The 330-second Steadicam shot of Peter Fallow arriving at the Palm Court of the Winter Garden was a tour de force for operator Larry McConkey. He had to track backwards, get on a golf cart, ride it for 380 feet, get off of it, track backwards 234 feet, get into the elevator, get out, and track for another 250 feet.
The scene with Maria's Concorde landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport was filmed by second unit director Eric Schwab to impress his mentor Brian De Palma. De Palma discouraged him, and bet $100 that it would not make the final cut. The sun would line up with the runway and the Empire state building in the background on only one day, June 12th, with a 30-second window for the shot. They had to hire a Concorde from Air France, and ask them to land the aircraft at the exact time. They also had to coordinate with JFK Air Traffic Control to let the aircraft through and land at exactly the right moment, in one of the most congested air-spaces in the world. Schwab used five cameras to ensure the scene was captured. In the end, the shot cost $80,000 US and resulted in 10 seconds of screen time.
Bruce Willis was added to the cast to provide box office clout, even though very few of his non-action movies had ever turned a profit. His fee was $5 million, same as top-billed Tom Hanks.
Tom Wolfe was always surprised that a Hollywood studio would be interested in making a film adaptation of Bonfire (his first fictional work). Though he had no complaints about the price he got for the rights and enjoying the fact he wouldn't have to write any screenplay for the film, practically abstaining himself from any involvement with it, he didn't like the film. He watched it three times and always felt there was something missing.
Steadicam operator Larry McConkey coordinated the complex, nearly 5-minute opening tracking sequence that included a cramped ride in a service elevator. It was the first of McConkey's collaborations with Brian De Palma.
Brian De Palma: At the very beginning of the opening tracking shot, as the limousine carrying Bruce Willis enters the basement. De Palma is the security guard who says "Now arriving Area A" into a walkie-talkie. He hurries off-screen. He then shows up seated on the rear of the golf-cart, behind Willis and Rita Wilson, still talking into his walkie-talkie. When the cart stops, De Palma once again runs off ahead of the actors. De Palma has said in interviews that he put himself into the sequence due to the logistics of directing the lengthy and complicated take. He shaved off his beard to make himself harder to recognize.
Brian De Palma: In the opening tracking shot, dressed as a security guard, when Bruce Willis gets in the elevator. It was physically impossible for the camera crew and De Palma to stay off camera in that shot, so De Palma chose to do a cameo. To be unrecognizable, he shaved off his trademark beard.