According to a 1990 Los Angeles Times account of the shoot, Reiner and Sonnenfeld required something a little extra from Caan for the third-act scene where a hobbled Paul launches himself out of bed and crawls across the floor. Caan did as directed during rehearsal, but Reiner suggested an adjustment: after his star hit the deck, he wanted him to crawl to a mark. He found it. “[Y]ou crawl to here,” instructed Reiner. “This black dot. If you go any further, you’ll get too close to the camera and we’ll lose you.”
This, however, wasn’t far enough for Sonnenfeld, so he did the gentlemanly thing and created a new mark with a gooey chunk of expectorated phlegm. This was agreeable to Reiner. “OK, Jimmy,” he said. “You crawl to the loogie.” Caan was stunned. “I can’t believe you guys,” he exclaimed. “You hocked a loogie.” Sonnenfeld stepped forward and stomped the spittle into the floor. “When you feel a certain dampness, Jimmy, just stop there.”
“Right,” added Reiner. “Stop at the schmutz.”
Caan, whose most famous movie moment might’ve been getting strapped with multiple exploding squibs for Sonny Corleone’s turnpike slaughter in “The Godfather,” again expressed his disbelief. “You guys are unbelievable. “Just stop at the schmutz!’ This is the only movie ever where I have someone hocking my marks!”
There would be greater humiliations for Caan later in his career (he was once directed by Brett Ratner) but, in 1990, it took a stunning degree of gall to ask the Academy Award-nominated legend to drag himself into sputum. Had he received the nod he deserved, this would’ve made for one hell of a clip on the broadcast.