Spy Hard


1h 21m 1996

Brief Synopsis

Fearless, sophisticated and debonair, Agent WD-40, a.k.a. Steele--Dick Steele, was The Agency's star spy until he left after his true love, a fellow agent, literally slipped through his fingers during a battle with the evil General Rancor, Steele's longtime nemesis. Steele is lured back to active service when he receives an urgent message from The Agency's Director. General Rancor, the megalomaniacal madman presumed dead after losing two limbs in an explosive altercation with Steele fifteen years earlier, is alive! He's mad as hell--armless--but still dangerous, and Steele is the only man who can get a leg up on him and stop his diabolical scheme for global power. Steele is joined in his pursuit of Rancor by the beautiful, mysterious Agent 3.14, and together they elude Rancor's henchmen, escape speeding vehicles, avoid booby traps and thwart kidnap attempts (and have time for a little dining and dancing) as they make their way to General Rancor's lair.

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Action
Comedy
Release Date
1996
Distribution Company
Walt Disney Studios Distribution
Location
Los Angeles, California, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 21m

Synopsis

Fearless, sophisticated and debonair, Agent WD-40, a.k.a. Steele--Dick Steele, was The Agency's star spy until he left after his true love, a fellow agent, literally slipped through his fingers during a battle with the evil General Rancor, Steele's longtime nemesis. Steele is lured back to active service when he receives an urgent message from The Agency's Director. General Rancor, the megalomaniacal madman presumed dead after losing two limbs in an explosive altercation with Steele fifteen years earlier, is alive! He's mad as hell--armless--but still dangerous, and Steele is the only man who can get a leg up on him and stop his diabolical scheme for global power. Steele is joined in his pursuit of Rancor by the beautiful, mysterious Agent 3.14, and together they elude Rancor's henchmen, escape speeding vehicles, avoid booby traps and thwart kidnap attempts (and have time for a little dining and dancing) as they make their way to General Rancor's lair.

Crew

Jeremy Aiello

Art Department

Laura Albert

Stunts

Janice Alexander

Hair Stylist

Howard Allen

Stunts

Michael Allen

Assistant Art Director

Ernie Alvarez

Special Effects

Allan Apone

Animatronics

Rick Baca

Production Accountant

Noella Barb

Medic

Bruce Barbour

Stunt Man

Perry Barndt

Stunts

Peter J. Barnett

Production Accountant

William H Battersby

Camera Operator

Scott Beebe

Other

Ingrid Behrens

Production Assistant

Javier Bennassar

Sound Effects Editor

Larry E Benson

Executive Producer

Steven R Benson

Visual Effects Supervisor

Suzanne M Benson

Producer

Earl L Benton

Other

Tricia Bercsi

Set Costumer

Erik Betts

Stunts

Ernie Bishop

Set Decorator

Scott Blake

Stunts

Fred Blau

Makeup Assistant

Bob Bornstein

Music

Mary Boss

Stunts

Ted R Boyse

Stunts

Leonard Bram

Assistant Director

David Brenner

Construction Coordinator

Corey C. Bronson

Set Costumer

Tom Bronson

Costume Designer

Bill Brown

Sound Effects Editor

Bob F Brown

Stunts

Jophery Brown

Stunts

Kim Burke

Stunts

Kim Burke

Animal Wrangler

Kimberly Burns

Art Assistant

Kimberly Burns

Post-Production Assistant

Dick Butler

Stunts

Robert Calvert

Special Effects

Mike Cameron

Stunts

Keith Campbell

Stunts

Ron Campbell

Stunts

Christopher Caso

Stunts

Mike Cassidy

Stunts

Mark Chadwick

Stunts

Fern Champion

Casting

Hank Chang

Other

Richard E. Chapla

Other

Ken Chase

Makeup

E.c. Chen

Set Designer

Dick Chudnow

Screenplay

Colleen Cole

Production Coordinator

Donald D Coleman

Props

Gil Combs

Stunts

Norm Compton

Stunts

Bill Conti

Music

Benjamin Cook

Foley Editor

Tino Coutreras

Grip

William Creber

Production Designer

Louis Creveling

Dialogue Editor

David Crone

Camera Operator

David Crone

Steadicam Operator

Gary Dahlquist

Rigging Gaffer

Tracy Keehn Dashnaw

Stunts

Jan M Davis

Stunts

Suzanne Davis

Video Assist/Playback

Christopher A. Debiec

Assistant Production Coordinator

Linda Demarco

Color Timer

Michael Desilva

On-Set Dresser

Tammy Dickson

Production Assistant

Barney Dogette

Animator

Mark Dornfeld

Digital Effects Supervisor

Doug Draizin

Producer

Jennifer Draizin

Assistant

Georgia Durante

Stunts

William J Durrell

Art Director

Allen Easton

Camera Operator

Allen Easton

Cinematographer

Lanier Edwards

Stunts

Paul J Elliott

Mechanical Special Effects

Jeannie Epper

Stunts

Tony Eppers

Stunts

Terry Erickson

Special Effects

Mary Erstad

Foley Mixer

Jack Eskew

Original Music

John R Fifer

Animatronics

Eddie Fiola

Stunts

Bobby J Foxworth

Stunts

Charles W Francis

Production Accountant

Jason Friedberg

Screenplay

Jason Friedberg

From Story

Rick Friedberg

Screenplay

Rick Friedberg

Producer

Cormac Funge

Sound Effects Editor

Frank Gaeta

Sound Effects Editor

Richie Gaona

Stunts

Scott Garcia

Special Effects

Jason George

Assistant Editor

Thomas Gerard

Rerecording

Gregory M Gerlich

Sound Editor

Danielle Ghent

Foley Editor

Mickey Gilbert

Stunts

Tom Giordano

Other

Patrick Giraudi

Rerecording

Stuart Goetz

Music

Jarek Gorczycki

Best Boy

Matthew Gordy

Key Grip

Laura Gorman

Makeup Artist

Marilyn Graf

Foley Mixer

David Grant

Dialogue Consultant

Joe Greblo

Stunts

Marion Green

Stunts

Melanie Grefe

Assistant Director

Allison Gross

Assistant Location Manager

Lizzie Harding-wilkins

Animal Services

Catherine Harper

Foley Artist

Barbara Harris

Adr Voice Casting

Jimmie Haskell

Music Conductor

Christie Hayes

Stunts

Steve Heinke

Adr Mixer

Hollis Hill

Stunts

Haleen Holt

Wardrobe

Dean Hovey

Sound Effects Editor

Frederick Howard

Sound Effects Editor

Jeff Imada

Stunts

Ashley Irwin

Other

Timothy C Jackson

Foreman

Loren Janes

Stunts

Stephen Jay

Music Arranger

Anna-carin Jean

Assistant

Ken S Johnson

Music Editor

Matt D Johnston

Stunts

Thomas Jones

Adr Supervisor

Lee Joyner

Art Department

Nathan Kaproff

Music Contractor

Gary L Karas

Special Effects

Maria Kelly

Stunts

Pat Kenly

Other

Ossama Khuluki

Foley Artist

Nancy A King

Art Department Coordinator

Henry Kingi

Stunts

Henry M. Kingi Jr.

Stunts

Laura Kirrin

Casting Associate

Robert L Knott

Stunts

Jeffrey Konvitz

Producer

Randy Lamb

Stunts

Maurice Larson

Other

Michael Leahs

Assistant

John R. Leonetti

Director Of Photography

Fred M. Lerner

Stunts

Jason A Levine

Production Assistant

Paul Lewis

Boom Operator

Ron Licari

Assistant Property Master

Paul Longstaffe

Dialogue Editor

Derek Marcil

Adr Mixer

Stephen A Marinaccio

Office Assistant

Elliot Marks

Photography

G M J Marvis

Props

Mary Mastro

Hair Assistant

Dan Mccann

Stunts

Lisa Mccullough

Stunts

Chris Mcgeary

Music Editor

David Melhase

Foley Editor

David Melhase

Sound Effects Editor

Theresa Repola Mohammed

Negative Cutting

Wayne Montanio

Stunts

Larry Nicholas

Stunts

Leslie Nielsen

Executive Producer

John Nuno

Production Assistant

Alan Oliney

Stunts

Bobby Ore

Stunts

Mark Paladini

Casting

Jim Palmer

Stunts

Holly Pendergast

Art Department

Manny Perry

Stunts

David Peterson

Special Effects

Sarah Pierce

Stand-In

Ron Quigley

Location Manager

Ray Quiroz

Script Supervisor

Corky Randall

Animal Services

David Rawley

Costume Supervisor

Craig Reed

Stunts

Stephen M Rickert

Assistant Editor

J.p. Romano

Stunts

David Ronne

Sound Mixer

Scott Ronnow

Camera

Wally Rose

Stunts

Chad Rosen

Production Assistant

Robert L. Rosen

Executive Producer

Benjamin Rosenberg

Assistant Director

Debbie Lynn Ross

Stunts

John Ross

Rerecording

Richard J. Rossi

Assistant Editor

Robert Ryan

Makeup Artist

Timothy P Ryan

Transportation Captain

Earl Sampson

Boom Operator

Gary Sampson

Costumes

Rafael Sanchez

Gaffer

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Action
Comedy
Release Date
1996
Distribution Company
Walt Disney Studios Distribution
Location
Los Angeles, California, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 21m

Articles

Pat Morita (1932-2005)


Pat Morita, the diminutive Asian-American actor who found lasting fame, and an Oscar® nomination, as Kesuke Miyagi, the janitor that teaches Ralph Macchio the fine art of karate in the hit film, The Karate Kid (1984), died on November 24 of natural causes in his Las Vegas home. He was 73.

He was born Noriyuki Morita on June 28, 1932 in Isleton, California. The son of migrant fruit pickers, he contracted spinal tuberculosis when he was two and spent the next nine years in a sanitarium run by Catholic priests near Sacramento. He was renamed Pat, and after several spinal surgical procedures and learning how to walk, the 11-year-old Morita was sent to an internment camp at Gila River, Arizona, joining his family and thousands of other Japanese-Americans who were shamefully imprisoned by the U.S. government after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

His family was released after the war, and Morita graduated from high school in Fairfield, California in 1950. He worked in his family's Chinese restaurant in Sacramento until his father was killed in a hit-and-run accident. He eventually found work as a data processor for the Department of Motor Vehicles and then Aerojet General Corporation before he decided to try his hand at stand-up comedy.

He relocated to San Francisco in 1962, where at first, there was some hesitation from clubs to book a Japanese-American comic, but Morita's enthusiasm soon warmed them over, and he was becoming something of a regional hit in all the Bay Area. His breakthrough came in 1964 when he was booked on ABC's The Hollywood Palace. The image of a small, unassuming Asian with the broad mannerisms and delivery of a modern American was something new in its day. He was a hit, and soon found more bookings on the show. And after he earned the nickname "the hip nip," he quickly began headlining clubs in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Morita's stage and television success eventually led him to films. He made his movie debut as "Oriental #2," the henchman to Beatrice Lilly in the Julie Andrew's musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Although his role, complete with thick coke-bottle glasses and gaping overbite, was a little hard to watch, it was the best he could do at the time. Subsequent parts, as in Don Knott's dreadful The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968); and Bob Hope's lamentable final film Cancel My Reservations (1972); were simply variations of the same stereotype.

However, television was far kinder to Morita. After some popular guest appearances in the early '70s on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Morita landed some semi-regular work. First, as the wisecracking, cigar chomping Captain Sam Pack on M.A.S.H. and as Ah Chew, the deadpan neighbor of Fred and Lamont Sanford in Sanford & Son. His success in these roles led to his first regular gig, as Arnold Takahashi in Happy Days. His stint as the owner of the soda shop where Ritchie Cunningham and the Fonz hung out for endless hours may have been short lived (just two seasons 1974-76), but it was Morita's first successful stab at pop immortality.

He left Happy Days to star in his own show, the critically savaged culture clash sitcom Mr. T and Tina that was canceled after just five episodes. Despite that setback, Morita rebounded that same year with his first dramatic performance, and a fine one at that, when he portrayed a Japanese-American internment camp survivor in the moving made for television drama Farewell to Manzanar (1976). After a few more guest appearances on hit shows (Magnum P.I., The Love Boat etc.), Morita found the goldmine and added new life to his career when he took the role of Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984). Playing opposite Ralph Macchio, the young man who becomes his martial arts pupil, Morita was both touching and wise, and the warm bond he created with Macchio during the course of the film really proved that he had some serious acting chops. The flick was the surprise box-office hit of 1984, and Morita's career, if briefly, opened up to new possibilities.

He scored two parts in television specials that were notable in that his race was never referenced: first as the horse in Alice in Wonderland (1985); and as the toymaster in Babes in Toyland (1986). He also landed a detective show (with of course, comic undertones) that ran for two seasons Ohara (1987-89); nailed some funny lines in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992); was the sole saving grace of Gus Van Zandt's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993); and starred in all of the sequels to The Karate Kid: The Karate Kid, Part II (1986), The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), and The Next Karate Kid (1994). Granted, it is arguable that Morita's career never truly blossomed out of the "wise old Asian man" caricature. But give the man his due, when it came to infusing such parts with sly wit and sheer charm, nobody did it better. Morita is survived by his wife, Evelyn; daughters, Erin, Aly and Tia; his brother, Harry, and two grandchildren.

by Michael T. Toole
Pat Morita (1932-2005)

Pat Morita (1932-2005)

Pat Morita, the diminutive Asian-American actor who found lasting fame, and an Oscar® nomination, as Kesuke Miyagi, the janitor that teaches Ralph Macchio the fine art of karate in the hit film, The Karate Kid (1984), died on November 24 of natural causes in his Las Vegas home. He was 73. He was born Noriyuki Morita on June 28, 1932 in Isleton, California. The son of migrant fruit pickers, he contracted spinal tuberculosis when he was two and spent the next nine years in a sanitarium run by Catholic priests near Sacramento. He was renamed Pat, and after several spinal surgical procedures and learning how to walk, the 11-year-old Morita was sent to an internment camp at Gila River, Arizona, joining his family and thousands of other Japanese-Americans who were shamefully imprisoned by the U.S. government after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. His family was released after the war, and Morita graduated from high school in Fairfield, California in 1950. He worked in his family's Chinese restaurant in Sacramento until his father was killed in a hit-and-run accident. He eventually found work as a data processor for the Department of Motor Vehicles and then Aerojet General Corporation before he decided to try his hand at stand-up comedy. He relocated to San Francisco in 1962, where at first, there was some hesitation from clubs to book a Japanese-American comic, but Morita's enthusiasm soon warmed them over, and he was becoming something of a regional hit in all the Bay Area. His breakthrough came in 1964 when he was booked on ABC's The Hollywood Palace. The image of a small, unassuming Asian with the broad mannerisms and delivery of a modern American was something new in its day. He was a hit, and soon found more bookings on the show. And after he earned the nickname "the hip nip," he quickly began headlining clubs in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Morita's stage and television success eventually led him to films. He made his movie debut as "Oriental #2," the henchman to Beatrice Lilly in the Julie Andrew's musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Although his role, complete with thick coke-bottle glasses and gaping overbite, was a little hard to watch, it was the best he could do at the time. Subsequent parts, as in Don Knott's dreadful The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968); and Bob Hope's lamentable final film Cancel My Reservations (1972); were simply variations of the same stereotype. However, television was far kinder to Morita. After some popular guest appearances in the early '70s on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Morita landed some semi-regular work. First, as the wisecracking, cigar chomping Captain Sam Pack on M.A.S.H. and as Ah Chew, the deadpan neighbor of Fred and Lamont Sanford in Sanford & Son. His success in these roles led to his first regular gig, as Arnold Takahashi in Happy Days. His stint as the owner of the soda shop where Ritchie Cunningham and the Fonz hung out for endless hours may have been short lived (just two seasons 1974-76), but it was Morita's first successful stab at pop immortality. He left Happy Days to star in his own show, the critically savaged culture clash sitcom Mr. T and Tina that was canceled after just five episodes. Despite that setback, Morita rebounded that same year with his first dramatic performance, and a fine one at that, when he portrayed a Japanese-American internment camp survivor in the moving made for television drama Farewell to Manzanar (1976). After a few more guest appearances on hit shows (Magnum P.I., The Love Boat etc.), Morita found the goldmine and added new life to his career when he took the role of Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984). Playing opposite Ralph Macchio, the young man who becomes his martial arts pupil, Morita was both touching and wise, and the warm bond he created with Macchio during the course of the film really proved that he had some serious acting chops. The flick was the surprise box-office hit of 1984, and Morita's career, if briefly, opened up to new possibilities. He scored two parts in television specials that were notable in that his race was never referenced: first as the horse in Alice in Wonderland (1985); and as the toymaster in Babes in Toyland (1986). He also landed a detective show (with of course, comic undertones) that ran for two seasons Ohara (1987-89); nailed some funny lines in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992); was the sole saving grace of Gus Van Zandt's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993); and starred in all of the sequels to The Karate Kid: The Karate Kid, Part II (1986), The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), and The Next Karate Kid (1994). Granted, it is arguable that Morita's career never truly blossomed out of the "wise old Asian man" caricature. But give the man his due, when it came to infusing such parts with sly wit and sheer charm, nobody did it better. Morita is survived by his wife, Evelyn; daughters, Erin, Aly and Tia; his brother, Harry, and two grandchildren. by Michael T. Toole

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Summer May 24, 1996

Released in United States on Video November 5, 1996

Completed shooting November 30, 1995.

Began shooting September 6, 1995.

Released in United States Summer May 24, 1996

Released in United States on Video November 5, 1996