11 Things You Never Knew About 'Road House' on its 30th Anniversary
It's been 30 years since "Road House" arrived in theaters and made being a "cooler" seem like the greatest job in the world. This campy action movie's appeal has only grown over the years, so celebrate this big milestone by learning more about the making and legacy of "Road House."
1.Patrick Swayze injured his knee while filming "Road House," which forced him to turn down starring roles in both "Predator 2" and "Tango & Cash."
2. On the plus side, Swayze's injury did motivate him to take on a less physically demanding role in "Ghost," resulting in one of his most iconic movie roles.
3. All the actors were trained by accomplished martial artist and stuntman Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. Urquidez was so impressed by Swayze's natural talent that he tried to convince him to take up a new career as a professional kickboxer.
4. Though it's never spoken in the film, Dalton's first name is James. His full name can be glimpsed on a medical chart in the hospital.
5. The film originally featured the tagline "The dancing's over. Now it gets dirty.", a clear callback to 1987's "Dirty Dancing."
6. According to Sam Elliott, the original cut of the film was well over three hours long. Some of the many deleted scenes were included in the theatrical trailers, including a sequence where Dalton trains his bouncers by forcing them to wear ballerina costumes.
7. The "Family Guy" episode "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag" features an homage to "Road House," as Peter Griffin rekindles his obsession with the film. That episode is also dedicated to Swayze, who passed away a few weeks before it aired.
8. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton earned the nickname "Road House" because he shares a last name with Swayze's character.
9. The film received a belated direct-to-video sequel in 2006. "Road House 2" stars Johnathon Schaech as Dalton's son Shane, an undercover DEA agent posing as a bar bouncer.
10. The "Road House 2" character Nate Tanner was originally written to be Swayze's James Dalton. When Swayze declined to appear in the film, the part was changed and the film was rewritten to reveal that Dalton was gunned down at some point after the events of the first movie.
11. News broke in 2015 that a "Road House" remake was in the works, with Nick Cassavetes attached to write and direct and Ronda Rousey expected to star. However, the project was later canceled the following year.