- Title: USA: "BLUES BROTHERS 200" HAS ITS WORLD PREMIERE IN HOLLYWOOD
- Date: 4th February 1998
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK UNITED STATES (JANUARY 17) (RTV) BLUES BROTHERS 2000 FILM CLIP
- Embargoed: 19th February 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA4UXZIIZJZ6LRE36PNL9SDW2SA
- Story Text: INTRO: Eighteen years after "The Blues Brothers" became a cult film and launched the careers of Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi, Aykroyd and director John Landis have reunited to make a sequel, "Blues Brothers 2000." Both men attended the film's world premiere in Hollywood last week (January 31) -- along with the newest cast member John Goodman.
Aykroyd reprises his role as Elwood Blues, who is being released from prison after 18 years.
A lot has changed since he's been away.His partner Jake (Belushi) is dead.His band is long gone and the orphanage where he grew up has been demolished.
Even Curtis, the orphanage custodian who was a surrogate father to Jake and Elwood, has passed on.Elwood's only living relation is Curtis' bastard son Cabel, played by Joe Morton -- a straight-as-an-arrow cop who's convinced that Elwood is still up to no good.
Seeking guidance from his former teacher, Sister Mary Stigmata, Elwood finds her working as a hospital administrator with a problem of her own.She's at the end of her rope with Buster, a 10-year old orphan (played by J.
Evan Bonifant) seriously in need of a mentor Elwood soon realizes he's embarked on a new mission -- to reassemble the old band, compete at Queen Mousette's Battle of the Bands and set the wayward Buster on the path to redemption.
To help him on his mission, he hooks up with bartender Mighty Mack McTeer (played by John Goodman) -- a man who knows a thing or two about the blues.
Together, this odd assortment of characters hit the road, trying to stay ahead of Cabel and the cops, as well as the Chicago Chapter of the Moscow Mafia and a rabidly- right-wing militia group.
"The Blues Brothers" characters grew out an act Belushi and Aykroyd created in the early 1970's in Toronto, Canada.
It became part of their repertoire in the 1977-78 season of the American comedy series "Saturday Night Live." In 1978, The Blues Brothers released their first album, "Briefcase Full of Blues", which spawned the number one hit single "Soul Man." The album started its climb to what has now become triple platinum status.
The following year, "The Blues Brothers" movie went into production with director and co-writer John Landis at the helm.Released in 1980, the film became a box office hit, grossing more than 80 million US dollars.
Belushi's untimely death in 1982 stalled the act, but the movie's cult status has kept a passion for rhythm and blues alive around the world.
In addition to the leading roles, "Blues Brothers 2000" features cameo performances from some of the top names in the music industry.
Reworking their roles from the first film are James Brown, Sam Moore, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin, who recorded a new version of her 1967 hit "Respect" for the new film.
Other cameos are from B.B.King, Junior Wells, Erykah Badu, Jonny Lang and the group Blues Traveler.
The music in the film was coordinated by Paul Shaffer, who has been United States talkshow host David Letterman's musical director and sidekick for the past 16 years.
Besides the 14 musical numbers in the film, "Blues Brothers 2000" is filled with the traditional spectacular stunts and elaborately-staged multi-car chases and crashes that were the trademark of the first film.These included the largest car pile-up ever filmed.
The rapid-fire crash, which appears on screen for less than two minutes, took four months to plan and three days to shoot using a multi-camera set-up.Using some of the top stunt drivers in the business, the filmmakers rolled, jumped and crashed 60 cars in different directions, at varying heights and speeds, into a tar spreader, a dump truck, a trailer and each other.
"Blues Brothers 2000" opens in theatres throughout the United States on Friday (February 6). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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