The Buddy Holly Story

The Buddy Holly Story

1978 film by Steve Rash
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The Buddy Holly Story
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The Buddy Holly Story is a 1978 American biographical musical drama film directed by Steve Rash which tells the life and career of rock and roll musician Buddy Holly. It features an Academy Award-winning musical score, adapted by Joe Renzetti and Oscar-nominated lead performance by Gary Busey. The film also stars Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, Conrad Janis, William Jordan, and Maria Richwine, who plays María Elena Holly.

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Directed by
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Produced by
Fred Bauer
Edward H. Cohen
Frances Avrut-Bauer
Fred T. Kuehnert
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Written by
Novel:
John Goldrosen
Story:
Alan Swyer
Screenplay:
Robert Gittler
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Screenplay by add_black screenplay by
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Story by add_black story by
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Based on add_black based on
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Starring
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Narrated by add_black narrated by
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Music by
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Cinematography
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Edited by
David E. Blewitt
James Seidelman
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Animation by add_black animation by
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Layouts by add_black layouts by
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Production company add_black production company
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Distributed by
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Release date
  • May 18, 1978 (1978-05-18)
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Running time
114 minutes
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Country
United States
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Language
English
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Budget
$1.2 million
or $2 million
Box office
$14.3 million

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Type
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Class
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Theme
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(first lines)
Buddy Holly: Hey, Riley, we're all plugged in and checked up... yeah, we're ready.
Buddy Holly: (to Ray Bob) Riley wants to hear you at the mike - that's the one right there; say somethin' into that mike.
Ray Bob Simmons: One, two, three, testing... one...
Buddy Holly: (to Riley) How's that sound?
Riley Randolph: All right, that's a good level, Buddy, hold it right there... Yeah, you better get ready, it's about thirty seconds till eight.
  • The members of the Crickets had already sold their portrayal rights to the producer of a different Buddy Holly movie, so fictitious names had to be used for the Crickets here. Also, for story simplifcation, the three Crickets were reduced to two.
  • The actors did their own singing and played their own instruments live during the filming of the production numbers.
  • Gary Busey had previously been cast as Buddy Holly`s drummer, Jerry Allison, in a previous attempt at a Holly biopic titled "Three-Sided Coin". The film was cancelled by 20th Century Fox under pressure from producer Fred Bauer. So Busey had already an extensive knowledge about Buddy Holly from the screenplay for "Three-Sided Coin" written by Jerry Allison and Tom Drake and through conversations with Allison.
  • * * According to Gary Busey in the DVD commentary, the line that Charles Martin Smith says about "A fighter who strafes and trains..." during the drive to Nashville was just Smith accidentally blurting out loud something he was thinking, thus Busey and Stroud`s genuine reactions.
  • Also according to Busey and Director Steve Rash, the scene at the roller rink after the band`s first rock number in which the extras clapped and cheered was an unexpected reaction to their performance. As you can see in the film, Busey, Smith, and Stroud sort of lose their place and start nervously laughing.

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