School of Rock (2003)
- Before Jack Black was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Richard Linklater originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The original script for School of Rock was written over a decade before production finally began in 2003.
School of Rock is a 2003 American comedy directed by Richard Linklater. Jack Black stars as Dewey Finn, a passionate but talentless rock guitarist who is kicked out of his band and, desperate for rent money, impersonates his roommate to take a substitute teaching job at a prestigious prep school. When Dewey discovers that his students are musically talented, he secretly transforms the class into a rock band, teaching them the history and spirit of rock and roll while preparing them for a Battle of the Bands competition — all while concealing the scheme from the school's strict principal, played by Joan Cusack.
Jack Black's performance was pure, unfiltered rock-and-roll enthusiasm, and his genuine musical ability — he could actually play guitar and sing — gave the comedy authenticity. The child actors, many of whom were actual musicians, performed their own instruments on screen and in the film's soundtrack. Richard Linklater's direction was unusually structured for the famously improvisational filmmaker, but he gave Black freedom within scenes that resulted in some of the actor's most memorably manic moments.
School of Rock earned $131 million worldwide on a $35 million budget.
