Peter Gabriel in ‘Say Anything…’ – Classic Rock at the Movies
Utter the name "Lloyd Dobler" to any woman who came of age in the late '80s, and chances are good she'll swoon a little, think of the movie 'Say Anything...,' and begin to hum Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes.'
In the 1989 romantic comedy, the socially-awkward Lloyd (played by John Cusack) falls in love with pretty brainiac Diane Court. Like the audience, she falls in love with him right back, and 'In Your Eyes' becomes their song.
But of course since the road to happily-ever-after is never smooth, the couple splits up for a while, leaving Lloyd heartbroken. Unsure of how to tell Diane how he feels, he parks near her house, queues up the 1986 tune and, in one of cinema's most iconic and recognizable scenes, blasts it from a ginormous era-appropriate boombox held aloft over his head.
It was a perfect and powerful moment -- and it almost didn't happen. The film's writer and director, Cameron Crowe, says the song originally slated for the scene was Billy Idol's 'To Be a Lover.' And even after Crowe realized that was all wrong and 'In Your Eyes' was a much better fit, convincing Peter Gabriel was another story.
But in the end the singer agreed, and the rest is history. It's nearly impossible to imagine another song playing during that boombox-scene, again proving Crowe is one of the best in the business at taking a great movie scene, adding powerful music -- and making both of them even better.
Watch the 'Say Anything...' Scene Featuring Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes'