John Travolta Was ‘So Obsessed With Fame’ He Didn’t ‘Memorize His Lines’ For ‘Get Shorty’ Role

Who would have thought the perfect and smooth-talking John Travolta in Get Shorty once fumbled his lines? The director of the 1995 movie, Barry Sonnenfeld, walks us through what happened behind the scenes of Get Shorty in his newly released memoir, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time. 

He also detailed John’s interaction with Gene Hackman, who was oblivious to the fact that Gene was making jests of him at some point on the set and due to the Grease star’s reignited fame through Pulp Fiction released the year before, Gene could not confront John and had to transfer his aggression on Barry. 

What happened to John Travolta on the set of ‘Get Shorty’?

Barry wrote that John was unprepared for the role as Chili Palmer as he didn’t rehearse his lines and was overconfident he could deliver being one of the most popular and hottest actors at that time. Apparently, John over-relied on his Pulp Fiction success as he fumbled so bad that they had to create giant cue cards for him to get his lines. 

John’s late arrival at the location without apology was less heinous compared to his interaction with Gene, who he asked how his weekend was. The now-94-year-old replied with details of how he used his weekend to rigorously learn his lines, only for John to describe the time as a “waste.”

John Travolta “loved being a movie star”

The Get Shorty director bore the brunt of John’s actions as Gene, who he described as “intimidating,” started lashing out at him and his wife when she called to check up. However, Barry promptly called Gene to order, “I know you need to yell at someone, so yell at me. But please leave Sweetie [Susan Ringo] out of it.” Telling him the real reason for his frustration, “I know you’re not angry at me. You’re angry at John for not knowing his lines.”

The whole experience made Barry have a different notion about John as there was another time, the Grease star got late to the set because he was trying out tuxedos for the Oscars. “I have never worked with anyone who loved being a movie star as much as John Travolta,” the 71-year-old concluded.