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15 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Let’s go behind the scenes of this underappreciated masterpiece.

15 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

July 22, 2021

Considering John C. Reilly's masterful comedic performance and the brilliantly written soundtrack, it’s a real shame Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story never managed to reach the heights of popularity it deserved. Despite an underwhelming box office, the movie at least managed to become a cult classic over time. It is amazing that while there are some wild gags that the movie has some magnificent songs and songwriting that is unmatched by many films outside of the comedy genre.

It's amazing to know how much Walk Hard played hard. You cannot believe how many songs were written and sets that were built for the movie. The cast themselves learned how to play all of the instruments. Even John C. Reilly himself was embarrassed at how much money was spent on a movie starring him.

While the box office didn't give the movie its due, we can. Here are 15 behind-the-scenes facts about this underrated comedy:

15

BEHIND-THE-SCENESE FACTS JOHN C. REILLY FELT GUILTY FOR STARRING IN THE FILM. WALK HARD Like any good Catholic boy, I feel guilty somebody spent so much money on me, said Reilly about the studio spending money on a movie he headlined. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

14

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS TIM MEADOWS IMPROVISED THE YOU NEVER PAID FOR DRUGS BIT. WALK HARD Meadows was originally only supposed to say, You never paid for drugs. Not once, one time. He decided to ditch his original second and third line and just repeated the line about drugs, just angrier each time he said it. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

13

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS HUNDREDS OF SONGS WERE WRITTEN FOR THE FILM. WALK HARD Songwriters Dan Bern and Mike Viola wrote over 100 songs for the film. Out of those songs, around 50 ended up being recorded in the span of six months. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer & IndieWire

12

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE STORY WAS WRITTEN AROUND THE SONGS. E WALK!HARD Songs for the movie were recorded for about six months before the film even started shooting. Each time a new song was recorded, the filmmakers made new decisions about the characters and the plot. CRACKED.COM — The Tufts Daily

11

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS GUILTY AS CHARGED WAS INSPIRED BY MERLE HAGGARD. T WALK HARD Songwriter Charlie Wadhams says when he was asked to write the song he was told to imagine Merle Haggard in a trashed hotel room with a bottle of whiskey after he'd just been dumped by his wife. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

10

Walk Hard

BEHIND-THE-SCENESE. FACTS THE PENIS BELONGS TO A FAMOUS DIRECTOR. ? WALK HARD According to Judd Apatow, the guy whose penis is shown onscreen went on to become a famous director, however, he refuses to reveal who it is. CRACKED.COM — CinemaBlend

9

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THERE WAS A TON OF WORK PUT INTO SET DESIGN. WALKHARD Director Jake Kasdan says that compared to a regular comedy, the movie put much more effort into designing very detailed and authentic sets. Seven hotel rooms and three music studios for different time periods were built for the film. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

8

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS JOHN C. REILLY WENT ON TOUR AS DEWEY COX. Pants LONG PLAYING planet HIGH FIDELITY Hole in my WALKJHARD Because of the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, there were no talk shows around to promote the film. The filmmakers got creative and decided to promote the movie with a seven-city tour. CRACKED.COM — EW & The Ringer

7

Walk Hard

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS JOHN C. REILLY SANG ALL OF HIS SONGS. WALK! HARD. Reilly put a huge amount of effort into becoming Dewey Cox. He would be on set all day and then record songs during the night. I was really determined not to be treated like an actor playing a musician. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

6

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS JENNA FISCHER GOT THE ROLE THANKS TO JOHN C. REILLY. WALK HARD Fischer says that while the two were working together on The Promotion, Reilly approached her about playing his wife in Walk Hard. Based on her recommendation Judd Apatow ended up inviting her to read for the role. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

5

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE MOVIE WAS INFLUENCED BY SEVERAL BIOPICS. Walk the Line WALK!HARD Director Jake Kasdan and producer Judd Apatow say the movie was influenced by several famous musical biopics. Such as Walk the Line, Ray, Bird, Great Balls of Fire, Coal Miner's Daughter, and La Bamba. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

4

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS JOHN C. REILLY DIDN'T LIP-SYNCH ROYAL JELLY. WALK! HARD Instead of lip-synching, Reilly actually performed the song live in front of 800 extras. After his first attempt, they realized they weren't filming so Reilly had to do the whole song again. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

3

BEHIND-THE-SCENESE. FACTS THE PENIS SHOT WAS ORIGINALLY MUCH SHORTER. WALKJHARD During a test screening, the filmmakers realized the audience wasn't reacting the way they wanted to the penis next to Reilly's face. In order to fix that, they went to the cutting room floor and prolonged the shot. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

2

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE CAST LEARNED HOW TO PLAY THEIR RESPECTIVE INSTRUMENTS. WALK! HARD Chris Parnell, Tim Meadows, and Matt Besser all learned how to play their instruments for the movie. Meadows described learning to play the drums as the hardest work I ever did on a movie. CRACKED.COM — IndieWire

1

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE FILM'S FAILURE AT THE BOX OFFICE DEVASTATED THE CAST. WALKSHARD The movie only ended up making $20 million at the box office on a budget of $35 million. It took me a couple years to dig out of the sadness of that, said John C. Rilley about the film's lackluster box office performance. CRACKED.COM — The Ringer

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