This was the worst incident in upstate New York in February-we are not talking about a blizzard. We are talking about Steve Martin and John Candi.

In that month of 1987, Hollywood came to Batavia and communities in Erie and Catalaugus counties. The makers of a movie called "Planes, Trains, and Cars" need to look like a Midwestern country scene, but with more snowflakes.

In this comedy by John Hughes, hundreds of locals took the cast of the actors and told the story of mismatched traveling companions trying to go home for Thanksgiving.

"I know the people here will be very enthusiastic, but I don't think it will be," Casting Executive Casey Holzer told the Democratic Party and the Chronicle about a large-scale vote in a Batavia restaurant.

The extra person pays $50 for 10 hours a day, plus half of overtime.

During the filming, someone saw candy near Batavia. At midnight on February 24, 1987, he and a friend stopped at a tavern on the Hefron Town Manor. After playing electronic darts, Candy feels hungry. Nick Cinquino, the manager of Pizza Partners, offered to make him "the best pizza in Batavia." 

Candi agreed to go-but only if he could make pizza. Cinquino opened his shop at around 2:30 in the morning, Candy took over the kitchen and kept the team working until 4:30 in the morning 

South Dayton, a small village in Catalogues County, was used to film the scene in Stubbville, Kansas. In the words of an unforgettable airplane, the train character Irving said, "People run by train."

The staff there filmed Martin, Candy, and passengers inside a train leased from the New York-Erie Railway Line.

During the break, the extras shivered in the 12-degree air, grabbed coffee and hot chocolate, and hid in the village stove to keep warm. However, Martin and Candy avoided the audience and spent their time in a fully heated RV.

The heavy snow does not cooperate with shooting in the area. Since it did not show up, snowmakers from Vermont were invited. Then snow appeared at the wrong time. In a scene where a soldier (played by Michael McKean) pulls Martin and Candi over in their burnt car, the wind swept in and covered the camera lens. Eventually, the storm passed and the shooting started again.

A holiday classic was born.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood reports on general tasks. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.