Movies - Be Cool

	Movies - Be Cool

Be Cool is a 1999 novel which was adapted into a 2005 film. The book was the sequel to the 1990 novel Get Shorty
by Elmore Leonard (itself adapted into a 1995 film) about mobster Chili Palmer's entrance into the music industry.

The film version of Be Cool started producton in 2003. It was directed by F. Gary Gray, produced by Danny DeVito (who produced and co-starred in the first film), and starred John Travolta, reprising his role from the first film. The movie opened in March 2005 to generally lukewarm reviews, and was released to video and DVD distribution on June 7, 2005.

Synopsis

Chili Palmer helps the widow, Edie, of an executed friend, Tommy Athens, resurrect a record company using the talents of young and talented female vocalist and songwriter, Linda Moon. The plot is complicated by several facts:

#Russian mobsters are trying to kill Chili because he witnessed the execution of Athens #Chili takes Moon despite her contractual obligations to Nick Carr and Raji, and #Athens' record company owes money to a gangster-type producer, Sin LaSalle.

Film plot

Chili Palmer (Travolta), sick of film making, enters the music industry when his friend, Tommy Athens (Woods) and owner of a record company, is executed by a Russian mobster, which Chili witnesses. Chili uses the opportunity to help his friend's widow, Edie Athens (Thurman), manage the failing business, which owes $300,000 to the band Dub.M.D's led by Dabu (Andrê Benjamin), and gangster mogul Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer). Chili enters the music industry on the talents of a female entertainer, Linda Moon (Milian). Moon convinces Chili to take on her cause, getting out of contractual obligations to Nick Carr (Keitel) and Raji (Vaughn), who has a gay bodyguard named Eliot (played by The Rock). Carr and Raji take great exception to Chili's cause, and hire a hitman, Joe Loop (Robert Postorelli) to "off" Chili. In the meantime, Chili convinces Edie to produce Moon, hoping to resurrect Athens' failing record company through a live performance with Aerosmith and Steven Tyler.

The movie follows the downfall of each of these unscrupulous enemies of Chili. Sin LaSalle begins by threatening Chili and Edie for payment of the $300,000; but Chili and Edie convince Sin to give them a few days to get the money. When the Russians attempt to kill Chili, Joe Loop mistakenly kills the Russian hitman. Raji then hits the hitman (Joe Loop) out of frustration. Carr angers the Russian mobsters who make an untimely visit to Carr's office while Sin LaSalle is there. Insulted by the Russian mob boss, LaSalle kills him. In the meantime, Raji sends Eliot to kill Chili. However, Chili, in cool fashion, befriends the gay man. When Carr threatens Chili, Chili slyly sends him to the hands of the police. Finally when Raji and Eliot threaten Chili, Chili again befriends Eliot, who turns on Raji in defense of Chili. For all his smooth talking and flamboyant wardrobe, Raji finds himself on the receiving end of fireworks which ends up roasting him live on camera. While on the other end, Carr ends up getting arrested by the police on murder charges.

During all of this befuddling Chili manages to squeeze in a dance scene with Edie (the awaited Travolta-Thurman reunion from Pulp Fiction), and Moon gets her debut with Aerosmith. In the end LaSalle becomes the producer for Moon, and they all live happily ever after.

Box office totals

Production Budget: $53,000,000
Est. Marketing Costs: N/A (based on number of theatres that released it possibly between 20 and 30 million dollars)
Domestic: $56,046,979 (58.9%)
Overseas: $39,169,077 (41.1%)
Worldwide: $95,216,056

Trivia

Bestselling author Dan Brown and his wife Blythe have a brief appearance in the movie, in the front row of the audience during the Aerosmith concert.
The character played by Cedric the Entertainer
, Sin LaSalle, is seen by many as a parody of Sean Combs
.

Incidents

During the making of the movie, The Rock
's trailer, located just outside of the set, exploded and he was blamed for it until Ashton Kutcher
's crew member came up to him and said "First of all, you just been Punk'd."

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