Spies Like Us: We're All Big ... Massachusetts, and Nevada. A Chicago man and his family go camping with his obnoxious brother-in-law. The sloped roof of the building that was airbrushed out in the aerial shots can be seen just behind and to the left of Larry Cohen in this screen grab. Use the HTML below. Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War. Spies Like Us is a 1985 American comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, and Donna Dixon. Spies Like Us (1985) Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events Spies Like Us subtitles. With Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Mark Stewart, Sean Daniel. ____________________________________________________________________________, Previous LOCATION, LOCATION, Location? One side of the building was converted to what appear to be garages while the ‘front’ side seems to hold offices. A look west down the road from the Lancaster 3. Michael Apted, B.B. Although the same cast today would find itself on the video shelf and not the movie theaters, for the mid 80's this was a GIANT of a Hollywood cast. Inspired designs on t-shirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Admittedly, this 16th LOCATION, LOCATION, Location? Just don’t plan on catching any double-features while you’re there. To the right of the drive-in property line and between the highway sits a building that doesn’t show up on the aerial views in the film. The goal is not to point out exact address information for these locations, but to encourage viewers to put on their own marquee’ologist hats and experience the thrill of the hunt to discover and visit these real world settings themselves. Looking at the matched images, something else became amazing clear. The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated. After being fast-tracked through training they are parachuted into Pakistan where all manner of adventures await them. Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd were at the height of their professional careers with the 80's "masterpiece" Spies Like Us. (1985). In the fourth outing for the vacation franchise, the Griswolds have to survive Vegas fever when they go to Las Vegas for a fun family vacation. 22 Metascore; 1985; 1 hr 49 mins Family, Comedy PG Watchlist. Overseas shipping is $16.00. To date, they have only released inferior copies of Spies Like Us on DVD and Blu-Ray. Coincidentally, the role of Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters had also been written for Belushi. The newly appointed agent/spies don't realize they're decoys, but rather, think they're real agents on a real mission. A few months after their “Today Show” appearance, Belushi died of a drug overdose and the script lingered at Universal for several years before being put into turnaround and handed over to Warner Bros. At a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him. It’s a shame that Warner Bros. Home Video doesn’t think very much about this film. Thank you. Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase were almost at the center of a Cold War ���incident��� during the filming of Spies LIke Us. With the script at Warner Bros., John Landis on board as director and Chevy Chase taking over the Belushi role, the movie was greenlit. Il brano Registrazione. Play. It’s that front side you see prominently in Spies Like Us when Ruby and Keyes show up in their car. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? The WAMP anti-ballistic missile pulse laser fires up. By 1988 the city had torn down the screens and most of the buildings, yet interestingly the concession building/snack bar/projection room on the south side remained as well as the ‘indoor’ viewing building on the north – The city remodeled those 2 structures and added a new building in between (visible from google earth) and after erecting new walls and building a huge garage/maintenance shop the drive in faded into oblivion and was reborn as the maintenance yard/facility for the city of Lancaster –, There are still relics from the past in the desert north of the drive in – You can find the occasional speaker box, pole and other memorabilia – But that’s about it – Spies Like Us is definitely a time capsule and while the movie wasn’t the greatest effort it is still one of my favorite movies because of the big part the drive contributes to the plot –, It should also be noted that there was quite a lot of nearby buidlings airbrushed out – In addition to the partial roof visible above Larry’s head you can also see a bilboard in the background that is still there today – I’d love to find some B Roll and behind the scenes footage of them filming there but I have yet to come across it – I also have always wondered what Landis and the others thought of this place when they came into town – Probably weren’t too impressed, it was cold, windy and plain miserable – Not much has changed in the 30 years since Spies set up camp –. Scott…The Lancaster was designed by architect Arthur Drielsma and features all-steel screen towers, completely equipped snack bars, macadam-surfaced parking areas, and marquees equipped with changeable reader lines from four to five lines in height.”, Other than the magazine mention and stories from locals who remember the Drive-In in its heyday and declining years, not much more is known about the Lancaster. After receiving an inheritance in Louisiana, Los Angeles reporter Irvin Fletcher heads to the Belle Isle plantation where he gets himself into hilarious trouble. 27 of 33 people found this review helpful. The Lancaster Drive-In as seen in ‘Spies Like Us’. These 2021 Sundance Film Festival headliners became household names thanks to some unforgettable roles early in their careers. Written by Dan Aykroyd, Dave Thomas, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel. If you must have the film, getting the cheap DVD version is currently your best bet. His articles can be found on BTM via this link: http://beyondthemarquee.com/category/about-us/articles-by-author/kevin-stern/, Kevin can be reached via e-mail at: kevin@beyondthemarquee.com. Spies Like Us He’s the one who greets ‘Mr. The DVD features a cropped Standard 4:3 transfer that can only be described as muddy-at-best (a look at the screengrabs here can testify to that). Spies Like Us Yet another bad movie in a lengthy string of losers for all three of the principals involved here: director John Landis and stars Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. In a 1981 “Today Show” interview with Gene Shalit, Belushi and Aykroyd discuss a planned ‘spy movie’ featuring both of them. Disponible en iTunes Chevy Chase y Dan Aykroyd son dos ingenuos funcionarios de los servicios de espionaje norteamericanos que son utilizados como anzuelo para despistar a los agentes rusos, mientras los americanos tratan de ��� They are unsuitable as CIA agents but are deliberately chosen for this reason, as their mission is a decoy one and they are expendable. The view looking out to the desert from the concession stand hasn’t changed much since 1985. Three actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to perform their onscreen bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing. Spies Like Us. If blurry definition doesn’t cut it for you and you want to see what’s left of the Lancaster Drive-In in person, head on out to the desert and check it out for yourself. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. You know, once I saw this on Netflix, I knew I was gonna watch it that same night, there was absolutely no hesitation from my part. Directed by John Landis. Starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon davidcoppock on July 5, 2017 at 12:05 am. Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun. The entire drive-in is now built over by the City of Lancaster Maintenance Yard and other than bordering highways and a service road, not much could be seen that seemed original to 1985. It’s B.B. An article in the March 18, 1950 edition of Boxoffice Magazine described several new drive-ins being built in Southern California with Lancaster being one of them: March, 1950 Boxoffice Magazine article about the Lancaster being built. Spies Like Us è un brano musicale di Paul McCartney, pubblicato come singolo in vari formati, alla fine del 1985. As you can imagine, Spies Like Us was a major Hollywood project with a massive crew and we would pedal are old Huffy bikes through the desert trails to take a look at what they were doing – I wish I could share awesome tales of watching them film scene after scene – However the only thing I recall seeing was dozens of semi trucks and trailers, equipment, equipment and more equipment along with crew members everywhere, but no actual filming – I vividly recall the coolest thing parked – A huge Chapman camera crane truck (that they probably used for the master shot of the the car whipping into the drive in) – They also used a helicopter for several days to capture the aerial footage needed, but that was the extent of what we saw from our travels – It gets cold in the High Desert – The winter of 1984-85 was rather brutal as we saw a record snowfall right after the crew left town – In the scenes with BB King, Apted, Larry, etc at the snack bar you can get a pretty good idea of how cold it was; the dark clouds would bring snow a few days after they wrapped production –, The Lancaster Drive In wasn’t out of business and closed permanently at this point – They would shut it down for the winter season around November-December and reopen in the spring – The actual sign that reads ‘closed for the season’ wasn’t added for the movie – It was actually closed for the winter and it adds charm to the idea of the drive in being this clandestine entrance to a D.U.M.B in the middle of nowwhere – The interior scene in the snackbar is the actual real interior of the snackbar – However when the movie was released in the winter of 1985 it never made it to the screens at the theater, as it was closed for the season and sadly, it didn’t reopen in the spring of 1986 – The owners at the time kept it shut down, as it simply wasn’t profitable, Lancaster was booming and we had 3 brand new Cinermark theaters in town and the Drive In faded away after remaining open for one more season, 1985-86 season –. The cast alone makes this movie a triumph the 80's comedy. An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher. grantss. The locations are posted for BTM viewers to take a guess as to what movie or TV show the location was used. Spies Like Us (1985) - Yarn is the best way to find video clips by quote. Written by both Aykroyd and SCTV’s Dave Thomas, the script’s origin can be placed back as early as 1981 in which the film was intended as a buddy comedy to star Aykroyd and his fellow SNL partner, John Belushi. Add the first question. Screen 1 – looking toward the main entrance road. Directed by John Landis. Nick Fury: Spies Like Us is a digital comic book set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thank you for that great insight and breakdown. entry was very difficult to guess considering that the majority of what was seen in the NOW picture didn’t exist during the filming of this article’s featured movie. ________________________________________________________. Some entries may be very easy to guess, others may be difficult and sometimes a clue will be given to help point people toward the right answer. Written by both Aykroyd and SCTV���s Dave Thomas, the script���s origin can be placed back as early as 1981 in which the film was intended as a buddy comedy to star Aykroyd and his fellow SNL partner, John Belushi. Easily move forward or ��� HBO showings of Spies Like Us created a massive interest in the drive in as all of the clueless youngsters and teens actually thought that the screens were capable of folding down into the desert – This created a headache for the owners who then had to deal with constant trespassers, vandalism as the theater became a hang out spot and place to party – By early 1987 the place had been so badly vandalized that the owners gave up and sold the property to the city of Lancaster. Spies Like Us is a classic fish out of water buddy comedy in the vein of Martin & Lewis, Knotts & Conway, Bob & Doug McKenzie, Bill Spies Like Us is a great comedy homage to Hope & Crosby without the musical numbers. I think the drive-in might have been closed before the film Spies like us was filmed there, the ticket booth and the snavk bar look partly covered up in wood sheeting!? The film presents the comic adventures of two novice intelligence agents sent to the Soviet Union. The film presents the comic adventures of two novice intelligence agents sent to the Soviet Union. $4.00 shipping within the USA. The cast alone makes this movie a triumph the 80's comedy. Sent to the Soviet Union to take over a mobile SS-50 ICBM launcher, the entire operation is, in reality, a black-ops mission devised by the overtly gung-ho, General Sline. It all happened when they were in Norway, as Aykroyd explained to the Daily Telegraph: ���We shot some of Spies Like Us in Norway, on the top of a mountain near Sognefjord , and we had a replica of a Soviet SS20 rocket on the back of a launcher parked right there on the ��� Check Out Angelina Jolie as MALEFICENT on the cover of the New Entertainment Weekly Magazine! (one wonders if he’s a brother to agent Maury Sline from The Blues Brothers). Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to ��� On Wednesday, the answer and THEN picture identifying the location as it was seen on the large or small screen is identified, usually with a brief history lesson to go with it. Its an above-average romp, ��� Aykroyd later jokingly referred to the character of Slimer as “The Ghost of John Belushi.”. Where to Watch. They currently belong to the Suburban Propane Company, a multi-million dollar corporation that bought out California’s Vangas, Inc. in the early 70’s – most likely the original owners of the tanks as far back as the 1960’s at that location. Ninjas emerge and surround Millbarge and Fitz-Hume, Dan Aykroyd movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best, John Landis: 10 Best Movies According To Rotten Tomatoes, Favorite Drive-in Theater or Outdoor Movie Scene, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Amazing Transparent Man. The business office still stands today just a short walk away from the tanks. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi on the Today Show. Find the exact moment in a TV show, movie, or music video you want to share. We're sorry but jw-app doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. The armed entrance to the dilapidated Lancaster 3. Spies Like Us. SPIES LIKE US. Spies Like Us came from the mind of Dan Aykroyd who admittedly had and still does have an innate interest in government conspiracies and cover-ups. For what is now considered a somewhat forgotten hit, Spies Like Us actually holds up pretty well among the other Landis-Aykroyd comedies from the 1980’s. It was ideally set north of the town in an unpopulated area and coincidentally enough, just southwest of Edwards Air Force base. The location as it looks NOW is posted on a Monday. I was 7 years old at the time and our house was located in a neighborhood just west of the Drive In – The production team actually came in and placed fake greenery/foliage over the end of our street as well as a modular trailer/office for a housing developer that would go onto to build a 200+ housing tract starting in the summer of ’85. The filmmakers didn’t have to go too far in Southern California to find a location that worked as an abandoned drive-in theater. Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War. Paul McCartney incise il brano per l'omonimo film di John Landis con Chevy Chase e Dan Aykroyd, flop sia al botteghino che per la ��� Spies Like Us came from the mind of Dan Aykroyd who admittedly had and still does have an innate interest in government conspiracies and cover-ups. Easily move forward or ��� I grew up in Lancaster and resided less than a mile away from the drive in,and still do to this day – It’s nearly impossible to find any behind the scenes info on the great Spies Like Us film shoot that came to town in the winter of 1984-85. Tropes Like Us: Absurdly High-Stakes Game: The final scene has Fitz-Hume and Millbarge working on "peaceful negotiations for nuclear disarmament" with the Russian government (read: making Russia bet their silos on a combination between Risk and Trivial Pursuit). The tanks existed in the 1974 satellite image and are still there to this day in the exact same spot. The Griswolds win a vacation tour across Europe where the usual havoc ensues. Sure enough, the current day building is nothing more than the concessions building heavily remodeled for use at the Lancaster Maintenance Yard. Two low-level government employees, Emmitt Fitz-Hume (played by Chevy Chase) and Austin Milbarge (Dan Aykroyd), are chosen for a top-secret CIA mission. The site in question for this LLL is the desert location of WAMP–a secret underground military weapons bunker headed by the Defense Intelligence Agency as seen in the 1985 John Landis comedy, Spies Like Us. Awesome stuff I appreciate your take. CAPITOL 5537. Despite some very subtle clues we provided on our Monday post and on the Beyond the Marquee Facebook page, we’re betting that no one out there was able to guess the 16th LOCATION, LOCATION, Location? However, a sharp eye will catch the slope of the roof from that missing building located just behind and to the left of writer and director Larry Cohen during his cameo. ; Accent Relapse: Once the mission contacts are revealed to be Russian spies, in the subsequent interrogation scene, they have ��� PG. 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