FILM · 1987
The Principal
42 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (42)
- #001
Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, California, served as the filming location for the wealthy school seen at the start of the film. Many students and teachers worked as extras. After the scenes were shot, Jim Belushi took a photo with everyone at the school. The picture has been printed in the yearbook since that year.
- #002
The bar where Rick Latimer (Jim Belushi) meets with his wife was the now-defunct Johnny B. Goode's bar on Webster Street in Alameda, California, USA.
- #003
Michael Keaton was considered for the role of Rick Latimer, and so was Gary Busey, who had to turn it down because he was busy filming 'Lethal Weapon' (1987).
- #004
In this film, Rick Latimer (James Belushi) is assumed to be much older than Victor Duncan (Michael Wright). In real life, less than two years separate them. Belushi was born in June 1954 and Wright in April 1956.
- #005
Actress Rae Dawn Chong plays Hilary Orozco in this picture. About her role as a high school teacher who falls victim to her own good intentions in the film, she ironically remarked around the time of its initial release: "My high school teachers are going to laugh out loud when they see me in this role because I was definitely one of the most out-of-control students, a walking disaster area for teachers. Standing in front of a semi-wild class in this film is exactly that kind of chaos. Like being a criminal and having to play a cop."
- #006
The production team settled into the old Merritt College campus in Oakland, California, for seven weeks. Director Christopher Cain recalled: "The biggest challenge was keeping morale up and being creative in such a cold, run-down environment. It's not like waking up and going to the beach or the park. This school really has a courage and resilience to it, and hopefully that shows in the film."
- #007
In the months before production began, in early 1987, the producers scouted dozens of locations across the country before choosing the old Merritt College campus in Oakland, California, as the main setting of Brandel High School. Founded in 1923 as an experimental high school, the campus would eventually produce controversial alumni such as black power advocates Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and Bobby Seale. The campus was closed in 1978 due to earthquake hazards.
- #008
For a meeting scene in which a riot breaks out among the Brandel High School students, the number of performers grew by 700 toward the end of the production. Security was tight at the filming location on the old Merritt College campus in Oakland, California, and all Bay Area students taking part in the scene had to be searched. About twenty stunt performers were positioned among the audience to make sure everything went smoothly. Stunt Coordinator Everett Creech recalled: "The challenge in this scene was not starting the fight, but stopping it. We put our stuntmen in the middle of the fight so we could control it. We shot the scene twelve times."
- #009
Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. plays Brandel High School's tough, sharp-tongued security guard Jake Phillips in this picture. The film gave Gossett the chance to do what he loved most at the time: spending time with kids. He said on ABC's 'Good Morning America': "One of my favorite projects is working with misguided children. I like that we used kids from this area as extras. Many of them are misguided, some are in gangs. They seem to have taken a direction from this experience. For most of them, it was the first time someone came up and patted them on the back and said, 'Hey, that was great.' It's no different from the story in the film."
- #010
The production team shot for two weeks at various locations in Northern California's Bay Area, one of which was Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, which serves in the film as the wealthy school to which Rick Latimer (James Belushi) is transferred. 250 students gave up their weekend break to work as extras at their school, providing a bright, airy contrast to the dim, cramped neighborhoods of the old Merritt College campus.
- #011
Actress Kelly Minter, who plays Treena, the unhappy young mother who falls in with the wrong crowd, will remember 1987 as a summer of school-themed films. Alongside her role in this film, Minter also appeared with Mark Harmon in that same year's 'Summer School' (1987).
- #012
Johnny B. Goode's bar in Alameda, California, USA, was a popular drinking spot for the US Navy. For this film, it was transformed into a luxurious "yuppie" venue for two days of shooting. This was the location's second big-screen appearance, after serving as the main setting of the previous year's television series "Fortune Dane" (1986).
- #013
Phillips (Louis Gossett, Jr.) talks about his days as a player for the New York Titans. The Titans were an original team in the American Football League. Under new ownership, the team was later renamed the New York Jets.
- #014
The spirit of hope and optimism set out in the film was already present during pre-production, when the producers called for reclaiming the old Merritt College campus in Oakland, California, and turning it into a working set in response to the talents of local youths. Producer Thomas H. Brodek explained: "When we started, most of these kids were completely unskilled. We taught them what they needed to know, we gave them confidence and respect. They were proud to contribute to the film."
- #015
Principal photography began on February 2, 1987, in a tavern in Northern California where Jim Belushi's character Rick Latimer goes to drink and unwind with friends. In fact, two of his closest real-life friends joined him in the film, marking the third time the three appeared together on the big screen. Belushi's best friend from Chicago, Steve Birger, and his cousin Gus play drinking buddies in 'The Principal,' as they had previously done in 'About Last Night…' (1986) and the then-upcoming 'Real Men' (1987).
- #016
For Los Angeles-born producer Thomas H. Brodek, this film was his fourth feature film, and to him it was especially appealing because of its sense of bold realism. Brodek commented: "I heard a lot of stories across the country about principals like Rick Latimer [played by James Belushi], and that's why this film was so appealing to me. It's exciting to be part of something so real."
- #017
The film was frequently compared to Mark Lester's earlier film 'Class of 1984' (1982).
- #018
At the old Merritt College campus building in Oakland, California, the production team worked sixteen hours a day for eight weeks, building a principal's office and renovating several classrooms, two bathrooms, a teachers' lounge, a locker room, the auditorium and several corridors. Producer Thomas H. Brodek recalled: "When we arrived there was no electricity, no heat, no light. It was raining and it was winter. The roof was flooded, the corridors were a lake and the balcony was like a waterfall. Making this place habitable was an enormous job."
- #019
Director Christopher Cain was pleased that locals such as the Locos and the Hell's Angels took part in the film. He suggested: "Gangs, students and teachers are serious subjects. They have to be handled with a certain realism. When you make something of contemporary social importance like this film, you have an obligation to approach it with a certain amount of honor and respect."
- #020
Actors J. J. Johnston and Jim Belushi appeared together in the film 'K-911' (1999) about twelve years later.
- #021
The black motorcycle Rick Latimer (Jim Belushi) rides throughout the film is a 1985 Honda VT 750 C Shadow or a 1986 Honda Shadow VT 700 C.
- #022
Producer Thomas H. Brodek said of the former Merritt College campus in Oakland, California, which served as the main set for Brandel High School: "We were looking for something gutsy and real. It had to be in a tough neighborhood, and it had to be abandoned because of the intensity of the shooting we were going to do. We didn't want any distractions or to be a distraction."
- #023
Production was completed on April 4, 1987. The film's production notes stated that 'The Principal' would earn the graduating class of the former Merritt College campus a place in the history books, because according to city officials the campus was scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new community plaza.
- #024
The film marked the feature screenwriting debut of screenwriter Frank Deese.
- #025
The production hired several members of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels as production assistants. They proved enormously useful not only in controlling the students but also in assembling the film's cast.
- #026
For director Christopher Cain the look of the film was extremely important. Accordingly, although the film was shot in color, he worked with his team to achieve a look that felt black and white. This monochrome texture was created not only through production design and camera lighting but also through wardrobe. Except for scenes taking place outside the school grounds, primary colors were avoided, and the clothing was dyed and distressed accordingly.
- #027
Actor Esai Morales was cast as Raymundo "Raymi" Rojas because of his notable role in 'Bad Boys' (1983), which starred Sean Penn, Ally Sheedy and Reni Santoni.
- #028
Actors Thomas Ryan and Kelly Jo Minter also appeared in 'Summer School' (1987), which was released the same year as 'The Principal' (1987).
- #029
Outlaw teacher Rick Latimer's (Jim Belushi) revenge slogan was: "No More!"
- #030
This was actor Troy Winbush's first feature film. At the time the young actor played "Baby Emile," a character he thought many other young people would relate to. He said: "Emile is one of those guys who really wants more out of life, but his peers intimidate him. In a way he's walking that line, and one way or another he's going to fall."
- #031
Body count: one. Because Victor does not cut Rick's throat, he shoots Jojo in the head.
- #032
Actors Rae Dawn Chong and Louis Gossett, Jr. appeared together about six years later in the TV film 'Father & Son: Dangerous Relations' (1993).
- #033
According to the website 'Allmovie', Kelly Minter, who played one of Brandel High School's troubled students, portrayed a dyslexic person in the similarly themed 'Summer School' the same year 'The Principal' was released.
- #034
The name of the educational institution was "Brandel High School." It was portrayed at the former Merritt College campus in Oakland, California, in the United States. The educational institution in the wealthy area where Rick Latimer (James Belushi) had previously taught was named "Willoughby High School."
- #035
Rae Dawn Chong stars alongside Jim Belushi in 'The Principal' (1987). She had recently appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Commando' (1985). Shortly after these two films, Belushi and Schwarzenegger came together for 'Red Heat' (1988) (though not with Rae Dawn Chong).
- #036
Actors Esai Morales and Rae Dawn Chong appeared together about three years later in 'Amazon' (1990).
- #037
The film's official publicity noted that the shooting location, the abandoned Merritt College in Oakland, California, was built in 1923 as an experimental high school and eventually became a mostly Black college. The Merritt College campus was closed in the mid-1970s because of the potential for earthquake damage, as the buildings did not meet the state government's seismic requirements.
- #038
In addition to taking advantage of the local Oakland scenery, the producers hired many local residents to appear in the film. Director Christopher Cain noted: "We used hundreds of local kids and several local gangs. These kids wear their own clothes in the film, and we found them very theatrical. They already have an attitude, and if we had tried to teach them, we would have been there for two or three years."
- #039
Rick Latimer (James Belushi) is nicknamed "Ricky".
- #040
The film features Louis Gossett Jr., who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). Co-star James Belushi appeared alongside James Woods in Oliver Stone's political thriller Salvador (1986), for which Woods was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
- #041
The first names of two cast members are both "J. J.": J. J. Cohen and J. J. Johnston.
- #042
Once you notice it, it is very hard to miss: many characters wear blue, and blue and gray tones dominate throughout the film. The color palette reinforces the harsh, institutional feel of the school setting.
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