then is recruited to do the same. Unfortunately for Randal, pushing bricks on screen and IRL are vastly different things.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: There have been talks of remaking, rebooting, or making a sequel to ''The Last Starfighter'' for years, but legal red tape has caused setbacks, as Universal, Warner Bros., and screenwriter Jonathan Beutel all claim to hold rights to the property. Creator/SethRogen tried to secure those rights but ended up doing a homage series, ''Series/FutureMan'', instead.

** Atari did develop a full ''The Last Starfighter'' video game and cabinet, but it was never released to the public.

** Scott Dunlop, the man behind the [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} Bodati]] mask (credited as "Tentacle Alien") later served as a writer/producer for ''Series/TheRealHousewives'' reality TV show in the '00s/'10s.

** Scott Dunlop, the man behind the [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} Bodati]] mask (credited as "Tentacle Alien") later served as a writer/producer for the ''Series/RealHousewives'' reality TV show in the '00s/'10s.