P.as untual as cutting the panettone, back in prime time on Italia 1 An armchair for two (9.30 pm). At this point The classic of the Christmas holidays, with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd (and Jamie Lee Curtis).
Directed by John Landis the film airs every December 24, a tradition that began in 1997, always recording excellent ratings.
But if for almost everyone it is now customary to recite the hilarious lines of the film by heart, maybe there are still gods little secrets to reveal. As the house where co-star Jamie Lee Curtis stayed during filming; or the duo of actors for whom the film was originally conceived.
An armchair for two: 10 curiosities about the film
1. A film designed for other actors
An armchair for two was initially conceived for the actor duo Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, veterans of the overwhelming success of films such as Nobody can stop us.
Pryor, however, abandoned the project due to personal problems, only then was Eddie Murphy considered for the role. With the insured party he asked Landis to replace Wilder (because he didn’t want the public to think of him as Richard Pryor’s replacement).
2. Jamie Lee Curtis at Marlene Dietrich’s house
Not even Jamie Lee Curtis was chosen from the start, Paramount didn’t believe in comic skills of the actress seen the specialization in horror.
While filming the movie Jamie has stayed in Marlene Dietrich’s apartment on Park Avenue. At the time she was engaged to her nephew of the legendary diva: production designer J. Michael Riva.
3. How the film was born
Screenwriter Timothy Harris relates that the idea of the film was born on the tennis courts.
“There were these two brothers I used to play with quite regularly, they were both doctors. And among them there was one great rivalry, an incredibly irritating thing. ‘ But also interesting to develop as a subject, which he does with co-writer Herschel Weingrod.
4. The return of Randolph and Mortimer Duke
In the John Landis comedy The prince seeks a wife 1988, Eddie Murphy meets Randolph and Mortimer Duke on the street, now forced to live like homeless people. And he offers them a few dollars to buy something to eat.
Eddie Murphy in “The Prince Seeks a Wife”.
5. The choice of Don Ameche
Ray Milland, the protagonist of The perfect crime by Alfred Hitchcock, was originally cast for the role of Mortimer, but the results of the medical check did not allow him to sign the contract. Landis then asked to meet Don Ameche, away from the cinema for fifteen years.
The actor accepted the role, provided he received the same compensation promised to Milland. It is the beginning of a second cinematic youth. Which leads him two years later to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the film Cocoon – The energy of the universe.
Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche in a scene from the film.
6. The special guests
The cameos, more or less hidden, of An armchair for two are those of singer Bo Diddley, Jim Belushi in a gorilla costume, director Frank Oz as a police officer and Kelly Curtis, Jamie Lee’s sister.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh7wi6bbPzo
7. Panic on Wall Street
For a scene to shoot on Wall Street, impossible to reproduce in the studio, Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd actually participated in the brokerage negotiations.
Their presence, however, caused a bit of an uproar, to the point that some six billion dollars worth of negotiations were suspended during the day. Fortunately, they soon recovered.
8. “I’m Inga, I’m from Sweden”
The legendary line from Jamie Lee Curtis was improvised at the time. The actress was supposed to have had an Austrian accent but was unable to reproduce it. Since he was getting along with the Swede he decided to change the sentence at the last minute. A more than winning choice.
9. Homage to John Belushi
An armchair for two I arrive two years after the global success of The Blues Brothers, also directed by Landis.
To pay homage to John Belushi, meanwhile died from an overdose, his Dan Akroyd’s mugshot has the same serial number as Belushi’s in Brothers.
10. Success in the cinema
Welcomed with enthusiasm by the public and critics, the film was praised primarily by Roger Ebert, legendary figure of American criticism. Who approached him to the comedies of the great director Frank Capra.
Then at the box office An armchair for two caused a furore, grossing the beauty of 90 million dollars and thus becoming the fourth collection of 1983 behind titles like Flashdance And Return of the Jedi.
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED