Ryan, Desmond. Philadelphia Inquirer 16 Mar 1986: J.2. This was considered a surprising choice; although Altman had previously made The Long Goodbye with producer Elliot Kastner, the two men had a major falling out when Altman was going to direct 92 in the Shade. But Carol Burnett encouraged Altman to work with Burt Reynolds and the director liked the star, so he accepted. According to Altman's biographer Patrick McGilligan, the director "detested the commerciality of William Goldman's script." Altman flew to New York, met with Goldman, and surprised himself by getting along with him, but the writer did not want to change the script. Altman flew to Las Vegas and used a technicality to get out of making the movie—his desired cinematographer, Pierre Mignot, could not obtain the necessary permits to work on the film, so Altman withdrew.
