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IF YOU WERE BORN BEFORE 1980, CHANCES ARE YOUNGBLOOD IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOCKEY MOVIES AFTER SLAP SHOT. Heck, it might even be your favorite. whole city was shut down. No one called me MARKLE: Whereas the 1977 comedy lampooned hock- to cancel the meeting. I couldn’t drive there, ey’s violence, 1986’s Youngblood portrayed it because they hadn’t plowed the streets. So I was a fantastic We had player, a couple totally doubles ambidextrous. for Rob: as a necessary part of the game, while also walked in the snowdrifts, which were up to Scott MacPherson and Randy Walker. Scott highlighting hockey’s grace and skill. The my waist. I got to the meeting and nobody he was a perfect-looking double. Scotty could shootRandy both didn’t ways, shoot and the that same helped. way as Rob, but who leaves his family farm in upstate New (associate producer) Mark Allan and myself. film stars Rob Lowe as Dean Youngblood, Iwas got inthe the gig whole because building of that exceptmeeting for but Peter, also DON BIGGS Mustangs. Although he can skate and score, PATRICK SWAYZE’S HOCKEY DOUBLE: York to play junior hockey for the Hamilton- the snow. mates, woos his coach’s daughter and in the because Peter was impressed that I braved pads and stick blades the same so that they endhe can’t has fight.to stand He tries up to to thefit in league’s with his biggest team MARKLE: A really good friend of mine skied all Patrick and I had to tape our skates, shin bully. Thirty years later, Youngblood stands the time in Vail, Colo. He became pretty close to him. tall as one of hockey’s cult classics. to Eric Nesterenko, who taught ski lessons. didn’t miss a beat when they flipped from me Adding to its realism were the people in- JAMES RICHMOND BOMBERS CAPTAIN “STORDAHL”: Markle was a former minor-pro and inter- friendI was suggestedworking on Nesterenko the project, as thelooking dad andfor - nationalvolved in player the film. for Writerthe U.S. and (see director pg. 48). Peter Cin- assomeone my hockey to play consultant. Youngblood’s dad, and my ematographer Mark Irwin donned skates It was the best summer job I ever had. Pat and a helmet and devised a special rig to drinks.rick Swayze He’d andcome I got over pretty to visit close my during mom andthe shoot the movie on ice. Eric Nesterenko, who dad,filming. and We’d we hung go for out dinner a few or times to get when a couple we ROB LOWE HAD THE weren’t shooting. played 20 seasons in the NHL, was the film’s WARDROBE PEOPLE STEVE THOMAS hockey consultant and also played Dean MUSTANGS PLAYER “JORDE”: Youngblood’s dad, Blane. George Finn, who GETTING HIM DRESSED Keanu was a heck of a goalie. He knew what portrayed nemesis Carl Racki, was a former he was doing out there. He hung out with the OHL enforcer. Most of the players in the film, AND TYING HIS SKATES. players. We played cards together. He was a such as Steve Thomas, Don Biggs, Peter Zezel lot of fun. and James Richmond, were OHL or NCAA WE JUST LOOKED AT players at the time. Thomas and Zezel went Every good movie needs a great villain, on to lengthy NHL careers. EACH OTHER, THINKING, and Finn fit the bill. Like Racki, Finn was an mightTHN have reached been outthe topretty Lowe, face but in he front declined of the enforcer who could also score. He played in camera,the opportunity but so many to talk.people No worked matter. hard Lowe to “OH MY GOD, HE CAN’T the OHL against Thomas, Biggs and many of make him look good. This is their story. the other players cast in , but he EVEN TIE HIS SKATES. almost didn’t become one of hockey’s most ••• popular bad guys. Youngblood After two successful films, Markle decided COME ON, SERIOUSLY?” GEORGE FINN he wanted to make a hockey movie. MGM – Steve Thomas “CARL RACKI”: green-lit . First, though, Markle My agent told me that they were looking for had to assemble a cast and crew. featured a lot of up-and-com- Youngblood ing actors. Lowe was cast in the lead role, - PETER MARKLE whileYoungblood Patrick Swayze played Derek Sutton, ditioning.a villain for Once a hockey I got there, film. II saidfelt reallyno at goodfirst. WRITER & DIRECTOR: the Mustangs’ captain and star center. Even But then I thought about it and ended up au I wrote Youngblood, and my agent gave it to Keanu Reeves appears in the movie (his sec- ond film role), as Heaver, one of the Mustangs’ about it. I read some lines, and Peter Markle club hockey. He liked the script, and we had a goalies. While Reeves actually played hockey MARKLE:and (producer) Pat Wells actually liked me. lotproducer of actors Peter interested Guber inat it.MGM, We had who it castplayed up growing up, Swayze and Lowe needed doubles Casting brought him in. I loved his look, and pretty quickly. to do a lot of their on-ice work. he handled George the partwas awell. decent He playernever actedin junior. be- fore in his life, and I thought he did a really MARK IRWIN ERIC NESTERENKO CINEMATOGRAPHER: HOCKEY CO-ORDINATOR & “BLANE YOUNGBLOOD”: When producers would come to Toronto, in THOMAS:great job. those days, you actually had to apply to work when he was with Windsor and I was with SheSwayze got himwasn’t to standa bad onskater, his skates but Lowe and couldn’tgo from the Marlies. George We hadFinn a andreally I foughtgood scrap. in junior, And skate, so we set him up with a figure skater. then the movie came around, and I’m look- morning,on a film. there The was night four before feet of my snow, interview, and the They basically shot him from the waist up. MCEWEN ROB there was this giant blizzard. On Thursday Point A to Point B without looking too bad. ing at him as we’re filming. He’s got this huge 46 | THE HOCKEY NEWS AUGUST 15, 2016 THE MAKING OF YOUNGBLOOD: AN ORAL HISTORY THOROUGHBREDS IN THEIR MIDST The fictional Mustangs had real life talent in future NHLers Biggs (kneeling, left with ‘C’), Thomas (back row, ninth from right) and Peter Zezel (front row, third from right). TAKING THEIR BEST SHOTS Markle and Irwin devised a special rig to shoot much of the hockey footage, including the fight between Youngblood and Racki, with Stordhal watching. beard and looks like an animal. I’m thinking IRWIN: - IRWIN: We shot the hockey action in slow mo- to myself, “My god, where did I get the cour- ally the case. The worst guys are portrayed tion, at 32 frames per second, because 24 by the Georgenicest people.was a really The nicevillain guy, is asalways is usu a frames per second looked over-cranked, like great guy. FINN:age to Actually, fight this I guy?” was supposed to be called The hockey scenes for were NESTERENKO:an old silent BusterThe action Keaton scenes film. on the ice shot at three Toronto rinks over the summer of had to be choreographed. It really helps to Brophy in the film, after (former minor pro 1984. Filming hockey is difficult.Youngblood You need to have somebody who understands what the D-man and NHL coach) John Brophy, but co-ordinate players, navigate expensive cam- John didn’t want to release his name. So Peter eras around the ice and have enough people Markle named me after (stuntman) Branko in the stands to make it look like a real game. plays should look like. Real plays. Markle Racki. I said, “You’re the director, so you can was pretty busy running the whole film, so call me whatever you want to call me.” he wanted somebody to organize the play on AUGUST 15, 2016 THE HOCKEY NEWS | 47 the ice. It was fun being the smart guy on the set, as far as hockey’s concerned, and it was a good experience. IRWIN: We tried shooting from a wheelchair. and manufacturing dollies with vibration iso- lators.It worked We fine,made but actual we skateended blades up designing for the dollies so that we could put the dolly on the ice and drive it around. It worked real well. BIGGS: We were working on one play for may- Peter Markle with be three hours, over and over again. I had to the Flint Generals put the puck through my skates, back onto in 1969-70. my stick and then come in on the goalie and throw it top shelf. Then we changed the area the fans were sitting, and did it again. Then I went through a stage where I missed a bunch of times, so it took quite a while. Then we WAYNE GRETZKY & ROB LOWE net,were put ready his hands for Patrick, in the airwho and was was out done there for HOCKEY TO thefor fourday. or five minutes. He skated behind the HOLLYWOOD IRWIN: We had around 100 extras every day. Youngblood’s director went from from shooting pucks to shooting films toWe’d the jam skating, them we’d together see this for tightwhole stuff side around of the arena,the benches which on was both empty. teams. A Buthundred when peoplewe got NOT MANY FILM directors can boast that they played for the U.S. national team. Peter Markle is likely the only one.