Editing Cobra (1986 film) (section)

==Production==
===Development and writing===
When Sylvester Stallone was signed to play the lead in ''Beverly Hills Cop'', he decided to rewrite the script almost completely, removing nearly all the comedic aspects and turning it into an action movie that he felt was better suited to him. The studio read his revised script and rejected it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Round Two With Stallone: Rocky, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo 4, Elvis, Poe, Horror, Incredibles 2 &... |url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/30865 |website=Aint It Cool News}}</ref> The proposed action scenes would have increased the budget far beyond what they planned.<ref name="Cronin">{{cite web |date= January 16, 2013 |first=Brian |last=Cronin |title=Movie Legends Revealed: Sly Stallone as Axel Foley? |url=https://www.cbr.com/movie-legends-revealed-sly-stallone-as-axel-foley/ |website=CBR |access-date=January 1, 2021}}</ref> Stallone later channeled his ideas for it into an original script.<ref name="Rabin">{{cite web |date=September 12, 2014 |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |author-link=Nathan Rabin |title=Cobra gave 1986 the Dirty Harry knockoff it deserved |url=https://thedissolve.com/features/forgotbusters/749-cobra-gave-the-1980s-the-dirty-harry-knockoff-it-d/ |work=The Dissolve |access-date=June 3, 2016}}</ref> When Stallone left ''Beverly Hills Cop'', [[Eddie Murphy]] was brought in to play the lead role.<ref>{{cite episode |title=I Took Over A Role From Someone Else And Now I'm Famous |url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/shows/the-role-that-changed-my-life/series-one/episode-guide.html |url-status=dead |access-date=December 14, 2010 |series=The Role That Changed My Life |season=1 |number=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201164810/http://thebiographychannel.co.uk/shows/the-role-that-changed-my-life/series-one/episode-guide.html |archive-date=December 1, 2010}}</ref>

The novel ''A Running Duck'' by [[Paula Gosling]] was cited as source material, enough so that she received a screen credit.

Sylvester Stallone's earlier draft of the script contained many differences from later drafts and the final film. These include the opening shootout taking place in a movie theater (instead of a supermarket), during which many more people are killed; Cobra mentioning how he had a girlfriend who was killed by a psychopath he was trying to catch; an additional nighttime action sequence on a boat where Cobra and Ingrid are hiding and are attacked by the Night Slasher's cultists, with Cobra and Gonzalez managing to kill them all; and a different ending, in which Monte, revealed to be the actual leader of the New World, attempts to kill Ingrid at the last second before being killed by Cobretti.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rawrvintageisclassic.blogspot.mx/2014/05/first-draft-screenplay-of-cobra.html |title=First Draft Screenplay of Cobra. |website=rawrvintageisclassic.blogspot.com |date=May 20, 2014 |access-date=September 11, 2016}}</ref>

The line, "This is where the law stops and I start, sucker!", was inspired by a line spoken by [[Steve McQueen]] in ''[[The Reivers (film)|The Reivers]]''.<ref name="Siskel-1986-05-18">{{cite web |date=May 18, 1986 |author=Gene Siskel |author-link=Gene Siskel |title=STALLONE WIELDS A PEN WITH RAMBONIAN POWER |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-05-18-8602040747-story.html |website=ChicagoTribune.com }}</ref>

''Cobra'' needed much additional editing because the film was so graphically violent that it originally received an X rating. It was edited to receive an R rating.

===Casting===
[[Brian Thompson (actor)|Brian Thompson]] auditioned seven times before he was hired. On the fourth audition he met Stallone, who thought that Thompson was too nice to play the Night Slasher. But after a screen test, he immediately got the job. Also, in the original script, the Night Slasher was called [[Abaddon]], possibly after the "angel of the abyss" from the Bible.

Thompson repeatedly sought Stallone's advice about how to play the Night Slasher, including questions about his background and personal motivations, but Stallone showed no interest in the subject and told Thompson that the character was simply evil. In an unfortunate surprise for Thompson, after filming was completed, director Cosmatos unexpectedly told him: "You could have been good if you had listened to me."

Stallone acknowledged ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' as an influence<ref name="Siskel-1986-05-18" /> and ''Cobra'' reunited two actors from the film: [[Reni Santoni]] and [[Andrew Robinson (actor)|Andy Robinson]].

Brigitte Nielsen, Stallone's then-wife who he had met filming ''[[Rocky IV]]'', was cast as Ingrid Knudsen.<ref name="Scott" /><ref name="Siskel-1986-05-18" />

===Filming===
Originally, ''Cobra'' was supposed to be filmed in Seattle, climaxing with a motorcycle chase scene on a [[ferry]] between the islands. Even though everything was prepared to start filming the final theatrical version of the scene at night, Stallone demanded the ending be changed because of the mosquito problem at that time, which would have made night time filming very difficult to endure.

The supporting cast and extras were forbidden from talking to Stallone on set.<ref name="MovieGeeksUnited">{{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBJlfp25vUM | title = Summer of 1986: COBRA | quote = <!-- at 39:00 minute mark -->with cinematographer Ric Waite and costar Brian Thompson | work = Movie Geeks United!}}</ref>

At one point during filming, Stallone complained to cinematographer Ric Waite that they were falling behind and that he needed to push his crew to work harder. Waite responded by telling Stallone that the delays were due to his fooling around with Brigitte Nielsen and showing off for his bodyguards. Although Stallone was shocked that somebody would talk to him that way, he cleaned up his act and behaved more professionally, although he returned to his old egocentric behavior a few weeks later. Waite later said in an interview that, despite his huge ego, Stallone had a great sense of humor. He said George P. Cosmatos would have made a great producer, but he was a terrible director.<ref name="MovieGeeksUnited" />

During a stunt scene, driver [[Kerry Rossall]] and another stuntman were injured after Rossall intentionally crashed a van into a wall. Nielsen was nearly hit by the van during a previous take.<ref>Brouwer, Alexandra (1990). ''[https://archive.org/details/workinginhollywo0000brou/page/150/mode/2up?q=%22cobra%22 Working in Hollywood]'' (1st ed.). New York: [[Crown Publishers]]. pp. 150–151. {{ISBN|0-517-57401-2}} – via [[Internet Archive]].</ref>

For the Night Slasher's monologue in the lead-up to the final fight, Brian Thompson did the scene with the script supervisor standing in for Stallone, who was busy watching a basketball game on TV.

The custom [[Mercury Eight#Third generation (1949–1951)|1950 Mercury]] driven by Cobretti was actually owned by Sylvester Stallone. The studio produced stunt doubles of the car for use in some of the action sequences, such as the jump from the second floor of the parking garage. The production built three "Cobra cars" for stunt work. Although they were identical on the outside, their moving parts were designed for specific sequences, involving high-speed swipes with other vehicles, 180-degree turns, jumps, and 360-degree spins.<ref name="afi">{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57290 |title=Cobra |website=AFI |access-date=February 28, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=MARIELENA HATZIGIANNIS |title=Sylvester Stallone reportedly reunites with stolen car |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sylvester-stallone-reportedly-reunites-with-stolen-car/ |website=CBS News |date=March 30, 2011 |quote=he designed the car to fit his role in the movie, and that the car is worth around $250,000}}</ref>

The knife used by the Night Slasher was made for the film by knife designer Herman Schneider.<ref name="afi" /> Sylvester Stallone asked Schneider to create a knife that audiences would never forget. Cobretti uses a custom [[Colt Gold Cup National Match 1911]], modified to chamber [[9×19mm Parabellum]]. Later in the film, he uses a [[Jatimatic]] submachine gun.<ref name="afi" /><ref>{{cite book |last= Hunter|first=Stephen |author-link= Stephen Hunter|date= 1995|title= Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tiKjMVaU0VwC&pg=PT251|publisher= Bancroft Press|quote=...Sylvester Stallone's “Cobra,” which features numb performances by the actors and brilliant performances by a Finnish Jati-matic 9mm submachine gun with a laser sighting system...|isbn=9780963537645}}</ref>

=== Editing ===
The first rough cut was over two hours long (the closest estimated original running time is 130 minutes). It was then shortened to a roughly two-hour director's cut which was intended to be released in theaters. However, after ''[[Top Gun]]'' became a smash hit, Stallone and Warner Bros. were worried that ''Cobra''—which would premiere the following week—would be overshadowed, so in order to ensure at least one extra screening each day the movie was heavily re-edited. Stallone removed much of the plot and scenes involving characters other than his own. Warner Bros. also demanded that the more graphic scenes be cut down or removed entirely because they were "too intense," and that some action scenes be cut for pacing.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 26, 1986 |title=Take One |url=http://people.com/archive/take-one-vol-25-no-21/ |access-date=December 1, 2014 |website=People.com |quote=Sly Stallone may have wimped out by not going to Cannes because of terrorism, but he's standing strong at home. Sly wants to make sure his shoot-'em-up cop movie Cobra (wife Brigitte appears as a terrorized model), which opens Memorial Day weekend, outdoes that other potential megahit, Top Gun, starring [[Tom Cruise]] and [[Kelly McGillis]]. To get the box-office edge, Stallone insisted that Cobra be kept to under 90 minutes, insuring one extra showing a day, while Top Gun logs in at 103 minutes. Very Sly.}}</ref> The extended television version of the film is approximately 6 minutes longer than the theatrical release.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wurm |first1=Gerald |title=Cobra (Comparison: Original Version - Extended TV Version) - Movie-Censorship.com |url=https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=50870 |website=Movie-censorship.com}}</ref> When first submitted to the MPAA the film received an X rating, necessitating even more cuts.