Connection with the previous post (MEN IN BLACK III): Barry SOnnenfeld directed both films.
RATINGS: IMDB ―6.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes ―86%, ME ― 85%
Ray "Bones" Barboni: Let me explain something to you. Momo is dead. Which means that everything he had now belongs to Jimmy Cap, including you. Which also means, that when I speak, I speak for Jimmy. E.g., from now on, you start showing me the proper fucking respect.
Chili Palmer: "E.g." means "for example". What I think you want to say is "I.e.".Ray "Bones" Barboni: Bullshit! That's short for "ergo".
Chili Palmer: Ask your man.
Bodyguard: To the best of my knowledge, "e.g." means "for example".
Ray "Bones" Barboni: E.g., i.e., fuck you! The point is this: is that, When I say "jump", you say "OK", okay?
Dennis Farina as Ray "Bones" Barboni, John Travolta as Chili Palmer and Big Daddy Wayne as Bodyguard
Trivia (From IMDB):
According to Elmore Leonard, movie star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), is based on Leonard's own dealings with Dustin Hoffman.
John Travolta initially declined an offer to be in this movie, but was convinced by Quentin Tarantino to do it.
Gene Hackman turned down Get Shorty (1995) at first because he doesn't usually do comedies. Barry Sonnenfeld said that's exactly the attitude he wanted from him on set. Play it straight and let the audience decide if it's funny.
Elmore Leonard says Get Shorty (1995) is the best film adapted from one of his books.
Gene Hackman based Harry Zimm on an agent he used to know. He was the phoniest man he ever knew.
MGM didn't want to extensively use Elmore Leonard-inspired dialogue in the film, and pushed Barry Sonnenfeld and Scott Frank to make many passages more generic than the book's, but once John Travolta signed on to the film he successfully pressured the studio to leave Frank's original draft (which had a lot of colorful dialogue) intact for filming. A specific example of this end result came during the sequence where Chili Palmer goes to retrieve his coat from Bones.
According to Barry Sonnenfeld, producers were considering John Travolta for the lead role even before his Pulp Fiction (1994) comeback.
A scene with Ben Stiller as the director of one of Harry's low-budget B-movies was cut from the film because it didn't suit the flow of it. Even though Barry Sonnenfeld thought it was funny (maybe the funniest scene in the movie) it did nothing to advance the plot so it had to go.
When people in West Hollywood first saw the billboard with Danny DeVito dressed up as Napoléon Bonaparte credited with Martin Weir's name, they thought it was a real one and DeVito might have changed his name. The film crew had to explain to residents it was just a prop in DeVito's latest movie.
Barry Sonnenfeld was very eager to work with Danny DeVito on Get Shorty (1995). Eventually DeVito bought the book, and although he hadn't finished reading it, he said he got it. He wasn't referring to the novel. He was referring to the film rights.
During the "stare" scene, Danny DeVito was allowed to do several different permutations on his lines. Barry Sonnenfeld just sat and let the camera roll for take after take.
When Rene Russo first met with Barry Sonnenfeld and Danny DeVito at a restaurant, she had an allergic reaction to the sesame in her tuna sandwich. She broke out in hives and had to go the doctor, sure she hadn't got the part. Sonnenfeld felt sympathy pains for her, and assured her the role was hers.
Michael Keaton, Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman all turned down the role of Chili Palmer. While Danny DeVito was Barry Sonnenfeld's first choice for the role of Chilli Palmer because of his natural charisma, he could not fit it into his schedule (he was directing Matilda (1996)) so he ended up playing the smaller role of Martin Weir instead.
Studio Executives' first choice to direct the picture was Quentin Tarantino. Two years later, Tarantino would direct another film based on an Elmore Leonard book, Jackie Brown(1997).
In the book, Harry Zimm tells Chili Palmer that he wanted to cast Gene Hackman as the lead in his new film. Hackman, of course, portrays Harry Zimm in the film.
The scene where Chili recites lines from Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1958) while watching it in a cinema is one of the most engaging things Gene Hackman has ever seen in a film.
At approximately 1:19:40, a newspaper article is momentarily shown on screen with the headline: "Horror Film Producer Questioned in Shooting". Although shown too quickly to read without pausing the scene, the second paragraph of the article reads, "At a morning press briefing, LAPD Sergeant Edward Randall disclosed that Wingate, owner of a Los Angeles Limousine Fleet and a sometime investor in Zimm's films was shot five times. Four wounds were in the chest area, a fifth in one of his feet. Sergeant Randall refused to disclose which foot."
Harvey Keitel plays himself as Dennis Farina's character in the film-within-a-film. Both men played the role of Jack Crawford in the film adaptations of Thomas Harris' novel "Red Dragon" (Farina in Manhunter (1986), Keitel in Red Dragon (2002)).
Almost every one of the magazine covers on the rack behind Chili Palmer at the airport have Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) on the cover. Even the issue of Playboy lists an interview with Martin Weir on its cover.
Contains a spoiler for Touch of Evil (1958).
Bette Midler who plays Doris wasn't listed in the end credits, nor was Harvey Keitel.
Samuel L. Jackson was the first choice for the role of Bo Catlett.
John Travolta was paid $3.5 million for this film.
Matthew McConaughey and Steve Buscemi were considered for the role of Ronnie Wingate.
Barry Sonnenfeld hated Get Shorty (1995) initially because he thought it was all talk and no action. Positive audience response to the movie changed his mind.
The original scene with Penny Marshall's cameo had her getting into her car and driving off when the shoot was finished; but the actress hadn't driven a car in many years so it was changed that her assistant drives her off.
Warren Beatty turned down the role of Chili Palmer.
Veteran character actor Vito Scotti's last film.
In the film, Harry makes a joke that the kind of writing that pays the best is ransom notes. The following year, Rene Russo and Delroy Lindo appeared together in Ransom (1996).
Gene Hackman and James Gandolfini also appeared together in Crimson Tide (1995), released the same year. Coincidentally, in Crimson Tide Hackman's character has a pet dog named Bear, same as Gandolfini's character's name in Get Shorty.
Even though he turned down the Chili Palmer role, Michael Keaton did another film based on an Elmore Leonard novel Rum Punch. The movie was Jackie Brown (1997) and the role was ATF agent Ray Nicolette which was originally made for John Travolta due to the fact that Tarantino was directing and that he worked with him before on Pulp Fiction (1994). Travolta turned it down due to Face/Off (1997) and Keaton got the part.
Although Harry Zimm is never explicitly referred to as being Jewish, throughout the film, he is shown wearing a necklace with a pendant in the shape of the Hebrew word "Chai" (life).
The character of Bo Catlett (played by Delroy Lindo) gives his address as "8151 Wonderland Ave" which is actually the real address of "Wonderland Avenue Elementary School."
Dennis Farina who played Ray "Bones" Barboni, and Elmore Leonard who wrote the novel the movie is based on both died within about a month of each other in 2013.
Harvey Keitel plays himself filming a movie where he portrays Ray Barbone, a man who is set up by Chili Palmer to get arrested. In the Get Shorty sequel, Be Cool, Harvey Keitel plays the character Nick Carr, who is similarly set up by Chili Palmer to get arrested.
Both Dennis Farina (Ray 'Bones' Barboni) and Alex Rocco who plays his boss (Jimmy Capp) share a scene together and share a birthday together as well. What makes this extra special is that both actors are one of few people in the business who share their birthday on the 29th of February. The only extra day in a year that comes once every four years known as a Leap year.
Regarding Orson Welles, Chili says "Sometimes you do your best work when you got a gun to your head." Later in the movie, he does indeed do some great work when he has a gun pointed at him- the second time right up against his head.
When Get Shorty received its terrestrial premiere in 1999, Radio Times's Adrian Turner reviewed it as Film of the Week. Among what Turner wrote in his review was, "Released in the wake of Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty was an attempt to cash in on the success of Quentin Tarantino. Hence the plot is almost nonexistent. Indeed it seems to be little more than a series of vignettes, as director Barry Sonnenfeld's mordant sense of humour makes light of the violence. But unlike Tarantino he doesn't let it run on forever; there are no sliced ears or bloodbaths here". John Travolta also starred in Pulp Fiction (1994), written and directed by Tarantino.
The exterior for Harry Zimm's office is at the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Whitley in Hollywood.
Quentin Tarantino had been going to direct a prequel to Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994), called The Vega Brothers. Michael Madsen played Mr. Blonde (Vic Vega) in Reservoir Dogs and John Travolta played Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction. Madsen and Travolta became too old to reprise their iconic roles, so Tarantino abandoned the project. Gene Hackman has co-starred with "The Vega Brothers". Hackman with Madsen in Wyatt Earp (1994) - incidentally Madsen turned down being Vincent Vega to be in Wyatt Earp - and Hackman with Travolta in Get Shorty (1995).
Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito had both previously played DC Comics villains. Hackman as Lex Luthor in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and DeVito as the Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot in Batman Returns (1992).
Cameo ―
Ernest 'Chili' Palmer: Elmore Leonard's friend, namesake of the main character, as one of Ray Barboni's friends.
Penny Marshall: Plays the director of the movie-within-a-movie.
Harvey Keitel: Plays Ray Barboni (Dennis Farina's character) in the movie-within-a-movie.
Director Cameo ―
Barry Sonnenfeld: A hotel doorman (top hat, red tunic, etc.) greeting David Paymer as he exits a limo.
Spoilers ―
As a nod to his short but memorable role in The Godfather, Jimmy Capp (Ray Bones' boss) as played by Alex Rocco is first and only seen in this film receiving a body massage in a similar manner as the character he played, Moe Green, in his final scene in The Godfather before he is assassinated.
Dennis Farina as Ray "Bones" Barboni, John Travolta as Chili Palmer and Big Daddy Wayne as Bodyguard
Trivia (From IMDB):
According to Elmore Leonard, movie star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), is based on Leonard's own dealings with Dustin Hoffman.
John Travolta initially declined an offer to be in this movie, but was convinced by Quentin Tarantino to do it.
Gene Hackman turned down Get Shorty (1995) at first because he doesn't usually do comedies. Barry Sonnenfeld said that's exactly the attitude he wanted from him on set. Play it straight and let the audience decide if it's funny.
Elmore Leonard says Get Shorty (1995) is the best film adapted from one of his books.
Gene Hackman based Harry Zimm on an agent he used to know. He was the phoniest man he ever knew.
MGM didn't want to extensively use Elmore Leonard-inspired dialogue in the film, and pushed Barry Sonnenfeld and Scott Frank to make many passages more generic than the book's, but once John Travolta signed on to the film he successfully pressured the studio to leave Frank's original draft (which had a lot of colorful dialogue) intact for filming. A specific example of this end result came during the sequence where Chili Palmer goes to retrieve his coat from Bones.
According to Barry Sonnenfeld, producers were considering John Travolta for the lead role even before his Pulp Fiction (1994) comeback.
A scene with Ben Stiller as the director of one of Harry's low-budget B-movies was cut from the film because it didn't suit the flow of it. Even though Barry Sonnenfeld thought it was funny (maybe the funniest scene in the movie) it did nothing to advance the plot so it had to go.
When people in West Hollywood first saw the billboard with Danny DeVito dressed up as Napoléon Bonaparte credited with Martin Weir's name, they thought it was a real one and DeVito might have changed his name. The film crew had to explain to residents it was just a prop in DeVito's latest movie.
Barry Sonnenfeld was very eager to work with Danny DeVito on Get Shorty (1995). Eventually DeVito bought the book, and although he hadn't finished reading it, he said he got it. He wasn't referring to the novel. He was referring to the film rights.
During the "stare" scene, Danny DeVito was allowed to do several different permutations on his lines. Barry Sonnenfeld just sat and let the camera roll for take after take.
When Rene Russo first met with Barry Sonnenfeld and Danny DeVito at a restaurant, she had an allergic reaction to the sesame in her tuna sandwich. She broke out in hives and had to go the doctor, sure she hadn't got the part. Sonnenfeld felt sympathy pains for her, and assured her the role was hers.
Michael Keaton, Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman all turned down the role of Chili Palmer. While Danny DeVito was Barry Sonnenfeld's first choice for the role of Chilli Palmer because of his natural charisma, he could not fit it into his schedule (he was directing Matilda (1996)) so he ended up playing the smaller role of Martin Weir instead.
Studio Executives' first choice to direct the picture was Quentin Tarantino. Two years later, Tarantino would direct another film based on an Elmore Leonard book, Jackie Brown(1997).
In the book, Harry Zimm tells Chili Palmer that he wanted to cast Gene Hackman as the lead in his new film. Hackman, of course, portrays Harry Zimm in the film.
The scene where Chili recites lines from Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1958) while watching it in a cinema is one of the most engaging things Gene Hackman has ever seen in a film.
At approximately 1:19:40, a newspaper article is momentarily shown on screen with the headline: "Horror Film Producer Questioned in Shooting". Although shown too quickly to read without pausing the scene, the second paragraph of the article reads, "At a morning press briefing, LAPD Sergeant Edward Randall disclosed that Wingate, owner of a Los Angeles Limousine Fleet and a sometime investor in Zimm's films was shot five times. Four wounds were in the chest area, a fifth in one of his feet. Sergeant Randall refused to disclose which foot."
Harvey Keitel plays himself as Dennis Farina's character in the film-within-a-film. Both men played the role of Jack Crawford in the film adaptations of Thomas Harris' novel "Red Dragon" (Farina in Manhunter (1986), Keitel in Red Dragon (2002)).
Almost every one of the magazine covers on the rack behind Chili Palmer at the airport have Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) on the cover. Even the issue of Playboy lists an interview with Martin Weir on its cover.
Contains a spoiler for Touch of Evil (1958).
Bette Midler who plays Doris wasn't listed in the end credits, nor was Harvey Keitel.
Samuel L. Jackson was the first choice for the role of Bo Catlett.
John Travolta was paid $3.5 million for this film.
Matthew McConaughey and Steve Buscemi were considered for the role of Ronnie Wingate.
Barry Sonnenfeld hated Get Shorty (1995) initially because he thought it was all talk and no action. Positive audience response to the movie changed his mind.
The original scene with Penny Marshall's cameo had her getting into her car and driving off when the shoot was finished; but the actress hadn't driven a car in many years so it was changed that her assistant drives her off.
Warren Beatty turned down the role of Chili Palmer.
Veteran character actor Vito Scotti's last film.
In the film, Harry makes a joke that the kind of writing that pays the best is ransom notes. The following year, Rene Russo and Delroy Lindo appeared together in Ransom (1996).
Gene Hackman and James Gandolfini also appeared together in Crimson Tide (1995), released the same year. Coincidentally, in Crimson Tide Hackman's character has a pet dog named Bear, same as Gandolfini's character's name in Get Shorty.
Even though he turned down the Chili Palmer role, Michael Keaton did another film based on an Elmore Leonard novel Rum Punch. The movie was Jackie Brown (1997) and the role was ATF agent Ray Nicolette which was originally made for John Travolta due to the fact that Tarantino was directing and that he worked with him before on Pulp Fiction (1994). Travolta turned it down due to Face/Off (1997) and Keaton got the part.
Although Harry Zimm is never explicitly referred to as being Jewish, throughout the film, he is shown wearing a necklace with a pendant in the shape of the Hebrew word "Chai" (life).
The character of Bo Catlett (played by Delroy Lindo) gives his address as "8151 Wonderland Ave" which is actually the real address of "Wonderland Avenue Elementary School."
Dennis Farina who played Ray "Bones" Barboni, and Elmore Leonard who wrote the novel the movie is based on both died within about a month of each other in 2013.
Harvey Keitel plays himself filming a movie where he portrays Ray Barbone, a man who is set up by Chili Palmer to get arrested. In the Get Shorty sequel, Be Cool, Harvey Keitel plays the character Nick Carr, who is similarly set up by Chili Palmer to get arrested.
Both Dennis Farina (Ray 'Bones' Barboni) and Alex Rocco who plays his boss (Jimmy Capp) share a scene together and share a birthday together as well. What makes this extra special is that both actors are one of few people in the business who share their birthday on the 29th of February. The only extra day in a year that comes once every four years known as a Leap year.
Regarding Orson Welles, Chili says "Sometimes you do your best work when you got a gun to your head." Later in the movie, he does indeed do some great work when he has a gun pointed at him- the second time right up against his head.
When Get Shorty received its terrestrial premiere in 1999, Radio Times's Adrian Turner reviewed it as Film of the Week. Among what Turner wrote in his review was, "Released in the wake of Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty was an attempt to cash in on the success of Quentin Tarantino. Hence the plot is almost nonexistent. Indeed it seems to be little more than a series of vignettes, as director Barry Sonnenfeld's mordant sense of humour makes light of the violence. But unlike Tarantino he doesn't let it run on forever; there are no sliced ears or bloodbaths here". John Travolta also starred in Pulp Fiction (1994), written and directed by Tarantino.
The exterior for Harry Zimm's office is at the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Whitley in Hollywood.
Quentin Tarantino had been going to direct a prequel to Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994), called The Vega Brothers. Michael Madsen played Mr. Blonde (Vic Vega) in Reservoir Dogs and John Travolta played Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction. Madsen and Travolta became too old to reprise their iconic roles, so Tarantino abandoned the project. Gene Hackman has co-starred with "The Vega Brothers". Hackman with Madsen in Wyatt Earp (1994) - incidentally Madsen turned down being Vincent Vega to be in Wyatt Earp - and Hackman with Travolta in Get Shorty (1995).
Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito had both previously played DC Comics villains. Hackman as Lex Luthor in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and DeVito as the Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot in Batman Returns (1992).
Cameo ―
Ernest 'Chili' Palmer: Elmore Leonard's friend, namesake of the main character, as one of Ray Barboni's friends.
Penny Marshall: Plays the director of the movie-within-a-movie.
Harvey Keitel: Plays Ray Barboni (Dennis Farina's character) in the movie-within-a-movie.
Director Cameo ―
Barry Sonnenfeld: A hotel doorman (top hat, red tunic, etc.) greeting David Paymer as he exits a limo.
Spoilers ―
As a nod to his short but memorable role in The Godfather, Jimmy Capp (Ray Bones' boss) as played by Alex Rocco is first and only seen in this film receiving a body massage in a similar manner as the character he played, Moe Green, in his final scene in The Godfather before he is assassinated.
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