Wait'll Otis Sees Us, He Loves Us
Whenever someone asks me what my favorite comedy movie of all time, my answer is always "National Lampoon's Animal House." Usually followed by "Caddyshack" and "Stripes." These movies stand the test of time because of brilliant casting, outstanding performances and all of those great memorable lines. Everyone knows lines from these movies. And everyone knows someone in their own lives that are like the characters from these movies. Moreover, everyone knows someone that can quote verbatim from these movies. I guess you could say that the connection we make with the movies becomes a part of our lives and remain with us each time we get the chance to watch them again on TV.
Anywho, our show featured six of the cast members of "National Lampoon's Animal House." Karen Allen ("Katy"); Peter Riegert (Boon); Stephen Furst (Flounder); Mark Metcalf (Neidermeyer); Martha Smith (Babs); DeWayne Jessie (Otis Day) were here from 7 to 9 this morning in honor of the 30th anniversary of this comedy classic. This is a big deal. Universal pictures sent a small crew along with them to document their every move for a special new release of the dvd they are working on.
I must say that they were all wonderful people to work with this morning. They were game for whatever we asked. Larry, Robin and Dean did a great sit down interview with them in studio 2 and you could see that they still enjoy each other's company and love remembering the joy and laughter that the movie gave to them while making it.
Larry wrote some clever life lessons and used clips from the movie for his Larry's World segments which lit up their faces.
Even Neidermeyer interrupted one of Pat's sports tease and berated him for wearing a Cubs pledge pin and made him do push-ups.
Then, we played a gameshow with them called "Know Your Oscars" in honor of Oscar weekend.
All of the questions were about movies made in the 70's in honor of "Animal House." Babs and Otis won for losing first.
(Watch the clip on the website and hopefully it will make sense to you.)
The grand finale was Otis Day singing "Shout" with the Incognitos - complete with a studio filled with dancers that were made up of behind-the-scenes folks, cast members and anchor team! What a blast. I never thought that EVERYBODY would jump into the mix and get nutty.
I mean, Karen Allen was dancing and singing "shout"??? Somehow I don't think Harrison Ford would jump down onto the floor and do "the Gator."
Today was one of the best days I have ever had at work. I mean, it's insane that I got paid today.
Go meet and greet your college pals all weekend long at the Hollywood Blvd. Cinema in Woodridge.
Go to www.atriptothemovies.com for more details.
And, if you ever want a band for a party or want to party with a band, go to www.theincognitos.com
Click the exclusive behind-the-scenes video below taken by our Blog camera princess, Marisa Pozo.
Segment Producer, Jeff Hoover