10 things we learned from Rian Johnson’s ‘Glass Onion’ director’s commentary

Can’t get enough of Benoit Blanc and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery? Then you’re in luck, as Netflix has released a director’s commentary track for the film, with Rian Johnson sharing how the film came to be.

An important note: Netflix does not release commentary tracks on their platform. Instead, they release them as a podcast. To listen to Johnson’s commentary, go where you listen to podcasts and find Netflix’s watch with… follow over glass onion. The podcast tells you when to press play on the movie itself.

The tweet may have been deleted
(opens in a new tab)
(Opens in a new tab)

Johnson’s commentary is a great insight into the mysteries of glass onion, from dissections of the film’s craftsmanship to smaller details you might have missed on first viewing. Here are 10 fascinating things we learned from it glass onion Commentary track – although believe us, there’s a lot more where that’s coming from. (And just in case you’re reading this before watching the movie for whatever reason, consider yourself a spoiler alert.)

1. Rian Johnson makes an unexpected cameo appearance glass onion.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix

glass onion is full of all-star cameos, including those of longtime Johnson collaborators Noah Segan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But perhaps the most surprising cameo is a brief appearance by Johnson himself — specifically from his hand. When Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) decides to use Jeremy Renner’s hot sauce to make it look like Helen (Janelle Monáe) was shot, we see a close-up of his hand holding the bottle. But it’s not Craig’s hand, it’s Johnson’s!

“We did a little reshoot because I wanted a very specific revelation of ‘Renning Hot,'” Johnson explained. “So sorry Daniel, that’s me.”

2. What were some of glass onionDeleted Scenes?

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

curious about glass onion Scenes that didn’t make the final cut? Johnson has you covered. Throughout the comment he mentions a variety of deleted scenes, such as Birdie (Kate Hudson) reading to children in a library in such an inappropriate way that she retaliates more cancelled. There was also a sequence where Birdie and Peg (Jessica Henwick) almost run into Benoit and Helen before arriving at the island. In that case, their plan to catch Andi’s killer would have been foiled.

Johnson revealed he almost cut the brief scene in which Jeremy Renner’s hot sauce, which represents blood, nearly drips down Helen’s nose as she plays dead. However, as he saw audience reactions to the tense moment in the preview screenings, he admitted he was glad he kept it.

3. Helen originally had children glass onion.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

First the section from glass onion We experience a subplot revolving around Helen’s children from Helen’s point of view. “There was a runner [where] She would have to investigate and juggle those calls from her kids,” Johnson said. One of the calls would have dealt with an emergency where Helen’s daughter freaked out that her poop had turned blue from eating too many blueberry pop tarts.

“We had that in because [we were] We tried to add another element where the audience likes Helen,” Johnson said. And I think it worked better without it.”

4. Johnson offers an in-depth look at glass onion‘s whodunnit influences.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

glass onion pays tribute to the criminals like the original Death on the Nile And The Last of Sheila – for example Angela Lansbury, star of the former, and Stephen Sondheim, co-writer of the latter, both have guest appearances in the film. In his commentary, Johnson also points out how Death on the Nile‘s score served as a starting point for composer Nathan Johnson, and how Andi’s role as the “fly in the soup” of a holiday parallels Jacqueline De Bellefort’s (Mia Farrow) role in the first half of the film Death on the Nile.

Even the hourly “dong” (voiced by Gordon-Levitt) has its roots in detective fiction—particularly the “lunch gun.” Evil under the sun.

5. Miles Bron has a killer tracksuit.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

When Miles Bron (Edward Norton) learns that Andi has evidence that could destroy him, he’s dressed in a blue tracksuit. When he drives to her house to kill her, he is wearing a black tracksuit. Ergo, he donned a special tracksuit for the occasion—a “murder tracksuit,” as Johnson called it. Sure, that’s a small detail, but it makes an awful lot of sense. From course Miles would dress in a stealthy black tracksuit to commit a crime.

6. “Eat the rich” is not the main point of knife out or glass onion.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

While both Benoit Blanc mysteries so far have dealt with the satirization of extremely wealthy, out-of-touch suspects – the Thrombeys knife out and the disruptors in glass onion – Johnson resisted the idea that these films are all about bringing down the rich.

“The idea of ​​rich people being jerks isn’t very interesting to me,” he said during a scene in which Miles’ friends support him despite knowing he’s a killer. “To me, the interesting thing about what we’re seeing play out here is: the notion of the power structure – not global, in terms of the rich at the top, although that’s certainly there, but I’m talking from within groups of people… Im first film it was a family, in this film it was a group of friends. The idea that there is this unhealthy power structure, and what people, who may even have good intentions, will do to protect that structure if they take advantage of it and what it takes to break that structure — that’s real to me so much more interesting than imagining something as simple as ‘eat the rich’.”

7. Every clue in there glass onion is hidden from all eyes.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Something Johnson emphasized in the director’s commentary is that glass onion “play fair.” Anything related to the mystery, let’s look at it. We can see Miles holding Duke’s (Dave Bautista) gun and changing his glass. Later we can see him taking Duke’s phone. There are so many other tiny moments like this that you can only point out by rewatching or with Johnson. The director’s commentary also allows Johnson to explain some of the minor distractions and how the film distracts audiences enough to miss these crucial details.

8th. glass onion is full of treats for musical theater fans.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

Not only glass onion In addition to a cameo appearance by the late musical mastermind Stephen Sondheim, it also includes several references to his musical We roll happily which Johnson described as “through a group of friends.” [that] Rots.” Sounds like a bunch of disruptive friends we might know?

Johnson—a noted musical theater fan—listened We roll along happily while writing glass onion. Some lyrics found their way into dialogue, like when Claire (Kathryn Hahn) brutally tells Helen that life isn’t fair. “Now you know!” she spits, a hint We roll along happily‘s song of the same name. Also, if you look behind Philip (Hugh Grant) as he opens the door to his and Benoit’s apartment, you can see the poster We roll along happily in the background.

9. glass onion Stars a SpaceX employee.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Tech bro Miles Bron has repeatedly been compared to Elon Musk, a connection Johnson has described as an accident(Opens in a new tab). However, if you want another Musk-Bron connection, look no further than the film’s opening montage. When we meet scientist Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), he is on a video call with other members of Miles’ company Alpha – a company that could be compared to Musk companies like Tesla or SpaceX. Johnson revealed that the alpha staffers on the call were played by his friends…including one who works for SpaceX. It looks like Miles won’t be rocking the Elon comparisons any time soon.

10. The glass sculptures in Miles Bron’s house are Beatles Easter eggs.

Photo credit: A man hides in a collection of glass sculptures on pedestals.

From naming it after a Beatles song to playing Miles “Blackbird” on guitar, glass onion is quite a Beatles-centric film. This Beatles motif extends to Miles’ art collection and in particular to the many glass sculptures he has on pedestals in his main room. Johnson points out how some of these pieces relate to the Beatles: We can see a walrus Magical Mystery Tour and a bunch of strawberries for “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Even the button that controls the Mona Lisa’s security system – shaped like a fool on a small hill – is a reference to “The Fool on the Hill”. The devil really is in the details.

For more glass onion Facts, listen to Johnson’s commentary track wherever you get your podcasts.