Francis Ford Coppola reveals footage from Outsiders auditions, with Tom Cruise & co
The filmmaker is proud to have been able to witness a brotherhood capable of ignoring the competition that animated them.
Francis Ford Coppola famous Outsiders with adorable archives from the past.
More than 40 years after its release, the 1983 adaptation of the classic novel by SE Hinton remains very popular, in part thanks to its promising casting. These seeds of talent were propelled to the forefront of the Hollywood scene thanks to their performance and the visibility granted to them. Outsiders of Francis Ford Coppola. The latter shared this week images of the auditions that started it all, notably those of Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon And Rob Lowe.
“42 years ago, we launched Outsiders in a unique way.”writes Coppola on his Instagram account. “We had all the actors together on a soundstage and alternated different actors in reading other characters' scripts“.
He pursues : “It was interesting because each of them were competing, so even though it could have been a volatile situation, it turned into a very positive situation. The natural respect and sense of collaboration welled up. The result worked perfectly and reminded me of my days as a conductor.“
As promised, the sequence features the actors reading the parts of various characters from the coming-of-age story, including roles they wouldn't play. Anthony Michael Hall appears in an audition tape, reading for the role of main character Ponyboy – ultimately, it is C. Thomas Howell who got the role.
Some of the film's stars responded to the Instagram post in the comments section, talking about the experience. “The people who came to these auditions… so many people went on to great careerswriting C. Thomas Howell, Amazing.”
“These auditions and this cinematic experience still teach me today“, wrote Ralph Macchiothanking the Oscar-winning filmmaker, while Rob Lowe added : “It seems like it was yesterday!”
The film, like the novel, revolves around rival teenage gangs in a rural Oklahoma town: the poor Greasers and the rich Socs. After Ponyboy and Johnny (Macchio) fight violently, the two thugs try to escape the police.
The cast members reflected on their experience at Entertainment weekly in 2021: “Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Dennis Quaid, Mickey Rourke… it was a movie everyone wanted to be in“, remember Ralph Macchio, Leif Garrett was probably the most famous guy who came in.“
Leif Garrettwho ultimately landed the role of Bob Sheldon, remarked: “It was all day and it was a process of elimination. I really wanted to be Ponyboy, because that's the role. But I wasn't cut out for that. I'm not that fat.“
Francis F. Coppola concludes: “It was competitive, but it really stimulated them.”
Three things to know about… Outsiders
