Stand by Me (film)

1986 American coming-of-age film directed by Rob Reiner

This article is about the 1986 American film. For the 2014 Japanese film, see Stand by Me Doraemon.

Stand by Me

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Rob Reiner
Screenplay by|

* Bruce A. Evans
* Raynold Gideon

Based on| The Body
by Stephen King
Produced by|

* Bruce A. Evans
* Raynold Gideon
* Andrew Scheinman

Starring|

* Wil Wheaton
* River Phoenix
* Corey Feldman
* Jerry O'Connell
* Kiefer Sutherland

Cinematography| Thomas Del Ruth
Edited by| Robert Leighton
Music by| Jack Nitzsche

Production
company

Act III Productions

Distributed by| Columbia Pictures

Release date

* August 8, 1986 (1986-8-8) (United States)[1]

Running time

| 89 minutes[2]
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $7.5–8 million[3][4]
Box office| $52.3 million[4]

Stand by Me is a 1986 American coming-of-age drama film[5] directed by Rob Reiner. Based on Stephen King's 1982 novella The Body, the film is set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon in 1959. Stand by Me stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell as four boys who set out on a journey to find the dead body of a missing boy. The film's title is derived from the 1961 song of the same name by Ben E. King, which plays during the film's closing credits.

Stand by Me received positive reviews upon release[6] and was a commercial success. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and for two Golden Globe Awards: One for Best Drama Motion Picture and one for Best Director. Rolling Stone has called Stand by Me "a staple of youthful nostalgia" and "the rare movie that necessarily gets better with time".

## Plot

[edit]

In 1985, writer Gordie Lachance reads a newspaper article about a fatal stabbing involving his childhood best friend, Chris Chambers. He recalls an incident from when he was 12 years old when he, Chris, and two other friends, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio, went searching for the body of a missing boy named Ray Brower near the town of Castle Rock, Oregon, during Labor Day weekend in 1959. As a child, Gordie's parents largely ignored him as they grieved the death of their elder son, Denny. Unlike their parents, Denny had paid attention to Gordie.

Vern overhears his big brother, Billy, talking with his friend, Charlie, about finding the body. Billy does not want to inform police because it could draw attention to a car theft he and Charlie committed. When Vern tells his friends about the body, the four boys—hoping to become local heroes—decide to look for it. After Chris steals his father's pistol, he and Gordie run into local hoodlums "Ace" Merrill and Chris's older brother, "Eyeball." Ace threatens Chris with a lit cigarette and steals Gordie's Yankees cap, which was a gift from Denny.

The boys begin their trip. After stopping at a junkyard for water, they are caught trespassing by owner Milo Pressman and his dog, Chopper. Once they escape over a fence, Milo calls Teddy's mentally ill veteran father a "loony" and refers to how he almost burned Teddy's ear off. An enraged Teddy tries to attack Milo but the other boys restrain him. The four continue their hike, and Chris encourages Gordie to fulfill his potential as a writer despite his father's disapproval. While crossing a railroad bridge, Gordie and Vern narrowly avoid being killed by an approaching train by jumping off the tracks. In the evening, as the boys camp, Gordie tells a fictional story he created about "David 'Lard-Ass' Hogan", an obese boy who is constantly bullied. Seeking payback, he downs a bottle of castor oil before entering a pie-eating contest and throws up deliberately, inducing mass vomiting among everyone there.

That night, Chris complains to Gordie that he hates being associated with his family's reputation. He admits to stealing school milk money but says he confessed to a teacher, yet was still suspended as the teacher kept quiet and pocketed the money. Devastated by the teacher's betrayal, Chris breaks down and cries.

The next day, the boys wade across a swamp, discovering it filled with leeches. Gordie faints after finding one in his underwear. After more hiking, the boys locate the body. The discovery traumatizes Gordie, who asks Chris why Denny had to die and cries about his father hating him. Chris comforts Gordie and asserts that his father simply does not know him.

Ace and his gang arrive to claim the body and threaten to hurt the boys if they stay. When Chris refuses to back down, Ace draws a switchblade. Gordie gets the gun, fires a warning shot, and stands beside Chris while aiming it at Ace. Ace demands the weapon, but Gordie refuses while insulting and threatening him. Ace and his gang vow revenge and leave. The boys decide that exploiting Brower's death would be wrong and instead report it via an anonymous phone call. They walk back to Castle Rock and part ways.

Back in the present day, Gordie is finishing a memoir of the experience. He notes that Vern and Teddy separated from him and Chris in junior high. Vern married after high school, had four children, and became a forklift operator. Teddy tried getting into the Army but his damaged ear and poor eyesight disqualified him. He ended up serving jail time and working odd jobs. Chris took college prep courses with Gordie and, despite struggling, later became a lawyer, with the two eventually drifting apart. Recently, while attempting to break up a fight in a restaurant, he was stabbed to death. Gordie writes that despite not having seen Chris in over a decade, he will miss him forever. He ends his narration with the following words: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

## Cast

[edit]

* Wil Wheaton as Gordon "Gordie" Lachance (aged 12)
* Richard Dreyfuss as adult Gordon (credited as "the Writer")
* River Phoenix as Chris Chambers
* Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp
* Jerry O'Connell as Vern Tessio
* Kiefer Sutherland as John "Ace" Merrill, gang leader
* Casey Siemaszko as Billy Tessio, gang member and Vern's older brother
* John Cusack as Dennis "Denny" Lachance, Gordie's older brother
* Marshall Bell as Mr. Lachance
* Frances Lee McCain as Mrs. Lachance
* Gary Riley as Charlie Hogan, gang member and Billy's best friend
* Bradley Gregg as Richard "Eyeball" Chambers, gang member and Chris's older brother
* Jason Oliver Lipsett as Vince Desjardins, gang member
* Andy Lindberg as Lardass Hogan
* Bruce Kirby as Mr. Quidacioluo, store owner
* William Bronder as Milo Pressman, junkyard owner
* Scott Beach as Mayor Grundy

## Production

[edit]

### Development

[edit]

"The Body" was the original name of the movie based on the novel, with Embassy Pictures heading production. T-shirts bearing the name and company were given to the cast and crew.

The film was adapted from the Stephen King novella The Body.[7] Bruce A. Evans sent a copy of The Body to Karen Gideon, the wife of his friend and writing partner Raynold Gideon, on August 29, 1983, as a gift for her birthday.[8] Both Gideon and Evans quickly became fans of the novella and shortly thereafter contacted King's agent, Kirby McCauley, seeking to negotiate film rights; McCauley replied that King's terms were $100,000 and 10% of the gross profits. Although the money was not an issue, the share of gross profits was considered excessive, especially considering that no stars could be featured to help sell the movie. In response, Evans and Gideon pursued an established director, Adrian Lyne, to help sell the project.[8]

After reading the novella, Lyne teamed up with Evans and Gideon, but all the studios the trio approached turned the project down except for Martin Shafer at Embassy Pictures. Embassy spent four months negotiating the rights with McCauley, settling on $50,000 and a smaller share of the profits, and Evans and Gideon spent eight weeks writing the screenplay. Evans and Gideon asked to also produce the film, but Shafer suggested they team up with Andrew Scheinman, a more experienced producer.[8] Embassy was unwilling to meet Lyne's salary for directing the film until Evans and Gideon agreed to give up half of their share of profits to meet Lyne's asking price.[8]

Lyne was going to direct the film, but had promised himself a vacation following the production of 9½ Weeks,[9][10] and would not be available to start production until the spring of 1986.[8] Reiner was better known at the time for playing Michael Stivic in All in the Family and had just started a directing career, making comedies such as This Is Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing. He was sent the script by Scheinman,[8] and his initial reaction was that the script had promise but "no focus".[3] After Lyne withdrew from the project, Reiner signed on to direct in September 1984.[8] In a 2011 interview, Reiner discussed his realization that the film should focus on the character of Gordie:

> "In the book, it was about four boys, but...once I made Gordie the central focus of the piece then it made sense to me: this movie was all about a kid who didn't feel good about himself and whose father didn't love him. And through the experience of going to find the dead body and his friendship with these boys, he began to feel empowered and went on to become a very successful writer. He basically became Stephen King."[9]

Reiner has said that he identified with Gordie, as he himself struggled with the shadow of fame cast by his comedian father, Carl Reiner.[3] The writers incorporated Reiner's suggestions, producing a new script by December 1984 for Embassy's review and approval.[8]

Days before the shooting started in the summer of 1985, Embassy was sold to Columbia Pictures, which made plans to cancel the production.[8] Norman Lear, one of the co-owners of Embassy and the developer of All in the Family, gave $7.5 million of his own money to complete the film, citing his faith in Reiner and the script.[3] However, since Embassy also would have distributed the film, once the film was completed it had no distributor. The producers showed a print to Michael Ovitz, head of the powerful Creative Artists Agency, and Ovitz promised to help them find a distributor.[8] Paramount, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. all passed on the film; Columbia Pictures production head Guy McElwaine screened the film at his house because he was feeling ill, and the positive reaction of his daughters convinced him to distribute the film.[8][3] In March 1986, Columbia Pictures, concerned that the original title, The Body, was misleading, renamed the film Stand by Me. According to screenwriter Raynold Gideon, The Body "sounded like either a sex film, a bodybuilding film, or another Stephen King horror film. Rob came up with Stand by Me, and it ended up being the least unpopular option."[11] The film's name is derived from Ben E. King's 1961 song, "Stand by Me", which plays during the ending credits.[12][13]

### Casting

[edit]

In a 2011 interview with NPR, Wil Wheaton attributed the film's success to the director's casting choices:

> Rob Reiner found four young boys who were the characters we played. I was awkward and nerdy and shy and uncomfortable in my skin and sensitive, and River was cool and smart and passionate and even at that age kind of like a father figure to some of us, Jerry was one of the funniest people I had ever seen in my life, either before or since, and Corey was unbelievably angry and in an incredible amount of pain and had a terrible relationship with his parents.[14]

Feldman recalled how his home life translated into his onscreen character: "[Most kids aren't] thinking they're going to get hit by their parents because they're not doing well enough in school, which will prevent them from getting a work permit, which will prevent them from being an actor."[3] O'Connell agreed that he was cast based on how his personality fit the role, saying "Rob wanted us to understand our characters. He interviewed our characters. [...] I tried to stay like Vern and say the stupid things Vern would. I think I was Vern that summer."[15] Reiner and the producers interviewed more than 70 boys for the four main roles,[8] out of more than 300 who auditioned;[15] Phoenix originally read for the part of Gordie Lachance.[15] Ethan Hawke auditioned for Chris Chambers.[16]

Before filming began, Reiner put the four main actors together for two weeks to play games from Viola Spolin's Improvisation for the Theater (which Reiner called "the bible" of theater games)[15] and build camaraderie. As a result, a friendship developed among the actors.[3] Wheaton would recall "When you saw the four of us being comrades, that was real life, not acting."[15]

Before settling on Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator (and the role of the adult Gordie), Reiner considered David Dukes, Ted Bessell, and Michael McKean.[3]

### Filming

[edit]

Bridge on the road leading into Brownsville, Oregon, which was used for the penultimate scenes (2009)

Principal photography began on June 17, 1985, and ended on August 23, 1985.

Parts of the film were shot in Brownsville, Oregon, which stood in for the fictional town of Castle Rock. The town was selected for its small-town 1950s ambience.[17][18] Approximately 100 local residents were employed as extras.[17]

The "barf-o-rama" scene was also filmed in Brownsville. A local bakery supplied the pies and extra filling, which was mixed with large-curd cottage cheese to simulate the vomit.[19] The quantity of simulated vomit varied per person, from as much as 5 US gallons (19 L) during the triggering event to as little as 1⁄16 US gallon (0.24 L).[19]

The McCloud River Railroad trestle bridge across Lake Britton in California, which was used for the train chase scene (2012)

The scene where the boys outrace a steam train engine across an 80-foot tall trestle was filmed on the McCloud River Railroad, above Lake Britton Reservoir near McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in California.[20] The scene took a full week to shoot, making use of four small adult female stunt doubles with closely cropped hair who were made up to look like the film's protagonists.[20] Plywood planks were laid across the ties to provide a safer surface on which the stunt doubles could run.[20] The film crew even brought a brand-new camera for use in the shot, only for it to jam between the rails on the first shot. The locomotive used for the scene, M.C.R.R. 25, is still in daily operation for excursion service on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad.[20] Telephoto compression was used to make the train appear much closer than it actually was. The actors did not feel a sense of danger until Reiner threatened them by saying, "You see those guys? They don't want to push that dolly down the track anymore. And the reason they're getting tired is because of you... I told them if they weren't worried that the train was going to kill them, then they should worry that I was going to. And that's when they ran."[9]

## Music

[edit]

Jack Nitzsche composed the film's musical score. On August 8, 1986, a soundtrack album was released containing many of the 1950s and early 1960s oldies songs featured in the film:

1. "Everyday" (Buddy Holly) – 2:07
2. "Let the Good Times Roll" (Shirley and Lee) – 2:22
3. "Come Go with Me" (The Del-Vikings) – 2:40
4. "Whispering Bells" (The Del-Vikings) – 2:25
5. "Get a Job" (The Silhouettes) – 2:44
6. "Lollipop" (The Chordettes) – 2:09
7. "Yakety Yak" (The Coasters) – 1:52
8. "Great Balls of Fire" (Jerry Lee Lewis) – 1:52
9. "Mr. Lee" (The Bobbettes) – 2:14
10. "Stand by Me" (Ben E. King) – 2:55

The movie's success sparked a renewed interest in Ben E. King's song "Stand by Me".[21] Initially a number four pop hit in 1961,[22] the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1986, eventually peaking at number nine in December of that year.[23]

### Charts

[edit]

Chart (1987)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] | 98

### Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Australia (ARIA)[25] | Platinum  | 70,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] | Gold  | 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## Home media

[edit]

Stand by Me was released on VHS on March 19, 1987, by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. A DVD was issued on August 29, 2000, with a director's commentary, multiple language options (subtitles and audio), scene selections with motion images, and a featurette titled "Walking The Tracks: The Summer Of Stand by Me".[citation needed] The film was re-issued on Blu-ray in 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and again on 4K Blu-ray in 2019.[27]

## Reception

[edit]

### Box office

[edit]

The film was a box office success in North America. It opened in a limited release in 16 theaters on August 8, 1986, and grossed $242,795, averaging $15,174 per theater. The film then had its wide opening in 745 theaters on August 22 and grossed $3,812,093, averaging $5,116 per theater and ranking number 2. The film's widest release was 848 theaters, and it ended up earning $52,287,414 overall, well above its $8 million budget.[28]

### Critical response

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 64 reviews and a rating average of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Stand by Me is a wise, nostalgic movie with a weird streak that captures both Stephen King's voice and the trials of growing up."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[30]

Reviewing the film for The New York Times, Walter Goodman opined that Reiner's direction was rather self-conscious, "looking constantly at his audience". While the lead actors were "individually likable", Goodman called the film a "trite narrative" and said that "Reiner's direction hammers in every obvious element in an obvious script."[31] In his review for the Chicago Tribune, Dave Kehr wrote that there was "nothing natural in the way Reiner has overloaded his film with manufactured drama".[32] In contrast, Sheila Benson called the film "[a treasure] absolutely not to be missed" in her review for the Los Angeles Times.[33] Paul Attanasio, reviewing for The Washington Post, called the acting ensemble "wonderful" and particularly praised the performances by Wheaton and Phoenix.[34]

Stephen King was very impressed with the film.[35] On the special features of the 25th anniversary Blu-ray set, King indicated that he considered the film to be the first successful translation to film of any of his works. According to a later interview with Gene Siskel, Reiner recalled that after a private early screening of the film, King excused himself for fifteen minutes to compose himself; he later returned to remark, "'That's the best film ever made out of anything I've written, which isn't saying much. But you've really captured my story. It is autobiographical.'"[36][37] In a 2016 interview, King said that Stand by Me was his favorite adaptation of his work, alongside The Shawshank Redemption.[38]

### Awards

[edit]

At the 8th Youth in Film Awards, the film received the Jackie Coogan Award for Outstanding Contribution to Youth Through Motion Picture – Ensemble Cast in a Feature Film (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell).[39]

Nominations

* Academy Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans)[40]
* Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film (Rob Reiner)[41]
* Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama[42][43]
* Golden Globe Award for Best Director (Rob Reiner)[42][43]
* Independent Spirit Award for Best Film (Andrew Scheinman, Raynold Gideon, and Bruce A. Evans)[44][45]
* Independent Spirit Award for Best Director (Rob Reiner)
* Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay (Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans)
* National Board of Review Awards 1986 Top Ten Films (awarded)[46]
* Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans)[47]

## Legacy

[edit]

In a 2011 piece entitled "25 years of Stand by Me", writer Alex Hannaford opined that "[for] anyone older than about 33, Stand by Me remains one of the greatest films to come out of the Eighties." Hannaford added that the film "has a charm and depth that seems to resonate with each generation".[9]

In 2016, several writers commemorated the 30-year anniversary of the film's release. Rolling Stone's Charles Bramesco called Stand By Me "timeless", "a staple of youthful nostalgia for its deft straddling of the line between childhood and adulthood", and "the rare movie that necessarily gets better with time".[48] Others described the film as a "coming-of-age classic"[49][50] and as a film that stood at "the apex of the '80s kids' movie boom".[51]

### Events and tourism

[edit]

Brownsville, Oregon has held an annual "Stand By Me Day" since 2007. The event has attracted international participants.[17] On July 24, 2010, a 25th Anniversary celebration of the filming of Stand by Me was held in Brownsville. The event included a cast and crew Q&A session, an amateur pie-eating contest, and an outdoor showing of the film.[52]

In 2013, July 23 was designated as Stand By Me Day by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.[53] To encourage tourism, the city has embedded a penny in the street at a location where the fictional Vern found one in the film. An advertising mural painted for the movie production has survived.[54]

Following the July 2024 Stand By Me Day, its event organizers—after input from businesses, fans, volunteers—decided to schedule the annual event for the fourth Saturday of July.[55]

### Film

[edit]

The Oscar-nominated urban drama Boyz n the Hood has several direct references to Stand by Me, including a trip by four young children to see a dead body, and the closing fade-out of one of the main characters. Director John Singleton stated that he included the references because he was a fan of the movie.[56]

Jonathan Bernstein states the pop culture discussions between characters in films by Quentin Tarantino originate in the similar semi-serious banter between the boys of Stand by Me.[57]

Reviewers have seen an influence from Stand by Me in the 2011 movie Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish.[58]

The movie Mud (2012) has a character (Neckbone) who has been called a "perfect fusion of River Phoenix and Jerry O'Connell in Stand by Me".[59][60] The writer and director, Jeff Nichols, said of the film "Yeah, you know, I basically remade Stand by Me" when defending the work-in-progress to studio executives.[61]

The Kings of Summer, a 2013 coming-of-age film by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, has been reviewed as being inspired by Stand by Me.[59][62][63]

Love and Monsters (2020) includes an excerpt of the song "Stand by Me" and shortly after a scene involving large poisonous leeches.[64]

### Music

[edit]

Dan Mangan's song "Rows of Houses" (2011) is based on the film and takes the perspective of Gordie Lachance.[65]

### Production company

[edit]

In 1987, following the success of Stand by Me, Reiner co-founded a film and television production company and named it Castle Rock Entertainment, after the fictional town in which the film is set.[35]

### Television

[edit]

* Seinfeld, the first television show produced by Reiner's Castle Rock production company, featured banter between Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza that was reminiscent of the dialogue between the protagonists of Stand by Me.[57]
* The plotline of "The Blunder Years", a 2001 episode from the thirteenth season of The Simpsons, revolves around a repressed childhood trauma in which Homer Simpson, along with his friends Lenny and Carl, discover a body blocking an inlet for the Springfield Quarry.[59][66]
* The Rick and Morty episode "The Ricklantis Mixup" makes references to the film with four multi-verse Mortys, and another reference during a campfire.[59][67]
* The web television series Do You Want to See a Dead Body? is inspired by the film, and named after a quote from it.[68][69]
* In the Family Guy season 7 episode "Three Kings" which aired on May 10, 2009, the first segment of the episode parodies the whole film.

### Video games

[edit]

The film is referenced in Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow for the Nintendo Game Boy, as well their Game Boy Advance remakes, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, where the player character's mother is watching the movie on TV.[70] When interacting with the TV, the player character says: "There's a movie on TV. Four boys are walking on railroad tracks. I better go too." This reference exists in both the original Japanese versions and the English localizations, though the reference changes to The Wizard of Oz in the remakes when the female player character is selected.[71]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Stand by Me (1986)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
2. ^ "Stand by Me (15)". British Board of Film Classification. November 14, 1986. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lang, Brent (July 28, 2016). "Stand by Me Oral History: Rob Reiner and Cast on River Phoenix and How Coming-of-Age Classic Almost Didn't Happen". Variety. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
4. ^ a b "Stand by Me". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
5. ^ "Stand by Me (1986)". AllMovie. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
6. ^ a b "Stand by Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
7. ^ "All the Stephen King Easter Eggs in Hulu's Castle Rock – From Shawshank to Sissy Spacek". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Scott, Vernon (November 21, 1986). "How Stand By Me Was Almost Left Standing At The Gate". Chicago Tribune. United Press International. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
9. ^ a b c d Hannaford, Alex (June 13, 2011). "25 years of Stand by Me". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
10. ^ Rob Reiner – Archive Interview Part 6 of 8. Foundation Interviews. March 20, 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2017 - via YouTube.
11. ^ Stand By Me DVD Booklet. Columbia TriStar Home Video. 2000.
12. ^ Laguerre-Lewis, Kayla (September 1, 2024). "Stand By Me Ending Explained". screenrant.com.
13. ^ Battestella, Kristin (June 6, 2024). "Stand By Me Remains Sentimental". insessionfilm.com.
14. ^ Wheaton, Wil (August 6, 2011). "All Things Considered". National Public Radio (Interview). Interviewed by David Greene. Meriden, Connecticut: WNPR. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
15. ^ a b c d e Harmetz, Aljean (September 16, 1986). "How 4 boys in Stand by Me became a film team". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
16. ^ Freeman, Hadley (November 16, 2020). "Ethan Hawke on regrets, race and surviving Hollywood: 'River Phoenix was a big lesson to me'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
17. ^ a b c Paul, Alex (July 20, 2016). "Linda McCormick Can Tell You All About the Film Stand by Me". Albany Democrat-Herald. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.; special section, pg. S2.
18. ^ "Stand By Me Filming Locations". Fast Rewind. 2015. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
19. ^ a b McGovern, Joe (May 12, 2016). "Stand by Me turns 30: The blueberry pie scene gets an oral history". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
20. ^ a b c d Paul, Alex (July 20, 2016). "Bend Attorney Helped Drive Stand By Me Train". Albany Democrat-Herald. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.; special section, pp. S3, S8.
21. ^ Mansfield, Brian (May 1, 2015). "10 great versions of Ben E. King's Stand by Me". usatoday.com.
22. ^ Osborne, Ed (September 15, 2023). "Stand By Me – Ben E. King | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning". top40weekly.com. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
23. ^ "Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
24. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 284\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
26. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Stand by Me". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
27. ^ "Stand by Me Blu-ray (25th Anniversary Edition)" - via www.blu-ray.com.
28. ^ "Stand by Me". Box Office Mojo. August 8, 1986. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
29. ^ "Stand by Me Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
30. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Stand by Me" in the search box). CinemaScore. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
31. ^ Goodman, Walter (August 8, 1986). "Movie Review: Rob Reiner's Stand By Me". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
32. ^ Kehr, Dave (August 22, 1986). "Textbook Drama Trips Up Stand By Me". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
33. ^ Benson, Sheila (August 8, 1986). "From the Archives: Stand by Me is a summer standout". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
34. ^ Attanasio, Paul (August 22, 1986). "Movies: Stand by Me". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
35. ^ a b Herman, Karen (November 29, 2004). "Interview with Rob Reiner". Archive of American Television. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
36. ^ Siskel, Gene (August 17, 1986). "'Meathead' Rob Reiner Meets And Defeats His Longtime Demons". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
37. ^ Greene, Andy (October 31, 2014). "Stephen King: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2020. "Stand by Me, Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile are all really great ones."
38. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 2, 2016). "Stephen King On What Hollywood Owes Authors When Their Books Become Films: Q&A". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
39. ^ Harcum, Chris (January 3, 2011). "What's On Today". nytimes.com. USA.
40. ^ Susman, Gary. "12 Things You Never Knew About Stand by Me". www.moviefone.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
41. ^ "5 Directors Nominated As Best by Their Guild". The New York Times. January 29, 1987. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
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## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Stand by Me (film).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stand by Me (film).

* Stand by Me at IMDb
* Stand by Me at the TCM Movie Database
* Stand by Me at Box Office Mojo
* Brownsville, Oregon Stand by Me film locations from Brownsville Chamber of Commerce
* "Stand By Me". Then & Now Movie Locations [blog]. October 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2017.

### Reviews

[edit]

* Denby, David (August 18, 1986). "Roughing It". New York Magazine. pp. 58–59. Retrieved May 1, 2017.58-59&rft.date=1986-08-18&rft.aulast=Denby&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-cCAAAAMBAJ&pg;=PA58&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Stand+by+Me+(film)" class="Z3988">
* Franco, James (August 1, 2013). "Keep Standing by Me". Vice. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Rob Reiner

* This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
* The Sure Thing (1985)
* Stand by Me (1986)
* The Princess Bride (1987)
* When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
* Misery (1990)
* A Few Good Men (1992)
* North (1994)
* The American President (1995)
* Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
* The Story of Us (1999)
* Alex & Emma (2003)
* Rumor Has It (2005)
* The Bucket List (2007)
* Flipped (2010)
* The Magic of Belle Isle (2012)
* And So It Goes (2014)
* Being Charlie (2015)
* LBJ (2016)
* Shock and Awe (2017)
* Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023)
* Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Adaptations of works by Stephen King

Feature films|

* Cujo (1983)
* The Dead Zone (1983)
* Christine (1983)
* Cat's Eye (1985)
* Silver Bullet (1985)
* Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
* Graveyard Shift (1990)
* Needful Things (1993)
* The Dark Half (1993)
* Dolores Claiborne (1995)
* Thinner (1996)
* The Night Flier (1997)
* The Green Mile (1999)
* Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
* Dreamcatcher (2003)
* Secret Window (2004)
* Riding the Bullet (2004)
* 1408 (2007)
* No Smoking (2007)
* The Mist (2007)
* Dolan's Cadillac (2009)
* A Good Marriage (2014)
* Mercy (2014)
* Cell (2016)
* The Dark Tower (2017)
* Gerald's Game (2017)
* 1922 (2017)
* In the Tall Grass (2019)
* Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
* The Boogeyman (2023)
* The Life of Chuck (2024)
* 'Salem's Lot (2024)
* The Monkey (2025)
* The Long Walk (TBA)

Carrie|

* Carrie (1976)
* The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
* Carrie (2002)
* Carrie (2013)

The Shining|

* The Shining (1980)
* Doctor Sleep (2019)

Creepshow|

* Creepshow (1982)
* Creepshow 2 (1987)
* Creepshow 3 (2006)

Children of the Corn|

* Children of the Corn (1984)
* The Final Sacrifice (1992)
* Urban Harvest (1995)
* The Gathering (1996)
* Fields of Terror (1998)
* Isaac's Return (1999)
* Revelation (2001)
* Children of the Corn (2009)
* Genesis (2011)
* Runaway (2018)
* Children of the Corn (2020)

Firestarter|

* Firestarter (1984)
* Rekindled (2002)
* Firestarter (2022)

Trucks|

* Maximum Overdrive (1986)
* Trucks (1997)

Different Seasons|

* Stand by Me (1986)
* The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
* Apt Pupil (1998)

The Running Man|

* The Running Man (1987)
* The Running Man (2025)

Pet Sematary|

* Pet Sematary (1989)
* Pet Sematary Two (1992)
* Pet Sematary (2019)
* Bloodlines (2023)

Misery|

* Misery (1990)
* Julie Ganapathi (2003)

The Lawnmower Man|

* The Lawnmower Man (1992)
* Beyond Cyberspace (1996)

The Mangler|

* The Mangler (1995)
* The Mangler 2 (2002)
* Reborn (2005)

It|

* It (2017)
* It Chapter Two (2019)

TV films,
episodes,
miniseries|

* "The Word Processor of the Gods" (1984)
* "Gramma" (1986)
* "Sorry, Right Number" (1987)
* Golden Years (1991)
* The Tommyknockers (1993)
* The Langoliers (1995)
* The Shining (1997)
* Quicksilver Highway (1997)
* "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" (1997)
* Stephen King's Desperation (2006)
* Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)
* Bag of Bones (2011)
* Big Driver (2014)
* 11.22.63 (2016)
* "Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember" (2018)
* The Outsider (2020)
* Lisey's Story (2021)

Salem's Lot|

* Salem's Lot (1979)
* A Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
* Salem's Lot (2004)

It|

* It (1990)
* Woh (1998)
* "Not It" (2022)

Sometimes They
Come Back|

* Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
* Sometimes They Come Back... Again (1996)
* Sometimes They Come Back... for More (1998)

The Stand|

* The Stand (1994)
* The Stand (2020–21)

Rose Red|

* Rose Red (2002)
* The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003)

TV series|

* The Dead Zone (2002–2007)
* Kingdom Hospital (2004)
* Haven (2010–2015)
* Under the Dome (2013–2015)
* The Mist (2017)
* Mr. Mercedes (2017–2019)
* Castle Rock (2018–2019)
* Creepshow (2019–present)
* Chapelwaite (2021)
* It: Welcome to Derry (2026)

Stage|

* Misery (1992 play)
* Dolores Claiborne (2013 opera)
* The Shining (2016 opera)

Carrie|

* Carrie (1988 musical)
* Scarrie! The Musical (1998 musical parody)

Audio|

| Radio|

* The Mist in 3D Binaural Sound (1984)
* Salem's Lot (1995)
* Pet Sematary (1997)
* Secret Window, Secret Garden (2003)
* Misery (2004)

|

Podcast|

* Strawberry Spring (2021)

Comics|

* Creepshow (1982)
* The Dark Tower (2007–2017)
* The Stand (2008–2012)
* The Talisman (2009–2010)

Video games|

* The Mist (1985)
* The Running Man (1989)
* The Dark Half (1992)
* The Lawnmower Man (1993)
* Stephen King's F13 (1999)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Different Seasons by Stephen King

Novellas|

* Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
* Apt Pupil
* The Body
* The Breathing Method

Adaptations|

* Stand by Me (1986)
* The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
* Apt Pupil (1998)

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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template