iokevinsMay 2, 2025

First listen to audio commentary #1 (of 2) included on the 4K UHD SNEAKERS (1992) disc from Kino Lorber:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film)

This track:

Director/Co-Writer Phil Alden Robinson with Co-Writers/Co-Producers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes

#Sneakers #Film #Movie #PhilAldenRobinson #WalterParkes #LawrenceLasker #RobertRedford #DanAykroyd #BenKingsley #MaryMcDonnell #RiverPhoenix #SidneyPoitier #DavidStrathairn #TimothyBusfield #JamesEarlJones #KinoLorber #4KUHD #Bluray

Sneakers (1992 film) - Wikipedia

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025

1st scene in an earlier draft was them blowing up a building, inadvertently murdering a janitor 👀

Too dark, so scrapped

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025
I knew this already, but the building in the 1st scene is "Back to the Future" square on the Universal backlot 🙂
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Wait--the writers wrote the 1st scene to imply Cosmo thought Marty literally betrayed him to the police? 🤯

I've always read Cosmo's explosive anger stemming from Marty's line, "trust me", re: Cosmo's anxiety about getting caught, not Marty ratting out Cosmo.

Later, Cosmo says, "My old and good friend who promised me we would not get in trouble and who I might add, did not." So...I guess that line might corroborate Cosmo believing Marty got out of trouble by ratting out Cosmo.

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025
The writers joke that Dan Akroyd believes most of the conspiracies, but...in another "making of" Akroyd says he drew upon his brother for inspiration, as his brother actually does believe in a lot of the conspiracies. That does not preclude Dan from also believing in them, but the impression I got from the other documentary was that Dan was--at the very least--not aware of a lot of them before making this film. So... 🤷🏻
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"Touch of Evil" (1958) -

Security guard watching their TV and the scene has the line, "I looked in that box, there was nothing there."

Intentionally chosen to foreshadow the end of the movie 🙂

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_of_Evil

#TouchOfEvil

Touch of Evil - Wikipedia

May 2, 2025 at 6:17amWeb
Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025

Early drafts had Marty getting the safe deposit box. Never shot it ("wasn't necessary").

"You wouldn't believe what I had to go through just to get a safe deposit box."

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025

The term "Sneakers"--as told to the writers by someone at a computer convention while they researched WarGames (1983)--referred to kid programmers at IBM ("the guys in the back hallways").

Turned out they were "tiger teams" or security consultants hired to break into high tech facilities to test security.

High-tech "Dirty Dozen". Pitched it to Fox and they loved it.

This was early 1980's 👀 Pre-WarGames

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025

Early drafts referred to a space-based laser defense system 🛰️ 📡 ⚡

This was before Ronald Reagan announced the "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, on March 23, 1983.

If I am understanding the conversation correctly, the space laser system was also the initial technology for WarGames (1983)

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025
Line producer Lindsley Parsons Jr. makes a cameo (left-most man with glasses) in the scene where Marty gives back the $100,000 to the bank 🙂
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"Not a very good one" 😅

Writers say that line--by the bank teller handing Marty the check--was intentionally chosen to setup the team as underdogs. I.e., struggling to find funding.

I think I initially interpreted the line as the bank teller making a moral judgement of their line of work as "not very good". I.e., her telling him he should get a more respectable job. 🔥 lol

However, the writers only mention the monetary amount, so I think that was their intent, not her shaming Marty. 🙂

Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025
"The Sneakers Lair" 🙂 The description by the writers
Show threadiokevinsMay 2, 2025

Writers talking about stories coming from an external circumstances vs. character premise (easier to write because about something).

Sneakers is the former, "about people who had this interesting job", so the challenge was "backing the characters into their slots", which takes a long time to figure out how to do cleanly. Sneakers does it in the scene where Buddy Wallace reads through the files of Marty's crew.

Other way: recruitment scene

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

OMG

Initial drafts actually had Marty recruiting the team with the help of a Zen master, "Master Chen" (not sure on spelling) 👀

It was the Tai chi master who was moving in slow motion later on. Marty goes to the Zen master and the Tai chi master finds the other guys (if I'm understanding correctly).

Writers laughing and saying it was only 20-30 pages. "We could go back and do the prequel" 😆

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025
Dick Gordon (played by Timothy Busfield): Writers named the character Dick to give Marty the line, "Gee, I can't tell you what a relief that is, Dick."
Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025
Discussion of camera-work and choreography in scene where Dick and Buddy trap Marty into working for them: the "dance" in how the characters move, ultimately leading to Marty seated and boxed-in at the end of the scene 🌟
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Writers talking about how every scene had to do 2-3 things, due to the amount of plot to get through.
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"We had a discussion at one point that a movie about these guys doing a job that they're supposed to do is not interesting...As interesting as they are and as their job is, the plot needs to be even more interesting than that."
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Liz was a member of the Sneakers at one point.

Marty could never commit to Liz because he could never resolve his issues with the past.

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

Writers tried to explain what their MacGuffin (i.e., the little black box) did, unlike Hitchcock, who preferred to leave it ambiguous (e.g., The Plans, The Microfilm)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin

MacGuffin - Wikipedia

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

"While we were shooting this scene, the Soviet Union collapsed" 🤯

They continue: "... and it was replaced for a very short time by something called the Commonwealth of Independent States...and while we were shooting this scene we had his business card printed up so that it actually said, Commonwealth of Independent States, which now is completely, uh, I don't think anybody knows what that means now." 🙂

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

Greg was originally written as a Soviet agent who grew to love the luxuries of the West, kind of a mini Ninotchka (1939) 🙂

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninotchka

Ninotchka - Wikipedia

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Writers joking about whether they used "classic" or "hackneyed" plot devices (e.g., following the mysterious woman)
Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

Writer on the scene where Whistler identifies the little black box:

"I think scenes like this are, are the satisfying, for as myself as a member of the audience, this sort of scene satisfies me as much as the big exciting scene in an action film. I love watching a film about people who are smart."

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

Writer: "These are low-tech guys in a high-tech world."

Just noticing the name on the lobby desk of the building where Janek works: "The Coolidge Institute"

Show threadiokevinsMay 4, 2025

"We actually had a scene at one point, of him--in the script--of him riding up in the elevator with these lock technicians, and he said, and they, they tell him as they are going up--they are very proud--'Oh yeah, we're replacing all the locks with these new kind of things that you can't get, you can't, uh, you can't pick...No possible way. Could never get in. Impossible.'" 👀 😅

"And then we realized you don't need that scene. Just show his reaction. Get him to the door and have him look at it."