Did You Know?
The Russian phrase spoken by Dan Aykroyd to the Russian agents is: "Chem men'she znaesh', tem lushche." This translates as: "The less you know, the better."
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The movie was inspired by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's "Road" movies, thus explaining Bob Hope's cameo appearance. Hope's cameo of less than 30 seconds playing a round of golf through a tent was his final appearance in a film.
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In an interview on The Today Show (a.k.a. Today) (included on the Saturday Night Live: The Best of John Belushi), Dan Aykroyd stated that the movie that would eventually become Spies Like Us was intended to star Aykroyd and John Belushi. Belushi's death shortly after the interview obviously prevented his participation.
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The movie that Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chevy Chase) watches while at his desk at the State Department is the musical She's Working Her Way Through College, starring Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, and Ronald Reagan. The scene watched features the song "I'll be Loving You" by Vernon Duke and Sammy Cahn - and Reagan even sings!
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The answer to Emmett Fitzhume's question regarding who led the AL in HR's in 1953 is Al Rosen of the Cleveland Indians.
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In 2009 "Family Guy" presented something of a sequel to the movie called Family Guy: Spies Reminiscent of Us, featuring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd as themselves on another spy mission. They explain that President Reagan appointed them real-life spies after seeing the film.
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The final scene with the chess pieces represents Eastern Europe being knocked down - this pre-dated the Revolutions of 1989 where Eastern European nations overthrew their Communist regimes, leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
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Director Trademark
John Landis:
[SYNW]
on the recruitment poster behind the desk of the commander of the army training post.
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John Landis:
[Looking directly into the camera]
Aykroyd's character looks directly into the camera when he realizes how the launched missile can be successfully stopped.
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John Landis:
[filmmakers]
Appearances by directors Michael Apted, Martin Brest, Joel Coen, Larry Cohen, Costa-Gavras, Terry Gilliam, Frank Oz; Sam Raimi; filmmaker Ray Harryhausen; cinematographer Robert Paynter; and visual effects artist Derek Meddings.
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Spoilers
The missile from the end of the movie is targeted at Detroit (on the launch pad display, in Cyrillic).
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