Waynes Worldisreturning to theaters for a special two-day runin February to mark its 25th birthday.
I worked onSNL, and he had called me when he wanted Albert Brooks to do some short films.
I just think it was a lucky moment in my life.
‘Wayne’s World’.Credit: Everett Collection
What was it about this project that appealed to you?
Because being a woman in this business, you kind of take whatever you’re free to.
But I was happy to doWaynes Worldbecause I really did think it was hilarious.
Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection
Were you a fan of the sketches beforehand?Yeah.
But all of us had that fear.
There were so many rewrites on the script.
You do some rewrites and the script supervisor gives you different color pages.
Theres like 10 colors and we went through all 10 colors three times.
So it was a lot of rewriting as we went along.
How did that impact the way you approached your job?They were great.
Just like any great comedy team, they are always trying to one-up each other.
I had to respect the fact that they really knew the characters.
But thats an actors job.
Dana had to have all this stuff rigged up in the car, like a licorice dispenser.
And its like, We dont have time to build all that.
Yeah, but we have to!
Mike had to have the exact right house that he lived in.
Honestly, the house could have been any house, you know what I mean?
It was fun but crazy.
Also adding to your challenge was that this had to be a really short shoot, correct?
You had to rush to get them back toSNL.We were shooting like right up until the last moment.
So thats how tight the schedule was.
And thats why that scene is so funny: because I just let the cameras roll.
I knew if I cut, I wasnt going to get the scene.
Not very much of that was scripted; they kind of just made it up.
The Bohemian Rhapsody scene is so good.
The song itself builds so well in that operatic way that Freddie Mercury had of writing.
But its the scene people remember.
I knew that it worked then.
But it was a group effort; everyone pitched in their ideas.
Bohemian Rhapsody, the song itself, was a choice of Mikes.
It was in the script from the very beginning.
He was kind of just the dreamboat romantic actor kind of guy before that.
But thats where he honed his comedy.
What are you talking about?
And it was true [laughs].
Hey, it worked out for everyone.It did.
The whole thing really was a coming together of personalities and chemistries that just magically worked.
And I said to him, Oh yeah, well, just watch me.
But he was right.
Like I told you, I would take any gig that I could get.
I just assumed that I would be able to do it.
And… you know why it didnt happen, right?
Ive read that there was some tension between you and Mike over the final cut of the movie.Right.
It really made me a better person and a stronger person.
I mean, I was really depressed over it.
And I felt horrible.
When you go through something like that, you just come out stronger.
So I thank them for it.
I was fine with it, Im like, This guys just a genius.
AfterWaynes Worlds success, they made many more, but none of them have done nearly as well.
I dont know [laughs].
I just watched it again yesterday and it still holds up.Really?
You know the last time I sawWaynes Worldwas?
The premiere in 1992.
I just dont like to go back and look at my own movies for some reason.
I would look at that movie and tear it apart.
I cant believe it.
Dont they have pumpkins or strawberries to celebrate?
A lot of aspirin will be definitely be needed!
[Laughs] No, Mike kept asking for Advil!
Hows that for a quote?
I just thought of it at this moment [laughs].
