Outdoor movie magic movie#
While Chet’s vacation home was actually a movie set and does not exist, the locally famous Ducey’s Bass Lake Lodge and Bar & Grill stood in as Wally and Juanita’s Perk’s Pine Lodge in the movie. Especially in scenes where they were out at night or near or in water. There had to be some real convincing acting on the actors’ parts to make it seem they were warm. Even though the plot takes place during the summertime, production took place in the later part of the fall. The film was shot at the renowned mountain resort town for six weeks in October of 1987. The movie is set in Pechoggin, Wisconsin (Lake Potowotominimac in the movie), but, in actuality, it was made here, at Bass Lake. He would also direct Candy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and would go on to achieve his greatest success by penning what would become the highest grossing comedy for its time: Home Alone (1990). Howard Deutch was in the director’s chair, but the man at the helm was no other than John Hughes. On the other there was John Candy, who was featured in a string of ‘80s classics like Splash (1984), Brewster’s Millions (1985), Spaceballs (1987), and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987). In one corner, there was Dan Aykroyd, former Saturday Night Live alum, who was fresh off the success of Trading Spaces (1983) and Ghostbusters (1984). The family film starred two comedic giants in the prime of their careers.
Outdoor movie magic series#
That triggers some tension between families and results in a series of funny adventures. All is going well, until their relaxing time is interrupted by an unexpected arrival of his obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig, his wife and couple’s twin daughters. Chet Ripley, along with his wife and two kids go on a long-awaited outdoorsy vacation. The movie follows two families and their vacation in Wisconsin. The one that most people remember is The Great Outdoors (1988).The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991) co-starring area resident Richard Kiel-known for portraying the Jaws character in the James Bond films.Mouse Hunt (1997), starring Nathan Lane and Lee Evans, and was the directorial debut of Gore Verbinski ( Pirates of the Caribbean, Rango).There’s been a few films throughout the decades that have utilized the scenic location of Bass Lake: Did you ever wonder how this experience impacted the community? What legacy that film made on a little mountain village?. We have stories from residents, who got to be in the film, or watched it get made. Let’s throwback to 1987 and discuss behind the scenes of The Great Outdoors. This production is especially close to us, as both the Pines Resort and Bass Lake served as a Hollywood replacement for this comedy classic. June 17th marks 33rd anniversary of the release of “The Great Outdoors” movie.