'Men In Black' Director Reveals Set Was 'Evacuated' For Hours After Will Smith Farted
"Men In Black" director Barry Sonnenfeld revealed this week that the set had to be "evacuated" for hours due to a particularly powerful fart released by star Will Smith.
Sonnenfeld, 71, shared the behind-the-scenes detail during an appearance on Wednesday's episode of the "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa" podcast, the day after the release of his new book, "Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time."
During one scene in the 1997 alien action movie, Smith, 56, who played Agent J, and his costar, 78-year-old Tommy Lee Jones, who played Agent K, were "hermetically sealed" inside a pod that served as a car that traveled at incredibly high speeds.
"There are locks to prevent it from opening and falling," Sonnenfeld explained about the shot. "I say, 'Roll camera,' and I hear Will Smith go, 'Oh Jesus, so sorry. Tommy, so sorry. Baz, get the ladder.' And you hear Tommy saying, 'That's fine, Will. No worries, Will. Don't worry, Will.'"
At first, Sonnenfeld said he had no idea what Smith was apologizing for.
"So we race the ladder over. Yeah, Tommy reaches his leg out as the ladder is coming over, races down the stairs. And what happened was, Will Smith is a farter," Sonnenfeld said. "It's just some people are [farters]."
It may be a normal bodily function, but being trapped "inside a very small hermetically sealed space with a Will Smith fart" is likely unpleasant, Sonnenfeld said.
"We evacuated the stage for about three hours. And that's incredible. No, he's, you know, a lovely guy. Just, he farts. Some do, some don't," he said.
The Academy Award winner went on to work with Sonnenfeld on 1999's "Wild Wild West" along with the sequels "Men in Black II" (2002) and "Men in Black 3" (2012).
"Best Possible Time, Worst Possible Place," which was released on Oct. 1, features stories from Sonnenfeld's long Hollywood career.
-- With reporting by TMX
