Would he really tell a story about vomiting?
Its like a fart story.
So I went back and forth, but I made peace and I said okay.
ANDY LINDBERG: That was just the kind of thing that would win the Pulitzer if 12-year-olds could vote.
REINER: We worked very hard at getting the sound of the stomach.
There used to be a sound I remember as a kid when I watched Jackie Gleason on TV.
One of his characters was Reggie Van Gleason III.
LINDBERG: Theres a moment when I stand up and stagger, just before I start throwing up.
Reiner was saying, Think of how Jackie Gleason would do this.
That was the direction he gave me.
It was hard work, but it was also very fun.
We made a big mixture of blueberry pie filling and large-curd cottage cheese.
LINDBERG: The first time the crew tried the vomiting effect, they used a power washer.
But that didnt work.
The stream was too fine.
REINER: The mayors wife, it gets on her chest and everything.
[Laughs]
Audiences flipped and even ralphed for the scene.
Everybody else, the volume of their vomit was anywhere from a cup to two pints.
So that contrast, compared to the five gallons from me, was very distinct.
REINER: You know, the idea of chain-reaction vomiting, it does happen.
I remember watching test audiences go through the roof at that scene.
They were exploding when they watched it, and I was almost worried what might happen.
LINDBERG: A friend of mine worked at a movie theater in California whenStand by Mecame out.
Which, of course, for me is a point of pride.
Ive made people throw up all over the world.
