16 Nostalgic Facts About “Stand by Me”

Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 16 Nostalgic Facts About Stand by Me.  Here are three of my favorites…

3. COCA-COLA ALMOST SHUT DOWN THE MOVIE ENTIRELY.
The soda company bought Embassy Pictures, the film’s original production company, and announced they weren’t going to fund Stand by Me just two days before they were set to start shooting. Television legend Norman Lear—who had worked with Reiner for years on All in the Family—was one of the three owners of Embassy prior to its sale. He believed in the project enough that he agreed to personally foot the film’s $8 million budget.

14. STEPHEN KING WAS IMPRESSED.
After Reiner screened the finished product for the author, King excused himself for 15 minutes. When he returned, he said it was the first time one of his stories was successfully put on film. King even applauded Reiner for changing it so that Gordie picks up the gun instead of Chris, wishing he had thought of that in the first place.

13. REINER CAME UP WITH THE TITLE.
Columbia Pictures didn’t like the idea of using The Body as the movie title for a variety of reasons. Reiner thought naming it after the Ben E. King song that plays at the end of the movie would be good. Co-writer Raynold Gideon said Reiner’s suggestion was the “least unpopular option.”