In early 1985, I worked downtown in Chicago at a clothing store called Hit Or Miss as the stock boy. On my way to work one day I noticed a truck from Paramount Pictures on the street. There were also crew members preparing what appeared to be a parade scene. On my left stood a short set of bleachers where people were being seated. They were soon dancing around to the song Twist And Shout performed by the Beatles. I distinctly remember one of the male actors - who is also seen in the film - appearing to make exaggerated facial expressions as he danced crazily, but it oddly seems okay when viewed on film. I later asked one of the Paramount employees what was the name of the movie they were filming and he said, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". I scoffed at his answer because it sounded (and looked) like it was going to be a stupid movie.
Down the street to my far right I noticed a parade float and when I went to see what was going on there, I was surprised to see Matthew Broderick on top of it with several costumed dancers around him. The huge crowd seen in the movie hadn't accumulated yet and they were dancing (rehearsing?) to the same Twist And Shout song. The people in that scene seemed to grow in minutes and I remember the director telling the crowd he wanted them all to release their balloons at the same time at end of the song, as soon as it finished playing. But it didn't quite work out that way as many of them apparently didn't know how to follow directions.
In these two pictures, I was there when they completed that scene and I believe I was eating a slice of pizza from a favorite spot on my route to work downtown. If you watch the movie you can see me in the background eating from the bag or container. :)
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