As 'Revenge of the Nerds' turns 40, Tucson's film industry has seen big changes

The 1984 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds” was shot in and around the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, which was known as ‘Adams College’ in the movie.

This weekend (July 20) marks 40 years since it was released in theaters.

Star Robert Carradine spoke with KGUN via Zoom.

“Shooting the movie was kind of a non-stop party,” he recalled.

Carradine says he and co-star Anthony Edwards even showed up to the UA campus before filming to rush fraternities in character as nerds, Lewis and Gilbert.

They found one fraternity leader who thought they were real students.

“The guy goes, ‘Hey Biff, these guys want to rush.’ And Biff goes, ‘No way!’ And that’s how we knew we had nailed [the nerd look].”

Carradine says “disbelief” comes to mind when thinking about the movie now being 40 years old.

It’s hard to believe just how much the film industry in Tucson has changed since then.

“Filming is lured by incentives,” said Peter Catalanotte, the director of Film Tucson. “When Revenge of the Nerds was here, it was a different ballgame.”

Last year, Arizona officially started offering tax rebates up to $125 million a year for projects filmed in the state. But then came the Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes.

“It had a devastating impact, I’m not gonna lie,” said Catalanotte.

Production in the area came to a screeching halt. But major studios are apparently ready to call ‘Action’ once again.

“Our phone’s been ringing a little more off the hook than usual,” said Catalanotte. “From various feature films of various budgets. And they’re driven by the incentives.”

Those projects give plenty back in return.

“They dump an enormous amount of money here,” said Catalanotte. “When HBO was here a couple years ago, they spent over $10 million. Hotels, restaurants, shopping, hiring local crew, dry cleaning. I can’t even list all of the areas where they spent enormous amounts of money.”

You don’t have to be a nerd to know that would be a welcome return for Tucson’s economy.

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Ryan Fish is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9 and comes to the Sonoran Desert from California’s Central Coast after working as a reporter, sports anchor and weather forecaster in Santa Barbara. Ryan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, frequently visiting family in Tucson. Share your story ideas and important issues with Ryan by emailing ryan.fish@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter .