"Animal House" (1978)

“Animal House” (1978) - Intro

Written by: Josh Lansky

TCM and Fathom Events Presents

Intro:

Hi there. I’m Ben Mankiewicz. On behalf of Turner Classic Movies, Fathom Events, and Universal Pictures, welcome to the “TCM Big Screen Classic Movies” series. This month, a highly influential comedy classic, starring the legendary John Belushi. A film emblematic of an era, from Universal Pictures in 1978 it’s: “National Lampoon’s: Animal House.” When Animal House was released to theaters in 1978 it’s raucous nature and unregulated debauchery was unlike anything audiences had ever seen. It was wild, naughty, and unapologetic; and audiences…well, they couldn’t get enough. Leading the cast of Hooligans was the king of hooligans himself, John Belushi. Teenage audiences clamored to the silver screen to see “Saturday Night LIve’s” up-and-coming star stagger, slur, drink, and eat his way through the chaos and anarchy of the film. The unrestrained performance made Belushi a hot commodity in Hollywood and led to an increased role for the star back at “Saturday Night Live.” But it was characters like the belligerent “Samurai Futaba;” Pete Dionasopolis of the infamous “Chee-Burger” restaurant, and Jake E. Blue of the Blues Brothers that made John Belushi a comedy legend. This was the first of these raunchy college films aimed specifically at teenagers and was the first of the National Lampoon installments. It led to films like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Revenge of the Nerds,” or the more recent “Old School.” At the box-office “Animal House” was without a doubt a huge success as well. By the end of 1978 “Animal House” was the highest grossing comedy ever made and the second highest grossing film of 1978. The success of the film had not been anticipated by Universal, who, weary of a flop, allotted a relatively small budget to director John Landis and his cast of unknowns. Other non-believers of the film included one of the stars of the film, Donald Sutherland, who was so convinced of the movie’s imminent failure, that when offered a percentage of the gross earnings or an upfront payment of $40,000, he took the upfront payment. Estimates have shown by not taking the gross percentage, he missed out on earning an additional $30 - $40 million. Ouch! Tough break, Don; from 1978, starring Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst, Donald Sutherland, Mark Metcalf, Mary Louise Weller, John Belushi, and a small debut performance by Kevin Bacon; Here’s: “National Lampoon’s: Animal House.” ******

“Animal House” (1978) - Outro

Written by: Josh Lansky

TCM and Fathom Events Presents

Outro:

Director John Landis set out to film the entirety of Animal House in one month. Wanting to get the film off on the right foot he arranged for a week of intense, on-location rehearsals to build a sense of camaraderie amongst the cast. Landis had the cast live on the college campus where they would be filming. They were told to vandalize their fraternity house and even attend an Omega style Frat Party. The frat party…it didn’t go so well. The make believe”Deltas” found themselves on the losing end of a fist fight with the real life Omegas after Tim Matheson hit on the girlfriend of one of the real life Omega brothers. Interesting how life imitates art, isn’t it? Or is it the other way around? And the famous Toga Party scene, took two, twelve hour day shoots to film, and despite all this, Landis got his debut film shot in twenty-eight days.

We hope you enjoyed this special screening of “National Lampoon’s: Animal House.” Next month, the “TCM Big Screen Classics: series brings you _______. To find out more about the TCM Big Screen Classics Series, go to Fathom Events.com. For Turner Classic movies, Fathom events, and Universal Pictures, I’m Ben Mankiewicz…and remember…If you’re on double secret probation anyway, throw a Toga Party! What’s the worst that can happen. We’ll see you next month, here at TCM.