Only ‘90s kids will get X-Men: The New Mutants director’s gag gift. As production ramps up for the next X-Men spin-off film from 20th Century Fox, Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) Instagrammed a hilarious gift he received from his cinematographer, Peter Deming (Twin Peaks). It’s a clapperboard — a tool used on film sets to designate shots and sync sound — emblazoned with the cast of the TV sitcom Growing Pains, along with an X-Men version of the logo. As long as we’ve got each other…
Like most movies, X-Men: The New Mutants, which begins filming today, is operating with a working on-set title: Growing Pains, a sly reference to the film’s young adult energy. Sort of like the sitcom, or any sitcom really, the young mutants of Fox’s X-Men Universe will struggle as they learn to gel as a team.
For those under the age of 30, Growing Pains was an ABC sitcom that premiered in 1985 and ran for seven seasons. It starred Alan Thicke as Dr. Jason Roland Seaver, a work-from-home dad who moved his psychiatry practice to spend time with his kids. The show also starred Kirk Cameron in a career-defining role, with Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Matthew Perry (Friends) in recurring appearances. In the show’s seventh season, Leonardo Dicaprio played a homeless teen who is taken in by the Seaver family.
Years later, the cast reunited for two made-for-TV movies: 2000’s The Growing Pains Movie and 2004’s Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers.
See Boone’s gift below.
X-Men: The New Mutants will be released in theaters on April 18, 2018.
