John Travolta Couldn’t Memorize Lines & Needed Giant Cue Cards On His Hit Film ‘Get Shorty,’ Director Barry Sonnenfeld Says

John Travolta‘s cocky attitude on the set of Get Shorty has left a mark on director Barry Sonnenfeld, 71, that has left its mark all these years later. 

The gangster film was a blockbuster hit upon its release in 1995. At the time, Travolta was cementing his status as a household name, while Gene Hackman brought the weight of an Academy Award-winning actor. 

Sonnenfield’s newly released memoir, Best Possible Place, revealed that the actors had quite different approaches to acting. Hackman would spend weekends memorizing his lines, whereas Travolta spent mere minutes. 

Sonnenfeld recalled Travolta casually asking Hackman about his weekend, to which the actor shot back, “Well, with eight pages of dialogue, I pretty much spent the whole weekend memorizing today’s work.”

Travolta could not relate. As filming progressed, it became evident that he had not spent enough time memorizing his lines. To compensate, producers had to create giant cue cards for the actor to read off of. 

“Playing a scene… requires both actors to know their lines,'” Sonnefeld wryly wrote.

In the director’s view, the difference between the lead actors was that Hackman loved the craft, and Travolta loved the status. Where Travolta was charming and lax, Hackman was diligent and rigid. 

Sonnefeld instructed Hackman to take out his frustrations on him, not Travolta, to keep the peace. Hackman once exploded at Sonnenfeld, “In my entire career, I have never worked with a more clueless, inept director.”