Trivia / Navy Seals (1990)

• Actor-Inspired Element: Michael Biehn recommended Bill Paxton for the role of Dane, feeling their chemistry from working together on Aliens would help add authenticity.
• Backed by the Pentagon: The Spanish military provided soldiers and equipment for the scenes set in the Middle East.
• California Doubling: Spain doubles for Lebanon.
• Creator Backlash: Michael Biehn did not have good things to say about shooting this film, calling it one of the worst experiences of his career.
  "We wanted to make a really good movie, and it really turned out to be kind of a mish-mash and not a very good movie at all. So it's really kind of... yeah, it's probably the worst experience of my life, working on that movie... The script could've been shaped to be much better, and you just hate to see all that talent and passion go to waste."
• Creator Cameo: Screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer pops up (uncredited) as a Naval officer debriefing Curran.
• Directed By Castmember: Most of the golf sequence was directed by Bill Paxton with a second unit crew.
• Dyeing for Your Art: The actors trained with real SEALs and even took part in a mock gun battle against their trainers.
• Follow the Leader: This movie was essentially Top Gun overlaid onto the Navy SEALs. They even tried to get Ridley Scott as director, who was brother of Top Gun director Tony Scott.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Not quite casting, more like selected to produce. Brenda Feigen, the Producer was well known as a feminist activist. And yet, here she is, producing a movie that oozes masculinity.
• Production Posse: Michael Biehn, Rick Rossovich and Bill Paxton all had roles in The Terminator.
• The Red Stapler: Although not quite the Top Gun level phenomenon for recruitment it was planned as, there were several men who were inspired to become Navy SEALs after watching the movie.
• Talent Double: Eight former Navy SEALs were brought on to double for the actors not just for stunts, but technical issues or anything else.
• Troubled Production: While Chuck Pfarrer had no problems selling his script to Orion, problems arose when trying to find a director. Ridley Scott was the first choice, but negotiations fell through. Roger Donaldson didn't like the script and, although Richard Marquand signed on, he died during pre-production and Lewis Teague came on as replacement. Multiple screenwriters contributed to rewrites, with Gary Goldman tweaking the story to resemble The Guns of Navarone and An Officer and a Gentleman and Kevin Jarre had to put his contributions on hold due to a writers' strike. Once the strike ended, his draft was viewed as stronger but still lacking in character depth and somewhat sexist - resulting in Angelo Pizzo being brought on board to flesh the characters out. Rewrites continued well into production, with even Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn rewriting scenes. Only two of the writers received credit - Chuck Pfarrer and Gary Goldman.
• Wag the Director: Originally, the men were going to play touch-football. But Bill Paxton felt the scene was too similar to the volleyball scene in Top Gun. So he suggested that they play golf instead.
• What Could Have Been:
  • One script draft ended with Hawkins sacrificing himself to rescue Curran, who then ends up with Claire.
  • Another draft had Curran dying trying to save some children, and Hawkins and Claire mourning him.
  • Early drafts had Curran as an accomplished boxer and Hawkins into karate, and them sparring at one point.
• Write What You Know: Many of the details in the SEALs missions were based on real mission screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer had participated in.

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