Airheads is a
comedyComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
released on August 5, 1994. It was written by Rich Wilkes and directed by
Michael LehmannMichael Stephen Lehmann is an American film and television director.Lehmann attended Columbia University. His first job in the film industry was answering phones at Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope film company. Later he supervised cameras on films that included 1983's The Outsiders...
.
It stars
Brendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen. He has starred in many major Hollywood films, including The Mummy film series, Crash, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Early life:Fraser was born in...
,
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to...
, and
Steve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director.-Early life:Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Italian...
as a group of loser musicians called The Lone Rangers who take a radio station hostage, just so that their song would get played on the radio.
Joe MantegnaJoseph Anthony “Joe” Mantegna, Jr. is an American Tony Award-winning actor, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in box-office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , Up Close & Personal , and The Simpsons Movie .Mantegna has gained Emmy Award...
plays the radio station's
disc jockeyA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
and
Michael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; as David St...
plays the station's manager.
Chazz (
Brendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen. He has starred in many major Hollywood films, including The Mummy film series, Crash, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Early life:Fraser was born in...
), Rex (
Steve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director.-Early life:Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Italian...
) and Pip (
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to...
) are a
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
would-be rock band calling themselves The Lone Rangers.
Airheads is a
comedyComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
released on August 5, 1994. It was written by Rich Wilkes and directed by
Michael LehmannMichael Stephen Lehmann is an American film and television director.Lehmann attended Columbia University. His first job in the film industry was answering phones at Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope film company. Later he supervised cameras on films that included 1983's The Outsiders...
.
It stars
Brendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen. He has starred in many major Hollywood films, including The Mummy film series, Crash, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Early life:Fraser was born in...
,
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to...
, and
Steve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director.-Early life:Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Italian...
as a group of loser musicians called The Lone Rangers who take a radio station hostage, just so that their song would get played on the radio.
Joe MantegnaJoseph Anthony “Joe” Mantegna, Jr. is an American Tony Award-winning actor, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in box-office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , Up Close & Personal , and The Simpsons Movie .Mantegna has gained Emmy Award...
plays the radio station's
disc jockeyA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
and
Michael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; as David St...
plays the station's manager.
Plot
Chazz (
Brendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen. He has starred in many major Hollywood films, including The Mummy film series, Crash, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Early life:Fraser was born in...
), Rex (
Steve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director.-Early life:Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Italian...
) and Pip (
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to...
) are a
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
would-be rock band calling themselves The Lone Rangers. The guys are continuously turned down as they try to get their demo tape heard by producers. They finally decide to try to get the local rock station, KPPX-FM Rebel Radio 103.6, to play it on the air, after they saw how Rebel Radio helped another band (The Sons of Thunder) get a record deal. Their first break-in attempt is using Pip's
ATM cardAn ATM card is an ISO/IEC 7810 card issued by a bank, credit union or building society.It can be used:...
and its
PINA personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
. Then, Rex tries to "short circuit" the electronic lock with Pip's Big Gulp. They finally get in when a station employee comes out (and goes back in) and they keep the door from shutting.
Once inside,
disc jockeyA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
Ian the Shark (
Joe MantegnaJoseph Anthony “Joe” Mantegna, Jr. is an American Tony Award-winning actor, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in box-office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , Up Close & Personal , and The Simpsons Movie .Mantegna has gained Emmy Award...
) puts them on the air without them knowing. The station's sleazy manager Milo (
Michael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; as David St...
) overhears them and intervenes. After Milo calls Rex "Hollywood Boulevard trash", Chazz and Rex shove water pistols (that look like Uzis) loaded with
hot pepper sauceHot sauce, chili sauce, or pepper sauce refer to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients. There are many varieties around the world.-Ingredients:...
in Milo's face and demand airplay. After setting up a reel-to-reel for the demo, the tape starts and is destroyed when the reel runs out and catches fire in an ashtray. The guys try to run, but Doug Beech (
Michael RichardsMichael Anthony Richards is an American actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
), a station employee calls police and the building is surrounded.
They soon realize that they are armed hostage takers, and begin negotiations with the police. During the crisis, it is learned that Milo had signed a deal to change radio formats, which includes having to downsize Ian and most of the other employees. Ian and the rest of the employees take the side of Chazz and turn against Milo. Eventually, the record executive who rejects Chazz in the beginning of the movie comes to the radio station. The band signs a record contract and goes out on stage to play, only to realize that they are supposed to
lip syncLip-sync or Lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with voice. The term can refer to: a technique often used for performances in the production of film, video and television programs; the science of synchronization of visual and audio signals during post-production and...
the song and fake playing the instruments. They refuse to lip sync while the music is playing and get a round of cheers from the audience, who rush the stage.
Afterwards, Ian becomes the band's manager and we learn that the three were sent to prison, but served only a short time and had their album "Live in Prison" (which was recorded while the trio was imprisoned) go triple platinum.
Cast
- Brendan Fraser
Brendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen. He has starred in many major Hollywood films, including The Mummy film series, Crash, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Early life:Fraser was born in...
- Chester "Chazz" Darby
- Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director.-Early life:Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Italian...
- Rex Hodge
- Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to...
- Pip Briggs
- Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony “Joe” Mantegna, Jr. is an American Tony Award-winning actor, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in box-office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , Up Close & Personal , and The Simpsons Movie .Mantegna has gained Emmy Award...
- Ian "The Shark"
- Michael McKean
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; as David St...
- Milo
- Amy Locane
Amy Rose Locane is an American actress, born in Trenton, New Jersey, who starred as one of the original cast on the hit TV series Melrose Place. She played "Sandy", an aspiring actress who waited tables at the show's hangout "Shooters". She left Melrose Place after the first 12 episodes of season...
- Kayla
- Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father and an English mother...
- Suzzi
- Chris Farley
Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. He was a member at Chicago's Second City Theatre and the cast of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live...
- Officer Wilson
- Ernie Hudson
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz and Sergeant Albrecht in the cult movie The Crow.-Early life:...
- Sergeant O'Malley
- Reg E. Cathey
Reginald "Reg" E. Cathey is an African-German Stage, film and television actor.Cathey is a native of Huntsville, Alabama and a graduate of J.O. Johnson High School. He spent his childhood in Germany....
- Marcus
- Judd Nelson
Judd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbary in St...
- Jimmie Wing
- David Arquette
David James Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and former professional wrestler. He became known during the late 1990s, after having starred in several Hollywood films, including the films of the Scream trilogy...
- Carter
- Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
- Doug Beech
- Marshall Bell
Archibald Marshall Bell is an American actor. He has appeared in many character roles in movies and television. His best-known movies are probably A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , Stand by Me , Twins and Total Recall .-Early life:He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lived until...
- Carl Mace
- Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder is an American film critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later called "legendary". He has contributed to articles in Esquire, Details, New York, and Time. He has also made cameos on several...
- Himself
- Mike Judge
Michael Craig "Mike" Judge is an American animator, actor, voice actor, writer, director, and producer, best-known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill. He also wrote and directed the films Beavis and Butt-head Do America, Office...
- Voice of BeavisBeavis is a fictional main character in the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head. He was voiced by the show’s creator, Mike Judge....
and Butt-HeadButt-head is a fictional character from the MTV animated series Beavis and Butt-head. He was voiced by the show's creator, Mike Judge.Mike Judge got the name Butt-head from his university days, when he knew a couple of kids who had the nicknames 'Iron Butt' and 'Butt-head'...
Cameos
- The band Galactic Cowboys
Galactic Cowboys was a Heavy Metal band based in Houston, Texas. They combined progressive metal with a style of vocals influenced by The Beatles and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as Anthrax...
perform in the movie under the name "Sons of Thunder".
- White Zombie makes an appearance in the film where they perform their song "Feed the Gods
"Feed the Gods" is a song by White Zombie off the Airheads motion picture soundtrack which was used as a promo single in 1994. The band is seen performing this song at Whisky a Go Go in the aforementioned film...
" at Whisky a Go GoThe Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip....
.
- John Melendez
John Edward Melendez , commonly known as "Stuttering John," is an American television writer and radio personality. Prior to his work on television as a writer and announcer, Melendez was a regular on-air personality on The Howard Stern Show...
from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Howard Stern show makes a cameo when he admits that he used to "masturbate... constantly".
- Lemmy cameos as the "rocker" who admits to being editor of his school magazine during the scene when people admit to doing uncool things as kids. He is credited as "Lemmy von Motörhead
Motörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energized heavy metal in the late '70s and early '80s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had...
". During the intro sequence, a picture of Lemmy can be seen hanging on a wall in the Palatine Records building.
- Mike Judge
Michael Craig "Mike" Judge is an American animator, actor, voice actor, writer, director, and producer, best-known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill. He also wrote and directed the films Beavis and Butt-head Do America, Office...
makes a voice-only appearance as his characters Beavis and Butt-headBeavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. Judge's short film "Frog Baseball", starring the characters Beavis and Butt-head was featured on Liquid Television, a show featuring short animated and live action material that could be considered the precursor...
, calling KPPX to tell The Lone Rangers that they suck.
- Allen Covert
Allen Covert is an American comedian and actor.Covert was born in West Palm Beach, Florida and educated at New York University, where he was a classmate of Adam Sandler. Now a longtime friend of Sandler, Covert frequently writes for Sandler's comedy albums and films...
, a familiar face in many Adam Sandler movies, appears briefly as a police officer.
- MTV
MTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
journalist Kurt LoderKurt Loder is an American film critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later called "legendary". He has contributed to articles in Esquire, Details, New York, and Time. He has also made cameos on several...
appears briefly as a news reporter.
- Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes ; Ramis also co-wrote both films...
appears as an undercover police officer who tries to get into the radio station posing as a record executive who wants to sign the band, but he is found out after the band quizzes him on heavy metal with the questions, "Which side did you take in the David Lee Roth/Van Halen split?" and "Who would win in a wrestling match? Lemmy or God?".
Production notes
- The KPPX
KPPX-TV is a full-service television station licensed to Tolleson, Arizona and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area from its transmitter on South Mountain. It broadcasts exclusively in digital on UHF channel 51, having completed the conversion to DTV on February 17, 2009...
building used in the film is also featured in the movie Die HardDie Hard is a 1988 action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which was...
. It is visible in the plaza across from the Fox PlazaFox Plaza is a high skyscraper with 35 floors in Century City, Los Angeles, California, a local landmark. Completed in 1987, the architects behind its design were Scott Johnson, Bill Fain and William L. Pereira...
, "Nakatomi building" at the beginning of the movie.
- The song on the The Lone Rangers demo is cover of "Degenerated" by Reagan Youth
Reagan Youth is an American punk band started by singer Dave Rubinstein and his friend and guitarist Paul Bakija in Queens in early 1980. They have been labeled a peace punk band, but are more commonly cited as a pivotal band in introducing the style of hardcore punk to the East Coast punk scene....
.
Soundtrack
- "Born to Raise Hell
"Born to Raise Hell" is a song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. Originally written by Lemmy for the German band Skew Siskin, it plays over the opening credits of the film Airheads....
" - MotörheadMotörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energized heavy metal in the late '70s and early '80s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had...
with Ice-T* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE-T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
and Whitfield CraneWilliam Whitfield Crane IV was born on January 19, 1968 in Palo Alto, California. Whit was a founding member and lead singer of the rock/garage band, Ugly Kid Joe, which formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1997....
– 4:57
- "I'm The One
"I'm the One" is a song by industrial metal band Static-X. It is the second track and first single from their album Start a War.The video clip for this song contains all the members of the band playing music in a room with special effects added to the video clip to make appear as if the video is...
" - 4 Non Blondes4 Non Blondes were an American rock band formed in 1989. They consisted of bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day and vocalist Linda Perry. Prior to the release of their first album, Roger Rocha replaced Hall on guitar, and Dawn Richardson replaced Day on drums. They...
– 3:58
- "Feed the Gods
"Feed the Gods" is a song by White Zombie off the Airheads motion picture soundtrack which was used as a promo single in 1994. The band is seen performing this song at Whisky a Go Go in the aforementioned film...
" - White Zombie – 4:05
- "No Way Out" - DGeneration
D Generation were an American glam punk band formed in 1991 in New York City. During its history the band released three albums, to much critical acclaim...
– 4:26
- "Bastardizing Jellikit" - Primus
Primus is an American funk metal band currently composed of singer and bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander....
– 4:11
- "London" - Anthrax
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene and is notable for being the first to combine heavy metal with rap music...
– 2:54
- "Can't Give In" - Candlebox
Candlebox is a Post-Grunge band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in November 1991, the band originally went by the name Uncle Duke; they later changed their name purportedly as a tribute to the Midnight Oil song "Tin Legs and Tin Mines" which contained the line "boxed in like candles".-Rise to...
– 3:15
- "Curious George Blues" - Dig
-History:Dig formed in 1991 in Los Angeles; vocalist Scott Hackwith had previously produced for The Ramones, and guitarist Dix Denney had played with The Weirdos and Thelonious Monster. After releasing an EP in 1992, they signed with Radioactive Records and issued their first full-length in 1993,...
– 4:03
- "Inheritance" - Prong – 2:11
- "Degenerated" - Lone Rangers – 3:53
- "I'll Talk My Way Out Of It" - Stuttering John – 3:40
- "Fuel" - Stick – 4:57
- "We Want the Airwaves" - Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first punk rock group. Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1974, all of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname 'Ramone', though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring...
– 3:21
* "Degenerated" was originally a song by Reagan YouthReagan Youth is an American punk band started by singer Dave Rubinstein and his friend and guitarist Paul Bakija in Queens in early 1980. They have been labeled a peace punk band, but are more commonly cited as a pivotal band in introducing the style of hardcore punk to the East Coast punk scene....
.