Trivia for
UHF (1989)

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• Joel Hodgson was originally considered for the part of Philo.
  
  
• Although the character of "Stanley Spadowski" was written with Michael Richards in mind, Christopher Lloyd was also considered.
  
  
• The role of Philo was originally written for Joel Hodgson, a friend of Yankovic's.
  
  

• In one scene, George and Bob discuss TV lineups. One of the shows mentioned is "Volcano Worshippers Hour." In high school, "Weird" Al started a "Volcano Worshippers" club just to get in the yearbook.
  
  
• Weird Al never believed UHF deserved a PG-13 rating, but refused to allow cuts that would have earned the film a PG. Among the scenes the MPAA wanted cut were the "flying poodles" and part of "Conan the Librarian", which features a guy getting (bloodlessly) split in two for having an overdue book. Another scene that Al didn't cut despite rating concerns is the "Town Talk" scene wherein a shop teacher has his thumb cut off and bleeds all over George and the stage, this scene was edited for "time" however, as it was originally longer. Multiple endings were filmed, which included one where George finds the severed thumb and the shop teacher puts it in his pocket, continuing his lecture. In another the shop teacher states the thumb should be kept warm so it can be reattached, and promptly puts the thumb in his mouth, continuing his lecture. Strangely enough, when shown on television, the library scene is often cut out for content, but the bloody scene with the shop teacher is still aired, showing of the "poodle tossing" varies on the station.
  
  
• The film is dedicated to Trinidad Silva (Raul), who was killed by a drunk driver midway through production. Had he survived, the film would've explored/developed the character of 'Raul' a little better. Such as the fact that he was a postal worker/carrier, and would've shown a very funny scene involving the revenge of the flying-poodle 'Fifi,' who was un-mercifully thrown out of a 2-story-high window. The scene with the attacking poodles was actually filmed using another actor doubling for Trinidad with stuffed poodles attached to his body and covering his face but the scene was not included in final version of the film.
  
  
• "Uncle Nutzy's Clubhouse" came from one of Yankovic's favorite pieces from MAD magazine.
  
  
• Philo is named after Philo T. Farnsworth, one of several inventors of television.
  
  
• During the first "Uncle Nutsy's Clubhouse" scene, Uncle Nutsy (Al Yankovic) instructs Bobbo The Clown/Bob (David Bowe) to look up, down, then at "Mr.Frying-Pan," David Bowe's lip is busted when the pan accidentally makes contact with his face, it was supposed to stop short, the reaction in the movie is Mr.Bowe's actual displeasure with the fact he is currently bleeding (only hidden by his red clown makeup on his lips), after review it was decided that this take was excellent, and no further takes were filmed.
  
  
• When Uncle Nutsy asks "Billy" what his last name is, the boy spits on his nose, before the shot switches to a wide shot of Nutsy answering the horn of Bobbo the Clown, the boy can be seen laughing, he rests his chin on his hand in an attempt to hide it. This scene was filmed several times and this was the best take filmed. In another scene, George leaves a long message on Teri's answering machine, wherein he begs her to take him back, she also covers her mouth, apparently in contempt, but her smile can be seen stretching from behind her hand.
  
  
• The Spatula City billboard was purchased by the production and it was placed for the one shot it appears in, for ease of filming it was a billboard on a highway not frequented by many travelers. For this exact reason the billboard was not purchased after the rental period ran out, and the company did not remove the phony advertisement, it is reported that for months after the film finished shooting many travelers turned on the indicated exit and inquired about Spatula City, the ad was removed shortly afterwards when the company began receiving complaints.
  
  
• Dr. Demento is the man eating whipped cream during the Channel 62 promo.
  
  
• Michael Richards improvised two scenes: where he tells the kids about his dream of being a bird; and the Corn Flakes commercial where he finds a toy man.
  
  
• The name "Stanley Spadowski" was taken from Stanley Snadowsky, who is co-owner of the Bottom Line Nightclub in Greenwich Village, NYC.
  
  
• Yankovic offered Crispin Glover the role of Philo. According to www.weirdal.com, Glover only wanted to play the role of Crazy Eddie, the car salesman who says "I'll club a seal to make a better deal." Neither Yankovic nor 'Jay Leavey' (the director) thought that Glover was right for the role, so they passed.
  
  
• After loads of positive feedback from test screenings, Orion Pictures concluded UHF (1989) was their sure-fire summer blockbuster. Unfortunately, the film was released during the summer of 1989...against huge films like Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Batman (1989) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). UHF (1989) was subsequently crushed at the box office.
  
  
• The font used for the opening credits is ITC Quorum Medium.
  
  
• During an VH-1 "Behind The Music" episode about 'Weird Al Yankovic' , Emo Philips shows an actual Screen Actors Guild residual check he earned for the film. It was for 30 cents. He stated proudly the check represented what being in the film did for his career.
  
  
• In addition to the programs shown on Channel 62, the station's Friday lineup on the wall board includes these programs: - Beastiality Today - Beat the Loan Shark - Beverly Hillbillies - Buddha Knows Best - Dog Racing from Rio de Janeiro - Druids on Parade - Eye On Toxic Waste - Fun with Dirt - Leave it to Bigfoot - Mr. Ed - My Three Mutants - Name that Stain - News - Raul's Wild Kingdom - Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse - That's Disgusting - The Flying Pope - The Lice is Right - The Young and the Dyslexic - Town Talk - Traffic Court - Secrets of the Universe - Underwater Bingo for Teens - Volcano Worshiper's Hour - Wheel of Fish - Wide World of Tractor Pulls - Wonderful World of Phlegm - You Bet Your Pink Slip Shows shown but not on the lineup include: - Bowling for Burgers - Strip Solitaire
  
  
• The dog biscuits 'David Bowe' eats for "Uncle Nutzy's Clubhouse" were actually cookies purchased from a bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma where most of the movie was filmed. After filming was finished, the crew ate the rest of the cookies.
  
  
• In the scene where Uncle Harvey is in the pool, the song that Weird Al originally wanted was "Kung Fu Fighting". Due to the limited budget, they couldn't afford the rights, so Weird Al wrote the song "Let Me Be Your Hog" for the occasion.
  
  
• Weird Al originally wanted Sylvester Stallone to do a cameo as the helicopter booth worker in the Rambo sequence and discovered that he and Stallone had a mutual friend. Unfortunately, Stallone wasn't available.
  
  
• Kevin McCarthy, according to Weird Al, thoroughly enjoyed himself during the film and would often break out in laughter after finishing a take where his character was being especially nasty.
  
  
• George Newman's (Weird Al Yankovic) ad for his show "Town Talk", where the show becomes more advanced with more controversial guests, was primarily a parody of Geraldo Rivera's now defunct talk show. Long before Jerry Springer's show, Geraldo's guests would frequently get into fights, which at one point resulted in Geraldo breaking his nose as evident from the bandage George wears over his nose at the end of the commercial.
  
  
• The entire movie include several famous lines and scenes from hit movies which include '_Gone With the Wind (1939)_' , '_The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)_ _Network (1979)_' Several movies were spoofed in UHF including Raiders of the Lost Ark (1980), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Rambo (1982). and First Blood (1982).
  
  
• The first (rough) cut of the film was about 2.5 hours long, trimmed down to 90 minutes for the theatrical release. Yankovic has resisted the requests of fans to release a "Director's Cut" of UHF, telling them that the hour of deleted material contained countless gags that just didn't really work for the film's pacing. "There's a REASON those things got cut," he has said on his website www.weirdal.com.
  
  
• Yankovic never was really crazy about the name UHF, feeling that it wouldn't make much sense in a world that was slowly gravitating toward cable television. Unfortunately, he and Orion Pictures couldn't agree on a suitable name. Finally, for the overseas release, Orion decided to call the movie "The Vidiot from UHF". Al was saying in the movie's commentary that he'd go on a foreign television show and would be asked, "Why did you name your movie 'The Vidiot from UHF?" to which he felt like replying, "I DIDN'T! The studio did! I hate that title!" Interestingly, in Mexico the movie was released as "Los Telelocos", which translates roughly as "The TV Crazies".
  
  
• According to Yankovic, his line "Redrum! Redrum!" (a homage to the 1980 horror film The Shining (1980)) was not scripted, and David Proval's look of confusion was genuine.
  
  

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