"Whenever possible play Side One of
Led Zeppelin IV...and take her to
Phantasm."
Of course, Mike Damone famously championed Zeppelin in
Fast Times at Ridgemont High the film and novel, both by
Cameron Crowe. In the book, Mark Ratner plays
Zeppelin IV and takes Stacy to see the new film
Phantasm. In the film, probably due to licensing issues, "The Rat" plays
"Kashmir" from
Physical Graffiti and there is no mention of
Phantasm or any other movie. I had the pleasure of speaking with Don Coscarelli the other night in between a screening of his new film
John Dies at the End and his third, perhaps most beloved, film
Phantasm. I was surprised to learn that he did not know of Crowe's mentioning of
Phantasm in
Fast Times, the novel. He wanted to know why Crowe and / or director Amy Heckerling chopped this reference from the film version. That, I said, he'd have to take up with them.
As I understand it, Crowe now controls the rights to the novel, which was last in print in '82 in conjunction with the release of the film. I hope he reprints it, as my copy has a broken spine as well as cover fading, and prices on the secondary market are quite prohibitive.
I was lucky enough to find a used copy over twenty years ago in a shop for $8. The book may be out of print due to the fact that some of
Crowe's "classmates," chiefly Mark Ratner inspiration
Andy Rathbone, during his undercover time at Claremont High weren't so keen on his portrayal of them in the novel.
