ENTERTAINMENT NEWS … THE GOONIES

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS …

 

THE GOONIES

 

Any true fan knows that Goonies never say die. As the '80s cult favorite The Goonies marks its quarter-century milestone, adoration for its misfit gang of treasure-hunting teens – including the not-yet-famous Josh Brolin and Sean Astin – is still alive and well. This weekend, thousands of fans are due to converge upon the waterfront city of Astoria, Ore., where the 1985 film was set and shot, to celebrate all things Goonies. Among the "Come Join the Adventure" events are a tribute concert (performers include cast member Corey Feldman's band, Truth Movement) and a Truffle Shuffle 5k Run/Walk. Can't make it to Astoria? Well, here are five fun facts about The Goonies – whose anniversary collector's edition is due on DVD and Blu-ray Nov. 2 – 25 years later.

• The filmmakers considered a sequel "We went through eight writers," says director Richard Donner. "We tried and tried. But you realize you just can't pick up on their lives." The movie's appeal, he says, was in its likeable young stars and "kid's mind" of the story's creator, Steven Spielberg. "It's as Americana as you can possibly get," says Donner. "What kid doesn't go out and look for the pirate treasure?" So, how about a sequel now that catches up with a middle-aged Mikey or over-the-hill Data? Nah, says Donner: "It's too late."

• Corey Feldman's Goonies connection with Corey Haim Feldman, who played the wisecracking Mouth, first encountered his close pal, the late Corey Haim, through The Goonies. "It was in the waiting room – we were auditioning for the same role," says Feldman, now 38. After Haim's death in March at 38, Feldman relied on friends like his Goonies costar Sean Astin for support. "We were really close on the set, but people go their separate ways," says Feldman, who later reconnected with Astin. "Sean was the first one to call me when Corey Haim died. He was one of the first people to call me when Michael Jackson died. We have that true friendship."

• Kerri Green remembers a 'sweet' Astin and a 'cute' Brolin "Sean is one of the sweetest people alive," recalls Green, who played Andy the cheerleader, of the Lord of the Rings star, 39. "He could get really hyper so everyone tried to keep him away from the craft service table, because he loved his candy." And what of the young Josh Brolin, who played Astin's hunky big brother? "Josh was the cutest, most awesome guy – we all loved him," says Green, now 43 and a mother of two." Not that kissing Brolin was a walk in the park: "I was 17 at the time and it was totally embarrassing," she says. "It's the time of your life when you are the most self-conscious anyway. Then you're being filmed and you have to kiss Josh Brolin – just humiliating!"

 
• Chunk grew up and went to law school While some Goonies have gone on to high-profile acting careers, Jeff Cohen – who played the lovably chubby Chunk – is now a Beverly Hills entertainment attorney with a roster of celebrity clients. Cohen, 35, has retired his bare-bellied Truffle Shuffle. But he did indulge the crowd at a University of California, Berkeley, football game (the former student body president was also a football "mic man" who would pump fans up): "Since Goonies that was actually the only time I've done the Truffle Shuffle – when 10,000 drunken college kids were yelling at me to do it." P.S.: He's chunky no more. "Steven [Spielberg] said I went from Chunk to Hunk," says a single (and svelte) Cohen, adding with mock-modesty, "and I defer to his superior judgment."

• The Goonies are Broadway-bound Donner and his wife, X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner, are working on a musical adaptation of the film for the Great White Way. "It'll be pure Goonies," he says. While no original cast members are currently slated to participate, he'd love for Joe Pantoliano and Robert Davi – who played the deliciously villainous Fratelli brothers – to get involved because, says Donner, "They sing beautifully."