Dad Rock: Damone revisits 'Ridgemont High'
Patrick Foster and Jim Lenahan | USA TODAY
Robert Romanus fondly remembers the experience of shooting Fast Times at Ridgemont High almost 35 years ago. But even more so, he remembers the days he wasn't shooting.
On those days, the young actor, who portrayed high school ticket scalper/bookie Mike Damone, would check out scenes with some of the film's other soon-to-be stars.
"I'd go down every day to the set, and I would watch the other actors work. Like, you know, if they were shooting a scene with Sean (Penn), it was usually a day I had off, because our characters didn't really mix," Romanus says. "And I'd go down and I'd watch Sean Penn working, and I'd think to myself, 'Wow, this guy is awesome. I gotta go home and do my homework. I gotta look this over again.' That was really inspiring to me."
With the Oscars approaching this weekend, USA TODAY's Dad Rock podcast takes a look at a great movie with a rock 'n' roll sensibility (and soundtrack). Co-hosts Patrick Foster and Jim Lenahan interviewed Romanus for the podcast. His character, Damone, ties the movie most directly to music; in one scene he offers romantic
- Mike Damone: I mean don't just walk in. You move across the room. And you don't talk to her. You use your face. You use your body. You use everything. That's what I do. I mean I just send out this vibe and I have personally found that women do respond. I mean, something happens.
- Mark Ratner: Well, naturally something happens. I mean, you put the vibe out to 30 million chicks, something is gonna happen.
- Mike Damone: That's the idea, Rat. That's the attitude.
- Mark Ratner: The attitude?
- Mike Damone: Yeah! The attitude dictates that you don't care whether she comes, stays, lays, or prays. I mean whatever happens, your toes are still tappin'. Now when you got that, then you have the attitude.
- [the "five-point plan"]
- Mike Damone: All right, now pay attention. First of all, Rat, you never let on how much you like a girl.
- [standing next to a life size cut-out of Deborah Harry in record store]
- Mike Damone: "Oh, Debbie. Hi." Two, you always call the shots. "Kiss me. You won't regret it." Now, three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be. "Isn't this great?" Four, when ord
Fast Times At Ridgemont High Cast: Where They Are Now
The sprawling ensemble cast of Amy Heckerling's classic high school comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High is full of great actors who went on to have a wide variety of careers. An iconic coming-of-age movie based on Cameron Crowe's book of the same name, Fast Times at Ridgemont High revolves around a group of high schoolers as they contend with their first loves, thankless entry-level jobs, and awkward early sexual encounters. Some cast members from Fast Times at Ridgemont High went on to become huge stars with Academy Award wins, like Sean Penn and Forest Whitaker, whereas others have been more underrated, like Brian Backer and Amanda Wyss.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was praised for being a more accurate reflection of high school life than the average teen comedy. It has stood the test of time as one of the best-remembered teen comedies of the s and has been included in the National Film Registry. Some of the actors in Fast Times at Ridgemont High became beloved staples of ‘80s cinema, like Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates, while others were unjustly forgotten. Despite their varying degrees of succ
Robert Romanus Interview for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH by James M. Tate "How lucky is that?" says Robert Romanus, who played Mike Damone, the cocky ticket-scalper in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, in a Cult Film Freak interview. "My first big movie and my name comes up at the same time I&#;m on the screen. And it doesn&#;t always happen, you know."
So how did you first get into acting?When I started I came out to Los Angeles, straight out to Los Angeles, and I wanted to be a musician. I was a drummer and I played around town quite a bit with a lot of people. And I traveled a little bit and I was working as a singing waiter in a restaurant, and this really pretty girl came up at the end of one of my songs and said, &#;You know, you should be an actor.&#; So I took it to mean that my voice wasn&#;t very good.
And so I actually went and took an acting class. That was and I fell in love with acting. I got on stage&#; Back then I was a very shy person and it was a place for me to be all the things I couldn&#;t be in real life. So I immediately took to it.Robert Romanus before FAST TIMES in FOXES And your very first movie was FOXES&#; Right, F
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