The movie The Blues Brothers hit theaters 35 years ago this weekend. The first movie to be born from a Saturday Night Live sketch brought the story of Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues and their “mission from God” to theaters everywhere. You already know about the drugs that fueled the production (and eventually led to John Belushi’s death only a couple of years later), but there are more stories behind the scenes to learn. Some will evoked images that never made it onto the screen.
7. DAN AYKROYD AND CARRIE FISHER BECAME ENGAGED DURING FILMING.
The two were a couple, set up by Belushi, who became engaged after Aykroyd successfully administered the Heimlich maneuver on her. "I almost choked on some kind of vegetable that I shouldn't have been eating: Brussels sprouts," Fisher told CNN. "He saved my life, and then he asked me to marry him. And I thought ... wow, what if that happens again? I should probably marry him." (The wedding never happened.)
18. IT WAS REALLY POPULAR IN AUSTRALIA AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.
Similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show in New York, The Blues Brothers was shown regularly in Melbourne’s Valhalla Cinema on Friday nights throughout the 1980s and '90s, where as many as 400 costumed fans would watch as 30 actors re-created the scenes as the movie played, with everybody singing along to the musical performances. Due partially to the domestic movie chain boycotts, but saying something about its international appeal, Landis said the film was the first to ever gross more money overseas than in the U.S.
Read the rest of those fun facts about The Blues Brothers at mental_floss.