One-Shot Wednesday
On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
This close-up shot of a squirrel comes to you from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
In the 1989 comedy, the Griswolds try to have a “good old-fashioned family Christmas.” But as usual with this family, everything that can go wrong does—including that moment a squirrel who has been nesting in the family Christmas tree gets loose in the house.
In an oral history of the film, Christmas Vacation’s director, Jeremiah Chechik, recalls shooting this scene, which frankly, sounds as chaotic as what made it on film!
For the dog and squirrel chase, we hired an animal trainer who trained them everyday for months to run through the set. When it came time to finally shoot what we’d been planning, I got out of my car and saw everyone standing in a huddle shaking their heads, and I knew something was terribly wrong.
I asked them what was going on, and they said, “We have a problem.”
“Okay, what?”
“The squirrel’s dead.”
I said, “Holy fuck, we’re shooting that today!”
And the animal trainer turned and said, “Ya know, they don’t live that long.”
We still had to shoot the scene, so we used an untrained squirrel. It was just total chaos.
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Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday!
Think you’re a Chicago screen buff?
On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title!
You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling.