One day in 1979, the phone rang at producer Bob Weiss house.
Be on your property tonight, said the voice on the other line.
If the way that Aykroyd delivered the manuscript was odd, the contents inside were even weirder.
Weiss shouldnt have been surprised.
But they didnt wear Jake and Elwoods distinctive suits and raybans for their debut.
Instead, they wore bee costumes.
And with good reason, because it wasnt entirely clear what the Blues Brothers were.
Somehow, Weiss agreed.
And somehow, they all left it to Aykroyd to write the script.
The produced movies plot follows Jake and Elwood as they gather together the members of their old band.
Each encounter with the member serves as an opportunity for a musical number and/or a comedy set piece.
According to Semlyen, Aykroyd had much bigger ambitions for his script.
He had two somewhat surprising touchstones in mind, writes Semlyen.
Bernardo Bertoluccis five-hour Italian political drama1900andStanley Kubricks candlelit period pieceBarry Lyndon.
Somehow, those inspirations led Aykroyd to a rambling free-for-all of a story.
The script is never-ending, then-Universal Pictures president Ned Tanen thinks.
It doesnt really work.
Its like a long treatment or something.
Aykroyd indulged his other great passion too, cars and machinery.
Landis doesnt but agrees to film it, reported Vanity Fair, referring to directorJohn Landis.
He knows hell just cut it later.
I wrote a heavy, urban experience, Aykroyd later told Semlyen.
And it worked really well.
The Blues Brothers Hit Machine
Its hard to call the finishedBlues Brothersfilm Disney flash.
Lew [Wasserman, the old-school head ofUniversal] would nail me every day, Tanen toldVanity Fair.
I wasnt getting phone calls.
He would be in my office.
He comes in and says, Goddammit.
WouldReturn of the Blues Brothershave done even better?
