A new book about the making of The Lost Boys is available to pre-order today, and we’ve got our hands on an exclusive early excerpt explaining why Kiefer Sutherland wears gloves for most of the movie.
‘Lost in the Shadows’ is written by Paul Davis, and tells the story behind the 1987 cult classic. The book features new interviews with the likes of Joel Schumacher, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz and Corey Feldman, archive conversations with Corey Haim, Brooke McCarter and Edward Herrmann, and more than 400 behind-the-scenes photos, many of which have never been seen before. And the tale of Kiefer’s injury is a mad one…
Exclusive Excerpt
ALEX WINTER (Marko): Shooting on the boardwalk was like being in a boy band! Honest to god, there were thousands upon thousands of bystanders every night. We would be doing our scenes and riding the bikes up and down the boardwalk, the whole time being watched by thousands of people. It was super fun and was such an energised atmosphere for all of us.
KIEFER SUTHERLAND (David): You’re 19-years-old, there’s a thousand extras, the lights are on… right away, in that environment, you start to feel like a bit of a rock star. I was also starting to feel very comfortable on the dirt bikes that we had, and on the first night of shooting, I saw a cute girl in the crowd and thought I’d show off a bit.
STEVE LaPORTE (Make-Up Artist): The sun hadn’t even gone down yet. The boys were all just outside of the main entrance to the boardwalk on their bikes, and the crowd was on the other side of this stretch that had trolley car tracks. We literally hadn’t even started shooting yet, but Kiefer got a bit anxious and the next thing I hear, he’s revving up that engine and tearing off down the boardwalk.
KIEFER SUTHERLAND: I popped a wheelie and hit one of the trolley car tracks. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of the air; the bike was nowhere near me. I put my hands out and broke my left wrist very badly. I went to see a doctor, who confirmed that it was indeed broken, and they found a surfboard maker to make a cast for me out of polyurethane, which was less than an eighth of an inch thick. I was so embarrassed and thought I was in so much trouble. Of course, Joel found a way around it and that’s why I’m wearing black gloves throughout the film, and also why the clutch and accelerator are both on the right side of my bike.
JOEL SCHUMACHER (Director): He was just being a teenage boy on a motorcycle; and since he had already been riding for a long time he was very adept. I was just so thankful that he didn’t seriously hurt himself. Poor Jami Gertz then had to get on the back of the bike with him, with great trepidation, to film the rest of those scenes.
JAMI GERTZ (Star): I just kept saying to myself, “Jami, what are you doing? Are you crazy?” But then on the flip-side, I was 20-years-old and getting paid a lot of money to do this big ass movie, so I just got on the back and did what I had to do. I did hang on for dear life every time, but Kiefer was so respectful of me, and would never do anything to put me in harms way.
‘Lost in the Shadows’ by Paul Davis is published by Cult Screenings Ltd. & Dead Mouse Productions and features a gorgeous cover by artist extraordinaire Graham Humphries (see below). The book is available to pre-order now via this link, and will ship in mid-August.