Frank Oz in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; He didn’t want to play Bill Murray and Steve Martin insisted on playing Elvis

It’s been 35 years since then The little shop of horrors was released in theaters and it turns out that the film, based on the off-Broadway comedy, was such a massive undertaking (with a horrendous original ending), that it almost wasn’t shot. Director Frank Oz remembers when he was hired to make the film and, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, remembers choosing the film with the producer David Geffen.

Oz, who until then had only made films about the Muppets, had been working in London for nine years and had never heard of Geffen’s first choice for the lead role of Seymour Krelborn, SCTV funny man Rick Moraniswho had stolen several scenes from the blockbuster ghost Buster (1984) as Louis Tully.

Oz said:

“I had never heard of Rick Moranis. I worked in London for nine years, so I had never seen Rick on television. David recommended him and I was happy to meet him. I thought he was great after seeing his work. “

As for Audrey, she wanted Geffen Cyndi Lauper in the role. Oz remembers:

“I really wanted Elena [Greene]. I didn’t think anyone could do better than the actress who played the character during the off-Broadway run. David wasn’t for that. I asked him to do it please audition her with Rick. After seeing it, David agreed. “

From the casting of the superstar comedian Steve Martin like the sadistic dentist, Oz says:

“I knew Steve but not closely. I went to his house in Beverly Hills. He said: ‘I don’t want to play a Fonzie [Happy Days] character, “and I said,” Do what you want. “So he played it as an Elvis character. So damn brilliant. I was lucky to have Steve.

One of the biggest points of contention between Oz and Geffen, the director recalls, was that Geffen had hired Bill Murray playing the small but hilarious role of the dental patient masochist. Oz recalls that this was purely due to him not being given a say in the decision, but some may speculate that it may be partly due to rumors and allegations that Murray was / is difficult to work on set. Oz says:

“I didn’t choose Bill. I wanted to choose someone else, but David had already chosen Bill. I got very angry – not that Bill was chosen, but David and I had an agreement that we both had to sign whoever was chosen. We had a little problem there, but David agreed that he wouldn’t do it again, and I was happy to have Bill. “

Apart from casting, the two biggest obstacles in making the film were the huge alien plant Audrey II and the film’s ending itself. When it comes to the implant, Oz is proud of himself and his Audrey II team, which came to life without CGI, as it didn’t exist yet.

“Everything you see with the plant is real. There is nothing like the plant that had never been made before. It took 25 to 30 people to operate the plant in its largest form. There was a person inside the head. And there was a steel beam from the back of the head to the back of the shop, which we hid. Then there were puppeteers below working the vines.

The last problem was the show’s ending. Not only did the director want to stick to the off-Broadway conclusion in which Seymour and Audrey die, but Oz went even further, seeing Audrey II and other alien plants take over the world. He was hated in test screenings.

“I had lost some perspective. David warned us from the start that the ending Howard and I both wanted didn’t have to be done. He said, ‘You can’t kill your stars!’ And even if he didn’t agree, he allowed it. “

He continues:

“What I learned was the strength of the tight shot, which means that the closer we got to that love story between Rick and Ellen, the more the audience hated that we killed them. David was right. I fucked up thinking what I did was fun. The ending I created for an ironic homage to old B movies wasn’t funny enough. People took it seriously and they were extremely upset that we killed the people they loved. “

The first trial screening took place in San Jose and Oz recalls:

“I remember seeing the studio heads in front of me. Everyone cheered after each number. They were absolutely loving it! And then the last 10 minutes, when Rick and Ellen died, it became an ice chest. I could only feel it. It was terrible.”

To further clarify how negative the reaction was, Oz explains that at the time, the most important question in the preview poll was whether viewers would recommend the film to others.

“At the time, you had to have a 55 percent recommendation. That was the lower you may have. We had 13 percent. It was a real disaster. I asked Warners if we could please do another preview and they agreed, so we went to Los Angeles. And the exact same thing happened ”. Oz knew what he had to do. Then, the cast and crew returned to London for six weeks and shot the happy ending. “Then we did more previews and we were fine.”

It’s a good thing he listened to that audience. I love the story and the music of this movie so much. Who knows if I would have ever seen or appreciated it if it hadn’t been changed for the ending? As for the film’s stamina and beloved fan base over the years, Oz told THR:

“I am thrilled with the popularity. Do something and don’t think about longevity. You put your heart and soul into it to make it the best you can. Then it’s up to the gods of marketing and the gods of the public. You never know. I am very lucky and proud that my instincts – outside of the original ending – have created something more lasting than I thought. “