Referring to the picture by its working title, LA Shortcuts, a 29 Sep 1990 Screen International news item announced that writer-director Robert Altman’s Sandcastle 5 Productions was set to finance the screen adaptation of selected work by award-winning author Raymond Carver, who died at age fifty in 1988. The film, written by Altman and Frank Barhydt, was scheduled to begin principal photography in Nov 1990 with eighteen lead characters, including Ray Liotta, Ally Sheedy, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Huey Lewis, who was the only actor in the list to remain with the project. Production notes in AMPAS library files claimed Lewis was cast because of his expertise in fly fishing, and that he also worked as an uncredited technical adviser.
       According to a 21 Oct 2009 article in The Guardian by associate producer Mike Kaplan, the picture was based on nine short stories and one poem by Raymond Carver that had not previously been presented as a collection until the film’s companion book, Short Cuts (1993). The book was released by Vintage Books with a forward by Robert Altman. Carver’s stories that inspired the film were: “Neighbors,” “They’re Not Your Husband,” “Vitamins,” “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” “So Much Water So Close to Home,” “A Small, Good Thing,” “Jerry and Molly and Sam,” “Collectors,” and, “Tell the Women We’re Going,” as well as the poem, Lemonade. As noted in various contemporary sources, including production notes, Carver was known for his depiction of small-town, working-class life in the Pacific Northwest, but his widow, Tess Gallagher, supported Altman’s choice to relocate the stories to Southern CA.
       Mike Kaplan’s account of Short Cuts’s development started in 1989, when he secured financing from a well-connected but unidentified French producer. However, the funding lapsed over time, and potential investors were “erratic and far-fetched,” such as a “former intelligence officer” who disappeared while transporting cash from Cannes to Paris, France. Production notes stated that Altman and Barhydt completed a first draft of the script in Jul 1990, with approval from Tess Gallagher and financing from Paramount Pictures. The filmmakers were ready to start production, but Paramount abandoned the project when the company’s leadership changed hands and David Kirkpatrick arrived as head of production from Walt Disney Studios. As noted in a 2 Sep 1992 LAT article, Kirkpatrick decided to put the project “in turnaround,” hoping to find a studio that would reimburse Paramount for its initial investment. However, no companies were willing to pick up the film at that time.
       On 8 Jan 1991, DV announced that Altman was negotiating a $12 million production deal with Hemdale Film Corp. for L.A. Short Cuts. Principal photography was planned for a Spring 1991 start date in Los Angeles, Glendale, and Long Beach, CA, and the number of featured cast members increased from eighteen to twenty-seven. However, the project remained in limbo over the next year as Altman directed the Academy Award nominated The Player (1992, see entry), which marked his first blockbuster since his 1970 break-through, M*A*S*H (see entry). According to a 9 Jun 1992 DV news item, top-billed actors aggressively campaigned for roles in the picture, now titled Short Cuts, but Altman had already planned a “dream cast” two years before pre-production began. Of the twenty-one actors listed as Altman’s top choices, Jeff Daniels, Terri Garr, Laura Dern, Seymour Cassel, and Robert Townsend were unable to perform in the film. Principal photography had been rescheduled to begin late-Jul 1992 with a $15 million budget, financed by Fine Line Features and Spelling Films International. A 13 May 1992 DV brief stated that Altman’s deal with the two companies was solidified late in the day on Monday, 11 May 1992, at the Cannes Film Festival, after The Player received critical acclaim and was later honored with a nomination for a Palme d’Or, as well as awards for Best Actor (Tim Robbins) and Best Director. Fine Line and Spelling Films also financed The Player, and were notably pleased with the results of their investment. As stated in a 30 Dec 1993 HR article, the co-financing deal was finalized in twenty-four hours, with Spelling Films guaranteeing sixty percent of the budget. One week after the contract was announced, William Morris talent agents were reportedly “packaging” cast members for Altman’s Short Cuts and his upcoming production, Ready to Wear (Prêt-à-Porter) (1994, see entry), according to an 18 May 1992 DV column. In his 21 Oct 2009 Guardian article, Mike Kaplan emphasized that the success of The Player restored Altman’s prestige in Hollywood, and inspired studios to invest in his next project.
       Kaplan’s account of the production and DV production charts conflict with AMPAS’s studio notes concerning the dates and duration of principal photography. On 19 Jun 1992, DV production charts listed a Jul 1992 start date, and production notes stated that filming began on 26 Jul 1992. However, 24 Aug 1992 DV production charts reported that filming was pushed back one month to start on 26 Aug 1992. While production notes described a fifty-day shoot in Los Angeles-adjacent industrial towns including Hawthorne and Downey, CA, Kaplan stated that filming lasted ten weeks, with each week designated for one of the nine Carver stories, and an additional week for Carver’s poem. The 2 Sep 1992 LAT article, written during production, added La Puente, CA, as a featured location.
       Despite the onscreen appearance of an “ensemble” cast, the actors generally worked only during the week their “story” was in production, with several extra scenes filmed to overlap the characters. Production notes and Kaplan’s article both described a meticulous, color-coded chart on a twenty-foot bulletin board, where the filmmakers matched the now twenty-two characters’ action with time of day and location on 135 index cards. The 2 Sep 1992 LAT listed a budget of $12 million and stated that the twenty-two featured A-list actors all agreed to work for the same rate, which was well below their standard pay. However, the deal maintained that no performer was required to work more than ten days.
       In his Guardian article, Kaplan noted that one “story” out of the nine was filmed outside of Los Angeles on the Kern River near Bakersfield, CA: “So Much Water, So Close to Home.” The night before filming began, Altman told Kaplan that he had “no idea” what he was going to do the following day. The scene was located at a remote fisherman’s camp below a 100-foot cliff. In 107-degree heat, two generator vehicles and various equipment trucks were parked on a treacherous incline at the top of the cliff, and the equipment was lowered to the location site on winches. Reflecting upon the upside of Altman’s spontaneity, Kaplan revealed that the “S-shot” that followed the river to reveal the body of a dead girl was initially set in silence, but was later intercut with the fishermen’s voice-overs.
       Kaplan also stated that the director encouraged widespread participation among cast and crew during production, providing food and drink to make dailies viewing an inclusive, festive occasion. Despite Altman’s longstanding policy of forbidding outside cameras on set, he agreed to let Kaplan film a documentary about the making of Short Cuts in return for his work as associate producer. Kaplan’s Luck, Trust, and Ketchup was released on video in 1996 and screened at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, eight months after Altman’s death. According to production notes, Altman also advocated for actor contributions to the Short Cuts screenplay. For example, Tim Robbins reportedly came up with the idea of making the “Claire Kane” character a clown, and Jennifer Jason Leigh wrote the scene between her character, “Lois Kaiser,” and Lili Taylor’s “Honey Bush.”
       A 16 Oct 1992 Screen International brief announced that filming concluded the week of 5 Oct 1992. According to the 12 Oct 1993 LAT, Altman shot nearly 240,000 feet of film, approximately forty hours of footage.
       The 9 Jun 1992 DV news item listed Cary Brokaw as executive producer, but he receives the sole producer credit onscreen. Similarly, the 25 May 1992 DV listed Ian Jessel as Short Cuts’s executive producer, but he is not credited onscreen.
       The film was received with critical acclaim upon its release on 3 Oct 1993. A 23 Jan 1994 LAT article noted that Fine Line was in an unusually “costly position” to campaign for Short Cuts’s twenty-two featured performers during Hollywood’s awards season. Industry standards maintained that one or two actors would be singled out for award consideration, but Fine Line’s president, Ira Deutchman, told LAT that he didn’t have “any choice but to support” all of the actors. He suggested that AMPAS establish a new category to honor ensemble performers, and on 21 Jan 1994, DV announced that the cast was set to receive a “special achievement award” for “outstanding artistry by an ensemble cast” from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes. Two months later, a 25 Mar 1994 Screen International article announced that the film was a near “runaway winner” at the 1994 Independent Spirit Awards, where it was honored in the three most prominent categories: Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Feature.
       Robert Altman’s direction garnered an Academy Award nomination.
       End credits include, “Special thanks to: Tess Gallagher, Don Bachardy, Steve Dunn, John Dorr, Marianne Faithful, Michael Kirchberger, Ira Deutchman, Terry Ellis, Kate Hyman, Paul Hutchinson—Imago Records, Steve Trombatore & All Payments Services, Luzmarie “Jellybean the Clown” Quintana, Alice “A. J. the Clown” Jones, Thomas Bros. Maps, Kirby Vacuums, Sherman Clay Pianos, Bobby Previte Drums by Slingerland.” The following acknowledgements are also stated in the end credits: “Donahue excerpts courtesy of Multimedia Entertainment, Inc.; Hometime clip courtesy of Hometime Video Publicity, Inc.; Yves Rocher and The Cook courtesy of QVC Network, Inc.; Monster in the Closet clip courtesy of Troma, Inc.; Captain Planet and the Planeteers clip courtesy of DIC Enterprises, Inc. and TBS Productions, Inc.,” and, “The producers would like to thank KCAL-TV in Los Angeles for its kind cooperation during the production of this motion picture.”