Feel-good movie of the summer Bill & Ted Face the Music just scored a Grammy nomination for its soundtrack, featuring Weezer and (of course) Wyld Stallyns. While that air-guitar-worthy news isn’t a total surprise, a little script edit revealed by co-writer Ed Solomon is a bit more startling: we almost met kid Bill and kid Ted!
Solomon (who co-scripted with Chris Matheson) posted a deleted scene in which the dynamic duo would have travelled back in time (like they did in the first Bill & Ted adventure) rather than just into the future, as they do throughout Face the Music.
It was cut, mainly, for budget. We had so little $$ to make the movie that we had to make some tough choices (there’s a phrase: “Sometimes you gotta kill your darlings”). On some films you can just shoot stuff and see if it works in editing, but we couldn’t afford to do that. pic.twitter.com/bVFDobIgrv
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) November 22, 2020
The cameo by 14-year-old Missy (Bill’s future stepmom — also Ted’s future stepmom, and Bill’s future sister-in-law, as we saw in Face the Music) definitely tracks, as does Van Halen on the tape deck.
Collider spoke to Solomon for more details about why the scene was cut, and he said that the choice came down to that comedic scene with the kids, or a scene with Bill and Ted’s wives that actually made it into the movie. “On a more important level, which is the emotional throughline of the movie, it was more important for them to go back to their wives,” he said. “We were forced to make the choice because we just couldn’t afford to shoot both.” The Collider story says that another scene that was never filmed would’ve shown Bill and Ted revisiting their first meeting with Rufus (George Carlin) at the Circle K; Solomon said he’d be sharing a different cut scene soon, so keep an eye on his Twitter for more.
In the meantime, Solomon also shared a proud reaction to that most excellent Grammy nom:
Well this is something I never expected: Wyld Stallyns – which is ON the album – is nominated for a Grammy!
Congratulations to @Jonathan_Leahy and Ashley Waldron! World’s best music supervisors!
Is it weird that I also feel, strangely, kinda happy for Bill & Ted? I sorta do. https://t.co/Aop0wbncQV
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) November 24, 2020
Bill & Ted Face the Music is now available on demand as well as on Blu-ray.