Not only are we still elbow deep in Thanksgiving leftovers, but

just two days ago, this movie hit its 30th anniversary of its theatrical release.

What more could you want?

Even more turkey, that's insane.

So here are seven things you didn't know about Planes, Trains and Automobiles,

probably.

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Based on a true story or based on actual events is the type of thing that studios

like to put in the trailers for Oscary movies to make them seem even more Oscary.

So, you might be surprised to hear that Planes,Trains, and

Automobiles is actually deserving of the same distinction.

John Hughes, the writer-director,

based the story line of the film on something that really happened to him.

He was working in New York and had planned to fly home to Chicago for a day or two.

But, thanks to snow storms there were all sorts of flight cancellations, delays,

as well as flights getting diverted to other cities.

And he somehow wound up in Wichita, Kansas,

just like the characters in the movie.

Hughes didn't even make it to Chicago until five days later,

well after he was meant to have already returned New York.

John Hughes is responsible for more than a few share of iconic films, but

most people don't know just how quickly he was able to write all of these classics.

Typically Hughes would disappear for five or six days and

come back with 120 page screenplay.

Following that,

he do upwards of 20 to 25 rewrites along the way of actually making the film.

In fact, he was so inspired after his first meeting with Molly Ringwald that he

wrote 16 Candles in just one weekend.

Boom, bonus thing.

Rumor is for Planes, Trains and

Automobiles Automobiles, he was able to write the first draft in just three days.

Cranking out the first 60 pages in a mere six hours.

If you don't know much about the screen writing process, just trust us,

that's crazy fast.

Guess having that real-life experience in his disastrous journey home to

Chicago gave him some extra juice.

Juice indeed.

In case you skipped ahead,

that would have made sense if you had watched the previous thing, so

shame on you.

Anyway back to John Hughes and his juice, vis-a-vis playing Planes, Trains, and

Automobiles.

Not only did he write it super quickly but the script wound up being 145 pages long.

That's super long for any genre let alone a comedy especially when you take into

account that the final film is only about 90 minutes long.

Before photography started, Steve Martin asked John Hughes which scenes he

thought he'd be cutting and Hughes was completely befuddled.

He had no intentions of cutting the film down at all.

Obviously they did cut quite a lot in the end but

they shot over 600,000 feet of film, which was damn near twice the industry average.

And according to Paul Hirsch, the editor, the first cut was 3 hours and

40 minutes long.

They even cut it down to a 2 hour version,w hich was shown at some

test screens.

And it was more than likely decaying in a vault somewhere in Paramount,

never to see the light of day.

Merry Christmas everyone.

It's easy to forget that Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is an "R" rated comedy,

until you re-watch this scene that is.

>> How may I help you?

>> You can start by wiping that (Bleep) dumb ass smile of your rosy,

(Bleep) cheeks.

And you could give me a (Bleep) automobile, a (Bleep) Datsun,

a (Bleep) Toyota, a (Bleep) Mustang, a (Bleep) Buick.

Four (Bleep) wheels and a seat.

>> I really don't care for the way you're speaking to me.

>> And I really don't care for the way your company left me in the middle of

(Bleep) nowhere with (Bleep) keys to a (Bleep) car that isn't (Bleep) there.

And I really didn't care to (Bleep) walk down a (Bleep) highway and

across a (Bleep) runway to get back here and have you smile at my (Bleep) face.

I want a (Bleep) car right (Bleep) now.

>> In case you weren't counting, that was 18 F-bombs in exactly 1 minute.

And it was this scene alone that took the film from a PG-13 to an R with the MPAA.

They didn't give a (Bleep) about the (Bleep) s in New Zealand, though.

Planes, Trains is rated PG over there, all 18 (Bleep) included, boom, bonus thing.

But it was also this scene that made Steve Martin want to do the movie at all.

Martin said it was the car rental tirade along with this scene in the car with

John Candy adjusting his seat that made him say yes to the film.

Those two scenes alone were enough for him to know that Planes,

Trains and Automobiles was going to be great.

And on that additional bonus thing, let's move on to our next non-bonus thing.

Number 5.

Like most holiday movies, Plains, Trains, and Automobiles is all about heart and

togetherness in the end.

Which makes this scene with Neil thinking about Dell on the train pivotal.

But it took some doing and creative editing to get it.

John Hughes changed the ending of the film in post from what he had

planned originally.

And to get what he wanted, he had to scour previously unused footage with

editor Paul Hirsch to find a shot that would work.

Luckily, they had kept the cameras rolling between takes while filming on

the Chicago train.

So what we see here is actually Steve Martin on some down time,

not knowing he was being filmed at all, and

most likely just thinking about what his next lines were.

Hughes felt that the expression on his face worked so well for what he needed

that he re-purposed the footage giving us this all too important moment in the film.

We mentioned earlier the two in large extent, Planes, Trains and

Automobiles was art imitating John Hughes' life.

Unfortunately for the cast and crew,

the process of making the film turned out to be quite a bit of life imitating art.

Snow is a critical element of the story, and they scheduled production accordingly,

planning to shoot the whole thing in Chicago during the snowy months,

faking various locations for the other cities they needed along the way.

As luck would have it, the snow just didn't come.

The whole production wound up chasing snow, going from Chicago to Buffalo,

New York and back all in search of the snow they needed.

Only for it to melt as soon as production would get there.

Steve Martin said that they were all basically living the plot of the movie.

Hopping planes, trains, and

automobiles trying to find the snow that kept eluding them.

Let's wrap this up with an Easter egg as we often like to do.

You guys know that, we do it often.

Take a look at this scene where we see Neil's wife watching TV,

you know intercut with Neil living his personal version of hell.

Though we can't see it, if you listen closely John Hughes fans might recognize

that she's actually watching She's Having a Baby, another John Hughes movie.

A movie that wasn't released until after Planes, Trains, and

Automobiles, by the way.

So the question here really is how did she get a pirated copy?

And quick bonus Easter egg, Kevin Bacon who stars in she's having a baby,

is also the guy who beats Neil to the cab in the beginning of Planes,

Trains, and Automobiles.

Though he's simply called Taxi Racer in the credits John Hughes super fans

theorize that he's actually playing Jake from She's Having a Baby in this scene.

Which then makes it extra weird that Neil's wife is watching She's Having

a Baby later on in Planes, Trains.

So resolve that, John Hughes fan theorists.

>> Wow.

>> That's it for today.

We hope you guys are enjoying the holiday season.

And be sure to hit the thumbs up if you're feeling the John Hughes, John Candy and

Steve Martin love like we are.

Thanks for watching and

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sometimes 18 super festive (Bleep) right here on Things You Didn't Know.

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