Ear: Goonies

On Monday, there was an event sure to warm the heart of any Gooniephile, “The Goonies Are Back!!” It was episode one of the YouTube series “Reunited Apart,” hosted by actor, comedian and singer Josh Gad, and a fundraiser for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. In this premiere episode, the cast of the movie reunited for a half-hour of reminiscences, reenacting scenes, belly laughs and good-natured teasing.

Pictured, from top left, Josh Gad, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Martha Plimpton; second row, Kerri Green, Jeff Cohen, Joe Pantoliano and Robert Davi; third row, Chris Columbus, Steven Spielberg, Corey Feldman, Cyndi Lauper; bottom, Ke Huy Quan and Richard Donner (who recently celebrated his 90th birthday).

Often mentioned was Donner being frazzled by dealing with the active, energetic, loud youngsters all day. One visiting star who noticed was Clint Eastwood. “Clint came on the set,” Donner recalled, chuckling, “and he watched for about 15 minutes, and came over to me and he said, ‘Did you ever think about going back to acting?'”

And, about that sequel everyone keeps wondering about. Will it ever happen? “Chris (Columbus) and Dick (Donner) and I, and Lauren (Shuler Donner), have had a lot of conversations about it,” Spielberg replied, “and every couple of years we come up with an idea, but then it doesn’t hold water. I mean the problem is the bar that all of you raised on this genre — I don’t think we’ve really successfully been able to find an idea that is better than the Goonies that we all made in the ’80s. So until we do, people are just going to look at this 100 times.”

And, the eternal question: “What is it about the Goonies that stands the test of time?”

“What can I tell you?” Donner quipped. “If I could give you an answer to that, I’d be as rich as Steven.”