If you’ve got some time to kill today, then head over to Grantland, where writers Alex French and Howie Kahn have compiled an extensive oral history of the 1996 indie gem Swingers. (Seriously, it’s like 12,000 words, so jump into the nostalgia rabbit hole at your peril.) The big names — director Doug Liman and writer-star Jon Favreau, as well as Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston — are all there, but so are a few notable randoms, including Adam Scott, who holds the distinction of having been Favreau’s downstairs neighbor at the time, and Mike White, who helps discuss the memorable house-party scene as a good example of how low budget the production was.
As producer Nicole LaLoggia explains, the party took place at the home of some friends who lived in the Hollywood Hills. “We asked them if they would throw a party that we could film but not tell anybody we were gonna film it,” she says. (Fun factoid: The house’s owners would go on to executive-produce Revenge. We can only assume that the party was full of vengeful toasts.) Safe to say, the partygoers — including White and Scott — were more concerned with enjoying the copious free booze than their peripheral roles in a cult classic. “The cast and crew saw us as just background to the movie,” says White, “but from our perspective it was a real party. It wasn’t like I was an extra. I remember them shooting and I actually thought, at the time, This is so embarrassing for them.” The making of a classic, ladies and gentlemen.
