The archangel Michael is often described as being young, handsome, strong and sporting the most prodigious set of wings an angel can bear. He was known as the commander-in-chief of the celestial army, and most often invoked in battles. His purported feats include delivering Daniel from the LionΓÇÖs den, giving Joan of Arc the power to battle against overwhelming odds, and declaring Pope Pius XII the patron saint of all embattled policemen. Filmmakers/sisters Nora and Delia Ephron knew they needed someone special to play Michael. Who? ΓÇ£Delia and I always thought that John Travolta was probably the only actor who could do it, because he has that amazing ability to be both completely innocent and deliciously bad and sexy at the same time,ΓÇ¥ said Nora Ephron. The sisters had some firm ideas about how Michael would experience life on earth, as did Travolta. ΓÇ£Michael is one of the worldΓÇÖs great fighters,ΓÇ¥ said Delia, adding ΓÇ£so every chance he gets, he gets into trouble. Also, he is irresistible to women.ΓÇ¥
Travolta loved the script the moment he first read it. ΓÇ£I read it while on the set of Broken Arrow and loved it right away. It was clear to me that while he was on earth he planned to enjoy himself.ΓÇ¥ Would Travolta get to dance? Absolutely. Said director Nora Ephron ΓÇ£One of the great treats was pretending to direct John Travolta dancing. Everyone wanted to dance with him, and he has this ability to convince you that you could dance with him very easily. ItΓÇÖs only a question of him holding out his hand in some magical way and you would be in the movie, dancing with one of cinemaΓÇÖs greatest dancers.ΓÇ¥ The great ones always make it look easy, and Travolta is no exception, as he proved in Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Urban Cowboy and Pulp Fiction, among others. Why not one more time?!
