Asked how he liked being stuck in a small college town during the shooting of Animal House (1978),  John Belushi responded he didn’t miss LA at all, because  ”people in Eugene know way more about music and having a good time.”

Two years later, Belushi and Dan Ackroyd appeared as Jake and Elwood Blues, in The Blues Brothers, playing  musicians “on a mission from God”. The harmonica, hat, tie, and suit were all copied from Eugene blues singer Curtis Salgado.

The creative debt owed by the makers of The Blues Brothers was not kept secret. The Blues Brothers’ first album Briefcase Full Of Blues, is dedicated to Curtis Salgado.

I hereby claim The Blues Brothers as an Oregon film, on the basis of the inspirational role played by Oregonian Curtis Salgado.

Where would American popular culture be without regular input from Oregon?

The man who inspired The Blues Brothers was singing with the Eugene based Robert Cray Band when Animal House star John Belushi saw his act, and loved it.  Belushi asked Curtis Salgado to teach him the blues, told his friend Dan Ackroyd all about it – and the rest is history.

Steven Spielberg’s WWII comedy, starring John Beluschi, Dan Ackroyd, Warren Oates, Robert Stack, Treat Williams, Toshiro Mifune, Ned Beatty, Christopher Lee, Penny Marshall, Slim Pickens and Patti Lupone, was infamously described by Vincent Canby as “about as funny as a 40 pound wristwatch.”

The opening sequence was shot at Cannon Beach.

Is it really so bad? See for yourself, but you might want to first read Dennis Cozzalio’s wonderful essay about John Williams’ score.

I hereby claim 1941 as an Oregon film under the old definition, based on the cameo appearance made by Haystack Rock.

John Landis’ remake of Grand Hotel, except it takes place on a college campus, stars John Belushi, Stephen Furst, Tom Hulce, Karen Allen, Kevin Bacon, Tim Matheson, Donald Sutherland, Peter Reigert, and features lots and lots of beer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I hereby claim Animal House as an Oregon film, on the basis of the location shooting in Eugene, Oregon.