Ray Liotta Had His Death Changed In His Final Movie Appearance
Ray Liotta's death scene in Cocaine Bear was originally much gorier, but Elizabeth Banks cleaned it up following the actor's real-life passing.
Legendary actor Ray Liotta passed away nearly one year ago, but posthumous performances are concluding the actor’s career in style. Liotta’s latest big screen outing issued him a gory comeuppance at the paws of a cocaine-addicted bear. As reported by MovieMaker, Liotta’s disembowelment in Cocaine Bear was originally much gorier, but director Elizabeth Banks and her team dialed the scene back after Liotta’s death.
Ray Liotta plays the film’s primary human antagonist, the drug runner Syd. After millions of dollars worth of cocaine is dumped from an airplane into the forest, the lost drugs are scattered and slowly hunted down by an addicted black bear. The bear torments everyone who enters the forest, including park rangers, drug dealers, cops, lost children, a steadfast mother, and Ray Liotta.
Cocaine Bear is an R-rated romp full of controversial elements, but Banks and her producer and husband, Max Handelman, knew that they had to be tasteful when it came to Ray Liotta. “We were mindful of the goriness of that scene before we even shot it,” Handelman said, “and after the events that happened, we did reel it in.”
The reeled-in version still showed Cocaine Bear and its cubs ripping the intestines out of Ray Liotta. According to Banks, the biggest challenge in altering the scene’s gore had to do with Liotta’s performance, which she said was a full commitment. “It was really difficult because, of course, it’s the performance that he gave, and he did it all, like I say, joyfully,” Banks said.
“He bought fully into the entire disembowelment and goriness of it,” Handelman added. “So you don’t want to change the reality too much in post because it just doesn’t fit his performance, but we didn’t want it to feel exploitative or unnecessary.”
Banks called the process a calibration. She and Ray Liotta had an understanding about the character and the scene. When discussing the character with Liotta, she pointed to Raiders of the Lost Ark for reference; much like the Nazis, Syd’s hubris is his downfall.
When the cameras rolled, Ray Liotta committed to the violent death in spectacular fashion, and in doing so, served the needs of the script. The villain got what was coming to him. Now Banks had to perform a balancing act, with Liotta’s commitment to the performance as an actor on the one hand and respect for him as a man on the other.
The team on Cocaine Bear did find a balance, sending Ray Liotta off in spectacular, disgusting, satisfying fashion. Liotta’s role as a drug lord harkened back to some of the actor’s greatest characters, including his career-defining performance in Martin Scorcese’s 1990 gangster epic, Goodfellas.
Cocaine Bear boasts an all-star cast delivering hilarious performances. Next to Ray Liotta, the film features Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and more. The film received generally favorable reviews and made an impressive stand at the box office up against Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania; the film has grossed about $55 million against an approximately $35 million budget.
Ray Liotta isn’t finished yet. Later this year, he will hit the big screen in Fool’s Paradise, the directorial debut from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day. Liotta will join Day in the film, along with Jason Bateman, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, John Malkovich, and Katherine McNamara.
Ray Liotta passed away in his sleep while filming the thriller Dangerous Waters, which is still in the works. He is also set to appear in the drama film April 29, 1992 with Halloween Kills star Dylan Arnold, the Fast & Furious franchise’s Tyrese Gibson, and Scott Eastwood.
Though Ray Liotta has passed on, the legend of the actor will never die. Even in death, Liotta graces the big screen with memorable performances, lending his talent and credibility to a new generation of filmmakers and filmgoers. Even with the filmmakers dialing things back, Ray Liotta finished his final movie about cocaine in a violent, bloody, gut-wrenching style.
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