Vegas Vacation (1997)

Director:

Stephen Kessler

Writers (WGA):

Elisa Bell (story) &
Bob Ducsay (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

This time the Griswolds are on a roll.

Plot:

When Clark Griswold puts his mind to something, we soon realize he hasn't got one. Still, nothing stops him when the vacation bug hits...

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Hoover Dam | Beautiful Woman | Steel Plate In Head | Baccarat

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chevy Chase	...	Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Ellen Griswold
Randy Quaid	...	Cousin Eddie
Ethan Embry	...	Russell 'Rusty' Griswold
Marisol Nichols	...	Audrey Griswold
Miriam Flynn	...	Cousin Catherine
Shae D'Lyn	...	Cousin Vicki
Wayne Newton	...	Himself
Siegfried Fischbacher	...	Himself (as Siegfried)
Roy Horn	...	Himself (as Roy)
Wallace Shawn	...	Marty
Sid Caesar	...	Mr. Ellis
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Limo Driver
Sly Smith	...	Mirage Security Guard
Julia Sweeney	...	Mirage Reception Person
Corinna Harney	...	Girl at Blackjack Table (as Corinna Harney Jones)
Joe Armeno	...	Roulette Stickman
Christie Brinkley	...	Woman in Ferrari
Juliette Brewer	...	Cousin Ruby Sue
Zach Moyes	...	Cousin Denny
John Finnegan	...	Arty, the Hoover Dam Guide
Seth T. Walker	...	Bellman (as Seth Walker)
Howard Platt	...	Maitre d'
Elizabeth Illia	...	Woman at Concert
Wayne Brown	...	Croupier
Maria Cina	...	Mirage Cashier
Wendy Kaufman	...	Wendy
Joe Lacoco	...	Riviera Bartender
David L. Garoutte	...	Riviera Security Guard
C.C. Costigan	...	Kelli
Peter George	...	Marcus
Frank Mendonga	...	Kurt
Daniel Steven Lopez	...	Kyle
Shannah Laumeister	...	Mariah
Aki	...	Aki
Bud Ekins	...	O'Shea Security Guard
Gary Devaney	...	Croupier #2
Jerry Weintraub	...	Jilly
Bernie Yuman	...	Doc Sandy
Paul Kessler	...	Silent Al
S.A. Griffin	...	Pit Boss
Lou DiMaggio	...	Casino Host
Ruth Gillis	...	Saleswoman
Samuel J. Marber	...	Painter
Antonio Mitchell	...	Larry
Jason Stuart	...	Buffet Guy
Nick Mazzola	...	War Dealer
James Migliore	...	Rock Paper Scissors Dealer
Reno Nichols	...	Coin Tosser
Frank Washko Jr.	...	Guess Which Hand Dealer
Ken Michelman	...	Pick a Number Dealer
Clinton Brandhagen	...	Valet
Hayley Mortison	...	Girl in Hot Tub
Gene Ellison-Jones	...	Mirage Guard at Party
Steve 'Biscuit' Walker	...	Bouncer
Rusty Meyers	...	Club Manager
Roxy Swaney	...	Keno Dealer
Billy Morrissette	...	Paramedic #1
Sharon Mendel	...	Paramedic #2
Larry Hankin	...	Preacher
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colleen Ann Brah	...	Wayne Newton Show Fan (uncredited)
Kira Burt	...	Casino Guest (uncredited)
Jeffrey Donovan	...	Hotel empoyee (uncredited)
Geri Gilmore	...	Airport Traveler (uncredited)
Christopher Robin Hood	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Toby Huss	...	Fake I.D. Salesman (uncredited)
Walt G. Ludwig	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Chad Olshavsky	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Frank Patton	...	Hustler (uncredited)
Bob Pepper	...	Jackpot Witness (uncredited)
Jay So	...	High roller (uncredited)
Edward Tubbs	...	Slot Player (uncredited)

Directed by
Stephen Kessler

Writing credits (WGA)
Elisa Bell		(story) &
Bob Ducsay		(story)
Elisa Bell		(screenplay)

Produced by
Susan Ekins	....	executive producer
Fred Fontana	....	associate producer
R.J. Louis	....	co-producer
Matty Simmons	....	executive producer
Jerry Weintraub	....	producer

Original Music by
Joel McNeely

Cinematography by
William A. Fraker

Film Editing by
Seth Flaum

Casting by
Jackie Burch

Production Design by
David L. Snyder

Art Direction by
Thomas Valentine		(as Tom Valentine)

Set Decoration by
Chris L. Spellman		(as Chris Spellman)

Costume Design by
Carole Brown-James

Makeup Department
Audree Futterman	....	hair stylist
Philip Goldblat	....	makeup artist (as Philip Goldblatt)
Lee Harman	....	makeup artist
McKinley Kirby	....	makeup artist
Stephen Robinette	....	hair stylist (as Steve Robinette)
Peggy Semtob	....	key hair stylist
Joyce Westmore	....	makeup artist
Marvin G. Westmore	....	key makeup artist (as Marvin Westmore)

Production Management
R.J. Louis	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Allan Graf	....	second unit director
Jay Guerra	....	second second assistant director
Robin R. Oliver	....	second assistant director (as Robin Oliver)
Jack Ziga	....	first assistant director
Cal Naylor	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Scott M. Anderson	....	assistant property master (as Scott Anderson)
Melanie J. Baker	....	assistant art director (as Melanie Baker)
Donna Ekins-Kapner	....	art department researcher (as Donna Ekins)
Jerry Gadette	....	stand-by painter
Pete Gikas	....	swing gang (as Peter Gikas)
Jay C. Harris	....	construction foreman
Brick Mason	....	illustrator
Tim Park	....	swing gang
Tom Shaw Jr.	....	property master
Tim Snowber	....	lead man
Deborah Wood	....	labor foreman
Joe Wood	....	construction coordinator
Stan Cockerell	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Kevin Bartnof	....	foley artist
Kevin E. Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Patricia Conaway Lamberti	....	assistant sound editor (as Patricia Conaway)
Donovan Dear	....	cable person
Dino Dimuro	....	sound effects editor
Victor Ray Ennis	....	first assistant sound editor
Jeffrey J. Haboush	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dan Hegeman	....	sound effects editor
Craig S. Jaeger	....	sound effects editor (as Craig Jaeger)
Chris Jargo	....	sound effects editor
Dennis Jones	....	boom operator
Larry Kemp	....	supervising adr editor
Tony Lamberti	....	sound effects editor
Philip D. Morrill	....	assistant sound editor (as Phil Morrill)
John Rice	....	assistant sound editor
Dan M. Rich	....	sound effects editor (as Dan Rich)
Catherine Rowe	....	foley artist
Robert Schaper	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lauren Stephens	....	sound effects editor (as Lauren Stevens)
Mark P. Stoeckinger	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Michael Sullivan	....	sound effects editor
Andy Wiskes	....	production sound mixer
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	adr editor (uncredited)
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)
Eric Gotthelf	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Robert S. Henderson	....	special effects supervisor (as Robert Henderson)
Michael Meinardus	....	special effects coordinator (as Mike Meinardus)

Visual Effects by
Denise Davis	....	visual effects producer: Warner Digital Studios
Victor Jimenez	....	digital effects supervisor: Warner Digital Studios
Jesse Silver	....	art department supervisor: Warner Digital Studios
Ariel Velasco-Shaw	....	visual effects supervisor: Warner Digital Studios (as Ariel Velasco Shaw)
Michael Aceves	....	matte artist: Warner Digital (uncredited)
Megan Bryant	....	digital camera supervisor (uncredited)
Lindsay Burnett	....	visual effects coordinator: Warner Digital (uncredited)
D. Walt Cameron	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Fortunato Frattasio	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Dave Gregory	....	color imaging supervisor: Warner Digital (uncredited)
Glen Gustafson	....	film recorder operator: Warner Digital (uncredited)
John Charles Kohn	....	Inferno artist (uncredited)
John Charles Kohn	....	Inferno compositor (uncredited)
Juniko Moody	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Christopher Savides	....	imaging color lead (uncredited)
Kevin Andrew Smith	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
David Taritero	....	visual effects plate coordinator (uncredited)
Katie Tucker-Fico	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Michael Adams	....	stunts (as Mike Adams)
Brian Avery	....	stunts
Perry Barndt	....	stunts
Steve Blalock	....	stunts
Ken Blazer	....	stunts
Paul Borne	....	stunts
Buff Brady	....	stunts
Michelle Burkette	....	stunts (as Michele Burkette)
Phil Chong	....	stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Allan Graf	....	stunt coordinator
Marian Green	....	stunts
Jamie Keyser	....	stunts (as Jamie A. Keyser)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts
Lisa McCullough	....	stunts
Dorenda Moore	....	stunts
Casey O'Neill	....	stunts
Michael Owen	....	stunts (as Michael Patrick Owen)
Debi Parker	....	stunts
John S. Platt	....	stunts
Dana Reed	....	stunts
John Robotham	....	stunts
Lynn Salvatori	....	stunts
Anthony G. Schmidt	....	stunts
Dennis Scott	....	stunts (as Dennis R. Scott)
Kaye Wade	....	stunts
Lee Whittaker	....	stunts
George P. Wilbur	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph Antczak	....	first assistant camera (as Joe Antczak)
Tasso Bravos	....	best boy grip
Michael Cassidy	....	second assistant camera (as Mike Cassidy)
Ted Chu	....	first assistant camera
David E. Diano	....	camera operator (as David Diano)
Stanley L. Gonsales	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Stan Gonsales)
Chris Haarhoff	....	camera operator
Al LaVerde	....	key grip (as Al La Verde)
Doug Pentek	....	chief lighting technician (as Doug Pentak)
Ron Phillips	....	still photographer
Scott J. Prophet	....	dolly grip (as Scott Prophet)
Ty Suehiro	....	key rigging grip
Thomas Vandermillen	....	second assistant camera (as Tom Vandermillen)
Lance Jay Velazco	....	video assist operator (as Lance Velazco)
Don Yamasaki	....	key rigging gaffer
Malcolm Bryce	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Eric Vincent Cruse	....	grip (uncredited)
Donna Fewell	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Henry Tirl	....	Steadicam assistant (uncredited)

Casting Department
Elizabeth Marx	....	casting associate
Sandy Holt	....	adr voice casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Steve Ellsworth	....	costumer
Bridgitte Ferry	....	costumer (as Brigitte Ferry)
Kent James	....	costume supervisor
Helen Monaghan	....	costumer (as Helen Monoghan)
Emma Trenchard	....	costumer
Llandys Williams	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Mark Bourgeois	....	first assistant editor
Kurt Courtland	....	second assistant editor
Ray Martin	....	color timer
Brandon K. Hogan	....	post-production (uncredited)

Music Department
Alex Gibson	....	supervising music editor
Matt Harris	....	orchestrator
Bones Howe	....	music supervisor
Shawn Murphy	....	music scoring mixer
Don Nemitz	....	orchestrator
David Slonaker	....	orchestrator
Kim Strand	....	assistant music editor
Tom Villano	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Vic Cuccia	....	transportation co-captain
Dan Romero	....	transportation coordinator
Stanley Storc	....	transportation captain
Robert aaron Brown	....	driver (uncredited)
Everett Everett	....	driver (uncredited)
Scott Jimerson	....	driver: Jerry Weintraub (uncredited)
Mike Storc	....	transportation (uncredited)
Roger Wooge	....	transportation (uncredited)

Other crew
Herach Arzounian	....	first aid
Sandy Balek	....	production associate
Patti Browne	....	assistant: Mr. Simmons
Michael J. Burmeister	....	location manager
Karine Cruz	....	production associate (as Karine Avakians)
Martin Dinnes	....	animal consultant (as Dr. Martin Dinnes)
Laurie Dodsworth	....	assistant production accountant
Kenneth Feld	....	consultant: Siegfried and Roy
Bill Kerr	....	assistant location manager
Kashina Kessler	....	staff assistant
Marsha Koff	....	production accountant (as Marsha Mann Koff)
Barry Lather	....	choreographer
Ben Levine	....	staff assistant
Frank Lieberman	....	unit publicist
Michael B. Louis	....	staff assistant (as Michael Louis)
David McCullough	....	biologist: desert tortoise
Bonnie McDaniel	....	first aid
Kim Pinkstaff	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Buz Presock	....	staff assistant
Lesa Lakin Richardson	....	assistant: Mr. Kessler (as Lesa Lakin)
Miriam E. Rutman	....	staff assistant (as Miriam Rutman)
Joanne Small	....	script supervisor
Peter Sobich Jr.	....	production associate (as Peter Sobich)
Michael Sobich	....	staff assistant
Jamie Weintraub	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Jamie Weintraub	....	staff assistant
Jody Weintraub	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Joseph Weintraub	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Julie Weintraub	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Rachel Weintraub	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Sarah Weintraub	....	assistant: Mr. Weintraub
Jeff Winn	....	craft service
Bernie Yuman	....	consultant: Siegfried and Roy
David Berthiaume	....	location manager (uncredited)
Bill Daly	....	post-production accountant manager (uncredited)
Ben Le Vine	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Joseph Kelly Padovich	....	mechanic (uncredited)
Billy Smith	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)

Thanks
Joyce Luman	....	special thanks
Steve Wynn	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Jerry Weintraub Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (2000) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (Finland) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Finland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates

Other Companies

• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Unique Movie Cars  picture cars

Also Known As:

National Lampoon's Las Vegas Vacation (USA) (working title)
National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation

MPAA:

Rated PG for sensuality, language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Finland:K-7 (2006) (DVD) | Finland:S (1997) (VHS) | Netherlands:AL | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Germany:6 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Baker, Mojave Desert, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Only Vacation film that does not include a reference to the Walley World amusement park (the original film revolved around visiting the park, Clark had a T-shirt for it in European Vacation, and Clark and Eddie drank egg nog from Marty Moose (mascot of the park) glasses in Christmas Vacation.)

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Yellow blocking tape visible on the sidewalk when Rusty returns to the Fake I.D. Salesman.

Quotes:

Cousin Eddie: Come on, Clark, the night is young... they're giving away free hot sandwiches at the blood bank.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Once In A Lifetime

Have to admit after 20th viewing that it is good

I saw this movie when it was first released in the theatres, and thought it was one of the worst films ever made. Since then, whenever this movie comes on TV, I cannot turn it off. What was once like watching a car wreck has become an enjoyable viewing experience that is a very funny experience. Still can't figure out how the daughter grew up Latina but Marisol Nichols is so cute, who cares? Sinatra imitator very funny, as is the seemingly five minutes of silence they hold on the Quaid/Newton bit. Also funny, the server in the buffet "oh you're right, this is chicken WANT SOME!" and Chevy Chase butt-ugly costume.