So Kanew made sure everyone was on the same page, and that while the laughs were steady, so was the human element.

"The essence of what I think made the first 'Nerds' so good," Kanew says, "was that all the actors and everybody – myself and the producers – we all understood that if we make this a real story about real people as opposed to a cartoon about geeks, then people will relate to it and it will be better."

Kanew wasn't the obvious comedy choice for "Nerds" producers. He had done mostly dramatic work in the past. But Fox Studio's head was a friend of Kanew's, and floated the script Kanew's way.

"I read it and was quite reluctant to do it, because I was this New York, serious guy," Kanew says. "I had been the editor of 'Ordinary People,' and was teaching a class at Columbia."

But Kanew read the script and thought it was funny. He also thought audiences could relate to it.

"The insecurity that we all feel, like everyone else is cool and we're not, there's hardly anybody that doesn't feel that way," Kanew says. "I connected to that."

So Kanew flew to Los Angeles for a director's audition.

"The producers didn't think I could do a comedy, so I had to go and do a three-hour tap dance for them to get the job, but it worked." Kanew says. "After that, I couldn't get a serious job. I was a comedy guy."

At the audition, Kanew had to discuss his vision for the movie. He was asked how he would shoot it, what he'd keep from the script and what he'd change.

Producers and Kanew butted heads on one issue.

"The one mistake I was told I made in the audition was that I said 'Risky Business' was a better movie than 'Animal House,' which is what I felt. It's kind of deeper, more complex and more serious, too, but they wanted 'Animal House.'" Kanew says. "They were worried that I was going to make it too dark or deep."

The two sides compromised when Kanew mentioned that he told his Columbia class the movie was a stupid teenage comedy. "They said, 'Oh, that's good.'" Kanew says. The studio head said he wanted a movie that not only would never play at Cinema 2 in New York, but would get Kanew banned from that theater for life.

"I said, 'How about if I promise to make a movie that I'll be ashamed to put my name on?' Kanew says. "They said, 'Great, you've got the job.'"

While "Revenge of the Nerds" has its serious themes, Kanew says he didn't add much to the script. Most of it was in place, and Kanew just kept things real.

But there was one darker scene Kanew liked that was cut from the movie. The scene comes after the Tri-Lamb nerds win the Homecoming Carnival and rush back to their house, only to find it trashed by the jocks.

"We actually saw the trashing of the house," Kanew says. "We dropped that, and it was really ugly. The nerds run up and the jocks grab them on the front porch and roughed them up a little bit. It reminded of stuff that happened to me in high school, which is why I wanted it to be in there."

"But the audience at the previews really objected to it. They felt like we were making a comedy and now all of the sudden we're changing the tone," Kanew says. "So a lot of that stuff went away."

Kanew's open attitude was key to keeping the characters individual and real. He allowed anyone to offer an idea, whether it was an actor, crew member, producer or writer.

"It was almost like some divine guidance that said, 'stay open to everything here.'" Kanew says. He says during his previous film, "Eddie Macon's Run," actor Kirk Douglas took offense to Kanew's thinking that the writer and director was supposed to have all the answers. "He said, 'Actors can make a great contribution if you just listen.'" Kanew says. "He said that just before he almost hit me."

Kanew says he and Douglas have been great friends since, and that Douglas' advice was put into action on "Nerds."

"When I went up the next time to direct something, I thought, 'I didn't write this, I'm sort of the conductor, but everybody else are the musicians, so let them play.'" Kanew says. "Once the door was open, everybody just threw out a lot of ideas and thoughts, and so many of them were good, things just kept getting better and better."

Kanew points out the nerds' show at the end of the movie as a major example of collaboration.

"In the script it said, 'The nerds put on a show.'" Kanew says. "And then Curtis said, 'I want to do Elvis.' And Bobby and Anthony said, 'We'll be like Devo.' I had no idea that Larry could rap and dance and he taught Wormser, or Wormser could do it also. They said, 'Why don't we do this little number,' so I wrote this little rap for them to do, and it just grew like that."

There were subtler improvised scenes, too, like after Lewis and Gilbert are tarred and feathered by the Alpha Beta jocks. Lewis defends Betty Childs, snapping at Gilbert.

"I felt like we needed one more beat, so I said, 'Look, say good night to each other and try to make up.'" Kanew says. "And they kind of ad-libbed. Bobby just said, 'Gilbert'?' [Gilbert] 'Yes?' [Lewis] 'Sorry I snapped at you.' [Gilbert] It's OK. It was like one of those sweet little things. It's nothing, but it helps people warm up to the characters."

Other contributions from actors included Booger wiping a booger in a girl's hand while arm wrestling and Timothy Busfield dancing as Poindexter – even during his audition.

Unfortunately, Kanew's touch only was on the original "Revenge of the Nerds." He says he would have directed the sequel if it weren't for what he considers a weak script. He says it violated everything done with the first "Nerds" movie.

"I called them up and I said, 'Listen, this script needs a lot work,'" Kanew says. "They said 'Well, we're shooting in July, yes or no?' I said, 'OK, no.'"

Today, 59-year-old Kanew is working less but still keeps busy. He's directing "Adam and Eve" an independent film seeking a distributor. The romantic comedy was written by Kanew's son, Justin, and stars Cameron Douglas (Michael's son) and Jake Hoffman (Dustin's son).

The film was going to be shot in Chicago, because Justin went to Northwestern University and wrote and experienced the plot there. But to fulfill a tight budget, the film was shot and edited in Los Angeles. The film will be shown at a screening in Los Angeles Oct. 12. It also has been submitted to the Sundance Festival.

As for "Revenge of the Nerds," Kanew is proud of what he created.

"It's held up quite well. It still makes me laugh," he says. "I feel proud when people watch it. I have nothing but good feelings for that movie "

Kanew also appreciated compliments to "Nerds" in 2003's "American Splendor."

"I had no idea when I went to see 'American Splendor' that there was any reference to 'Revenge of the Nerds.'" Kanew says. "I'm sitting in a theater and all of the sudden these guys start talking about 'Revenge of the Nerds,' it's the greatest movie ever, it's Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream,' and the audience is digging it, and I still could feel it."

Photos courtesy 20th Century Fox and Jeff Kanew

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