Its real second life came through cinema. In 1986 it was used in the film Stand By Me, starring River Phoenix. The film was based on Stephen King’s novella The Body, but that title was considered too harsh for a movie that wanted to reach a wide audience. Director Rob Reiner had met Mike Stoller at a party and had convinced him to play some of his classic songs on the piano while he himself sang along. Months later, Reiner heard “Stand By Me” at home and that was when he got the idea to use it as the title and build it into the film. The choice was extremely sharp. It emphasized the friendship among the boys in the story and downplayed the dead body at the center of it, which proved to be a very smart commercial move. The movie was a big hit and pushed the song back onto the charts, introducing it to a new generation.