Frank Oz on LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; He Didn't Want to Cast Bill Murray and Steve Martin Insisted on Impersonating Elvis

It’s been 35 years since Little Shop of Horrors was released in theatres, and it turns out that the movie, which was based on the off-Broadway play, was such a massive undertaking (with a horrendous original ending), that it almost didn’t get made. Director Frank Oz remembers back to when he was hired to make the movie, and in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he recalls casting the film with producer David Geffen.

Oz, who had made only Muppet movies leading up to this point, had been working in London for nine years, and had never heard of Geffen’s top choice for the lead role of Seymour Krelborn, SCTV funnyman Rick Moranis, who had stolen several scenes in the blockbuster Ghostbusters (1984) as Louis Tully.

Oz said:

“I had never heard of Rick Moranis. I was working in London for nine years, so I had never seen Rick on television. David recommended him, and I was happy to meet him. I thought he was great after I looked at his work.”

As for Audrey, Geffen wanted Cyndi Lauper in the role. Oz remembers:

“I really wanted Ellen [Greene]. I didn’t think anyone could do better than the actress who played the character during the off-Broadway run. David was not for it. I asked him to please give her a screen test with Rick. After seeing that, David agreed.”

Of casting superstar comedian actor Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist, Oz says:

“I knew Steve but not closely. I went to his house in Beverly Hills. He said, ‘I don’t want to play a Fonzie [Happy Days] character,’ and I said, ‘Do what you want.’ So he played it as an Elvis character. So damn brilliant. I was lucky to get Steve.”

One of the biggest points of contention between Oz and Geffen, the director recalls, was that Geffen hired Bill Murray to play the small but hilarious role of the masochistic dental patient. Oz remembers this was purely because he was not given a say in the decision, but some may speculate that it may be partially due to the rumors and allegations that Murray was/is difficult to work with on set. Oz says:

“I did not cast Bill. I wanted to cast somebody else, but David had already cast Bill. I got very upset — not that Bill had been cast, but David and I had an agreement that we both had to sign off on whoever was cast. We had a little problem there, but David agreed he would not do that again, and I was glad to have Bill.”

Beyond casting, the two biggest hurdles in making the film were the massive alien-plant Audrey II, and the film’s ending itself. When talking about the plant, Oz prides himself and his team on Audrey II, which came to life without CGI — as it did not exist yet.

“Everything you see with the plant is real. There is nothing like the plant that had ever been done before. It took 25 to 30 people to operate the plant at its largest. There was one person inside the head. And there was a steel girder from the back of the head to the back of the shop, which we hid. Then there were puppeteers below working the vines.”

The final issue was the show’s ending. Not only did the director want to stick to the downer off-Broadway conclusion in which Seymour and Audrey die, Oz went even further, having Audrey II and fellow alien plants take over the world. It was loathed in test screenings.

“I had lost some perspective. David warned us in the very beginning that the ending Howard and I both wanted to do should not be done. He said, ‘You can’t kill your stars!’ And although he disagreed, he allowed it.”

He continues:

“What I learned was the power of the tight shot, meaning the more we came in close to that love story between Rick and Ellen, the more the audience hated that we killed them. David was right. I fucked up thinking that what I did was funny. The ending that I created out of tongue-in-cheek homage to the old B movies was not funny enough. People took it seriously, and they were extremely upset that we killed the people they loved.”

The first test screening took place in San Jose, and Oz remembers:

“I remember seeing the heads of the studio in front of me. Everyone was applauding after every number. They were absolutely loving it! And then the last 10 minutes, when Rick and Ellen died — it became an icebox. I could just feel it. It was awful.”

To further drive home how bad the reaction was, Oz explains that in those days, the most important question on the preview survey concerned whether viewers would recommend the film to others.

“At that time, you had to have a 55 percent recommendation. That was the lowest you could have. We had 13 percent. It was an absolute disaster. I asked Warners if we could please do another preview and they agreed, so we went to Los Angeles. And the exact same thing happened.” Oz knew what he had to do. So, cast and crew returned to London for six weeks and shot the happy ending. “Then we did more previews — and we were fine.”

It’s a good thing he listened to those audiences. I love the story and the music from this movie so much. Who knows if I ever would have seen it or enjoyed it were it not for the switched ending? As for the film’s staying power and beloved fanbase over the years, Oz told THR:

“I am thrilled by the popularity. You do something, and you don’t think about the longevity. You put your heart and soul to make it the best you can. Then it is up to the marketing gods and the audience gods. One never knows. I am very fortunate and proud my instincts — outside the original ending — created something more enduring than I realized.”