Credit: @michellepfeifferofficial
It’s been almost 30 years since Dangerous Minds came out, and fans still love the Michelle Pfeiffer movie. She is stellar, and the rest of the cast is amazing, too. Released in 1995, Dangerous Minds is the story of a former Marine who wants to teach high school. She gets the job, but she’s shocked to learn that the classes she teaches are filled with students who have no hope, no idea that life can be better, and a lot of gang affiliation. In her mind, she can change this and help these kids, but the job is harder than she thought.
The story shows perseverance and her desire to help, and the story does not have a happy ending. Her most difficult student – the one she tries hardest to help – is killed, and she believes her teaching career is a waste. Her student’s rally, though, and beg her not to leave. It’s been 28 years, and we have some surprising facts about the movie you probably did not know.
The Students Were Not Actors
Imagine casting an entire school of students using kids without acting experience. That’s what this movie did. Almost every student Michelle Pfeiffer’s character teaches is a kid without any experience as an actor or actress. It’s mind-boggling that the movie was so good that many people in it didn’t know what they were doing.
Coolio Doesn’t Like the Movie
Coolio is the rapper who created and performed the song Gangsta’s Paradise. At the time, he made it clear that he was not a fan of movies like Dangerous Minds, but he knew the movie needed his song. Coolio also knew his song needed a movie that big. He made it, and he went on to win a Grammy for it. He also did not think Pfeiffer would show up when it was time to shoot the music video. She’s a huge star, and he didn’t think it was possible she’d show. She did, though, and he enjoyed working with her.
Credit: @michellepfeifferofficial
The Movie is Based on a True Story
This is a true story about LouAnne Johnson, Michelle Pfeiffer’s character. She was a former marine and did not enjoy her time in the Marines. She was abused while in the marines, and it was difficult for her. In addition to the abuse she suffered while enlisted, she was also raped. Her time in the marines did not bring her good feelings, and she hated it.
Pfeiffer Shadowed the Real-Life Teacher at Work
To prepare for her role as Johnson, Pfeiffer decided to hang out in the classroom in which Johnson teaches to get a feel for her and the way she interacts with her students. She tried not to stand out in the crowd, but she’d recently played Catwoman, and the students recognized her. She did not wear makeup, she did wear a leather jacket, and she tried to stay out of the way. The kids recognized her, though, and they made it clear that Catwoman does not look so good in the classroom without her makeup. Kids. They’re delightful.
Michelle Pfeiffer Was Pregnant
When the movie was being made, she was expecting a baby. She didn’t have the ability to write it into the movie, but she did work around it. Many of the wardrobe choices in the movie allowed her to hide her burgeoning belly and act as if she was not expecting a child.
The Real LouAnne did not Make Much Money
The real LouAnne did not get paid well for this movie. She did earn $125,000 for it, which is a lot of money back in 1995 – a lot more than it sounds like in 2022. However, she only got a tiny bit of money when you consider how much the movie earned. It was a $180 million movie, and it’s done well since. Her agent failed to add to her contract that she should receive a two percent payment from the total profits of the movie despite writing the book about her life that inspired the movie to be made in the first place.
Credit: @michellepfeifferofficial
Almost No One Read Her Book Before Making the Movie
Johnson’s story was written in a book, but only Michelle Pfeiffer read the book before making the movie. It was a big deal to know how it goes and to work through the story with Johnson’s own words. Even the man who wrote the script did not read the movie. He told Johnson he didn’t have time to sit down and read a book when he had a movie to write. It was…a lot.
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