Behind The Scenes Of The Famous Parade Scene In 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
Vote up the most interesting behind-the-scenes stories from the famous parade scene.
- 11 VOTES
The Movie Shows The Annual Von Steuben Day Parade
Photo: Paramount PicturesThe parade scene was filmed at Chicago's annual Von Steuben Day parade. Von Steuben Day is a German-American holiday honoring Baron Friedrich von Steuben. Von Steuben was a Prussian general who lent his aid to George Washington during the Revolutionary War, training American troops to help them defeat the British.
- 21 VOTES
The Filmmakers Sneaked A Float Into A Real Parade
Photo: Paramount PicturesFilming for the popular parade scene took place over two Saturdays. On the first, director John Hughes used the fact that there was an actual parade to his advantage. Hughes was able to take long, genuine shots of the celebration to establish authenticity.
In the DVD commentary, Hughes talks about how even the event organizers didn't realize what the filmmakers were doing. He said, "It was an actual parade which we put our float into - unbeknownst to really anybody. Nobody knew what it was."
- 31 VOTES
Some Of The Dancers Weren't Even Part Of The Film
Photo: Paramount PicturesConstruction workers and window washers can be spotted jamming out to Matthew Broderick's lip-synced rendition of "Twist and Shout." These were not choreographed dancers or extras hired to play a part - instead, they were just people going about their everyday jobs.
When they noticed the parade and heard the music, they joined in with everyone else. Hughes asked camera operators to film them alongside the actors and extras.
- 41 VOTES
John Hughes Wanted 'Twist And Shout' To Be SpontaneousÂ
Photo: Paramount PicturesSince John Hughes wanted the "Twist and Shout" moment to feel more spontaneous, he reportedly threw out quite a bit of detailed choreography, which remained in the film for the previous song, Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen."
Matthew Broderick explains, "When we did shoot it, we had all this choreography, and I remember John would yell with a megaphone, 'Okay, do it again, but don't do any of the choreography.'" Apparently, Hughes wanted it to look a little bit messy.
- 51 VOTES
EMI And Paul McCartney Were Unhappy With The Changes Made To 'Twist And Shout'
Photo: Paramount PicturesSince the parade scene notably includes a brass band, the filmmakers thought it would be necessary to add some brass to "Twist and Shout" to make it look authentic. EMI and the Beatles did not approve of the changes, however. As music supervisor Tarquin Gotch told Yahoo!:
[EMI execs] weren't happy because the song was [messed] with: brass was added in the editing room because there was a brass band [in the film]... I don't know if the Beatles weren't happy or if EMI wasn't happy, but somebody wasn't happy. You're not supposed to [mess] with the music."
Paul McCartney reportedly said, "If it had needed brass, we'd have stuck it on it ourselves."
- 61 VOTES
Chicago Recreated The Parade To Mark The Film’s 30th Anniversary
Photo: Paramount PicturesFerris Bueller’s Day Off turned 30 in 2016. Much of the movie was filmed in Chicago, including the parade scene, so the city decided to celebrate the anniversary in style. The official Ferris Festival provided tours of local film locations and a special screening of the film during a three-day weekend in May 2016.
The climactic main attraction, however, was a full recreation of the parade scene, complete with dancing and music.
- 70 VOTES
Thousands Of Extras Showed Up For The Second Day Of Filming
Photo: Paramount PicturesThe second day of filming continued a week after the actual parade took place. The crew needed a large number of extras to convince audiences it was a full and authentic event rather than an empty movie set. The filmmakers asked radio stations to put out announcements for locals to appear in a John Hughes movie.
Around 10,000 people reportedly showed up and gave the actors the energy they needed to pull off the performance. Matthew Broderick commented, “For the final shot, I turned around and saw a river of people. I put my hands up at the end of the number and heard this huge roar... I can understand how rock stars feel. That kind of reaction feeds you."
- 80 VOTES
Kenny Ortega Of 'Dirty Dancing' Choreographed The Dance Moves
Photo: Paramount PicturesChoreographer Kenny Ortega is responsible for many of Matthew Broderick's smooth moves in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The film was his first attempt at directing while choreographing, as director John Hughes used his industry connections to let Ortega get behind the camera. Ortega said, "Matthew Broderick had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but we made it work."
Broderick commented, "I was very scared. Fortunately, the sequence was carefully choreographed beforehand."
Ortega later directed Hocus Pocus and High School Musical and put together the famous choreography in Dirty Dancing.
- 90 VOTES
Matthew Broderick Injured His Knee And Couldn't Perform Complicated Choreography
Photo: Paramount PicturesMatthew Broderick was supposed to perform a complicated dance routine while lip syncing to "Twist and Shout." Unfortunately, he twisted his knee while filming the scene where he runs through his neighbors' backyards to make it home without getting caught.
He recalls, "I was pretty sore. I got well enough to do what you see in the parade there, but I couldn't do most of [choreographer] Kenny Ortega's knee spins and things like that."
- 100 VOTES
The Rights To 'Twist And Shout' Cost $100,000
Photo: Paramount PicturesIt is highly unusual for music by the Beatles to appear in films, other than those created by the band or focused on the group. But when it came to the parade scene in Ferris Bueller, director John Hughes and music supervisor Tarquin Gotch were adamant that they wanted "Twist and Shout."
Gotch told Yahoo!, "We paid EMI a huge sum of money at the time - I think it was $100,000."
- 110 VOTES
There Were Backup Songs In Case They Couldn’t Get The Rights To 'Twist And Shout'Â
Photo: Paramount PicturesNegotiations with EMI for the rights to "Twist and Shout" progressed slowly, and music supervisor Tarquin Gotch began looking at alternative songs. In case record executives or the Beatles refused to allow the filmmakers to use their first choice, they considered other English rock groups that might be persuaded at the right cost. Gotch told Yahoo!:
John [Hughes] was a huge Beatles fan - huge! But it was a nightmare getting permission for that. At the time, there was this snobbish attitude from big bands who didn't like to license their songs. So I was lining up alternatives, other songs by English groups from that era who weren't the Beatles: Herman's Hermits, the Searchers - somebody who you knew the money would work.
