20 facts you might not know about 'Wayne's World'

Wayne’s World began life on Saturday Night Live, but this was not the origin of the character of Wayne Campbell. Mike Myers, who created the character and the sketch, used to do the character back in his native Canada. He had a segment called "Wayne’s Power Minute” on the CBC TV show It’s Only Rock & Roll in 1987.

Technically, Wayne’s World is considered the second feature film adapted from a Saturday Night Live sketch. However, the one that is considered first is “The Blue Brothers.” Jake and Elwood did indeed appear on SNL, but they weren’t really in “sketches” per se, so that feels like a bit of a stretch.

Wayne’s World was written by Myers and the duo of Bonnie and Terry Turner. The Turners were writers on Saturday Night Live from 1986 until 1992. They’ve since gone on to be major successes in television. Bonnie and Terry created both 3rd Rock from the Sun and That ‘70s Show.

Penelope Spheeris directed Wayne’s World, and in a way, she was an unexpected choice given a general lack of success in scripted films. However, Spheeris had directed two acclaimed documentaries that made her kind of perfect for this movie. The Decline of Western Civilization focused on the Los Angeles punk scene in the early 1980s, and its sequel was all about the metal scene.

Perhaps the iconic scene in Wayne’s World is when Wayne, Garth, and their friends head-bang to “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. The studio wanted a more contemporary choice, namely a song from Guns N’ Roses. Myers was adamant about the Queen song, though, and even vowed to quit the film if he didn’t get his way.

When a star and director don’t get along, it can be tough on a production. Myers clearly cared about his vision for the film, and he wasn’t shy about it. Spheeris has said that Myers was difficult to work with and got harder to work with as the shoot went on. The two also argued over who would get the final cut, which is to say whose ultimate vision would be released in theaters.

Carvey, who played Garth as he did on SNL, did not have the lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody” memorized. This caused a problem when it came to lip-syncing along during the car scene. Carvey just sort of moved his lips to the music the best he could, which we know because they ended up using a take where he does that in the film. He was quite annoyed by this when he saw it.

When Wayne sees Cassandra throughout the film, you hear the song “Dream Weaver.” The song is by Gary Wright, and he actually recorded a new version of his 1975 hit for the film.

Cassandra is the lead singer of Crucial Taunt, and Tia Carrere didn’t need any help on that front. The actress did all the singing herself, including for the band’s cover of “Ballroom Blitz.” Carrere is actually no slouch when it comes to singing. She’s actually won two Grammys for Best Hawaiian Music Album.

OK, so a lot of this trivia is music-related, but Wayne’s World lives in the world of music! Garth busts out an impressive drum solo at the music shop, and Carvey actually did that himself. Bonus, non-musical Garth fact: Carvey based his performance as Garth on his brother, Brad.

Alice Cooper makes an iconic appearance in Wayne’s World, giving Wayne and Garth a lecture on the history of Milwaukee. He also performs his song “Feed My Frankenstein.” Myers had wanted another song in the movie, but Cooper’s manager Shep Gordon made the push for “Feed My Frankenstein.” For once, it wasn’t contentious for Myers. In fact, he liked Gordon so much they struck up a friendship, and in 2014, Myers directed the documentary Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.

Wayne and Garth run into a rather knowledgeable security guard in the movie, played by a young Chris Farley. This was actually Farley’s first film appearance. He had only joined the cast of Saturday Night Live two years earlier in 1990.

When Wayne picks up a guitar at the music store, he goes into playing Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” before he is stopped because the store has a “No ‘Stairway’” policy. However, you only got to hear the actual start to “Stairway” if you’ve seen the U.S. theatrical release version. Due to rights disputes, a generic riff replaced “Stairway” for international, cable, and video releases.

Robert Patrick appears as the T-1000 in Wayne’s World, a non-sequitur reference that was attempting to capture on the zeitgeist. It was impressive that the production managed to write that scene in and get Patrick involved. Terminator 2: Judgment Day had only been released on July 3, 1991. Wayne’s World came out on Feb. 14, 1992, which means when they locked on Wayne’s World, there’s a good chance Terminator 2 was still in theaters.

Carvey and Myers did a lot of riffing in the scenes where Wayne and Garth lay on the roof of the Mirthmobile. In fact, Carvey ad-libbed the line asking Wayne if he thought Bugs Bunny was attractive when she dressed as a girl bunny. Another line that wasn’t used that Carvey had ad-libbed led to laugh from Myers. They decided to edit that laugh in after Carvey’s Bugs line, figuring it was better than a fake laugh.

Wayne and his friends hang out at Stan Mikita’s Donuts, which is named after a Chicago Blackhawks legend. Unless you are Canadian — like Myers — or from a Canada-adjacent state, that reference may have been lost on you. It’s a play on the popular Canadian coffee chain Tim Horton’s, which is named after a former Toronto Maple Leafs player.

Camp plays Mimi Vanderhoff, wife of arcade impresario Noah Vanderhoff. She also played Yvette, the maid in Clue. What do these two movies have in common, aside from casting Camp? They both feature multiple endings.

Wayne’s World debuted atop the box office in the United States, and it would go on to be an unexpected hit for a February release. The film made $183.1 million against a budget of $20 million. It was the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1992 in the United States, and it is still the highest-grossing movie based on an SNL sketch.

Freddie Mercury died while Wayne’s World was in production, though he did get a chance to see a cut of the head-banging scene before he passed. Bolstered by the film, “Bohemian Rhapsody” became a hit again. It reached second on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, and a new music video was released that included footage from the film.

After the success of Wayne’s World, a sequel was quickly put into production. Seriously, it was fast. Wayne’s World 2 was released on Dec. 10, 1993, less than two years after the original. Myers did not want Spheeris back to direct, so she was replaced by Stephen Surjik. Wayne’s World 2 had double the budget ($40 million compared to $20 million), but made only $72 million worldwide.