Harrison Ford and Bo Hopkins also appear. Set in Modesto, California , in , the film is a study of the cruising and early rock 'n' roll cultures popular among Lucas's age group at that time.
Through a series of vignettes , it tells the story of a group of teenagers and their adventures throughout a single night. While Lucas was working on his first film, THX , Coppola asked him to write a coming-of-age film. The genesis of American Graffiti took place in Modesto in the early s, during Lucas's teenage years. He was unsuccessful in pitching the concept to financiers and distributors but found favor at Universal Pictures after every other major film studio turned him down.
Filming began in San Rafael, California , but the production crew was denied permission to shoot beyond a second day. As a result, production was moved to Petaluma, California. The film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for five Academy Awards , including Best Picture. In , the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. On their last evening of summer vacation in , high school graduates Curt Henderson and Steve Bolander meet two other friends, confident drag-racing king John Milner and unpopular but well-meaning Terry "The Toad" Fields in the parking lot of Mel's Drive-In in Modesto, California.
Steve and Curt are to travel " Back East " in the morning and start college but the latter has second thoughts about leaving. Laurie, Steve's girlfriend and Curt's sister, arrive moments later, and Steve suggests to her that they see other people while he is away at college to "strengthen" their relationship.
Though not openly upset at first, it affects her interactions with him throughout the night. Curt, Steve, and Laurie attend the high school sock hop. En route, Curt sees a beautiful blonde woman driving a white Ford Thunderbird next to them, who mouths "I love you" before turning right. The interaction causes Curt to desperately search for her throughout the night. After leaving the hop, he is coerced into joining a group of greasers called "The Pharaohs", who force him to aid them in stealing coins from arcade machines and hooking a chain to a police car, ripping out its back axle.
