Bandslam - Production

Production

Bandslam was bought by a studio back in 2004, but in late January 2007, Walden Media and Summit Entertainment announced that they would co-finance Bandslam, co-written by Todd Graff and Josh Cagan and directed by Graff. Todd Graff was hired to direct in early March 2007 and rewrote the screenplay.

Prior to filming, they had two weeks of music rehearsals. The actors and actresses were designated to play their instruments. Donowho had a lifetime of experience with drums and Michalka with the guitar, so they were used to their instruments, but Lisa Chung, Scott Porter and Vanessa Hudgens were not. "I didn't think it would be this much music when I came here," Hudgens told MTV News on the set of Bandslam in Austin, Texas, last year. "And they are like, 'We are going to have two weeks of music rehearsals,' and I was like, 'What?' But it was really cool. It's definitely not the kind of music I do normally." Principal photography began on February 9, 2008 in Austin, Texas. Although the film is set in New Jersey, Graff felt strongly that it was important to shoot in a place with a wide array of great live music to choose from. "I'm a big believer in local scenes," he says. "I think it's the lifeblood of music. Austin is renowned as a music town, and rightly so. They have a ton of really great bands just trying to get their music out there. So, it's great we had an opportunity to use several unsigned local Texas bands."

In an interview with Los Angeles Times, director Todd Graff admitted there were cultural incongruities underlying the film, "I know, it's demented. Every once in a while on set I would think to myself, 'I can't believe we got away with this'. I always thought if it only sent one kid to listen to a Velvet Underground record, it would be worth it to me." All of the vocals for this film were filmed live by each of the singing cast members, as mentioned by director Todd Graff. One of the requirements for the film was that all actors had to be able to provide their own vocals. Because Alyson Michalka was on tour with her sister Amanda Michalka and Miley Cyrus, she did not arrive in Austin until midway through rehearsals. Conveniently, the tour's last stop was in Austin, Texas, where rehearsal and filming for the movie took place. All of the instruments and singing in the movie were recorded by the actors, with the exception of the guitar parts of Vanessa Hudgens and Scott Porter, as well as Lisa Chung's piano parts. Although Hudgens and Porter learned how to play their songs, they were dubbed by guitarists Jason Mozersky and JW Wright.