Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1197255
76 W I N T E R 2 0 2 0 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Breakfast Club, they went on to do Weird Science. At this point, they were like the "Chicago Movie Mafia," and Jim had become "Chicago Jim." They could walk into any location, and most of the time people would let them shoot there just because. The mayor gave them ample police officers, and people would volunteer just to be around the set. It was a magical time. On Ferris Bueller's Day Off, they were in a production meeting in the indoor tennis court that they were planning to use as a soundstage. There was a terrible echo, and Jim was concerned about shooting all the interiors for the movie there. When it was discussed with the UPM, he said they could check the remaining budget and see if they could fix it. John called out from another room (nobody knew he was there), "I don't want my words coming back to me, we should fix it now." They went straight to work with an acoustician and made it into a real soundstage. John knew that when Jim suggested something for sound, that it had to be done. When Jim learned that the parade scene was to be shot during a real parade, he suggested they get control of as many blocks as possible around where they'd be shooting for background noise. John spoke with the mayor and managed to get about a square mile lockup, something that then and now seems impossible. The John Hughes sets, let alone the Jim Alexander sets, were some of the quietest sets people had ever been on. Not that it was uncomfortable, they just had respect for the process and the people making it. In between John Hughes movies, Jim would moonlight with Michael Ritchie on Fletch, Fletch Lives, Wildcats, and The Golden Child. He also mixed on Midnight Run, Violets Are Blue (at the insistence of Sissy Spacek), and The Guardian, amongst various others. Jim continued working in the John Hughes universe for the rest of his career, finishing out with films such as Planes, Trains, & Automobiles; Uncle Buck; Only the Lonely; and Home Alone 1 & 2. Even though wireless had gotten a little better at the time, Jim was still reluctant to use it at all, occasionally setting up a few wireless plant mics for FX when cabling wasn't an option. For one scene in Home Alone 2, they were working in Central Park, and the only way to get the dialogue was a wireless plant mic in a trashcan. As he returned to the cart after placing the mic in the trash, he pushed up the fader and it was gone. He looked up, and there was some homeless guy scurrying down the street with his rig. His final film was Dennis the Menace (1993). By now, John Hughes' presence on the set was limited. Jim didn't necessarily plan to retire; he wasn't tired of the work, but he was growing tired of the business. One particular day toward the end of the shoot, production planned a 22-hour workday to accommodate actors. The schedule was not reflected on the Call Sheet, and when Jim learned it had been planned, he said, "I've put in my time, and this is not fair to my crew." Jim and his crew prepping on the set of Home Alone.