Still no word on this...
a little info:
Here are a few comments from Mr. Avildsen on Neighbors. Though they are brief they are pretty interesting.
--------------------------------
John Gallagher: On Neighbors, John Belushi was playing his part very much against type.
Avildsen: My original notion on Neighbors was to have Rodney Dangerfield play the part that Belushi ended up playing. He certainly was much closer to the age of the character that Thomas Berger wrote about in his novel. I had worked with Rodney for a few weeks on a screen test and he was great, playing it straight, not doing his stand-up, a very good actor. But there was no interest at the studio that he could sell a ticket. Belushi was also on my list because I thought he was a very good actor, but he thought I wanted him to play the other character, Vic. I said, “No, you’ve done that character a million times. Play Earl, stretch yourself as an actor. Play an older guy, you’re a terrific actor.” I don’t think he really wanted to do that. He didn’t want to appear that old and he wanted to keep the gag aspect of it rather than playing the straight part and playing against type. He had a lot of problems of his own going on at that time, so you never knew when he was going to show up, but sometimes he could be very charming and very sweet. Dan Aykroyd was a real gentleman, a great pleasure to work with.
John Gallagher: How did Belushi and Aykroyd relate to Cathy Moriarty? It was her first picture after her debut in Raging Bull.
Avildsen: They were very patient with her and very supportive. She worked real hard, and I’m sure it was a lot for her to deal with because her rise had been instantaneous. She was very conscientious and I thought she did a good job.
John Gallagher: Neighbors didn’t perform at the box office.
Avildsen: I wish it had done better. I don’t think I had any quarrel with the cut. It was a difficult picture to promote. Maybe they could have promoted it better, but thank goodness for video because it does give it an endless life. People keep commenting on it, people who didn’t see it when it was in release, but saw it on tape.
