The Next Reel Film Podcast

“On behalf of the students from Vince Lombardi High who are here tonight, I'd just like to say one thing: Screw you, Principal Togar, we made it to the concert anyway!”
Rock 'n' Roll Rules the School: A Corman Classic Gets Wild
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) emerged from Roger Corman's desire to tap into the teen movie craze following the success of Grease. Originally conceived as "Disco High," the project evolved when director Allan Arkush convinced Corman to feature punk rock instead, ultimately landing The Ramones as the film's musical stars. With a modest budget of $200,000, Arkush (with uncredited help from Joe Dante) crafted a frenetic comedy that would become a beloved cult classic. Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—as we continue the Roger Corman series with a conversation about Rock 'n' Roll High School.
A Perfect Storm of Punk and Comedy
Pete and Andy dive into their shared enthusiasm for this high-energy film, with both hosts expressing particular delight in its escalating absurdity. They discuss how the movie consistently takes every scene one step further than expected, from exploding mice to Eaglebauer's elaborate underground operation run from a TARDIS-like bathroom stall complete with his own secretary.
Performance and Characters
The hosts praise P.J. Soles' performance as Riff Randall, noting how effectively she carries the film despite being 29 playing a teenager. They discuss Mary Woronov's memorable turn as Principal Togar, and Clint Howard's scene-stealing role as Eaglebauer, the school's underground fixer.
Key Discussion Points:
  • The film's surprisingly chaste nature for a Corman production
  • The Ramones' presence and performance throughout the film
  • The movie's unique position in the teen film genre
  • The satirical elements of high school authority
  • The film's remarkable influence on later teen comedies
Legacy and Impact
Pete and Andy reflect on how Rock 'n' Roll High School fits into both the teen movie genre and the Corman catalogue, noting its distinctive blend of music, comedy, and rebellion. They discuss its theatrical release strategy and eventual success as a midnight movie favorite.
We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel—when the movie ends, our conversation begins!
Film Sundries

Creators and Guests

Host
Andy Nelson
With over 25 years of experience in film, television, and commercial production, Andy has cultivated an enduring passion for storytelling in all its forms. His enthusiasm for the craft began in his youth when he and his friends started making their own movies in grade school. After studying film at the University of Colorado Boulder, Andy wrote, directed, and produced several short films while also producing indie features like Netherbeast Incorporated and Ambush at Dark Canyon. Andy has been on the production team for award-winning documentaries such as The Imposter and The Joe Show, as well as TV shows like Investigation Discovery’s Deadly Dentists and Nat Geo’s Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers. Over a decade ago, he started podcasting with Pete and immediately embraced the medium. Now, as a partner at TruStory FM, Andy looks forward to more storytelling through their wide variety of shows. Throughout his career, Andy has passed on his knowledge by teaching young minds the crafts of screenwriting, producing, editing, and podcasting. Outside of work, Andy is a family man who enjoys a good martini, a cold beer, a nice cup o’ joe. And always, of course, a great movie.
Host
Pete Wright
#Movies, #ADHD, & #Podcasting • Co-founder @trustory.fm🎥 The Next Reel Family of #Film Podcasts @thenextreel.com🎙️ Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast @takecontroladhd.com📖 Co-author of Unapologetically ADHD • https://unapologeticallyadhdbook.com

What is The Next Reel Film Podcast?

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When the movie ends, our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

I'm Pete Wright.

Andy Nelson:

And I'm Andy Nelson.

Pete Wright:

Welcome to the next reel. When the movie ends,

Andy Nelson:

our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

Rock and Roll High School is over. I'm sorry. We don't let any more mice in here. They've been exploding all over the place.

Trailer:

It's 1980. Welcome to Rock and Roll High School. Rock and Roll High School. I am miss Togar and I am the new principal of this school. And who are you?

Trailer:

I'm Riff Randall, rock and roller. The only girl I ever dream about tonight is Riff. I've done more intentions than anyone in the school's history. Are you a virgin? How about a cheerleader?

Trailer:

Nice set of pom poms. Term wanted Riff, but Riff wanted to live a rock and roll

Trailer:

fantasy to the music of her favorite group. The

Trailer:

hottest band this side of the iron curtain, the Ramones. You have managed to upset the entire school with this godforsaken noise. Things sure

Trailer:

have changed because we got kicked out of high school.

Trailer:

Hey, come on. You guys brought me into school.

Trailer:

They tried to stop their music, but the kids got wrecked and rocked the school.

Trailer:

To the chief of police who's going to storm the building.

Trailer:

Rock and Roll High School, the school where the students rule.

Trailer:

Could your school be next?

Pete Wright:

Okay.

Pete Wright:

What do you think I thought of Rock and Roll High School? I think you loved it. But wait. My demeanor is so dour right now. It's not dour.

Pete Wright:

It's

Andy Nelson:

it's masked is what it is. You're you're you're acting like you didn't love it. But in in secret, I know that this was one. You probably watched in your VR headset and danced the whole time.

Pete Wright:

Well well, let me tell you first. There is no dancing in the VR headset. That is dangerous. Stop that. Stop it.

Pete Wright:

That's what they're for.

Andy Nelson:

You're supposed to, like, be you have a whole world created that you can dance I

Pete Wright:

you're in big screen cinema mode. It's it's like an IMAX screen in your face, but you there you're sitting in seats, like, around you. There's just a movie theater. Don't dance, Andy. I'm telling you.

Pete Wright:

For the love of god, stop dancing. Two, you're absolutely right. I love this movie irrationally. I don't know how to complain about it. Everything is perfect.

Andy Nelson:

I don't think you even need to qualify that by saying irrationally. From looking at, like, people's thoughts on this Yeah. It is generally well loved. And I think there are a lot of reasons because it's great. It's fantastic.

Andy Nelson:

It's fun. It's goofy. It's of its time for sure, but it's clear they had a fun time doing it, and they were just having a blast coming up with some of the craziest little moments that happened throughout the film. Lots of fun.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Yeah. For for sure. I mean, the Ramones, man. This is the Ramones' best film ex portrayal.

Pete Wright:

And I say that knowing that the Ramones haven't been in any other real strong film portrayals. I think this might be best only to their second best when they played for mister Burns on the Simpsons at his birthday party. Oh, that's funny. And I loved it. I wasn't a huge Ramones fan.

Pete Wright:

I did listen to the Ramones. I had a couple of albums, and and I enjoyed some of their music, but I was not, like, camping out for tickets, let alone buying a 100 tickets at a jump.

Andy Nelson:

But did you learn from this that if you camped out for tickets that the the the artists would show up and play for you while you're waiting in line?

Pete Wright:

That was amazing. I wish that I knew that. I know. I know. I just so I've learned so much in this movie.

Pete Wright:

Okay. Where would you like to start?

Andy Nelson:

I wanna start with the Ramones because you brought them up and and your feeling of them. And, you know, obviously, I think this movie was a little before our time. Neither of us were in high school in 1979.

Pete Wright:

Rock and roll elementary school. Probably missed us by a good ten years. But of the

Andy Nelson:

like like, the Ramones, and you've got Alice Cooper in here, and a whole variety of different rock kind of that punk rock sort of music. Like, what was your vibe by the time you were in high school? Were you were you into this sort of music, like, once you were in high school? Like, when did this hit for you?

Pete Wright:

Well, so my if if we're looking at the sort of like, I listened to the Pixies and the Breeders. It's pretty natural. I listened to a lot of The Cure. But remember also, as you well know, my top favorite all time performer is Prince. So Prince and the Revolution, Prince and the MPG.

Pete Wright:

So that like, I followed Prince from a very young age all

Trailer:

the

Pete Wright:

way through I still I mean, I'm about to make the the journey to Paisley Park next weekend. So, like, my when you look at the kind of music that I listen to, I didn't I listened to that much more of the Pixies Breeders kind of taste. What about you?

Andy Nelson:

I wasn't into any of this sort of music. Like, I was I did not grow up with with rock and roll. Like, my parents didn't listen to rock

Pete Wright:

and roll. Because of the all of the the choir, like church choir stuff. You just were

Andy Nelson:

None of that either. A lot

Pete Wright:

of that. Sweet little Jesus boy born in a manger.

Andy Nelson:

You want me to keep going? I can keep going. I'd rather you not.

Pete Wright:

That's

Andy Nelson:

yeah. No. None of that. I but it was just some rock and roll. It wasn't something that that we listened to.

Andy Nelson:

They were much more folk music to the gentle sort of like a like a light rock sort of. If there was rock

Pete Wright:

What is light rock? What is light rock? Well, like Are we talking like Peter Saterra?

Andy Nelson:

No. I think I was listening to Kenny Saterra. They weren't listening to Kenny G wasn't around at that time. Oh. Peter Saterra, like, I I was a v h one kid.

Andy Nelson:

I listened to v h one. So if it played on v

Pete Wright:

one This an MTV v v h one kind of a thing.

Andy Nelson:

That's kind of where we were. Yeah. So I didn't I didn't click with MTV. Well, until high school is really when I clicked with it and started watching it. And and it started with Def Leppard is probably the first actual rock group that I started listening to and enjoying quite a bit.

Andy Nelson:

And then Poison. And so, you know, I it it it took a while. But and now I love the Ramones.

Pete Wright:

It it just it I

Andy Nelson:

was never introduced to any of it when I was younger.

Pete Wright:

And so

Andy Nelson:

I I had to find it all on my own.

Pete Wright:

I love that you started with so you started with Def Def Leppard, and then you went where?

Andy Nelson:

Actually, technically, started with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. No. Def Leppard and then Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Pete Wright:

Well, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, I don't think is in the same category as Def Leppard.

Andy Nelson:

I'm not saying it is, but I just as far as like different

Pete Wright:

This is why you love Nightmare on Elm Street, the dream warrior. Right? Because of Dakin.

Andy Nelson:

That's a funny song at the end of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

It took you way too long to acknowledge that that was a funny song at the end of it, but I get it. So you were into hair metal is what you're talking about. You just merged on into hair hair metal.

Andy Nelson:

No. No. Like, there was a lot of it that I didn't like. Oh.

Trailer:

Like, I didn't like Metallica. Like, it

Pete Wright:

it was it took me

Andy Nelson:

a long time to, like I I was all over the place.

Pete Wright:

I wonder what you like now. Right?

Andy Nelson:

Now I like kind of most everything, most anything, but it did take me a long time. But so it's funny because as I watched this movie, I kept wondering, like, if I saw this in high school, would I have liked it or would I not have liked it? And I just I wasn't sure because, like, I don't think this music was really what I was interested in or listening to, but I would have loved the energy of, like, what the story was doing and the comedy and how it was told.

Pete Wright:

So it's possible if I

Andy Nelson:

had seen this in high school, I might have actually started enjoying groups like the Ramones and Alice Cooper and stuff like that. So it's I don't know. I I find that to be so interesting, and it's like the things that kind of inform you and inform your tastes as you're growing up. But, I mean, watching this now, I mean, you know, I love the Ramones and they're it was it was kind of fun to see them performing quite a bit throughout the film. And, like, I'm sure we'll talk about Riff's dream sequence when she's getting high of the Ramones playing in her house because that was absolutely fantastic.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I okay. So where do you wanna start talking about the movie? Because I could just this I could just explode with exuberance over any particular sequence. A Just

Trailer:

like a mouse. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

Well, let's talk about the movie then.

Pete Wright:

What do wanna talk about?

Pete Wright:

Outstanding.

Andy Nelson:

Hey there, all you rock and rolling cinephiles. Andy here, and I've got some news that'll make you wanna crank up the volume and shed the screen. If that little taste of our rock and roll high school discussion got your amps buzzing and your exploding mice ready to detonate, then it's time to upgrade to the full throttle experience by becoming a member. When you join our band, you'll gain access to a whole set list of exclusive content, including monthly member bonus episodes that take you on a wild ride through the world of cinema with more twists and turns than Riff Randall trying to score Ramon's tickets. You'll also unlock bonus content from our other shows, like Sitting in the Dark, CinemaScope, Movies We Like, and The Film Board.

Andy Nelson:

Consider it your backstage pass to the most epic movie festival ever without the risk of getting caught in the middle of a Vince Lombardi High School riot. As a member, you'll enjoy early ad free access to all our shows, allowing you to leave the posers in the dust and experience our content the way it was meant to be heard. Plus, you'll have the power to help shape our playlist by voting on upcoming member bonus episodes of the show. Our Discord community is open to everyone, but as a member, you'll have the chance to really make the membership channels rock. Picture a virtual green room where you can swap movie recommendations, debate the finer points of film history, and generally geek out with some of the most passionate movie fanatics around.

Andy Nelson:

Just watch out for any stray exploding mice. So what are you waiting for? Head over to truestory.fm/join and sign up today. That's trust0ry.fm/join. For just $5 a month or $55 for the whole year, you will get a VIP pass to the most electrifying ride in podcasting.

Andy Nelson:

Once you've experienced the full, unfiltered glory of our rock and roll high school discussion, you'll be ready to rock out with us to the max, even if it means facing off against principal Togard and her army of mouse hating hall monitors. Don't just take my word for it. Join the crew and find out for yourself. We'll be waiting for you. Ready to crank up the amps and tear up the cinematic stage like never before.

Andy Nelson:

So grab your guitar, strap on your leather jacket, and get ready for the ride of your life. The ultimate movie festival's about to begin, and we're just getting warmed up. Rock on, my friends, and remember, if anyone tries to stop us, we'll just sic the Ramones on.