The Ramones couldn't play in my key. They couldn't switch keys, so Ed Stasium literally had to play all the instruments for my version of "Rock 'N' Roll High School," and I always thought that was so weird, because it's not the Ramones playing. It's the producer, who happened to just be a musician and could play everything.
P. J. SolesI think Harold Ramis is a genius beyond genius, and he's the nicest guy, funniest guy, sweetest guy ever. So I don't know if it applies to everybody, but maybe it has to do with your childhood.
P. J. SolesI wasn't especially a Broadway type. I liked film acting better. I didn't want to stay up late. I wasn't a smoker, a drinker, or a drug-taker. So that kind of Broadway life - not that that's what they do. But they do stay up late and hang out at Joe Allen's until 2 in the morning, and that just wasn't for me.
P. J. SolesJohn Carpenter was very gentle. He was very tender. He really liked talking to actors. He really wanted you to be comfortable. He waited until you were ready to do the scene, and he has a lot of confidence.
P. J. SolesWe were lucky if we got two takes out of a scene in the Rock 'N' Roll High School. But the Ramones did get a lot of material cut out. I think Marky Ramone calls Mr. McGree "Mr. McGlube." But that was sort of endearing and charming, and made you just love the Ramones even more. Sometimes those flubs work in favor of the filmmakers. They just couldn't get out more than one sentence in a row. It was just kind of weird. I think they were just nervous.
P. J. SolesI was supposed to do The Joy Of Sex with John Belushi, but the week before we were gonna start filming, he died. So that was really tragic. That put the whole project on the shelf.
P. J. SolesI did not initially take to the music of the Ramones, because I had never really heard of them before. Allan Arkush had given me a cassette of the Ramones and said, "You're their No. 1 fan, so I want you to know all of their songs and fall in love with these guys." I put the cassette on and I remember running around the house going, "Oh my God. That's music?"
P. J. Soles