For millions of people, Thanksgiving isn’t complete without at least one screening. airplanes, trains, cars, John Hughes’ first major breakthrough in writing about teenage angst. In the 1987 classic comedy film, Steve Martin plays marketing executive Neil Page. Neil Page wants to go back to his home in Chicago to see his wife and kids for Thanksgiving, but on the way he showers with her curtains, her ring salesman, her Del Griffiths (John Candy) makes me thoroughly angry. And a lot, a lot, many A disaster befalls the two during their journey. Here are some non-pillow facts about this movie.
Before becoming a film director, Hughes worked as a copywriter at the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago. One day, he had a presentation scheduled for 11 a.m. on a Wednesday in New York City and was scheduled to fly home on a 5 p.m. flight that evening. He stayed in a hotel that night because all flights to Chicago were canceled because of the winter winds. Delays continued due to a snowstorm in Chicago the next day. His final flight was diverted to Denver. Then Phoenix. Mr. Hughes did not return until Monday. Experiencing such a hellish journey may explain how Hughes was able to write his first 60 pages of this novel. airplanes, trains, cars In just 6 hours.
Howard Deutch directed some of Hughes’ most popular screenplays. pretty in pink and It’s kind of amazing.and he was going to direct airplanes, trains, cars, too. However, after Martin signed on, Hughes decided to direct the film himself.Deutch directed Hughes’ 1988 screenplay. great outdoors (Candy also stars) Instead.
The comedian, who wrote the script himself, thought the 145-page script was too long for a comedy. When Martin asked Hughes where he thought scenes could be cut, Hughes was puzzled by the question.Martin later claimed that the first cut was airplanes, trains, cars It was four and a half hours long.
Reid Rosefelt met with Hughes for an interview for the unit’s public relations position. airplanes, trains, cars. Although he did not get the job, Rosefelt later wrote about the experience, stating that it was strange but admirable that Hughes did not allow Rosefelt to see the film’s script in advance. As the two met and got to know each other, Rosefeldt asked him what the movie was about, since he only knew the title and that Martin and Candy were in the lead roles. Hughes then began performing entire films for him.
On the first day of filming, the crew brought in a treadmill, weights, and other exercise equipment for Candy to use in her hotel suite. Martin said Candy “never went near it.”
Some outdoor scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York. Martin claimed that the cast and crew closely followed the film’s plot. “During filming, we were jumping over planes, trains and cars trying to find snow,” he said.
in John Hughes: A Life in Cinema, Kirk Honeycutt writes that one actor who played a truck driver was supposed to only have one day to write his lines in the movie. Due to delays in production, director Hughes decided to put him on standby, and while the crew waited for the snow to fall, the actor ended up working enough days to make a down payment on a house. It’s very likely that the uncredited Troy Evans played the shy truck driver in this movie. He was credited and continued to appear in: E.R. He played Frank Martin for the final five seasons of the show, and then played Detective Burrell Johnson for nearly 60 episodes. bosch.
McClurg – Perhaps best known as Principal Rooney’s secretary, Grace. ferris bueller‘■Holidays— Neil played a St. Louis rental car employee who dropped 18 F-bombs. For the first few takes, McClurg simply held up his finger and had a standard telephone conversation with the customer. Hughes then told her to give an impromptu talk on her phone about her Thanksgiving. Then it occurred to me that she needs roasted marshmallows since she can’t cook, and that she would take care of the crescent rolls. After she finished speaking, Hughes asked her how she came up with that detail so quickly. When McClurg explained that she drew from her own life, just as she does for her own scripts, he said, “Oh yeah!” She says people still ask her to tell them they’re shit.
That abusive argument between Martin and McClurg is reportedly one of the scenes Martin wanted to make in the film.overuse of that word fuck Apparently this is also what pushed the film’s rating from PG-13 to R.
In the scene where Neil tries to sleep next to Del cleaning his sinus infection and Neil’s wife (Lyla Robbins) who is watching TV alone in bed, she somehow watches. she has a baby, which was not released in theaters until February of the following year.Kevin Bacon starred in that movie and had a cameo appearance. airplanes, trains, cars As the guy who passed Neil to catch a taxi. Some believe that Bacon, who is officially listed in the credits as “Taxi Racer,” was performing his performance. she has a baby Jake, the character in that scene.
After the car explodes, Neil and Del go into a strip club to make a phone call, where Del gets distracted by a dancer. Actress Debra Lamb said she didn’t know her scene had been cut until she went to the screening.
future Star Trek: Voyager Star Jeri Ryan makes her acting debut airplanes, trains, cars. She was one of the passengers on the bus and couldn’t help but laugh at Martin and Candy’s antics. So Hughes reshot the scene without her.
Elton John and lyricist Gary Osborne had almost finished writing the movie’s theme song. airplanes, trains, cars Paramount claimed ownership of the recording masters, but John’s record company refused. This song has never been released.
In the original ending, Del followed Neil all the way home. During the editing process, Hughes decided to make Candy’s character a “noble one” instead, ultimately taking a cue from Martin’s character and making her a “noble” character before Neil had a change of heart and found Del again. let Neil go home alone.
To achieve the new ending he wanted, Hughes and editor Paul Hirsch went back to find footage that had previously been thought not to be used. Hughes was on a train in Chicago, unbeknownst to the lead, who kept the camera rolling between takes while Martin thought of his next line. Hughes thought there was a “beautiful look” on Martin’s face during that vulnerable moment and inserted it into the film.
A version of this story aired in 2017. Updated for 2023.