It was filmed in the old, unused Merritt College campus in Oakland. (Students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton met there in 1962 and formed the Black Panther Party.) The location looked like an abandoned school, not an operating school, in my opinion - which no one then was interested in hearing.
an exploitation film. I took the assignment - did a lot of research and tried to satisfy myself and the studio. I interviewed teachers, admins, and social workers. When I visited the set in Oakland, however, I realized that the prod. designer had no interest in re-creating an actual school.
Spring, 1985. TriStar Pictures execs want to replicate the success of “Teachers” with their own gritty, cynical high school drama. Their idea is a High Noon Western set in an inner-city HS. They pitch that to me, a young screenwriter. Hesitant at first, I see a way of doing it accurately & more than
I wrote it 😊
