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''Short Circuit'' is a 1986 American science fiction comedy film directed by
John Badham John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an English television and film director, best known for his films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ''Short Circuit'' (1986), and ...
and written by S. S. Wilson and
Brent Maddock Brent Maddock is an American screenwriter, producer and film director who has worked with S. S. Wilson on several high-profile projects such as ''Short Circuit'' (1986), '' Batteries Not Included'' (1987), '' Tremors'' (1990) and ''Wild Wild Wes ...
. The film's plot centers upon an experimental military robot that is struck by lightning and gains a human-like intelligence, prompting it to escape its facility to learn more about the world. The film stars
Ally Sheedy Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American actress. Following her film debut in 1983's '' Bad Boys'', she became known as one of the Brat Pack group of actors and starred in '' WarGames'' (1983), ''The Breakfast Club'' (1985) ...
,
Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...
,
Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...
, Austin Pendleton and G. W. Bailey, with Tim Blaney as the voice of the robot named "Number 5". A
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
, ''
Short Circuit 2 ''Short Circuit 2'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film, the sequel to the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahveri, Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sandy ...
'', was released in 1988, directed by Kenneth Johnson, but did not do as well at the box office.


Plot

NOVA Laboratory robotics experts Newton Crosby and Ben Jabituya have developed several prototype robots called S.A.I.N.T. (Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport) for the U.S. military to use in Cold War operations, though Crosby and Ben would rather seek peaceful applications of the robots. After a live demonstration for the military, one of the units, S.A.I.N.T. Number 5, is struck by lightning arcing through the lab's power grid. This scrambles its programming and makes it
sentient Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...
, resulting in its escape from the NOVA facility. The robot finds itself in Astoria, Oregon, and is found by Stephanie Speck, an animal caregiver, who mistakes him for an alien. She takes the robot into her home, where she provides him with "input" in the form of visual and verbal stimuli, allowing the robot to improve its language skills, and eventually names itself "Number 5". Stephanie continues to help the curious Number 5 robot learn about the world. She eventually discovers that Number 5 was built by NOVA, and contacts them about the lost robot. Nova's CEO, Dr. Howard Marner, orders Crosby and Ben to recover him, so they can disassemble and rebuild him. While waiting for NOVA to arrive, Number 5 learns about death when he accidentally crushes a grasshopper and concludes that if NOVA disassembles him, he will die, and escapes in Stephanie's food truck. However, NOVA uses a tracking device on Number 5 to corner him and deactivate the robot for return to the facility. During transport, Number 5 reactivates himself and removes the tracking device, and flees back to Stephanie. Because of these unusual actions, Crosby tries to convince Howard that something has changed with Number 5's programming and that they should take care not to damage it in their recovery efforts so that he can examine them later. Howard instead sends their security chief Captain Skroeder and three other S.A.I.N.T. prototypes to recapture Number 5 by force, ignoring Crosby's concerns. Number 5 outwits the other robots and reprograms their personalities to act like
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
, allowing him to escape. Number 5 “captures” Crosby, takes him back to Stephanie, and convinces Crosby of his sentience. They find that Skroeder has called in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
to capture Number 5, and on his orders, restrain Crosby and Stephanie so he can open fire. To protect his friends, Number 5 leads the Army away and appears to be destroyed by a helicopter missile. Stephanie is devastated as Skroeder's men scrounge the remains of Number 5 as trophies, prompting Crosby to resign from NOVA and drive away with Stephanie in the NOVA van. Howard is dismayed over the loss of his research and dismisses Skroeder for insubordination. Crosby and Stephanie are surprised to discover that Number 5 had hidden under the van, having assembled a decoy of himself from spare parts to mislead the military. Crosby decides to take Number 5 to a secluded ranch in Montana, where there will be much "input" for the robot, and Stephanie agrees to come with them. As they drive off, Number 5 asserts that his name should now be "Johnny 5" based on the El DeBarge song "
Who's Johnny "Who's Johnny" is the debut solo single by El DeBarge. Released in 1986 on the Gordy label, the single was used for the film ''Short Circuit'' and reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B Singles chart. I ...
" which had been playing on the van's radio.


Cast

* Tim Blaney as Number 5 later nicknamed "Johnny 5" (voice) *
Ally Sheedy Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American actress. Following her film debut in 1983's '' Bad Boys'', she became known as one of the Brat Pack group of actors and starred in '' WarGames'' (1983), ''The Breakfast Club'' (1985) ...
as Stephanie Speck, who befriends Number 5 *
Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...
as Newton Crosby, Ph.D., the designer of the prototypes *
Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...
as Ben Jabituya, Crosby's assistant * Austin Pendleton as Dr. Howard Marner, President of Nova Robotics * G. W. Bailey as Captain Skroeder, the Security Officer *
Brian McNamara Brian McNamara is an American actor. His first major role was in the film '' The Flamingo Kid'' (1984). He then went on to appear in a few films, such as ''Short Circuit'' (1986), ''Caddyshack II'' (1988), ''Arachnophobia'' (1990) and ''Mystery ...
as Frank, Stephanie's abusive ex-boyfriend * Marvin J. McIntyre as Duke, one of Nova's security officers * John Garber as Otis *
Penny Santon Pierina Burlando (September 2, 1916 – May 12, 1999) was an American film, stage and television actress. She was known for playing the role of Mama Rosa Novelli in the American crime drama television series ''Matt Houston''. Santon died in May ...
as Cepeda, Stephanie's housekeeper *
Vernon Weddle Vernon Weddle Jr. (born August 23, 1935) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing "General Washburne" in the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. Life and career Weddle was born in Hattiesburg, Mississipp ...
as General Washburne *
Barbara Tarbuck Barbara Tarbuck (January 15, 1942 – December 26, 2016) was an American film, television, and stage actress from Detroit, Michigan, best known for her recurring role as Lady Jane Jacks on ''General Hospital''. Biography Tarbuck was born in De ...
as Senator Mills


Uncredited

*
John Badham John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an English television and film director, best known for his films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ''Short Circuit'' (1986), and ...
as Cameraman *
Jack Angel Jack Angel (October 24, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American voice actor, comedian, and radio personality. He provided voice-overs for animation and video games. Angel had voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as '' S ...
as Number 1 (voice) *
Cam Clarke Cam Clarke is an American voice actor, known for his work in animation, video games and commercials. Among his notable roles are Leonardo and Rocksteady in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series, Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 ...
as Number 2 (voice) * Don Messick as Number 3 (voice)


Production

This film was conceived after the producers distributed an educational video about a robot to various colleges. Studying other films with a prominent robot cast (like the '' Star Wars'' series) for inspiration, they decided to question human reactions to a 'living' robot, on the premise that no one would initially believe its sentience. According to the commentary in the DVD, Number 5 was the most expensive part of the film, requiring several different versions to be made for different sequences. Almost everything else in the film was relatively inexpensive, allowing them to allocate as much money as they needed for the robot character. Number 5 was designed by Syd Mead, the "visual futurist" famous for his work on ''
Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' and ''
Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action- adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...
''. Mead's design was greatly influenced by the sketches of Eric Allard, the Robotics Supervisor credited for "realizing" the robots. John Badham named Eric "the most valuable player" on the film. Most of the arm movements of Number 5 were controlled by a "telemetry suit", carried on the puppeteer's upper torso. Each joint in the suit had a separate sensor, allowing the puppeteer's arm and hand movements to be transferred directly to the machine. He was also voiced in real-time by his puppeteer, the director believing that it provided for a more realistic interaction between the robot and the other actors than putting in his voice in post-production, although a few of his lines were re-dubbed later. During Stephanie's impromptu news interview, director John Badham makes a cameo appearance as the news cameraman. The sequence in the film depicting Number 5 watching the movie '' Saturday Night Fever'' (and imitating John Travolta's dance moves) is an in-joke: ''Saturday Night Fever'' and ''Short Circuit'' were both directed by John Badham.
Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...
said that when he was originally hired to play Ben Jabituya, the character was not intended to be Indian. Stevens was fired and replaced by Bronson Pinchot at one point, but then Pinchot left to do the sitcom '' Perfect Strangers'', and Stevens was rehired. To portray the role he had to grow a beard, dye his hair black, darken his skin with makeup, turn his blue eyes brown with contact lenses, speak with an East Indian accent and "walk hunched over like a cricket player". In 2015,
Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series '' Mas ...
had a cordial discussion with Stevens over the role, with Ansari saying he did not view Stevens as a bad guy or someone who played Ben as a tired stereotype, and Stevens saying (with Ansari's agreement) that a present-day version of the role would definitely be played by an actor who had an Indian or a South Asian background. In 2009, Austin Pendleton, who had gone to college with ''Short Circuit'' director John Badham, stated "some stuff was cut out of my part in 'Short Circuit'' And also the two leading roles were cast with really talented, attractive people who were not right for the parts. hescript was just 'heartbreakingly' beautiful to read. And now it's a nice little slightly bland kids' movie. Nothing exactly wrong with it. Those two people who are in the leads are good, very likable, easy-to-work-with people, and have done some good work; they just weren't those people that were written in the script. And I said to John when it was about to open, 'Why did you cast them?' And he said, 'That was what the studio insisted on'. And it sort of ended the discussion. I said, 'Okay'. The film kind of works, but again, it was going to have been quite a beautiful film". According to Pendleton, the role Steve Guttenberg ended up playing "was a person who could not relate to other human beings, so he poured all that into the creation of the robot. Well, Steve, he's a lovely guy, and I think he's talented... He had a wonderful kind of charisma. Very easy, but utterly social. He's just so very engaging and open with people. He's wonderful to be on a movie with... uthe does not bring onscreen with him the problem that the character in that movie has... The perfect person for the role, 20 years earlier, would have been
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...
. That thing that Dustin brought to ''
The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...
'' that a more affable actor would not have... A sense of utter alienation from everything around him". Guttenberg and Bailey had previously worked together on the ''
Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...
'' series of films.


Soundtrack

Although no soundtrack album was released at the time,
El DeBarge Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include " Time Will Reveal", " Who's Hold ...
had a chart hit with the single " Who's Johnny (Theme from ''Short Circuit'')". In 2008,
Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...
issued
David Shire David Lee Shire (born July 3, 1937) is an American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores. The soundtracks to the 1976 film '' The Big Bus'', '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'', ''The Conversation'' and ''All ...
's score as part of their CD Club series of limited edition releases. The DeBarge song was not included or mentioned in the liner notes. The last three tracks are
source music Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama (e.g., film or video game) that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters. The term refers to diegesis, a style of storytelling. The opposite of source m ...
. The booklet claims the end title song is not used in the film. It is, however, on the soundtrack. The finale mix and end title are combined into one track, but used separately in the film.


Personnel

*
Max Carl Max Carl Gronenthal (born January 29, 1950) is an American rock singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He is the co-lead singer of the classic rock band Grand Funk Railroad. In addition, he spent several years as the keyboardist and l ...
- vocals, keyboards (track 10) *
Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...
- vocals (track 10)


Reception


Critical response

''Short Circuit'' received mixed reviews from critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it has a 61% rating from 38 reviews and an average rating of 5.30/10, with the website's consensus stating: "Amiable and good-natured but also shallow and predictable, ''Short Circuit'' is hardly as deep or emotionally resonant as ''E.T.'' – though Johnny Five makes for a charming robot protagonist". On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
it has a score of 50 out of 100 based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a grade A−. Trade paper ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote: "''Short Circuit'' is a hip, sexless sci-fi send-up" and praised the writers "for some terrific dialog that would have been a lot less disarming if not for the winsome robot and Sheedy's affection for it. Guttenberg plays his best goofy self". Writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
wrote: "The movie, which has the clean, well-scrubbed look of an old Disney comedy, is nicely acted". The '' Sun-Sentinel'' gave ''Short Circuit'' a good review, saying: "Number Five is the real star of this energetic film. Sheedy, Guttenberg and company are just supporting players". Roger Ebert, writing in the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'', rated ''Short Circuit'' 1.5 out of 4 four stars and called it "too cute for its own good". Colin Greenland reviewed ''Short Circuit'' for issue 85 of ''
White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...
'' and stated that "there ''are'' good jokes, but the picture's so bland they hardly count".


Box office

''Short Circuit'' debuted at No. 1 in the US box office with a studio-reported weekend gross of $5.3 million, although independent sources suggested that the gross was inflated and more likely between $4.5 and $4.725 million. It grossed a domestic total of $40.7 million, ranking it 21st for 1986 in the United States; it performed slightly better than other hits of that year, such as ''
Pretty in Pink ''Pretty in Pink'' is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about love and social cliques in American high schools in the 1980s. A cult classic, it is commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" film. It was directed by Howard Deutch, produc ...
'', '' The Fly'', ''
Three Amigos ''Three Amigos'' (stylized as ''¡Three Amigos!'') is a 1986 American Western comedy film directed by John Landis, written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, and Randy Newman (who also wrote the film's songs), and starring Chevy Chase, Steve M ...
'', '' Little Shop Of Horrors'' and '' About Last Night''. By 1987, ''Short Circuit'' had grossed in worldwide theatrical and ancillary revenues (not including merchandise). The film was reportedly the top home video rental of 1987.


Accolades

* Honoured with the Winsor McCay Award or career achievement


Legacy


Video game

A video game developed by
Ocean Software Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and was based in Manchester. ...
for
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
, Commodore 64 and
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...
was also made based on the film. It featured two parts: one arcade adventure where Johnny 5 had to escape from the lab, and one action part where Johnny 5 escapes across the countryside, avoiding soldiers, other robots, and animals.


Sequel and remake

The sequel, ''
Short Circuit 2 ''Short Circuit 2'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film, the sequel to the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahveri, Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sandy ...
'', premiered in 1988. There was a script for a possible third film written in 1989 and rewritten in 1990, but was found unsatisfactory by the producers, and the project was subsequently scrapped. Johnny 5 answered questions in character in a videotaped interview with Dallas-based reporter
Bobbie Wygant Bobbie Wygant (born Roberta Connolly; November 22, 1926) is an American television news reporter, film critic, talk show host, and interviewer who has worked for Fort Worth, Texas television station KXAS-TV (originally known as WBAP-TV) for over ...
to promote ''Short Circuit 2''. He would later appear in an episode of '' Home'', voiced by
Peter Greenwood Peter J. Greenwood (19 October 19627 January 2021) was an Australian special effects technician, researcher, designer, voice actor and media consultant. He was related to actress Joan Greenwood. Career He attended Killara High School in Syd ...
, and in a short educational film, ''Hot Cars, Cold Facts'', voiced by Russell Turner. On April 4, 2008, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that Dimension Films had acquired the rights to remake the original film.
Dan Milano Daniel Milano (born September 10, 1972) is an American voice actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He was one of the creators of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox sitcom ''Greg the Bunny'' and performed the title character Greg as well as Warre ...
had been hired to write the script, and David Foster to produce it. Foster said that the robot's appearance would not change. Later in October 2009, the reports circulated that Steve Carr will direct the remake and that the film's plot would involve a boy from a broken family befriending the Number 5 robot. Carr left the project and on August 4, 2011 Tim Hill was reportedly hired to direct.
Spyglass Media Group Spyglass Media Group, LLC, formerly Spyglass Entertainment, is an American film production company founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998. History Spyglass Entertainment On August 21, 1998, Gary Barber, former vice chairman and CO ...
bought the rights on November 15, 2020, and was reportedly planning to make a remake with
James Vanderbilt James Platten Vanderbilt (born November 17, 1975) is an American filmmaker best known for the films ''Zodiac'' (2007), ''White House Down'' (2013), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012), ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014), '' Independence Day: Resur ...
through his company Project X Productions, Paul Neinstein and William Sherak producing, Eduardo Cisneros and Jason Shuman writing, and
John W. Hyde John W. Hyde (born March 29, 1941, in Jackson, Michigan) is a veteran producer whose credits span feature film, television, and animation. Hyde is married to Kate Morris Hyde and lives in both Los Angeles and Badger, California. Biography Hyde ...
returning as executive producer alongside Terissa Kelton. The company plans to put a Latino twist on the original screenplay.


Accusations of whitewashing

American comedian
Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series '' Mas ...
cited the casting of Fisher Stevens, a white actor, to play Indian character Ben Jabituya in "
brownface Brownface is a social phenomenon in which a white or light-skinned person attempts to portray themselves as a "brown" person of color, but less overtly and with a lighter complexion than traditional blackface. This may include mimicry of Midd ...
" as an example of whitewashing in Hollywood. In 2021, Stevens said: "It definitely haunts me. I still think it's a really good movie, but I would never do that part again. The world was a different place in 1986, obviously". According to Badham, the character was planned to be American when Stevens was cast; inspired by a scene in ''
Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr., and starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop ...
'' (1984) in which a French shop assistant is rude to her American customers, Badham made Ben Indian, thinking the "culture mismatch was fun". He said he would have auditioned Indian or Indian-American actors had the decision been made before Stevens was cast. He said: "That was an oversight on our part, but we never intended to make fun of the character of Ben".


References


External links

* * * * {{John Badham 1986 films 1980s science fiction comedy films American science fiction comedy films American robot films Cold War in popular culture Cultural depictions of The Three Stooges 1980s English-language films Films about artificial intelligence Films about technological impact Films directed by John Badham Puppet films Films set in Astoria, Oregon Films shot in Astoria, Oregon Films shot in Portland, Oregon Films set in Portland, Oregon Films shot in Oregon Films set in Oregon Military science fiction films TriStar Pictures films Films scored by David Shire 1986 comedy films 1980s American films