©Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection Ghostpremiered in theaters 35 years ago today, on July 13, 1990 The genre-defying movie went on to win three awards at the Oscars, including a history-making win for Whoopi Goldberg Since then, it has become well-known for its iconic pottery scene Ghostis celebrating its 35th anniversary! After it hit theaters on July 13, 1990, the movie went on to win three awards at the 1991 Academy Awards. On paper, the ghost story sounds like it should have been a niche film. But combining the romance, thriller and comedy genres into a single movie turned out to be a formula for success for its leads. The surprise summer hit raised the profiles of starsDemi Moore,Patrick SwayzeandWhoopi Goldbergand had fans across the country humming "Unchained Melody." (It could not be determined if the film also caused an uptick in enrollment in pottery classes, but would it surprise you if it did?) In honor of the film's 35th anniversary, here are 16 things you may not know about the classic hit — which might make you love it even more. CBS via Getty Worldwide, the film raked in a whopping $505.7 million, beating even that other 1990 hit,HomeAlone, which made $476.6 million. Apparently, love can conquer not only death but also slapstick action comedies about little kids brutalizing burglars. Speaking ata 2013 American Film Institute eventhonoring the film, Moore said she loved the script but wasn't sure audiences would respond to it. "It's a love story, and it's a guy – a dead guy – trying to save his wife, and there is a comedy part, but really, really it's a love story, and I thought, 'Wow, this is really a recipe for disaster … It's either going to be something really special, really amazing, or really an absolute bust,' " she said. Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock Why? In an interview, he explained that it wasn't about physical love as much as it was a deep personal connection. "We were very passionate about not having the love scene be about sucking face and jumping each other's bones, but the connection between two human beings," he explained. CBS via Getty Speaking to PEOPLE in 1990, Swayze said that seeing the plaster dummy representing his character's body took him back to his dad's funeral, when he almost passed out from the shock of touching his father's body as it lay in its coffin. "I had pushed that memory out of my life until that moment on location when it all came back, big time," he said. "There were a few scenes where something happened to me that was very scary." Getty Images The downside of the success ofDirtyDancingwas that Swayze had found himself typecast. That changed afterGhost, but director Jerry Zucker told PEOPLE that his roles in films such asRoadhousemade him reluctant to even consider Swayze as the male lead. However, Swayze's reading of the film's farewell scene changed Zucker's mind. "We all had tears in our eyes, right there in the office – and we knew how it ends," the director said. "I saw a side of Patrick that I never knew existed." Calling himself a "knucklehead" for saying no,Bruce WillistoldTheNew York Timesreporter David Sheff in 1996 that he didn't thinkGhostwould work. "I just didn't get it. I said, 'Hey, the guy's dead. How are you gonna have a romance?' Famous last words," he joked. Willis later played a thematically similar role inThe Sixth Sense. In a 1990 Associated Press interview, Goldberg said she loved the part, but when she expressed interest in playing the psychic Oda Mae, she was told the producers wanted an unknown for the role. Six months later, producers circled back to her and offered her the role. Goldberg had previously been nominated in 1986 for Best Actress for her role inThe Color Purple. She didn't win, but she did become the first Black actress nominated for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories. It also marked her first win toward her EGOT, which she completed in 2002 with her Tony Award forThoroughly Modern Millie. Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection Traditionally, movies about ghosts and the like don't get Oscar nominations.Ghostis an exception, however, even if it lost toDances with Wolves. Just one year earlier, there was another outlier: the fantasy baseball movieField of Dreams. Other spooky movies nominated for Best Picture includeThe ExorcistandThe Sixth Sense. Tony Goldwynrecalled to the A.V. Club in 2014 that his role as the conniving, murderous Carl prompted a waitress to refuse to serve him. He couldn't figure out why she was shooting him death stares until she finally asked him if he was an actor. "She said, "I'm so sorry! I knew I hated you, but I didn't know where from, and because I couldn't place who you were,' " Goldwyn said. Have you ever wondered why the song is called "Unchained Melody"? It was actually written for the 1955 prison filmUnchained. In that film, it's sung by an inmate. That's why the lyrics note how hard it is to wait for so long — because the narrator is serving time. Following the movie's release, the song went No. 1 in Australia and as high as No. 19 on theBillboardHot 100. TheGhoststage adaptation kicked off in England in 2011 and hit Broadway in 2012. And yes, it features "Unchained Melody," in addition to many new numbers. Released in 2010,Ghost: In Your Arms Againhas the wife going all Casper and attempting to reunite with her husband from beyond. And yes, there's a pottery scene. Leslie Nielsen andPriscilla Presleyparodied the pottery scene in the secondNaked Gunmovie — and in all honesty, it's probably how real-life re-creations of the scene probably turned out. But homages, parodies and callbacks have appeared in many works, perhaps most notably in 2014in a scenestarring Moore's real-life ex,Ashton Kutcher. In the film, the bad people go to a bad afterlife, and they're taken there by creepy, inky shadow things. They're scary enough to make anyone walk a more righteous path, but the ick factor increases when you know that the horrible noise they make is actually the noise of a baby crying — played slow and backwards,according to IMDb. Swayze died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at age 57. Speaking to PEOPLE in 1990, Swayze shared what he felt was the message of the film, saying, "Ghostwas about living your life for the moment, because that's all you've got … If you don't communicate with the people you love, you set yourself up for incredible pain if you lose them." Read the original article onPeople
