{"id":298398,"date":"2021-07-14T05:37:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T02:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/29-things-we-learned-from-barry-sonnenfelds-get-shorty-commentary\/"},"modified":"2021-07-14T05:37:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T02:37:04","slug":"29-things-we-learned-from-barry-sonnenfelds-get-shorty-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/29-things-we-learned-from-barry-sonnenfelds-get-shorty-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#29 Things We Learned from Barry Sonnenfeld&#8217;s &#8216;Get Shorty&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a239c8d6dd90\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a239c8d6dd90\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/29-things-we-learned-from-barry-sonnenfelds-get-shorty-commentary\/#Get_Shorty_1995\" >Get Shorty (1995)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/29-things-we-learned-from-barry-sonnenfelds-get-shorty-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/29-things-we-learned-from-barry-sonnenfelds-get-shorty-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#29 Things We Learned from Barry Sonnenfeld&#8217;s &#8216;Get Shorty&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits one of the funniest comedies of the 90s, one of the most memorable Elmore Leonard adaptations, and arguably the best Barry Sonnenfeld film \u2014 Get Shorty<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>Barry Sonnenfeld<\/strong>\u2018s most popular films tend to be his genre franchise starters, think <em>The Addams Family<\/em> (1991) and <em>Men in Black<\/em> (1997), but for my money his best feature remains 1995\u2019s <strong><em>Get Shorty<\/em><\/strong>. Elmore Leonard\u2019s fiction has been adapted into plenty of fine films, but this Hollywood adventure captures the man\u2019s voice better than most. Sonnenfeld recorded a commentary track for the film shortly after its release, so I gave it a listen. Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for <em>Get Shorty<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Get_Shorty_1995\"><\/span>Get Shorty (1995)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentator: Barry Sonnenfeld (director)<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>1.<\/strong> All of the Miami-set scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> The man on the right side of the screen at 1:05 is the actual Chili Palmer who Elmore Leonard wrote the novel about. The scene was shot on the second to last day of production, and <strong>John Travolta<\/strong> \u2014 who plays Chili Palmer in the film \u2014 said he was glad he didn\u2019t know until then that he was playing a real person. He told Sonnenfeld he probably would have flown to Miami to spend time with the man which would have ruined his performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> The shot of Chili (Travolta) in the passenger seat riding up to the hotel was filmed by a Steadicam camera operator sitting on a small shelf mounted outside the car window. The car comes to a stop, the cameraman steps off, and he\u2019s then able to follow Palmer inside.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> They did about thirty takes of the scene where Chili punches Bones (<strong>Dennis Farina<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> <strong>Alex Rocco<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears briefly as mob boss Jimmy Capp, and he\u2019s introduced getting a massage \u2014 which is what he was doing in <em>The Godfather<\/em> (1972) when he was gunned down. Sonnenfeld thought it would be a fun homage, and \u201che even brought his Moe Green sunglasses.\u201d He adds \u201cwe had a little fun with it, but I don\u2019t think anyone noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> Momo was originally written to be shot, but Sonnenfeld thought it would be funnier if a surprise party gave him a heart attack.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-366384\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/getshorty003.jpg\" alt=\"Danny DeVito in Get Shorty\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/getshorty003.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/getshorty003-768x461.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> Sonnenfeld is also a producer on the film because he brought the film to <strong>Danny DeVito<\/strong>\u2018s attention after reading the novel on a cruise. He envisioned DeVito as \u201cthe perfect Chili Palmer,\u201d but they went with Travolta who ended up being the perfect Chili Palmer. DeVito bought the rights, and they were off to the races.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> It took three years to get <em>Get Shorty<\/em> off the ground, and they did a script read-through a couple years before production even started and casting had been figured out. Talents present included <strong>Gene Hackman<\/strong>, DeVito, Gary Busey, Lesley Ann Warren, and Farina. \u201cFarina and Hackman pretty much stole the movie, so we knew we wanted to hire those guys to be in the film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> <strong>Linda Hart<\/strong> used to be a backup singer for Bette Midler.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> \u201cLet me talk to you about Gene Hackman\u2019s goatee.\u201d The actor suggested that Harry Zimm should have one, but Sonnenfeld wasn\u2019t convinced without knowing what it would look like. He told Hackman to go ahead and grow one so they could evaluate it, but the legend said he wasn\u2019t going to waste his time growing the goatee if they weren\u2019t definitely going to use it in <em>Get Shorty<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> Sonnenfeld compliments <strong>Rene Russo<\/strong> (who plays Karen Flores) with a creepy closer. \u201cRene was a joy to work with. She\u2019s really funny. She\u2019s incredibly normal. She has a great husband, a great kid, a great body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> The scene where Leo (<strong>David Paymer<\/strong>) gets drunk in the airport bar while his plane crashes behind him is altered for in-flight screenings to show a train crash instead. Dialogue is edited as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> The shot of Chili and Harry driving through LA was filmed over two days and was constantly interrupted by passersby congratulating Travolta on his recent Oscar nomination for <em>Pulp Fiction<\/em> (1994).<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> The film\u2019s editors didn\u2019t like the pull-back at 32:13 \u2014 pulls away from Bo (<strong>Delroy Lindo<\/strong>) to reveal Ronnie (<strong>Jon Gries<\/strong>) \u2014 because they felt it was \u201ctoo self-conscious, but I made \u2019em put it back anyway cuz I liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-366385\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Get-Shorty-2.jpg\" alt=\"Delroy Lindo in Get Shorty\" width=\"800\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Get-Shorty-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Get-Shorty-2-768x412.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> Preview audiences were asked what their least favorite scenes were, and their number one pick was Ray hitting Fay (Hart) because you should never show a man hitting a woman. \u201cMy feeling was, first of all, it\u2019s okay for them not to like this scene. You\u2019re not supposed to hit a woman. But there hadn\u2019t been any action in the last twenty minutes so I thought it would just really help to wake up the audience.\u201d It was also necessary to turn Ray from a clown into a real threat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> Sonnenfeld cameos at 37:43 as a doorman.<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> Travolta was hesitant about taking the role in part because he felt it was never all that believable that Chili was a film buff. They added the scene where he goes to see <em>Touch of Evil<\/em> (1958) to help.<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> Sonnenfeld\u2019s favorite film is <em>Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb<\/em> (1964).<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> Leonard visited the production during the filming of the scene where Chili and Karen visit Martin Weir (DeVito). Sonnenfeld was paranoid, worried, and thinking \u201cwhat would Elmore do?\u201d Other visitors while filming in Beverly Hills included Gabriel Byrne, Tom Laughlin, and numerous agents.<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> That wall mural of DeVito cost $8000.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> Chili\u2019s minivan is facing the opposite direction when he exits Martin\u2019s mansion. He knew it had to facing to the right when Chili leaves because the minivan\u2019s automatic sliding door is only on that one side, but when they filmed the arrival scene earlier he had forgotten about that and went with the smoother shot\u2026 resulting in the car facing the wrong direction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> \u201cI kept telling her to be more Jewish,\u201d says Sonnenfeld about <strong>Bette Midler<\/strong>\u2018s cameo. Hackman enjoyed working with her so much that he asked if they could add her into another scene.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> In case you missed it, he points out that numerous magazines at the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>tand at 1:08:18 have Martin\u2019s face on the cover.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> Hackman offered to do one take himself of the scene where Ray beats up Harry, but Farina said no out of fear of hurting the legendary actor. He was worried that hurting him might upset him, and Farina said \u201cIf Gene gets mad at me, he\u2019s a big guy and he might come after me, and the only way I\u2019d be able to stop him is to shoot him. And I don\u2019t want to be known as the guy that killed Gene Hackman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> Travolta required multiple takes of the scene where he and Russo are in bed together. \u201cEvery time I said action he would do it in a different language. One time he did it as Elvis, he did it as a Japanese guy, a French guy, and Italian guy.\u201d Seems awkward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> The guy at The Ivy who pats Harry\u2019s shoulder and calls him \u201ckiller\u201d is Hackman\u2019s stand-in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> Martin mentions Eddie Solomon, \u201cthe pedophile clown,\u201d during the lunch scene, and it\u2019s writer <strong>Scott Frank<\/strong>\u2018s nod to his buddy Ed Solomon\u2026 who went on to write <em>Men in Black<\/em> (1997) for Sonnenfeld and included a line referencing \u201cthat idiot Scott Frank.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> The woman in red at 1:39:11 was married to Tony Scott at the time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.<\/strong> \u201cAnd now the movie\u2019s over,\u201d he says before adding that he was surprised how well <em>Get Shorty<\/em> did in theaters. He actually lost a bet with a crew member who said it would gross over $68 million at the box-office while Sonnenfeld capped his prediction around $30m. It earned $72m at US theaters.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cChili\u2019s not much of an actor, but he\u2019s a really nice guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere it comes. Here comes comedy!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me the movie isn\u2019t so much about Hollywood, as it is an exploration of self-confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey look, this is me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone thinks they can write a script.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose women are naked, totally naked, but you wouldn\u2019t know it because we\u2019re so far away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the secrets to directing is never to say \u2018cut.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want John Travolta walking in as much of your movie as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked Dennis to just ad-lib as many fucks in this scene as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sonnenfeld is an entertaining speaker, and his thoughts on <em>Get Shorty<\/em> make for a fun commentary listen. He talks about camera decisions and why he chose various setups, and he also shares anecdotes on the cast and production itself. If you haven\u2019t seen the movie in a while you owe yourself a revisit, and if you have? Watch it again you fucking fuck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/get-shorty-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=get-shorty-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#29 Things We Learned from Barry Sonnenfeld&#8217;s &#8216;Get Shorty&#8217; Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits one of the funniest comedies of the 90s, one of the most memorable Elmore Leonard adaptations, and arguably the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":298399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/get-shorty.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[101812,22447,76818],"class_list":["post-298398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-barry-sonnenfeld","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-get-shorty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}