Trivia / Cat Chaser

• Creator Backlash: Almost no one involved with the film stands by the released version, with studio-ordered voiceover narration added that another actor was hired to do after Peter Weller, worn out by a difficult shoot which saw him, Abel Ferrara and Kelly McGillis often strongly at odds with each other, to the point that McGillis walked off set during a love scene with him. McGillis, for her part, was so disgusted with the experience she shaved her head immediately afterwards and took two years off from acting.
• Executive Meddling: The initial cut of the film was somewhere between 120-135 minutes, but the studio ordered the film to be no longer than 90 minutes, and narration was added after shooting for the sake of continuity; Weller refused to do it so another actor was hired. Abel Ferrara later admitted that because of the way the film turned out, he never gave up final cut on any of his future films, with the exception of Body Snatchers.
• Hostility on the Set: Kelly McGillis and Abel Ferrara clashed constantly, and she didn't get along with Peter Weller either.
• Star-Derailing Role: The film stopped the momentum Kelly McGillis was gaining, reducing her to TV movies and independent flicks afterwards.
• Troubled Production:
  • The film was originally supposed to be shot in Santo Domingo, where the Elmore Leonard novel it's based on is set. However, the producers decided it was too dangerous to shoot there, so production was moved to South Florida shortly beforehand.
  • McGillis feuded with Weller regularly throughout filming, although he says he never knew why; their disagreement is said to have been triggered when she walked out while filming a sex scene. For her part, McGillis said years later in a podcast interview that she was starting to feel really uncomfortable about filming the sex scene in the nude after witnessing some male crew members ogling a professional stripper hired as her body double. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, McGillis had the right to withdraw from filming a nude scene, but the producers forced her to go through with it. Essentially, McGillis was sexually harassed. Immediately after her "finished in the picture" moment, McGillis had Ferrara confirm that he was done with her, went back to her dressing room and shaved her head, telling her reflection, "Fuck you. I never want to act again." She kept her promise for at least two years and never returned to the A-list she had been on. She went on to say, "I really never wanted to act again after that. I thought, 'If this is what making movies is like, I don't ever wanna do this again'."
  • After principal photography was finished, the studio demanded that Weller do a voiceover narration. He absolutely refused, so another actor was hired for it. The cast and crew believe this ruined the movie.

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