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On set … C Thomas Howell, who played Ponyboy Curtis, Francis Ford Coppola and Rob Lowe.

‘Tom Cruise was an intense kid’: How Francis Ford Coppola made The Outsiders

‘I was famous for casting unknown actors. I had Nicolas Cage, Robert Downey Jr and Matt Dillon in a circle watching each other try for parts’

Francis Ford Coppola , director After my 1982 film One from the Heart failed commercially, my production company American Zoetrope was bankrupt – it was a low period for me. But then I received a letter written by Jo Ellen Misakian, a junior school librarian from Fresno, California. It read: “We are all so impressed with the book, The Outsiders by SE Hinton , that a petition has been circulated asking that it be made into a movie. We have chosen you to send it to.” It contained about 15 pages of children’s signatures written in different-coloured pens. It was very moving.

I read Susan Hinton’s book, written when she was in her late teens, and was touched by the level of regard these poor “Greaser” kids had for each other, even though they didn’t have the advantages of their “Social” rivals. I’ve always believed that kids have many more feelings than we give them credit for, and I wanted to make the story. When I was about 17, I had been a drama counsellor at a summer camp, and the idea of being with half a dozen kids in the country and making a movie seemed like being a camp counsellor again. I’d forget my troubles and have some laughs.

If my company was famous for anything, it was casting new, unknown actors. I believed in the concept of open casting calls – but I tried to do them in a way that was appropriate for the film we were making. For The Outsiders, I had all the candidates – which included Nicolas Cage, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jr, Patrick Swayze, Dennis Quaid, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez – sitting on benches in a circle watching each other trying for the different parts. No one knows more about acting than other actors. Tom Cruise, who ended up in a small role, was an intense kid who would do anything to make his part better.

Often I err on the side of being too collaborative. I re-edited The Outsiders because Warner Brothers felt it was long, and that was a mistake. My father had also written a soaring, romantic score for it. I wondered if it was the right choice, but I couldn’t say that to him. By the time I recut the movie in 2005 he had passed away, and I balanced the schmaltzy music with more of what the Greasers would have listened to: early Elvis Presley and stuff like that.

There are parallels between the rivalry of the Socs and the Greasers, and the inequality in American today. Most of the bads of contemporary civilisation are not caused by nature. Civilisation invents fictions that people will kill for, which is absurd. Why is there such inequality when we’re all one family?

Unknowns … Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, C Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise in The Outsiders.

C Thomas Howell , who played Ponyboy Curtis I had established myself in my teens as a junior rodeo competitor. Pressure for me was riding a bull, not meeting someone called Francis Ford Coppola, or auditioning against the other guys. I only auditioned for one character, Ponyboy Curtis, and read with hundreds of actors in four or five cities. The only time I ever felt any pressure was when Norman Mailer’s son came in to read for it weeks after I felt I had already owned the role. But I think actually that was more about relieving me for half a day.

There was an envy that was intentionally dialled in to the Soc and Greaser actors. We played football and basketball against each other – they had matching jumpsuits, while we’d show up in whatever we brought from home. The Socs stayed on floor 18 or 19 of the hotel, while the Greasers were on four or five. It was like a fraternity house in there; some pretty crazy stuff took place. Once I got home at three in the morning after an 18-hour shift; I couldn’t wait to get into my room and go to sleep. And I went in there, two of the Socs had turned everything in my room upside down.

We rehearsed and shot the whole film on videotape first, which allowed us to get to know each other and created a trust. I was very green at 15. I had been in ET, but I had never played a lead. Francis was a master communicator, and taught me about film-making. He was patient enough to not just bully his way around and tell you what to do. And he’d cook you pasta for lunch.

One lesson I learned was to never, as an actor, cut a scene. During the scene at the drive-in cinema , at one point Matt Dillon fell off his chair, and I turned to the camera and started laughing, thinking they’d cut. But he told me I shouldn’t stop, but that I should adapt to what was happening: it creates something very natural, more real and connected than anything that could be written. Later, in the church scene, a dolly grip’s foot fell through the floor – it was a real abandoned building – so I just said: “I think there’s a monster outside.” And Francis ended up cutting to a shot of a raccoon outside. The film is peppered with real moments like that.

I still get letters about The Outsiders because it’s required reading in a lot of schools. People tell me it’s their comfort film, or they have a Stay Gold tattoo, or they used the Robert Frost poem for their wedding vows. I get asked all the time what the poem means. I had no idea when I was 15 that it represents the circle of life. Even the two boys don’t understand what it means – they’re just sharing a moment – until one of them dies. The fans are crying and upset that [Ralph Macchio’s character] Johnny is dead, and then they contact me and they realise Ponyboy is now 54 – and they cry even harder.

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The Outsiders

1983, Drama, 1h 31m

What to know

Critics Consensus

The cracks continue to show in Coppola's directorial style, but The Outsiders remains a blustery, weird, and fun adaptation of the classic novel. Read critic reviews

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The outsiders   photos.

A teen gang in rural Oklahoma, the Greasers are perpetually at odds with the Socials, a rival group. When Greasers Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell) and Johnny (Ralph Macchio) get into a brawl that ends in the death of a Social member, the boys are forced to go into hiding. Soon Ponyboy and Johnny, along with the intense Dallas (Matt Dillon) and their other Greaser buddies, must contend with the consequences of their violent lives. While some Greasers try to achieve redemption, others meet tragic ends.

Genre: Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Producer: Gray Frederickson , Fred Roos

Writer: S.E. Hinton , Kathleen Rowell

Release Date (Theaters): Mar 25, 1983  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2009

Runtime: 1h 31m

Distributor: Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo

Production Co: Zoetrope Studios

Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround

Cast & Crew

Matt Dillon

Dallas Winston

C. Thomas Howell

Ponyboy Curtis

Ralph Macchio

Johnny Cade

Patrick Swayze

Darrel Curtis

Sodapop Curtis

Emilio Estevez

Two-Bit Matthews

Steve Randle

Glenn Withrow

Tim Shepard

Cherry Valance

Leif Garrett

Bob Sheldon

Darren Dalton

Randy Anderson

Michelle Meyrink

Gailard Sartain

Buck Merrill

William Smith

Store Clerk

S.E. Hinton

Francis Ford Coppola

Kathleen Rowell

Gian-Carlo Coppola

Associate Producer

Gray Frederickson

Carmine Coppola

Original Music

Stephen H. Burum

Cinematographer

Anne Goursaud

Film Editing

Critic Reviews for The Outsiders

Audience reviews for the outsiders.

Held up as a prime example of the 80's Brat Pack I found this a beautifully shot but ultimately dull film with some uncertain acting from a very young cast. The ones who make the most impression (Estivez, Swayze) have the least to do and Howell and Macchio grated on me for most of the time. Maybe the book is better but this film didn't make me want to read it.

tom cruise movies outsiders

The Outsiders directed by Francis Ford Coppola is a very well done adaptation of S.E Hinton's classic novel, The Outsiders. Francis Ford Coppola brings together an impressive and talented cast of actors. This is a superb film with a terrific story. I find that The Outsiders is often overlooked as a great film, because after all, Francis Ford Coppola did direct The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. The Outsiders is a terrific, well plotted and directed film that stays truthful to the book. That's what I love about Coppola, his respect for the source material. Just like he did with Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coppola stayed true to the novel when he made The Outsiders. This boasts a great cast of now known actors, and they each deliver good performances. The Outsiders is both dramatic and funny, and Coppola's brilliant directing definitely pulls you in. You feel something for the characters and you sympathize with them. Francis Ford Coppola is a phenomenal director, and because he's directed three film classics before this, The Outsiders is often forgotten, but it shouldn't. The film will appeal to fans of the book, as it stays truthful to the source material, and is yet another solid effort from Francis Ford Coppola. The Outsiders tells a remarkable story of a rivalry between two Teen gangs and the struggle to survive a brutal confrontation and the ultimate run from the law. The Outsiders is not a perfect film, but it definitely is a classic\, and is a definite must see.

Notable for its, then unknown, cast of movie stars--Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and (golly) Tom Cruise--The Outsiders must go down as a well-intentioned folly. Francis Ford Coppola's attempt to transform S.E. Hinton's syrupy teen novel into nostalgia infused pop-poetry only buckles under its faithfulness to the sentimentality of the author's saccharine prose--a book about male camaraderie clearly written by a young girl with a lot of feminine feelings.

I'll be the first to admit when I don't get a movie...and I don't get The Outsiders. It doesn't have anything of major importance to say, the characters are not memorable and the film appears to be a sanitized version of real life. The worst part, I think, is not being able to emotionally connect with any person on screen; we are dropped into the middle of an existing story and left to figure out exactly what's going on and why as the story unfolds. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though it takes too much time and energy to get everything at the same time. I'm also dubious about some of the acting, especially the younger actors. They don't have the authority to pull off a bunch of hoodlums from the wrong side of the tracks in a fight to the death with a bunch of preppies. Sorry, not buying it.

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'The Outsiders': Stay Golden With These Little-Known Facts About The Iconic Film

Posted: March 7, 2024 | Last updated: March 8, 2024

<p>Af the end of the film, a dedication is on the screen that reads, "<i>The Outsiders</i> is dedicated to the people who first suggested that it be made." The people that the dedication is referencing is librarian Jo Ellen Misakian and the students of the Lone Star School in Fresno, California, who signed the petition for Coppola to make the film. </p> <p>Of course, Misakian and the students never assumed for their petition to work, so you can imagine how they felt when they were personally mentioned in the film. </p>

An adaptation of S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel of the same name, The Outsiders is a 1983 coming-of-age film about a rivalry between "The Socs" and "The Greasers," two gangs separated by social class, and the consequences that follow when one member murders the other. Directed by the renowned Francis Ford Coppola, the film is particularly notable for its up-and-coming ensemble cast, including C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, and Patrick Swayze.

The film was well-received upon its initial release and is today considered a classic. Click through this list to find out everything you need to know about the movie!

<p>During the 1970s, <i>The Outsiders </i>was a common-place book for high school students to read as part of the curriculum. When a librarian named Jo Ellen Misakian in Fresno, California, noticed that even non-readers were even picking up the book to read, she wrote a petition for her 7th and 8th graders to sign for Coppola to turn it into a movie. </p> <p>When Misakian accidentally sent the petition and a copy of the book to a New York address that Coppola rarely used, it grabbed his attention and he agreed to adapt the book.</p>

High School Students Convinced Francis Ford Coppola To Make It

During the 1970s, The Outsiders was a common-place book for high school students to read as part of the curriculum. When a librarian named Jo Ellen Misakian in Fresno, California, noticed that even non-readers were even picking up the book to read, she wrote a petition for her 7th and 8th graders to sign for Coppola to turn it into a movie.

When Misakian accidentally sent the petition and a copy of the book to a New York address that Coppola rarely used, it grabbed his attention and he agreed to adapt the book.

<p>One of the biggest plot points in <i>The Outsiders </i>is the class separation between the affluent and popular "Socs" and the rougher around the edges "Greasers." When the teenagers were selected to be in the film, little did any of them know that they would actually be separated into groups. </p> <p>Coppola wanted to establish a real rift between the actors which led him to divide them into their fictional social statuses, ensuring that those playing the "Socs" had better rooms, more spending money, free room service, and leather-bound scripts. </p>

There Was A Separation Of The Actors

One of the biggest plot points in The Outsiders is the class separation between the affluent and popular "Socs" and the rougher around the edges "Greasers." When the teenagers were selected to be in the film, little did any of them know that they would actually be separated into groups.

Coppola wanted to establish a real rift between the actors which led him to divide them into their fictional social statuses, ensuring that those playing the "Socs" had better rooms, more spending money, free room service, and leather-bound scripts.

<p>Upon its initial release, <i>The Outsiders </i>was relatively well-received by both film critics and book lovers alike. However, it did encounter some criticism from omitting and rearranging scenes from the novel. </p> <p>So, in 2005, when Coppola released the film on DVD, it was titled as <i>The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. </i>This version of the film had around 22 minutes of unseen footage and included a more contemporary soundtrack than when the film was first released. </p>

Coppola Added More Than 20 Minutes To The DVD Release

Upon its initial release, The Outsiders was relatively well-received by both film critics and book lovers alike. However, it did encounter some criticism from omitting and rearranging scenes from the novel.

So, in 2005, when Coppola released the film on DVD, it was titled as The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. This version of the film had around 22 minutes of unseen footage and included a more contemporary soundtrack than when the film was first released.

<p>Back in 2009, hip-hop artist and <i>Outsiders </i>fan Danny Boy O'Connor from House of Pain stopped by the house in Tulsa Oklahoma that served as the fictional residence of the Curtis family. </p> <p>He was saddened to see that the house was being neglected and felt that he should do something about it. He then rallied a group of friends to help buy the house with the high hopes of turning it into an <i>Outsiders </i>museum. </p>

People Are Trying To Save The Fictional Curtis House

Back in 2009, hip-hop artist and Outsiders fan Danny Boy O'Connor from House of Pain stopped by the house in Tulsa Oklahoma that served as the fictional residence of the Curtis family.

He was saddened to see that the house was being neglected and felt that he should do something about it. He then rallied a group of friends to help buy the house with the high hopes of turning it into an Outsiders museum.

<p>S.E. Hinton stands for Susan Eloise Hinton, who was a 15-year-old high school student when she wrote <i>The Outsiders, </i>which was published in 1967. She was interested in writing a different kind of story for her demographic, stating that, "Mary Jane wants to go to the prom with the football hero...didn't ring true to my life." </p> <p>So, she wrote a book about real teenage struggles, handing the manuscript to a friend's mother he had contacts at an agency in New York. Editors then suggested that she go by "S.E." so male readers didn't know it was a female author, and her novel sold more than 14 million copies. </p>

The Book Was Written By A Teenager

S.E. Hinton stands for Susan Eloise Hinton, who was a 15-year-old high school student when she wrote The Outsiders, which was published in 1967. She was interested in writing a different kind of story for her demographic, stating that, "Mary Jane wants to go to the prom with the football hero...didn't ring true to my life."

So, she wrote a book about real teenage struggles, handing the manuscript to a friend's mother he had contacts at an agency in New York. Editors then suggested that she go by "S.E." so male readers didn't know it was a female author, and her novel sold more than 14 million copies.

<p>Although few could imagine <i>The Outsiders </i>without its iconic ensemble cast, Fox decided to take a risk and make a television show with all new actors anyway. The show was set to air in 1990 and had a young cast of mostly unrecognizable faces. However, some actors, including Billy Bob Thorton, David Arquette, and Jay R. Ferguson, had appearances. </p> <p>While the premiere of the show had a short introduction by Bart Simpson and was well-received, the program was canceled after just 13 episodes. </p>

There Was A Television Show (Kind Of)

Although few could imagine The Outsiders without its iconic ensemble cast, Fox decided to take a risk and make a television show with all new actors anyway. The show was set to air in 1990 and had a young cast of mostly unrecognizable faces. However, some actors, including Billy Bob Thorton, David Arquette, and Jay R. Ferguson, had appearances.

While the premiere of the show had a short introduction by Bart Simpson and was well-received, the program was canceled after just 13 episodes.

<p>Most typical auditions for both films and television usually involve one person per session, reading the part of one of the characters. However, the auditions for <i>The Outsiders </i>was far from ordinary. </p> <p>Instead of one person, the process involved up to 30 young actors at a time who would be told to act out specific excerpts from the script. Those that casting director Frank Roos liked the best would then be taken out from the larger group. At a minimum, each group of actors would audition for three parts each. </p>

The Boys Went Through A Rigorous Audition Process

Most typical auditions for both films and television usually involve one person per session, reading the part of one of the characters. However, the auditions for The Outsiders was far from ordinary.

Instead of one person, the process involved up to 30 young actors at a time who would be told to act out specific excerpts from the script. Those that casting director Frank Roos liked the best would then be taken out from the larger group. At a minimum, each group of actors would audition for three parts each.

<p>At the end of the film, Coppola knew that he wanted to use a beautiful sunset for Ponyboy and Johnny to act against. Yet, because the sunsets in Oklahoma during filming weren't very long, Coppola had to get creative. </p> <p>He decided on using a rear screen projection to create the ideal sunset for Ponyboy's ending scene as he writes down the words stated at the beginning of the film. Furthermore, Warner Bros. had a lot of the film's scenes cut, but Coppola fought to keep this particular moment in. </p>

The End Sunset Isn't Real

At the end of the film, Coppola knew that he wanted to use a beautiful sunset for Ponyboy and Johnny to act against. Yet, because the sunsets in Oklahoma during filming weren't very long, Coppola had to get creative.

He decided on using a rear screen projection to create the ideal sunset for Ponyboy's ending scene as he writes down the words stated at the beginning of the film. Furthermore, Warner Bros. had a lot of the film's scenes cut, but Coppola fought to keep this particular moment in.

<p>At one point during filming, actors Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise actually spent the night at a real "Greaser" couple's house that was living in Tulsa. </p> <p>At first, Lowe was hesitant about the prospect about staying the night with people that Coppola had just met on the street, but was pleasantly surprised when he learned that the strangers were actually very hospitable. Both actors admitted that it was a life-changing experience and for Lowe, helped solidify the idea that he wanted to be a full-time actor. </p>

Tom Cruise And Rob Lowe Had A Real Greaser Experience

At one point during filming, actors Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise actually spent the night at a real "Greaser" couple's house that was living in Tulsa.

At first, Lowe was hesitant about the prospect about staying the night with people that Coppola had just met on the street, but was pleasantly surprised when he learned that the strangers were actually very hospitable. Both actors admitted that it was a life-changing experience and for Lowe, helped solidify the idea that he wanted to be a full-time actor.

<p>Once Macchio scored the role of the less fortunate Johnny, Coppola made a point to have Macchio feel what it was like to live in Johnny's shoes. To do so, Macchio was forced to live on five dollars a day, a similar situation that his character experienced in the film. </p> <p>So, when Johnny scarfs down the burger and fries in the film, it's most likely because he was actually starving. Furthermore, for two nights, Macchio was recommended to "sleep outside for a few nights" by Coppola, which he did, sleeping on park benches using only newspaper for blankets</p>

Ralph Macchio Had To Live On Five Dollars A Day

Once Macchio scored the role of the less fortunate Johnny, Coppola made a point to have Macchio feel what it was like to live in Johnny's shoes. To do so, Macchio was forced to live on five dollars a day, a similar situation that his character experienced in the film.

So, when Johnny scarfs down the burger and fries in the film, it's most likely because he was actually starving. Furthermore, for two nights, Macchio was recommended to "sleep outside for a few nights" by Coppola, which he did, sleeping on park benches using only newspaper for blankets

<p>Coppola is known for being as realistic as possible in his films, so it's no surprise that the fire when Johnny and Ponyboy save the kids from the church fire is real. Coppola repeatedly asked the technician to keep adding more fire to the church, which is when things started to get out of control. </p> <p>The fire spread to the steeple and soon became too hard to contain. Luckily, the local fire department was on the scene to help, and a rainstorm helped to put out the flames. </p>

The Church Fire Was Real

Coppola is known for being as realistic as possible in his films, so it's no surprise that the fire when Johnny and Ponyboy save the kids from the church fire is real. Coppola repeatedly asked the technician to keep adding more fire to the church, which is when things started to get out of control.

The fire spread to the steeple and soon became too hard to contain. Luckily, the local fire department was on the scene to help, and a rainstorm helped to put out the flames.

<p>Before being approached by Coppola, Hinton and previously turned down several offers by other studios for fear that they wouldn't do her novel justice. However, after Coppola and Hinton began talking, the two made a deal to work on the film together. </p> <p>The selling point was that Hinton would serve as a consultant to ensure the movie was up to her standards. On top of that, Hinton was also impressed with the studio's adaptation of <i>The Black Stallion, </i>which made her feel more comfortable. </p>

Hinton Turned Down Several Other Offers To Adapt Her Novel

Before being approached by Coppola, Hinton and previously turned down several offers by other studios for fear that they wouldn't do her novel justice. However, after Coppola and Hinton began talking, the two made a deal to work on the film together.

The selling point was that Hinton would serve as a consultant to ensure the movie was up to her standards. On top of that, Hinton was also impressed with the studio's adaptation of The Black Stallion, which made her feel more comfortable.

<p>For the movie's poster, the initial idea was for the Greasers to be in character for the picture, but it didn't pan out that way. The reaction on the actors' faces occurred after Lief Garrett, who played Bob, went to the catering table and was denied by the stagehand who didn't believe that he was part of the film. </p> <p>After Garrett was denied, Macchio joked, saying, "Yeah, it's for the talent." This prompted the boys to burst into laughter, giving us the movie poster we see today. </p>

The Movie Poster Was A Candid Shot

For the movie's poster, the initial idea was for the Greasers to be in character for the picture, but it didn't pan out that way. The reaction on the actors' faces occurred after Lief Garrett, who played Bob, went to the catering table and was denied by the stagehand who didn't believe that he was part of the film.

After Garrett was denied, Macchio joked, saying, "Yeah, it's for the talent." This prompted the boys to burst into laughter, giving us the movie poster we see today.

<p>When Coppola and Hinton first showed the rough cut to Warner Bros., the studio definitely had their doubts. They didn't think that teenagers could sit through a two-hour film and that it would lose their attention. </p> <p>So, Coppola was instructed to cut some of the material into a more manageable length to appease a younger audience. However, this would result in the film missing its expected release date in the fall of 1982. After some edits were made, the film was given the go-ahead for a March 23rd release date. </p>

The Studio Didn't Like The Rough Cut

When Coppola and Hinton first showed the rough cut to Warner Bros., the studio definitely had their doubts. They didn't think that teenagers could sit through a two-hour film and that it would lose their attention.

So, Coppola was instructed to cut some of the material into a more manageable length to appease a younger audience. However, this would result in the film missing its expected release date in the fall of 1982. After some edits were made, the film was given the go-ahead for a March 23rd release date.

<p>An adaptation of S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel of the same name, <i>The Outsiders </i>is a 1983 coming-of-age film about a rivalry between "The Socs" and "The Greasers," two gangs separated by social class, and the consequences that follow when one member murders the other. Directed by the renowned Francis Ford Coppola, the film is particularly notable for its up-and-coming ensemble cast, including C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, and Patrick Swayze. The film was well-received upon its initial release and is today considered a class. Take a look and see why! </p>

Diane Lane Was The Butt Of A Lot Of Pranks On Set

Dianne Lane, who played Ponyboy's love interest, Cherry Valance, was constantly the victim of pranks by the boys during the months of shooting that they were all together.

In Variety's oral history of The Outsiders, she mentioned that "It was frightening to see and realize many of the violations of psyche and boundaries such as honey all over my toilet seat, something terrorizing written with my lipstick in the mirror, Vaseline on every door handle, and just when you think it's safe and you can finally sleep that night, your bed is short-sheeted!" it's a wonder she stayed on with the project!

The Movie Is Dedicated To The School That Helped Get It Made

Af the end of the film, a dedication is on the screen that reads, " The Outsiders is dedicated to the people who first suggested that it be made." The people that the dedication is referencing is librarian Jo Ellen Misakian and the students of the Lone Star School in Fresno, California, who signed the petition for Coppola to make the film.

Of course, Misakian and the students never assumed for their petition to work, so you can imagine how they felt when they were personally mentioned in the film.

<p>In <i>The Outsiders: The Complete Novel </i>documentary, Rob Lowe, who plays Sodapop, asks the author, S.E. Hinton, what happened to Sodapop Curtis after the events of <i>The Outsiders. </i></p> <p>Hinton explains that Sodapop is drafted into the army during the Vietnam War, where he is killed in action. Lowe remembers taking this small detail to heart, which helped him develop the character to the best of his abilities, knowing that his character would, unfortunately, live a short life. </p>

S.E. Hinton Revealed Sodapop's Tragic Future

In The Outsiders: The Complete Novel documentary, Rob Lowe, who plays Sodapop, asks the author, S.E. Hinton, what happened to Sodapop Curtis after the events of The Outsiders.

Hinton explains that Sodapop is drafted into the army during the Vietnam War, where he is killed in action. Lowe remembers taking this small detail to heart, which helped him develop the character to the best of his abilities, knowing that his character would, unfortunately, live a short life.

<p>During the filming of <i>The Outsiders, </i>Coppola's company, Zoetrope was so low on funds that they could only pay Hinton $500 of her $5,000 rights fee. Yet, Hinton and Coppola made a deal that Hinton could have a cameo. </p> <p>She appears as the Nurse when Dallas, played by Matt Dillon, is being taken care of in the hospital. While on set, Hinton was often referred to as "Mom" by the male actors, as she provided them a lot of insight into their characters and was there for emotional support. </p>

Hinton Has A Cameo In The Film

During the filming of The Outsiders, Coppola's company, Zoetrope was so low on funds that they could only pay Hinton $500 of her $5,000 rights fee. Yet, Hinton and Coppola made a deal that Hinton could have a cameo.

She appears as the Nurse when Dallas, played by Matt Dillon, is being taken care of in the hospital. While on set, Hinton was often referred to as "Mom" by the male actors, as she provided them a lot of insight into their characters and was there for emotional support.

<p>A few different actors were hurt by accident when making the movie, with most of them taking place during the rumble scene in the rain. One of the most notable of these accidents occurred during the first punch thrown in the fight. </p> <p>C. Thomas Howell commented, "There was this stunt man at the very start who slipped and punched me right in the face. That wasn't supposed to happen. So the scene I had prepared for ended up being Matt Dillon dragging me off." Some of the other actors also took small injuries during the fight as there had already been pent up anger between the "Socs" and the "Greasers" behind the scenes. </p>

There Were Several Accidents On Set

A few different actors were hurt by accident when making the movie, with most of them taking place during the rumble scene in the rain. One of the most notable of these accidents occurred during the first punch thrown in the fight.

C. Thomas Howell commented, "There was this stunt man at the very start who slipped and punched me right in the face. That wasn't supposed to happen. So the scene I had prepared for ended up being Matt Dillon dragging me off." Some of the other actors also took small injuries during the fight as there had already been pent up anger between the "Socs" and the "Greasers" behind the scenes.

<p>When the Curtis boys are hyping themselves up for the rumble while leaving the house, Tom Cruise does a backflip off of a car in the front yard. Patrick Swayze was coaching Cruise how to do the stunt right before it was filmed, and Cruise was incredibly uneasy. </p> <p>Cruise then approached Hinton, saying he didn't know he could do it because he felt sick from lunch. Hinton then had Cruise drink raw eggs until he threw up, which apparently made him feel better. He then pulled off the flip with no further problems. </p>

Tom Cruise Needed A Little Help Before Performing His Backflip

When the Curtis boys are hyping themselves up for the rumble while leaving the house, Tom Cruise does a backflip off of a car in the front yard. Patrick Swayze was coaching Cruise how to do the stunt right before it was filmed, and Cruise was incredibly uneasy.

Cruise then approached Hinton, saying he didn't know he could do it because he felt sick from lunch. Hinton then had Cruise drink raw eggs until he threw up, which apparently made him feel better. He then pulled off the flip with no further problems.

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Francis Ford Coppola shares The Outsiders audition footage, with young Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, and more

The audition process for the 1983 film asked each actor to read lines for every role.

Francis Ford Coppola is celebrating The Outsiders with an adorable blast from Hollywood's past.

More than 40 years after its release, the 1983 adaptation of S.E. Hinton's classic novel remains highly regarded, in part because of the many young cast members who would go on to achieve major success. In honor of those star-making performances, the film's director shared footage of the auditions that started it all — including the likes of Patrick Swayze , Tom Cruise , Emilio Estevez , Diane Lane , Ralph Macchio , Matt Dillon , and Rob Lowe .

"42 years ago we cast The Outsiders in a unique way," Coppola wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday. "We had all the actors together on a soundstage and would alternate different actors reading for different roles."

He continued: "It was interesting because each of them was watching their competition, so while it could've been a volatile situation, it turned into a very positive one. There emerged the natural respect and sense of colleagueship among them. The result worked beautifully and reminded me of my days as a camp counselor."

As promised, the footage features the actors reading the parts of various characters from the coming-of-age story, including roles they wouldn't go on to play. Anthony Michael Hall appears in one audition tape, reading for the role of main character Ponyboy — ultimately, it was C. Thomas Howell who booked the part.

A few of the stars chimed in with comments on Coppola's post, reminiscing about the experience. "The people that came to these auditions… so many went on to have great careers," Howell wrote. "Amazing."

"These auditions and this film experience still inform me today," Macchio wrote, thanking the Oscar-winning filmmaker, while Lowe added, "Feels like this was just yesterday!" 

Everett Collection

The film, like the novel, revolves around rival teen gangs in a rural Oklahoma town: the poor Greasers and the wealthy Socs. After Ponyboy and Johnny (Macchio) get into a deadly brawl, they're forced to go into hiding as both gangs come to terms with the consequences of their violent lives. 

The Outsiders stars previously spoke of the intense audition process, filled to the brim with up-and-coming talent, while reflecting on the experience for EW's 2021 oral history of the movie . 

"Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Dennis Quaid, Mickey Rourke… it was a movie everybody wanted to be in," Macchio recalled. "Leif Garrett was probably the most famous guy who walked in."

Garrett, who eventually landed the role of Bob Sheldon, remarked, "It was all day long, and it was a process of elimination. I really wanted to be Ponyboy, because that's the role. But I wasn't right for it. I'm not that greasy."

Coppola concluded, "It was competitive. But it only spurred them on."

Footage of the auditions was also included as bonus material in previous home-video releases. You can watch the clips shared by Coppola above.

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Related content:

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Arts & Culture | January 31, 2023

S.E. Hinton Is Tired of Talking About ‘The Outsiders.’ No One Else Is

The author reflects on her classic 1967 novel, its 1983 film adaptation and its legacy today

The cast of The Outsiders pose in front of a brick wall

Patrick Sauer

History Correspondent

In late October 2022, a big-time streaming star returned to the city where it all began for him. Ralph Macchio (most recently of “ Cobra Kai ” fame) was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to promote his memoir, Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me . Hosted by Magic City Books , the live conversation in the Art Deco auditorium at Will Rogers High School featured another pop culture icon: S.E. Hinton , the writer whose teenage words would forever be emblematic of young adult literature and whose most famous creation, The Outsiders , helped launch Macchio’s career some 40 years earlier.

Prior to the event, Hinton was quietly going about her business, wandering the school’s halls absent-mindedly. “It was funny when I first came into the building,” she said near the end of a phone conversation last Halloween, a week and a half after her appearance with Macchio. “It’s been a long time, so I was kind of looking around … and a woman came up and asked me, ‘Is this your first time inside the school?’ I said, ‘No, not really.’”

More than half a century ago, Susie Hinton (soon to be known by her gender-neutral pen name) was a student at Will Rogers, where she received a D in creative writing because class assignments were nowhere near as important to her as working out the plot and characters of The Outsiders . The story would come to define her life—even though these days she would rather discuss just about anything else.

Matt Dillon and S.E. Hinton on the set of Tex

“I am very tired of talking about [it],” says Hinton, now 74. “I don’t give speeches about it anymore. The thought of getting into it one more time is almost paralyzing. You’re lucky. This may be the last interview on The Outsiders I’ll ever give. … Oh god, for once, I’d like to discuss Rumble Fish .”

While Rumble Fish is certainly a fine book (and a terrific artsy film ), it isn’t ranked 32nd in PBS’s “ The Great American Read ” poll of the top 100 English-language novels. Over its 56-year lifespan, The Outsiders has sold more than 15 million copies , been published in more than 30 languages and never gone out of print. The 1967 book is a foundational text in the young adult fiction canon, and the 1983 movie version (featuring Macchio as 16-year-old Johnny Cade) plays an outsized role in bringing tourists to Hinton’s lifelong home of Tulsa.

Hinton has nine books to her name , from children’s picture books to a horror novel to a collection of intertwined short stories with adult characters to the coming-of-age works that built her literary career. But none of the others matches the ongoing cultural phenomenon that is The Outsiders . It’s still an English class staple, taught (and occasionally banned ) in middle and high schools across the country. The heartfelt movie adaptation has staying power, too. One of its ramshackle filming locations, the Curtis brothers’ home, opened to the public in 2019 as the Outsiders House Museum . And in 2021, the film underwent a 4K restoration that reinstated several beloved scenes from the book that failed to make the original cut.

Hinton may have said all she has to say about The Outsiders , but it remains an American classic, as relevant and beloved today as when it was published more than five decades ago.

The origins of The Outsiders

Writing was an oasis from a rough upbringing Hinton rarely mentions but did describe to the New York Times in 2005. As author Dinitia Smith wrote:

Ms. Hinton’s, father, Grady, was a door-to-door salesman, her mother, Lillian, an assembly-line worker. “My mother was physically and emotionally abusive,” Ms. Hinton said. “My father was an extremely cold man.”   It’s clearly a difficult admission to make, and one she has almost never made. The family attended a “fundamentalist, hellfire and brimstone” church, she said. “It turned me off religion.”

By the time she was 15, Hinton had already been churning out stories and poems for eight years. She wrote about what she knew: the ongoing battles between the haves and have-nots. In interviews over the years, Hinton described herself as an observer who grew up in North Tulsa “greaser” (slang for their greased-back hairstyles) territory but wasn’t beholden to any one group. She was a tomboy who loved to read and yearned for honest teenage representation.

The genesis for The Outsiders was an incident in which a friend of Hinton’s was jumped by a carload of upper crust “Socs” (short for “Socials”) and beaten up for being a greaser. The escalation in the high school cliques’ long-running rivalry fueled a creative burst that found the 16-year-old finishing the first draft in a week in 1966.

The original paperback cover of The Outsiders​​​​​​​

“What I was talking about was real,” Hinton says. “Books at that time for teenagers were ‘Mary Jane goes to prom,’ but [they] didn’t include sneaking in the liquor, which was the main point. Nobody was writing about what was going on in my high school: the social and class warfare.”

The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel told through the eyes of 14-year-old Ponyboy, the youngest of the three orphaned Curtis brothers. He’s a sensitive, Robert Frost -reciting soul whom Hinton once described as “the closest I’ve come to putting myself into a character.” She aimed for realism, so the Socs and greasers smoke and drink, chase girls, and fight.

The book covers two weeks in the chaotic lives of Ponyboy and his best friend, Johnny. The plotting is concrete and relatively sparse. In short order, Johnny kills a Soc who was trying to drown Ponyboy, forcing the greaser friends to go on the run. Seeking shelter in an abandoned church, the boys bond over cigarettes, sunsets and a yearning for life without socioeconomic unrest. Deciding to return home to the face the music, the outlaws become heroes, rescuing children from a burning building at great personal cost.

By the book’s end, three characters are dead, including Johnny and Dallas Winston, a rebellious East Coast transplant who goes down in a hail of police bullets. The violence is frank, as is the utter lack of nurturing adult figures. But what stands out is how much these tough, wrong-side-of-the-tracks teenagers care for one another. They share a depth of feeling and a fraternal love among young American men that hadn’t been displayed before Hinton put her experiences on paper.

“I’ve known many men in my life with an availability of compassion underneath that they’re afraid to show, which is not the case with Susie’s main characters,” says Rilla Askew , an author who has written multiple novels set in her home state of Oklahoma, including the award-winning Fire in Beulah . “They have a tenderness and a decency about them, and it’s probably not a coincidence that it was a young female author writing young male characters.”

Bringing the book to the public

Not long after Hinton finished the manuscript, a friend of a friend advised her to send it to an agent named Marilyn Marlow. In response, Marlow wrote that the novel, originally called A Different Sunset (other rejected titles include The Switch-Blade Boys and The Leather Jackets ), had “captured a certain spirit.” On Hinton’s last day of high school in 1966, she learned Viking Press wanted to publish her book. It came out in 1967—Hinton’s freshman year at the University of Tulsa—with “S.E.,” a gender-neutral name suggested by editor Velma Varner , on the cover. Susie Eloise went out and bought herself a Camaro.

Preview thumbnail for 'The Outsiders: 50th Anniversary Edition

The Outsiders: 50th Anniversary Edition

Celebrating 50 years of the novel that laid the groundwork for the young adult genre, this is the ultimate edition for fans of "The Outsiders."

Initially marketed as a dime-store paperback alongside books by pulp fiction writer Mickey Spillane and the like, The Outsiders saw sluggish sales. Eventually, Viking caught on that the book was selling well where teachers were teaching it. Students and educators kept sales growing year after year through word of mouth, proclaiming that this was the book in which teenagers could see themselves.

“I think The Outsiders is the biggest of all my books because I wrote it at the right time in my life,” Hinton says. “By the time I wrote [the companion novel] That Was Then, This Is Now four years later, I could well remember what it was like being 16, but it’s still not the same as being 16. The Outsiders still resonates because it captures how teenagers feel—the mix of over-the-top emotions and idealism.”

After years of turning down offers from film studios, Hinton eventually sold the rights to The Outsiders to Francis Ford Coppola , an Oscar-winning director in need of a hit. Soon, a large cast of fresh-faced young actors—a future “who’s who” of Hollywood—descended upon Tulsa. The movie would find a whole new audience for Hinton’s debut novel and permanently alter the city for the better.

Bringing The Outsiders to the screen

In 1972, Jo Ellen Misakian was a parent with a new job as a librarian at the Lone Star School in Fresno, California. She gave the book to her 13-year-old son, later telling the New York Times , “I had been so frustrated because the kids, the boys especially, didn’t read. Somehow, The Outsiders caught on.” Misakian decided the book should be turned into a movie, so she contacted a Fresno Bee newspaper columnist who pointed her to Parade magazine’s movie editor. The editor, in turn, suggested contacting Hinton, who never responded.

Clockwise from back left: Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell and Matt Dillon

Undeterred, Misakian wrote a letter to Coppola, who had recently produced The Black Stallion , a 1979 film adapted from the classic 1941 children’s book. She pitched him on The Outsiders with an enclosed paperback copy of the novel. Luckily for her, she mistakenly sent it to his New York City office, where he received almost no fan mail. Coppola handed the book off to producing partner Don Roos, who found the cover illustration tacky and didn’t crack it for weeks, but eventually decided to give it ten whole pages on a flight to see if it was any good. Roos read it cover to cover. Not long after, he flew to Tulsa to meet with Hinton. She wasn’t dazzled by Coppola’s cinematic pedigree, including films like The Conversation , The Godfather and Apocalypse Now , but as Roos explained when The Outsiders was released in March 1983, “she likes horses and felt The Black Stallion showed we had some affinity for young adult fiction.”

Coppola began filming in March 1982, secure in knowing The Outsiders could be completed on the cheap. He’d just blown $26 million, a huge sum at the time, directing One From the Heart , a wayward musical that grossed a mere $636,796 at the box office and eventually bankrupted Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios . The director found salvation in the Socs and the greasers, once saying , “I used to be a great camp counselor, and the idea of being with half a dozen kids in the country and making a movie seemed like being a camp counselor again. It would be a breath of fresh air. I’d forget my troubles and have some laughs.”

A wide-net call that auditioned virtually every known Hollywood actor— a grueling process for all—produced a cast that is, in hindsight, remarkable for its talent: Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane. The nimble, stripped-down nature of shooting The Outsiders allowed for a lot of back and forth and a lot of down time, creating a real bond between the actors (or the greasers, anyway).

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“It always does something when you take a group of people out of their own element and stick them in a new space. It forces them to turn to each other for support,” says 56-year-old Howell , who played narrator Ponyboy Curtis and will soon appear in the Netflix series “ Obliterated .” “On the weekends, we were playing football and basketball against the Socs. Coppola set it up in good nature, but subconsciously and psychologically, it was creating a real competitive atmosphere and a dislike that wasn’t malicious by any means but definitely gave us a needed sense of rivalry.”

Photojournalist David Burnett saw the insular vibes firsthand after being asked to take publicity stills. Photos that weren’t used for promotion at the time were placed in a reject box and stashed away in a file cabinet. Some 35 years later, Burnett, now 76, heard about the opening of the Outsiders House Museum in Tulsa and offered to dig up and donate some snapshots. This, in turn, led to Burnett’s new book, The Outsiders: Rare and Unseen , a collection of long-shelved stills of the bright young cast. Burnett, whose illustrious career has taken him all over the globe, shooting events like the liftoff of Apollo 11 , the Iranian Revolution and a Bob Marley tour , has fond recollections of his week in Oklahoma.

“It was a very low-key operation, so I just hung around, and every time an actor had a break, I’d ask them for five minutes to get a few shots,” he says. “Nobody knew who these guys were, so they were happy to do it. They were all striving to do something interesting and career-building in ways they didn’t even realize.”

Preview thumbnail for The Outsiders: Rare and Unseen

The Outsiders: Rare and Unseen

Photography by David Burnett. This book showcases never-before-seen photos from the set of the 1983 film.

Burnett adds, “If The Outsiders were filmed today, they would be bulkier and in peak physical shape, but what the movie called for was a cast of skinny, innocent-looking, young working-class boys. Tom Cruise didn’t even hide his gnarly teeth . [These were] different times. Being part of it was a real pleasure.”

Howell recalls Hinton’s presence as an important part of the process. She offered wardrobe and hairstyle tips, answered questions about Tulsa back in the day, gave personal insights, offered character motivations, explained the differences in the everyday lives of Socs and greasers, and generally acted as the group’s den mother. She still keeps in touch with most of her “guys,” which is why she acquiesced to Macchio’s overtures to join him on stage last fall.

Though neither Hinton nor Coppola received a screenplay credit—it went solely to Kathleen Rowell , an early drafter of the project—the duo shaped the story and the scenes to keep it authentic to the author’s world.

As a reward for getting the book into Coppola’s hands, Misakian and her Fresno community got their own early screening attended by cast members including Howell, Macchio and pop star-turned-Soc Leif Garrett . Misakian received a standing ovation, calling the experience a fairy tale—and her story didn’t end there.

In September 2021, the name “Jo Ellen Misakian” went up in lights on Tulsa’s Circle Cinema marquee, where the librarian appeared as a guest star at a special screening of the movie she made possible. Misakian also autographed the celebrity wall inside the Curtis brothers’ home, a gathering place for Hinton devotees that was rebuilt by a former hip-hop luminary repaying The Outsiders for helping to save his life.

Rob Lowe as Sodapop Curtis

Preserving The Outsiders ’ legacy

Located in North Tulsa’s Crutchfield neighborhood at 731 North St. Louis Avenue, the 1920s Craftsman bungalow looks more or less the same as it did when Coppola used it as the home of Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis. It’s a simple one-story dwelling, a cream-and-white wooden abode featuring a concrete porch dotted with midcentury metal porch furniture to ride out those steamy Oklahoma nights. A rusty chain-link fence surrounds the modest property, where the 1949 Plymouth Special De Luxe driven by Two-Bit Matthews (played by Estevez) rests on the lawn and personalized donation bricks encourage guests to “ stay gold .”

In 2009, Danny Boy O’Connor , whose defunct hip-hop group House of Pain hit it big with “ Jump Around ” in 1992, was touring in Tulsa when inspiration struck. He paid a cabbie $100 to drive him around in search of Outsiders filming locations. Discovering that the Curtis brothers’ house still existed led him to found the Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team (“Delta Bravo” sounded less corny than “Danny Boy,” he thought), a group of online friends who make pilgrimages to pop culture and true crime sites to photograph them for posterity. It was a way to reconnect with his life, which had spiraled into the abyss after House of Pain broke up in the mid-1990s.

Exterior of the Outsiders House Museum

O’Connor was born into a rough Brooklyn life. His father was in and out of prison and would eventually die drunk on the street, he says. After remarrying, his mother moved her son to Los Angeles for a fresh start, but two years later, his alcoholic stepfather died of cirrhosis of the liver. It was the type of upbringing that would culminate in the hip-hop artist burning through millions of dollars on alcohol and drugs.

The young O’Connor found solace in The Outsiders ’ story of orphans and brotherly sensitivity. Unable to afford the house when he first encountered it, he sprang into action and bought it when he saw it go up for sale in 2015.

“If I didn’t save the [house], I knew I was going to be miserable for the rest of my life,” says O’Connor. The property was in terrible condition, he recalls, likening its look to the home of the serial killer in David Fincher’s Se7en . He didn’t have the $150,000 it would take to turn it into a livable home; despite the fact that his only memorabilia from the film was a poster, he decided to turn it into a museum. Preserving the Curtis brothers’ home became his reason for being, a chance to give back and be of service in his new surroundings. Before he undertook the project, however, he needed to connect with Hinton.

“Danny called and asked if we could meet up. I didn’t know anything about his musical career, or even what he looked like, but I knew by the end of lunch that we were going to end up close friends,” Hinton says. “He asked if I had any interest in buying the house. I said, ‘God no, I can barely keep up with my own house,’ but I told him to go ahead if he wanted to.”

Costumes and memorabilia from The Outsiders

Hinton gave more than her blessing. She made the first large donation, $10,000, and provided O’Connor with a brown leather jacket worn by both Dillon and Howell in the film. O’Connor’s original estimate was that it would take six months to get the museum up and running. It took more than three years and $175,000, but for all involved, it was a labor of love.

Today, the 1,400-square-foot interior is filled with furniture, memorabilia, paintings, foreign editions, Burnett’s photographs, multiple switchblades, wardrobe pieces like Estevez’s sleeveless Mickey Mouse shirt (and a faux chocolate cake to boot), and Ponyboy’s desk. An obscure period detail honors another famed Oklahoman: a 1958 record album of Mickey Mantle’s favorite hits (fortunately not sung by the Yankee slugger).

In August 2019, the Outsiders House Museum officially opened its doors, welcoming school groups during the week and the general public on the weekends. O’Connor estimates that some 20,000 people visited in 2022—a sizable uptick from the previous pandemic-plagued years. Private tours allow docents like Donnie Rich to explain their personal connections to the book. As a teenager who didn’t do the reading for class, Rich says he knocked on Hinton’s door in an unsuccessful attempt to secure her help with a book report on what he calls the “Oklahoma Bible.” The museum also hosts concerts, movie screenings and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. True Curtis brother diehards can even crash across the street at the Greaser Hideout Airbnb or, for the full experience, in the still-vacant lot where Macchio’s Johnny slept under a pile of newspapers.

“Danny has done a great job with the Outsiders House,” says Hinton. “People come from all over the United States, and even the world. He said teenage girls have walked in and burst into tears. It floors me.”

Props from The Outsiders ​​​​​​​movie

For O’Connor, the museum has been a life-changing experience, offering a sense of direction as well as a literal place to live. He relocated from Los Angeles to be the full-time keeper of The Outsiders ’ flame. He was integral in the publishing of Burnett’s photo book and recently signed a contract with Penguin to write the film’s oral history. Nearly everyone from The Outsiders , extras and big stars alike, have dropped by the museum (excluding Cruise, at least so far). So have fanboys like musician Jack White, Leonardo DiCaprio (while filming Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon ) and the members of Green Day. O’Connor is such a fixture around Tulsa that Mayor G.T. Bynum gave him a key to the city.

Hinton’s life today

Apart from a few years spent in Northern California, Hinton never left Tulsa. She still lives in the house where she and her husband, David Inhofe, a software engineer by trade, raised their son, Nick Inhofe, who now works as an audio engineer in the movie business. She’s down to earth and not wild about discussing herself (Hinton makes it abundantly clear there will “never be a memoir”), but she also chats with fans on Twitter and in the neighborhood writ large. Tulsa provided all she ever needed, and she’s comfortably woven into the fabric of the community, walking unknown through the halls of her alma mater before bringing the local house down.

“I still get recognized sometimes at the grocery store. It’s not a J.D. Salinger situation. I haven’t got the temperament for that or the talent to deserve it,” says Hinton, adding dryly, “You might not know it from reading my books, but my sense of humor is a strong part of my personality.”

L to R: Danny Boy O'Connor, Ralph Macchio, Darren Dalton, S.E. Hinton and C. Thomas Howell at the future Outsiders House Museum in 2017

Teresa Miller can attest to Hinton’s fun-loving, grounded personality, as well as her central role in the local literary scene. In 1994, Miller founded the Center for Poets and Writers at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa. She spent two decades running it and hosting the PBS television show “ Writing Out Loud .” Along the way, she and Hinton became professional colleagues and close friends—but before they even met, Miller, 70, was thrilled that somebody had upended the standard perception of who Oklahomans are.

Miller explains, “I come from a little Cherokee community called Tahlequah and began working in Tulsa before moving here decades ago, so I’ve lived both a rural and urban life. Growing up, Oklahoma was known for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and The Grapes of Wrath , both of which my father hated because of the Okie stereotypes.”

She adds, “ The Outsiders changed that. It took the Oklahoma story to a different level. [Hinton] showed Tulsa as a regular city with regular city problems and handled it in a unique but universal way. She wrote a [novel about] Oklahoma that had nothing to do with singing cowboys or the Joads . It didn’t eliminate the stereotypes … but The Outsiders and Susie’s subsequent books changed how the outside world viewed us and even how we viewed ourselves.”

The exterior of the Outsiders House Museum

It certainly changed how Okie transplant O’Connor sees himself. It’s become his life’s work—and he’s just getting started. Renovations are underway at the iconic DX gas station featured in the film, and he’s aiming to raise enough money to restore other abandoned locales like the Rexall Drug Store . He also has designs on something bigger for his favorite author.

“I want to open, for lack of a better name, the S.E. Hinton Museum, which she absolutely hates,” says O’Connor. (Hinton replies, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”)

The former hip-hop star adds, “I was lost after House of Pain. [Hinton’s] brilliant work gave me purpose. Bringing her legacy to the people is what I’m meant to do.”

If O’Connor’s vision ever comes to fruition, it will honor Hinton’s full literary career, not just the book that put her on the map. At the end of the day, though, the author understands the significance of The Outsiders .

“I’m known best for the first thing I’ve written, but it’s better than not being known at all,” she says. “I just don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Director Francis Ford Coppola (left) with C. Thomas Howell

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Patrick Sauer

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Raised in Billings, Montana,  Patrick Sauer  is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer who primarily covers sports, history and sports history. His work has appeared in the New York Times , Smithsonian , Defector , Los Angeles Times , Montana Quarterly and countless publications that no longer exist.

Screen Rant

What rob lowe said about working with tom cruise on the outsiders.

The Outsiders launched several actors into stardom, and Rob Lowe's The Outsiders memories hilariously underline Cruise's eccentric behavior.

  • The Outsiders launched the careers of Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise, who went on to achieve global stardom in various genres.
  • Rob Lowe's memories of Tom Cruise during The Outsiders suggest that Cruise has always had his hot-headed flair, even when he was relatively unknown.
  • The remarkable cast of The Outsiders, including Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, and Ralph Macchio, went on to become A-list celebrities in their own right.

The Outsiders started Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise's careers, but Rob Lowe's memory of Tom Cruise while shooting The Outsiders is particularly humorous. Based on the iconic S.E Hinton novel of the same name, the story, set in the 1960s, chronicles the lives of two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs, representing different socioeconomic backgrounds. Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise were among the young actors who brought this intense narrative to life. Lowe portrayed Sodapop Curtis, the charismatic middle brother of the Curtis family, and Tom Cruise played the role of Steve Randle, a tough and loyal member of the Greasers.

The movie was pivotal in launching the careers of its young cast members, including Lowe and Cruise. As The Outsiders actors embarked on their journey in Hollywood, they carved out incredible filmographies for themselves. Lowe became known for his roles in St. Elmo's Fire, Parks and Recreation, and The West Wing , showcasing his versatility across genres. Cruise, on the other hand, soared to international fame with blockbuster hits like Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, and Jerry Maguire . Their journey from The Outsiders to global stardom is a testament to their talent and dedication, but Rob Lowe's The Outsiders memories suggest Cruise has always been his eccentric self.

The Outsiders: 15 Big Differences Between The Movie & The Book

Rob lowe said tom cruise wasn't happy to share a hotel room with him.

Lowe's experience with Cruise extended beyond the set, recalling their first stay at The Plaza Hotel: " First time I ever stayed at The Plaza Hotel. We check in and Tom finds out that we're sharing a room, and just goes ballistic . " This isn't exactly atypical of Cruise either, as he's been known to behave over the top from time to time, such as his rant on the set of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning when the crew wasn't following strict COVID-19 rules. However, before The Outsiders, Cruise was far from a household name, which makes it amusing that he's always had that hot-headed flair even when he was an unknown.

Lowe added that it was this mentality that helped Cruise become a movie star . The actor said, " To me, what's great about the story is, there's certain people who have always been who they are... I remember going, 'Wow, this guy is the real deal.' But at the end, you can't argue with the results, he's had his eye on the ball since day one. " This perspective from Lowe offers an objective and insightful look into the early career traits of Tom Cruise that have propelled him to immense success.

Rob Lowe's reflections on working with Tom Cruise during The Outsiders also shed light on Cruise's intense ambition and competitive spirit (via ET Online ). The West Wing actor revealed, "Tom was ambitious, never met anybody more ambitious, and I am ambitious, " emphasizing the competitive environment on set. He noted how even with a smaller role, Cruise's determination was palpable. Lowe also recounted a unique aspect of their preparation for the film, where director Francis Ford Coppola envisioned the cast as gymnasts :

Tom's part of Steve Randle was not a huge part, but Tom being Tom, he was ambitious. Francis also thought that we should all be gymnasts, for some reason. So we all had to learn to do backflips. Tom took it so seriously... He ended up being the only one who could do a backflip. It is in the movie The Outsiders for no reason. He runs out of the house and does a backflip for no reason, just to do it.

Lowe's TBT Photo Shows The Outsiders Cast Was Full Of Future A-List Actors

In a nostalgic throwback, Rob Lowe took to Instagram to share a photo highlighting the remarkable cast of The Outsiders (via Entertainment Weekly ). The post, featuring a hotel cast list, not only recalled the early days of these actors but also underlined how many of them went on to become A-list celebrities. This photo included The Outsiders actors like Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, and Ralph Macchio, alongside Lowe and Cruise, each of whom would later carve out their own unique path in Hollywood.

The Instagram post served as a reminder of the extraordinary talent pool present in The Outsiders . Patrick Swayze gained fame with Dirty Dancing , Matt Dillon with There's Something About Mary, Emilio Estevez with The Mighty Ducks , Diane Lane with Streets of Fire , and Ralph Macchio became a household name with The Karate Kid . These actors, along with Lowe and Cruise, have since been recognized for their diverse and impactful contributions to the film industry, demonstrating the enduring legacy of The Outsiders as a launching pad for their astonishing careers.

Where to Watch The Outsiders

Source: ET Online , Entertainment Weekly

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See Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Others Read the Same Role for ‘The Outsiders’ Casting

By Kory Grow

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has made an Instagram post about the unique way he cast his adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders . The movie, which came out in 1983, starred several notable actors — Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon , Diane Lane , Patrick Swayze, and Ralph Macchio , among others — but they didn’t necessarily audition for the roles they got; they auditioned for all the roles.

“Forty-two years ago we cast The Outsiders in a unique way,” Coppola wrote in the caption for his post. “We had all the actors together on a soundstage and would alternate different actors reading for different roles. It was interesting because each of them was watching their competition, so while it could’ve been a volatile situation, it turned into a very positive one. There emerged the natural respect and sense of colleagueship among them. The result worked beautifully and reminded me of my days as a camp counselor.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Francis Ford Coppola (@francisfordcoppola)

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Longer clips of the footage , which originally came out as bonus material on home-video releases, has leaked online in recent decades.

The movie depicts the rivalry between two Oklahoma gangs, the Greasers and the Socs, in 1964. As in Hinton’s book, which came out in 1967, the tension mounts after one gang member is killed by a rival gang member.

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See a Young Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio and Diane Lane Audition for The Outsiders in 1982

"Feels like this was just yesterday," Rob Lowe wrote in a comment to filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola's Instagram post showing auditions for 'The Outsiders'

Francis Ford Coppola/Instagram

1983's The Outsiders boasted a cast of young actors who went on to major Hollywood success. Over 40 years later, the film's director is sharing their star-making auditions.

On Wednesday, Francis Ford Coppola shared footage on Instagram of Tom Cruise , Diane Lane , Ralph Macchio , Matt Dillon , Rob Lowe , Emilio Estevez , Patrick Swayze and more from their auditions to portray a group of teenaged Oklahoma greasers in his film The Outsiders , based on author S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel of the same name.

Anthony Michael Hall also appears in one audition tape, reading for the role of the film's main character Ponyboy; C. Thomas Howell ultimately won the part.

"42 years ago we cast The Outsiders in a unique way. We had all the actors together on a soundstage and would alternate different actors reading for different roles," Coppola wrote in a caption to the video reel. He went on to describe that having each actor watch his peers audition "could’ve been a volatile situation, it turned into a very positive one."

"There emerged the natural respect and sense of colleagueship among them," the filmmaker added in his caption. "The result worked beautifully and reminded me of my days as a camp counselor."

A few of The Outsiders ' stars commented on Coppola's post to reminisce on their time working on the movie. "The people that came to these auditions… so many went on to have great careers," Howell, 57, wrote in a comment. "Amazing."

"Feels like this was just yesterday!" Lowe, 59, added. 

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"These auditions and this film experience still inform me today," Macchio, 62, shared. "Thank you, Francis (and Susie) ❤️."  Filmmaker and actor Eli Roth added in his own comment that The Outsiders is an "instant classic," while actor Frank Grillo wrote that the audition footage "is amazing to see."

Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

The Outsiders takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1960s and follows brothers Ponyboy Curtis (Howell), Darrel Curtis (Swayze) and Sodapop Curtis (Rob Lowe) and their group of friends some time after the death of the Curtis brothers' parents. Its plot largely revolves around conflicts between the group of greasers and more affluent teenagers in the city, known as Socs.

Dillon, 60, and Lane, 59, costarred in another movie Coppola adapted from a novel by author Hinton, Rumble Fish , also released in 1983.

The Godfather Director Recalls Discovering Tom Cruise

Francis Ford Coppola shares the story behind discovering then-unknown actor Tom Cruise and the other stars of The Outsiders.

The Godfather trilogy director Francis Ford Coppola reveals the casting process that he used to discover Tom Cruise , Rob Lowe , Patrick Swayze and other stars in his film The Outsiders .

Francis Ford Coppola recently took to Instagram to reminisce about the distinctive casting journey for his 1983 film, The Outsiders . Based on S.E. Hinton's 1963 novel, the movie is renowned for catapulting the careers of its young stars , including Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Diane Lane, C. Thomas Howell, and Emilio Estevez. Coppola shared audition tapes from this iconic casting process, offering a glimpse into the beginnings of these now-famous actors' careers.

Why Sodapop Had One of the Saddest Stories in The Outsiders

Coppola stated, “ We had all the actors together on a soundstage and would alternate different actors reading for different roles ." The process is reflected in the accompanying footage of Coppola’s post, where various actors read lines from characters they did not play. At one point, the clips include several different performances of the line, “Hop the 3:15 freight to Windrixvill." Coppola said, " It was interesting because each of them was watching their competition , so while it could’ve been a volatile situation, it turned into a very positive one . There emerged the natural respect and sense of colleagueship among them. The result worked beautifully and reminded me of my days as a camp counselor.”

What Is The Outsiders About?

Coppola’s film tells the story of rival teen gangs in rural Oklahoma: the poor Greasers against the wealthy Socs. Francis Ford Coppola hadn't initially considered delving into the world of teen gangs on screen until he received a heartfelt letter from Jo Ellen Misakian a school librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno in California. Representing her seventh and eighth-grade students, Misakian penned a persuasive plea urging Coppola to adapt S.E. Hinton's novel, The Outsiders , into a film.

Nicolas Cage Was Rejected By His Own Uncle for The Outsiders

Misakian's letter conveyed her students' profound admiration for the book, stressing its profound impact on them. They passionately advocated for the story's adaptation onto the big screen, nominating Coppola as their preferred director. The letter was accompanied by approximately 15 pages adorned with children's signatures.

Moved by the earnestness of the students' petition, Coppola eventually read The Outsiders . Coppola found himself drawn to the intricate relationships among the greaser kids. These portrayals evoked nostalgic memories of Coppola's own experiences as a drama counselor during his youth, especially his time working with children at a summer camp.

Following its release, The Outsiders garnered predominantly positive reviews from critics, earning praise for its performances. Despite initial doubts, the film struck a chord with audiences and proved to be a commercial success, grossing $33.7 million against its modest $10 million budget. Over time, The Outsiders has cultivated a dedicated cult following.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise remains at the top of the A-list, currently working on the upcoming sequel Mission: Impossible 8 .

Source: Francis Ford Coppola

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two

The 8th entry in the long running Mission Impossible franchise.

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‘The Outsiders’ stars Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio seen in newly released audition footage

Emilio estevez, patrick swayze and matt dillon also seen in footage.

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"The Outsiders" has become a beloved film classic, featuring the early work of major actors like Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe.

Now, just over 40 years since the movie was released in 1983, director Francis Ford Coppola has shared new footage of some auditions, providing a unique look at the process and sharing details about working with the young stars.

"42 years ago we cast ‘The Outsiders’ in a unique way," Coppola wrote on Instagram, where he posted the video.

‘THE OUTSIDERS’ CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY: THE CAST THEN AND NOW

A photo of the cast of "The Outsiders"

From left to right, American actors Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Thomas C. Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez and Patrick Swayze on the set of "The Outsiders," directed by Francis Ford Coppola. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

"We had all the actors together on a soundstage and would alternate different actors reading for different roles," he continued. "It was interesting because each of them was watching their competition, so while it could’ve been a volatile situation, it turned into a very positive one."

He finished, "There emerged the natural respect and sense of colleagueship among them. The result worked beautifully and reminded me of my days as a camp counselor."

APP USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

          View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Francis Ford Coppola (@francisfordcoppola)

The video begins with a 17-year-old Matt Dillon in an audition. From there, Ralph Macchio can be seen giving his name. A young Diane Lane spoke about falling in love in another clip.

Cruise and Lowe were filmed reading lines from the film, based on the novel by S.E. Hinton, and Patrick Swayze and Emilio Estevez also make appearances.

Cast of "The Outsiders"

"The Outsiders" was released in 1983. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis)

Anthony Michael Hall, who went on to be a part of the Brat Pack later in the 1980s, read for the lead role of Ponyboy, which eventually went to C. Thomas Howell.

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Howell, along with a few other stars, left comments on Coppola's post. He wrote, "The people that came to these auditions… so many went on to have great careers. Amazing."

Macchio wrote, "These auditions and this film experience still inform me today. Thank you, Francis (and Susie)."

Lowe's comment read, "Feels like this was just yesterday!" Last year, he gave a similar statement to Fox News Digital, comparing his experience making the film to the bonds people form as members of a fraternity.

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A photo of Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell and Patrick Swayze

From left to right, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell and Patrick Swayze on the set of "The Outsiders." (Getty Images)

"It was my first time away from home, it was my first movie. I'll never forget it," he said. "It feels like it was four days ago, not 40 years."

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"The Outsiders" tells the story of two rival gangs in 1965 Oklahoma, the Greasers, made up of poor kids, and the Socs. In addition to Howell's role of Ponyboy, it was led by Macchio as Johnny, Dillon as Dallas, Cruise as Steve Randle, Lowe as Soda and Swayze as Darrel.

Emily Trainham is an entertainment editor for Fox News Digital.

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The epic intimacy of Claire Denis’ ‘Beau Travail,’ plus the best films to see in L.A.

Shirtless soldiers run and play at the beach.

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Hello! I’m Mark Olsen . Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

Last weekend saw a slew of awards shows, with SAGs, the PGAs and the Spirit Awards all happening. With both SAG and PGA giving their top prizes to “Oppenheimer,” it is looking more and more like this year’s race for best picture is sewn up, with the question being not whether it will win, but just how many Oscars the film will take home.

In one of the season’s few awards shows that did not feature some variation of a showdown between “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers” and “Poor Things,” the Spirit Awards gave their top prize on Sunday to “Past Lives,” also recognizing the film’s director, Celine Song.

Host Aidy Bryant called the show “the bisexual Oscars” in her opening monologue and was leading through an affably charming affair when, about 40 minutes in, a loud noise could be heard from outside the tent near the beach in Santa Monica where the event was being held. A small group of protesters had turned on a loudspeaker and a looped chant of “Free, free Palestine,” “Long live Palestine” and “Cease-fire now” that would be heard throughout the rest of the show. It added an edge of discomfort and uncertainty to the awards, as presenters and winners navigated how to address something that was very obviously happening, piercing the cozy beach hangout vibes.

As it turned out, one of the protesters was a previous Spirit Award winner , Merawi Gerima, who, in 2021, took the John Cassavetes prize for a film made for under a $1 million with “Residue.”

I spoke to Gerima on the phone Monday evening. Asked whether he thought the action had been a success, he said, “The ultimate message was that there’s no business as usual while there’s a genocide going on. Sometimes Hollywood acts as if it’s just a bubble, that nothing else is going on outside in the world. It plays that role of normalizing the things that are going on in the world.

“And if you look at the awkwardness that it created, I think that it was an important disruption,” Gerima said.

‘Beau Travail’ at the Egyptian

Two shirtless men stand on a craggy shore.

Claire Denis’ epic of male intimacy, 1999’s “Beau Travail,” will play tonight at the Egyptian . The film’s sense of space and ritual takes on a stately grandeur when seen in a theater, making this a special event. Loosely based on Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd,” the movie takes place in East Africa, as a small group of French soldiers go about the routines of their training while an officer (Denis Lavant) becomes fixated on a new recruit (Gregoire Colin). The film builds in intensity toward one of the greatest musical numbers of contemporary movies, Lavant’s ecstatic solo dance to Corona’s “Rhythm of the Night.”

As Justin Chang wrote about the film in 2019 , “Denis is a great director, but she’s also a mood. And the viewer coming to her work for the first time will be forgiven for feeling thrown a little off balance. A certain wooziness is the only sane response to ‘Beau Travail,’ her stunning film about a group of French Foreign Legion soldiers stationed in Djibouti. A daringly free-form interpretation of ‘Billy Budd’ that displaces the dense tangle of Herman Melville’s words into a succession of ravishing images, the movie is predicated on an extraordinary tension between formal austerity and rapturous sensuality.”

In his original review of the film from 2000, Kevin Thomas noted, “All sorts of meanings could be read into ‘Beau Travail,’ but the one thing Denis, whose childhood was in French colonial Africa, makes clear is that there doesn’t seem much point to the legionnaires’ sweaty regimen, a source of amusement to the locals. There’s not an ounce of body fat among the entirety of the young legionnaires, and Denis does celebrate the physical perfection of the young men as they exercise. (They do their ironing with the same precision, to amusing effect.) ‘Beau Travail’ is a work of deliberate and subversive sensuality that suggests a hollowness to all this furious activity. You sense that it’s being performed in the name of an imperial grandeur that has passed.”

Justin also wrote a streaming guide on where to find many of Denis’ films online.

Other points of interest

‘But I’m a Cheerleader’

A sad cheerleader lets her pom-poms sag.

Jamie Babbit’s 1999 “But I’m a Cheerleader ” is one of those movies that has grown so far beyond what one might have expected of it — an indie that has gone on to have a huge effect and a devoted following. The story concerns a teenager (Natasha Lyonne, in one of her key early roles) who is sent to a gay-conversion therapy camp by her conservative parents. There, she learns to truly accept herself. The cast also features Clea DuVall, Melanie Lynskey, Bud Cort, Mink Stole, RuPaul, Cathy Moriarty and Michelle Williams.

The film has a sense of stylization that was unusual for low-budget films of the moment, creating a disorienting world of pink. (Which may also be why the film was recently given loving homage in the video for Muna’s song “Silk Chiffon,” directed by Ally Pankiw.) As luck would have it, “Cheerleader” is playing at two different venues Saturday, first at Vidiots with Babbit in attendance for a Q&A, and then at midnight at the New Beverly .

Peter Medak tribute

A man is restrained in bed by a dominant woman.

The American Cinematheque is launching a tribute series to the Hungarian British filmmaker Peter Medak . He’ll be present for Q&As along with screenings of his 1980 horror film “The Changeling,” starring George C. Scott, as well as a double bill of 1978’s “The Odd Job” and 1972’s “The Ruling Class,” starring Peter O’Toole.

Other films in the series include his debut, 1968’s “Negatives” and a trio of 1990s-era crime films, 1991’s “Let Him Have It,” 1990’s “The Krays” and 1993’s “Romeo Is Bleeding,” which features sizzling performances by Lena Olin and Gary Oldman.

In his original review of “Romeo Is Bleeding,” Peter Rainer wrote, “Olin, who worked extensively with Ingmar Bergman, has been extraordinary in American movies before this — most notably in ‘Enemies, a Love Story’ — but she’s never been this rip-roaringly full of guile and bile. She’s a great demented creation who uses her entire body as a sexual armament. She’s so dangerous she’s funny, with the sexiest low-slung voice since Bacall’s heyday. But Olin manages to make her funniness scary too. (She’s a real performer here, not just a parodist.)”

‘Foxfire’ and ‘The Outsiders’

Two women, one in shades, speak outside.

The New Beverly will play two teens-in-trouble movies on Wednesday and Thursday — a double bill of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 “The Outsiders” and Annette Haywood-Carter’s 1996 “Foxfire.” Haywood-Carter is scheduled to appear both nights to introduce her film.

Adapted from a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, “Foxfire” is the story of a group of teenage girls in Portland, Ore., who fall under the sway of a mysterious drifter as they fight against a teacher who has been sexually harassing them. The drifter, known as Legs, is played by Angelina Jolie in one of her earliest starring roles.

In his original review of the film , Jack Matthews wrote, “Jolie’s Legs Sadovsky seems inspired by James Dean’s Jim in ‘Rebel Without a Cause,’ and that’s the way she is introduced to us, as an outsider whose attempts to hide her pain and vulnerability make her seem many times tougher than she is. … A drifter for the ‘90s, lost but unafraid. It took a lot of hogwash to develop this character, but Jolie, Jon Voight’s knockout daughter, has the presence to overcome the stereotype.”

“The Outsiders” is Coppola’s adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s wildly popular novel about teenagers growing up in Oklahoma. The film, of course, has an astonishing young cast, with C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise.

In Sheila Benson’s original review of “The Outsiders,” she wrote of Coppola, “He has all but banished adults from the film, the better to let us see the world through the eyes of his bruised kids. But he’s taken on the book’s emotional timbre without tackling its basic story problems: purple prose, romanticized dialogue (unlikely to have come from any real kid’s mouth) and wild leaps of plot.”

Also in the news

Julio Torres and ‘Problemista’ Carolina Miranda spoke to writer-director-star Julio Torres about “Problemista,” his debut feature. In this tender yet surreal fable, Torres plays an aspiring toy designer struggling to navigate the U.S. immigration system when he takes a job as an assistant to an eccentric woman (an inspired Tilda Swinton). Reviewing for The Times, Joshua Rothkopf calls the film “deliriously weird yet relatable.”

Torres first came to fame as a writer on “Saturday Night Live,” then co-created and starred in the HBO series “Los Espookys.” On making the leap to directing a feature film, Torres said, “The beautiful thing about directing for me is that it sort of comes full circle and it connects the dots with my visual interests, my spatial interests and humor and writing and story writing and world-building. Something really clicked there.”

Billie Eilish and the Oscars

Just before the recent Academy Awards nominees luncheon, I had a chance to sit down with Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas for the Envelope podcast. The duo are nominated for their “Barbie” song “What Was I made For.” They talked about how movies influence their songwriting, with Finneas often encouraging Billie to watch certain movies to catch the vibe: titles such as “Drive,” “I Origins,” “The Social Network,” “Ex Machina,” “Fruitvale Station” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”

If Eilish wins, she would be the youngest person ever to have two Academy Awards. I asked what people could potentially expect from her performance of the song at the Oscars, and she replied, “Well, simple and sweet? I don’t know. I don’t want to ever be in anybody’s face, but I want to be the voice of whoever is quiet in the corner. Hopefully I can translate for people who don’t want to speak up. I don’t know. Simple, easy.”

It was also revealed this week that Ryan Gosling will indeed sing “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie” at the Oscars.

The Latinx prestige projects of Lux Films For De Los, Fidel Martinez spoke to Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll , the co-CEOs of Lux Films, a media company with a focus on Latinx projects. Their first title, “In the Summers,” won the grand jury prize at Sundance this year, while the film’s writer-director, Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio, became the first Latina to win the festival’s directing prize. The film is still without U.S. distribution.

“I never wanted to be the Latino programming person, but the way the system works has put me in a position where if I don’t fight for these projects, no one else will,” said Lira.

Only good movies

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tom cruise movies outsiders

Mark Olsen writes about all kinds of movies for the Los Angeles Times as both a feature writer and reviewer.

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'Venom 3' Gets a New Title and an Earlier Release Date

Tom Hardy returns for the final installment in the 'Venom' trilogy alongside Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Clark Backo.

The Big Picture

  • Venom 3 , now titled The Last Dance , will conclude Tom Hardy's trilogy on October 25, 2024.
  • Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Clark Backo join Hardy in the
  • The Venom series, with its mix of action, humor, and sci-fi, has been a financial success, grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide.

We will all be Venom sooner than expected. Venom 3 has moved up two weeks, to October 25th, and got itself a new title too. Venom: The Last Dance will now conclude Tom Hardy 's trilogy, with the finale directed by Kelly Marcel . Speculation about the inclusion of the 1990s Chicago Bulls basketball team is, as yet, unconfirmed. Plot details are still under wraps at the moment, but the threequel will also feature Juno Temple , Chiwetel Ejiofor and Clark Backo .

The Venom series centers on Hardy's character, Eddie Brock , a journalist who combines with an extraterrestrial symbiote, Venom, and aquires incredible abilities. In Venom (2018), Eddie probes a dubious corporation, the Life Foundation, ultimately merging with Venom. Together, they confront the foundation's leader, Carlton Drake ( Riz Ahmed ), who threatens the world. The sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), explores Eddie and Venom's evolving relationship as they tackle Cletus Kasady ( Woody Harrelson ), a murderer who merges with another symbiote, Carnage. The movies mix action, humor, and sci-fi, delving into identity and atonement.

The Last Dance is part of Sony's expanding Spider-Man universe, which also includes releases like Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web starring Dakota Johnson . With Hardy and Marcel's previously working together on Venom: Let There Be Carnage , combined with the events that happened, and very quickly unhappened, in Spider-Man: No Way Home , there’s a possibility that the new installment might explore the unique possibility of Venom and Eddie Brock traveling through the multiverse.

Marcel told Collider's Emily Bernard recently , "I can't really tease you anything about it other than it's going to be amazing. Tom and I genuinely just have a blast with each other whenever we get to work together. There's a lot of laughing that happens." When we last saw the pair, they had been to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, learned about the existence of other superheroes, and then ended up right back where they started . Why did any of this happen? Who on Earth-199999 knows? But soon we'll find out.

How Successful are the 'Venom' Movies?

Both Venom films were a financial smash. The original, released in 2018, achieved significant box office success, grossing $213.5 million in the United States and Canada and $642.5 million in other territories, culminating in a worldwide total of $856.1 million. Let There Be Carnage , while not quite as successful, still managed to earn $506.9 million worldwide.

Venom: The Last Dance will now be released on October 25, 2024. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates.

A failed reporter is bonded to an alien entity, one of many symbiotes who have invaded Earth. But the being takes a liking to Earth and decides to protect it.

Watch on Disney+

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Tom Cruise Movies List

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1. Endless Love (1981)

R | 116 min | Drama, Romance

Parental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields , Martin Hewitt , Shirley Knight , Don Murray

Votes: 9,500 | Gross: $31.18M

2. Taps (I) (1981)

PG | 126 min | Drama

Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott , Timothy Hutton , Ronny Cox , Sean Penn

Votes: 19,987 | Gross: $35.86M

3. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell , Matt Dillon , Ralph Macchio , Patrick Swayze

Votes: 96,661 | Gross: $25.60M

4. Losin' It (1982)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jackie Earle Haley , John Stockwell , John P. Navin Jr.

Votes: 5,189 | Gross: $1.25M

5. All the Right Moves (1983)

R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.

Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Lea Thompson , Craig T. Nelson , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,306 | Gross: $17.23M

6. Risky Business (1983)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca De Mornay , Joe Pantoliano , Richard Masur

Votes: 99,172 | Gross: $63.50M

7. Legend (1985)

PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Mia Sara , Tim Curry , David Bennent

Votes: 72,011 | Gross: $15.50M

8. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Tim Robbins , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer

Votes: 498,942 | Gross: $179.80M

9. The Color of Money (1986)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sport

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Helen Shaver

Votes: 92,811 | Gross: $52.29M

10. Cocktail (1988)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.

Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Brown , Elisabeth Shue , Lisa Banes

Votes: 91,392 | Gross: $78.22M

11. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 544,001 | Gross: $178.80M

12. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,306 | Gross: $70.00M

13. Days of Thunder (1990)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport

A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Robert Duvall , Randy Quaid

Votes: 95,926 | Gross: $82.67M

14. A Few Good Men (1992)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon

Votes: 285,719 | Gross: $141.34M

15. The Firm (1993)

R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Gene Hackman , Hal Holbrook

Votes: 146,973 | Gross: $158.35M

16. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise , Antonio Banderas , Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 345,517 | Gross: $105.26M

17. Mission: Impossible (1996)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny

Votes: 468,135 | Gross: $180.98M

18. Jerry Maguire (1996)

R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Renée Zellweger , Kelly Preston

Votes: 285,573 | Gross: $153.95M

19. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Todd Field , Sydney Pollack

Votes: 372,699 | Gross: $55.69M

20. Magnolia (1999)

R | 188 min | Drama

An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jason Robards , Julianne Moore , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 327,227 | Gross: $22.46M

21. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dougray Scott , Thandiwe Newton , Ving Rhames

Votes: 375,992 | Gross: $215.41M

22. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)

Not Rated | 142 min | Documentary, Biography

The career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise .

Director: Jan Harlan | Stars: Katharina Kubrick , Malcolm McDowell , Stanley Kubrick , Barbara Kroner

Votes: 12,187

23. Vanilla Sky (2001)

R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Penélope Cruz , Cameron Diaz , Kurt Russell

Votes: 284,567 | Gross: $100.61M

24. Space Station 3D (2002)

Not Rated | 47 min | Documentary

From outer space countries don't exist.

Director: Toni Myers | Stars: Tom Cruise , James Arnold , Michael J. Bloomfield , Robert D. Cabana

Votes: 1,745 | Gross: $93.37M

25. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Colin Farrell , Samantha Morton , Max von Sydow

Votes: 581,808 | Gross: $132.07M

26. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Upon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly named villain Goldmember, who is working with Dr. Evil.

Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers , Beyoncé , Seth Green , Michael York

Votes: 222,027 | Gross: $213.31M

27. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , William Atherton

Votes: 468,330 | Gross: $111.11M

28. Collateral (2004)

R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jamie Foxx , Jada Pinkett Smith , Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 431,135 | Gross: $101.01M

29. War of the Worlds (2005)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dakota Fanning , Tim Robbins , Miranda Otto

Votes: 473,181 | Gross: $234.28M

30. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise , Michelle Monaghan , Ving Rhames , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 389,013 | Gross: $134.03M

31. Lions for Lambs (2007)

R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Tom Cruise , Meryl Streep , Robert Redford , Michael Peña

Votes: 52,453 | Gross: $15.00M

32. Valkyrie (2008)

PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller

A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bill Nighy , Carice van Houten , Kenneth Branagh

Votes: 258,274 | Gross: $83.08M

33. Tropic Thunder (2008)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller , Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Kahn

Votes: 445,661 | Gross: $110.52M

34. Knight and Day (2010)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cameron Diaz , Peter Sarsgaard , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 209,704 | Gross: $76.42M

35. Takers (2010)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A group of bank robbers find their multi-million dollar plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective.

Director: John Luessenhop | Stars: Chris Brown , Hayden Christensen , Matt Dillon , Michael Ealy

Votes: 65,597 | Gross: $57.74M

36. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Paula Patton

Votes: 526,449 | Gross: $209.40M

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COMMENTS

  1. The Outsiders (1983)

    The Outsiders: Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. With C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze. In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

  2. The Outsiders

    From visionary director Francis Ford Coppola - newly restored in 4K and in cinemas now.We're thrilled to announce the forthcoming 4K restoration of the 1983 ...

  3. The Outsiders (film)

    The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola.The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film.

  4. The Outsiders (1983)

    The Outsiders (1983) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. Movies. ... Tom Cruise (uncredited) Camera and Electrical Department . Dustin Blauvelt ... first assistant camera Emmett Brown ... key grip Elliot Davis ...

  5. The Outsiders (1983) Official Trailer

    Subscribe to CLASSIC TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u43jDeSubscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6hSubscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUnLike us on FACEB...

  6. 'Tom Cruise was an intense kid': How Francis Ford Coppola made The

    Tom Cruise, who ended up in a small role, was an intense kid who would do anything to make his part better. Often I err on the side of being too collaborative. I re-edited The Outsiders because ...

  7. The Outsiders (1983)

    Hearing his screams, Pony's older brothers, Darrel (Patrick Swayze) and Sodapop (Rob Lowe) and the rest of their gang, Johnny Cade (Ralph Macchio), Dallas Winston (Matt Dillion), Steve Randall (Tom Cruise), and Two-Bit Matthews (Emilio Estevez) come to his rescue, chasing off the Socs. Darrel, Sodapop, and Ponyboy lost their parents in a car crash.

  8. The Outsiders

    Notable for its, then unknown, cast of movie stars--Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and (golly) Tom Cruise--The Outsiders must go down as a well-intentioned folly.

  9. The Outsiders

    In Tom Cruise …movies as Taps (1981) and The Outsiders (1983) before starring as a high-school senior who turns his parents' home into a brothel in Risky Business (1983). The movie was a major success, earning Cruise widespread recognition. His star status was cemented with Top Gun (1986), the highest-grossing film of that… Read More; Lowe

  10. 'The Outsiders': Stay Golden With These Little-Known Facts About ...

    An adaptation of S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel of the same name, The Outsiders is a 1983 coming-of-age film about a rivalry between "The Socs" and "The Greasers," two gangs separated by social class ...

  11. 'The Outsiders'

    The Big Picture. Francis Ford Coppola shared original auditions on Instagram for The Outsiders cast, including Tom Cruise. The movie adaptation of S.E. Hinton's 1963 novel The Outsiders stars ...

  12. Watch 'The Outsiders' auditions with Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, more

    Francis Ford Coppola shares The Outsiders audition footage, with young Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, and more. The audition process for the 1983 film asked each actor to read lines for every role.

  13. The Enduring Resonance of S.E. Hinton's 'The Outsiders'

    The Outsiders (1983) Official Trailer - Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise Movie HD Watch on "It always does something when you take a group of people out of their own element and stick them in a new space.

  14. What Rob Lowe Said About Working With Tom Cruise On The Outsiders

    The Outsiders started Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise's careers, but Rob Lowe's memory of Tom Cruise while shooting The Outsiders is particularly humorous. Based on the iconic S.E Hinton novel of the same name, the story, set in the 1960s, chronicles the lives of two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs, representing different socioeconomic backgrounds.

  15. Francis Ford Coppola Shares 'The Outsiders' Audition Tapes

    February 29, 2024 3:48pm. (L-R) Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, C.Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise in 'The Outsiders' Everett. Four decades after its release ...

  16. The Outsiders Cast: Where Are They Now?

    The stars of Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Outsiders,' including Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon and Patrick Swayze, went on to have massively successful careers. Here's where the cast is today.

  17. The Outsiders Director Shares Original Auditions From Tom Cruise

    One of the most surprising films in Coppola's filmography is The Outsiders, the 1983 film based on S.E. Hinton's novel of the same name. The coming-of-age drama featured a star-studded cast that ...

  18. The Outsiders (1983)

    The Outsiders (1983) Tom Cruise as Steve Randle. Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. ... Tom Cruise: Steve Randle. Showing all 34 items Jump to: Photos (26) Quotes (8) Photos .

  19. See Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Others Read the Same Role for 'The

    The movie, which came out in 1983, starred several notable actors — Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Patrick Swayze, and Ralph Macchio, among others — but ...

  20. See Young Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio's Auditions for 'The Outsiders'

    Francis Ford Coppola is sharing old footage of auditions for his 1983 movie 'The Outsiders,' which starred Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe , C. Thomas ...

  21. The Godfather Director Shares How He Discovered Tom Cruise

    The Godfather trilogy director Francis Ford Coppola reveals the casting process that he used to discover Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and other stars in his film The Outsiders.. Francis Ford Coppola recently took to Instagram to reminisce about the distinctive casting journey for his 1983 film, The Outsiders.Based on S.E. Hinton's 1963 novel, the movie is renowned for catapulting the ...

  22. 'The Outsiders' stars Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio seen in newly

    "The Outsiders" has become a beloved film classic, featuring the early work of major actors like Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe. Now, just over 40 years since the movie was released in 1983, director ...

  23. Claire Denis' 'Beau Travail,' plus the week's best movies

    The New Beverly will play two teens-in-trouble movies on Wednesday and Thursday — a double bill of Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 "The Outsiders" and Annette Haywood-Carter's 1996 ...

  24. 'Venom 3' Gets a New Title and an Earlier Release Date

    Venom 3, now titled The Last Dance, will conclude Tom Hardy's trilogy on October 25, 2024.; Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Clark Backo join Hardy in the The Venom series, with its mix of ...

  25. Millie Bobby Brown Felt Like Female Tom Cruise Doing Own Stunts in Damsel

    The actress revealed this week she performed all her own stunts in Netflix's new film, Damsel. "I feel like the female version of Tom Cruise ," Brown declared during a recent appearance on ...

  26. Tom Cruise Movies List

    Risky Business (1983) R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama. 6.8. Rate. 75 Metascore. A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand. Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur.