10 Things You Didn’t Know About 2008 Movie The Rocker

Released in 2008, ‘The Rocker’ is a comedy film that was written by Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky. It is based on a story by Ryan Jaffe and was directed by Peter Cattaneo. It is about a rock band called Vesuvius who is about to make it big. The one problem they face is they are told to replace the band’s drummer, Robert ‘Fish’ Fishman, with the nephew of the record company. Fast forward twenty years and the band is enjoying huge success while their original drummer is living a normal life. The movie stars Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Josh Gad, Emma Stone, Jeff Garlin, and Teddy Geiger. Here are ten things you might not know about this movie.

1. The band Lazio Bane played a huge part in the music for this film. Chad Fischer wrote and performed most of the songs attributed to A.D.D. in the film with Teddy Geiger performing the lead vocals. Lazio Bane also wrote and performed most of Vesuvius’ songs in the movie with Keith England providing the lead vocals.
2. The story is loosely based on a drummer called Pete Best who was originally in ‘The Beatles’ but left before they hit the big time.
3. Some of the scenes for the film were shot in Toronto rather than Ohio, where the story is based. These included the Chinatown scene which was shot on Spadina Street in the Asian district of Toronto. Both the interior and exterior of a downtown club called Reverb were used.
4. Emma Stone took getting into character seriously. In the movie, she plays a character called Amelia Stone. She learned to play bass before filming started and can actually play all of the songs from the movie.
5. Jason Sudeikis is the nephew of George Wendt who played Norm in the popular comedy series ‘Cheers’. In ‘The Rocker’, Sudeikis points to the character played by Jeff Garlin and says, “Hey, it’s Norm from Cheers!”.
6. Jeff Garlin and Jane Lynch are a married couple in ‘The Rocker’. This is not the first time the pair have played a couple. They also played a married couple in the 2004 movie ‘Sleepover’.
7. The movie was promoted by offering a free download of a song called ‘Promised Land’ that Vesuvius perform in the movie with the video game ‘Rock Band’. This video game is played in ‘The Rocker’.
8. This movie only took $8 million at the box office during its entire theatrical run despite massive efforts to promote the movie. It had cost $15 million to make.
9. There is a scene in the movie set at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where A.D.D> return to the stage. In one shot, Amelia is seen standing next to her microphone. In the next shot, she is standing at the back of the stage with Fish and then is back by her microphone for the next shot. This lack of continuity was noticed by moviegoers.
10. When A.D.D. go to see their music video, they are supposed to be in Cleveland. However, the skyline shown in the shot is of Minneapolis as the Fargo Building and US Bank Building are clearly seen.