He understands better than many others I’ve worked with. I always enjoy working with John because he’s a true cineaste. “He expects you to come with your bags packed, knowing your lines and what tone and inflection to put into them, and if he wants to change something, he’ll shout it across the set. “He’s an action director, so as far as leaning in and intimately giving notes on my performance, that’s not his style,” Aykroyd continues. Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images All that’s missing is the riding crop, the boots and the bullhorn. He’s very much an old-style director like Cecil B. “We also had the total backing of the studio, 100 percent, right up to its release. “We were under the hand of a great director, so that always helps,” he says. Aykroyd pins the movie’s success squarely on Landis’ vision, and having worked with the director just three years prior on The Blues Brothers, he knew exactly what to expect on set. “Jamie Lee Curtis and I became good friends too, and we remain so to this day.”Īt the helm of it all was Landis, who became one of the pre-eminent comedy directors of the decade. To see and be a part of a talent emerging like that was part of film history,” Aykroyd says. “ was just starting out and developing his comedic gift and comedic voice. Meanwhile, it paved the way for Curtis to break free of her Halloween horror links and Aykroyd to stroll right into impending Ghostbusters success just a year later. It was really satisfying.”Īfter Trading Places was released, it became such a big hit (earning over $90 million worldwide on a $15 million budget) that Murphy became one of the highest paid movie stars of the decade. “It was intelligent and funny and had so much going for it. “I count that movie as a triple-A,” says Aykroyd, speaking to us from the set of December’s as-yet-untitled Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel. In the four decades since, it’s been tirelessly reassessed with a more culturally sensitive lens, cementing a legacy as both an ’80s classic boasting comedy gold and a controversial relic of its time with bits that haven’t aged quite so well.įor at least one of its three leading stars, however, the film still holds a singular place in their storied filmography. Yep, despite its reputation as a yuletide favorite-thanks to the memorable image of Aykroyd’s grubby banker-turned-hobo dressed in a dirty Santa costume, drunkenly chewing on a salmon wedge-director John Landis’ comedy initially hit cinemas during peak summer, on the heels of blockbusters like Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi and WarGames.įollowing its June 1983 release, Trading Places became a huge hit, emerging as the fourth biggest box-office release of the year. Released in 1983, Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis’ status-swap comedy Trading Places turned 40 this month. It may be mid-June, but it’s never too early to think about Christmas-and one iconic festive movie has special reason to celebrate this year.
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