The beginnings of "Times Square" started when director Allan
Moyle found a ratty journal inside a couch he had purchased second hand. The found journal consisted of details about a mentally disturbed woman living on the streets in NYC. Inspired,
Moyle teamed up with Carly Simon songwriter Jacob
Brackman and wrote a screenplay together following with a production produced by entertainment mogul Rob
Stigwood.
Stigwood seemed to be the bane of the movie's production and makers from the get-go. In the film's DVD commentary
Moyle and the film's star Robin Johnson each tell stories of their
dysfunctional working relationship with
Stigwood. It seems Johnson got the shit end of the cherry flavored lollipop. After being "discovered" on the steps of Brooklyn Tech High School, Johnson auditioned for "Times Square" and was told she would become an actress. Promised a film contract (which included the female lead in the
sequel to Grease co-starring with Andy Gibbs and an additional movie written especially for her), Johnson was poised to be the new It-girl with teen magazine spreads already in the works. During the film's production
Stigwood removed the lesbian storyline from the movie, which appeared to be the centerpiece of the movie.
Originally, Johnson's
character Nikki falls in love with Alvarado's
character Pam, but now only a faint
hint of that story remains in the movie.
Stigwood also wanted the movie to become the next "Saturday Night Fever", a movie he also produced. He wanted the movie to have a double LP soundtrack (like, Saturday Night Fever) and wanted to recruit bands for the soundtrack that
Moyle didn't find appropriate.
Moyle wanted to keep with the punk and new wave sound. For the most part, he got
his wish, but there are a few Saturday Night Fever-
ish songs that stick out like sore thumbs in the movie. When the movie came out it tanked and Johnson was left to fend for herself. After "Times Square" she only appeared in a couple more movies including the Rosanna
Arquette 1960s romantic drama "Baby It's You" and a if-you-blink-you-will-have-miss-it-entirely role as "Punk Girl" in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours". She also starred in a Charlie's Angel
remix/
espionage/bitches with machine guns type show called
"Codename Fox Fire" where she played a character by the name of "Danny O'
Toole"...yes you heard me correctly. 1/3 of a female spy super group, Danny was supposed be the "best driver in the
wor
ld" and in addition, a great cat burglar...with a heart of gold. It's no surprise it didn't even last a whole season, but could clearly have been the inspiration for a very iconic piece of dialogue in a classic 90s film
(jump to 1:50 mark). After the
show's demise, Johnson went on to do a couple more guest starring roles on TV shows, but then disappeared. In the 90's Johnson resurfaced as a California radio Traffic Correspondent, but that's all of what is known of the actress Robin Johnson. An actress that Times Square fan and rock singer Courtney Love once called "Mick Jagger plus Marilyn Monroe." As for Allan
Moyle, in 1990 he went on to direct "Pump Up the Volume" starring the hottest actor of the moment, Christian Slater. The movie is now considered a 90s classic and
a rite of passage for teenagers. Five years after "Pump Up the Volume",
Moyle cemented his teenage auteur title even more with the grunge-teen classic,
"Empire Records". In both films you feel Time Square's "truth be told" influence and pop inheritance. While
Moyle's teen screen anthem's of the 90s may hold impact and cover heavy topics of its time,"Times Square" is gritty,
dystopian, and does not in any way, sugar glaze over how young people (specifically young women) feel when they are not being heard. It's easy to say, with the tepid climate in teen movies in recent years, that "Times Square" is a jagged relic of a movie. Or maybe it's not so easy to say. Movies like "Times Square" aren't made anymore, especially with young people in the starring roles. Why is that? In an era full of vapidness and sleaze where are the new Sleez Sisters? Where are our new Mick plus Marilyns?
The beginnings of "Times Square" started when director Allan Moyle found a ratty journal inside a couch he had purchased second hand. The found journal consisted of details about a mentally disturbed woman living on the streets in NYC. Inspired, Moyle teamed up with Carly Simon songwriter Jacob Brackman and wrote a screenplay together following with a production produced by entertainment mogul Rob Stigwood. Stigwood seemed to be the bane of the movie's production and makers from the get-go. In the film's DVD commentary Moyle and the film's star Robin Johnson each tell stories of their dysfunctional working relationship with Stigwood. It seems Johnson got the shit end of the cherry flavored lollipop. After being "discovered" on the steps of Brooklyn Tech High School, Johnson auditioned for "Times Square" and was told she would become an actress. Promised a film contract (which included the female lead in the sequel to Grease co-starring with Andy Gibbs and an additional movie written especially for her), Johnson was poised to be the new It-girl with teen magazine spreads already in the works. During the film's production Stigwood removed the lesbian storyline from the movie, which appeared to be the centerpiece of the movie. Originally, Johnson's character Nikki falls in love with Alvarado's character Pam, but now only a faint hint of that story remains in the movie. 
ld" and in addition, a great cat burglar...with a heart of gold. It's no surprise it didn't even last a whole season, but could clearly have been the inspiration for a very iconic piece of dialogue in a classic 90s film (jump to 1:50 mark). After the show's demise, Johnson went on to do a couple more guest starring roles on TV shows, but then disappeared. In the 90's Johnson resurfaced as a California radio Traffic Correspondent, but that's all of what is known of the actress Robin Johnson. An actress that Times Square fan and rock singer Courtney Love once called "Mick Jagger plus Marilyn Monroe." As for Allan Moyle, in 1990 he went on to direct "Pump Up the Volume" starring the hottest actor of the moment, Christian Slater. The movie is now considered a 90s classic and a rite of passage for teenagers. Five years after "Pump Up the Volume", Moyle cemented his teenage auteur title even more with the grunge-teen classic, "Empire Records". In both films you feel Time Square's "truth be told" influence and pop inheritance. While Moyle's teen screen anthem's of the 90s may hold impact and cover heavy topics of its time,"Times Square" is gritty, dystopian, and does not in any way, sugar glaze over how young people (specifically young women) feel when they are not being heard. It's easy to say, with the tepid climate in teen movies in recent years, that "Times Square" is a jagged relic of a movie. Or maybe it's not so easy to say. Movies like "Times Square" aren't made anymore, especially with young people in the starring roles. Why is that? In an era full of vapidness and sleaze where are the new Sleez Sisters? Where are our new Mick plus Marilyns?
