Movie Casting & Ideas: What Could Have Been

[AltSptHst]

I did a similar thread about this (with TV), but it is ten years old, so I will start a new one:

Grease 2 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084021/?ref_=tttr_tr_tt):

I will start with this because I watched this last night (nothing else on, and I was curious about it). Apparently, Rick Springfield was one of the people who auditioned for the lead male role (that went to Maxwell Caufield in OTL). Springfield was big at the time (Soap and Pop star), so maybe he makes the movie do better, and they go on to have at least one more sequel (the original plan was to make four movies and then have a TV series).

Rock N' Roll High School (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079813/?ref_=rvi_tt):

Director Allan Arkush tried to get the film produced for several years, and he had some different ideas. One of the ideas: High School Spirit of 76. If that got made, I wonder if that would have been similar to Dazed and Confused.

 

[housemaster]

Tom Hanks was almost in the Mario Bros movie but was rejected for asking for too much money.

 

[Questerr]

Jonathan Brandis was originally considered for the part of Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones. That’s would have been great.

 

[Driftless]

Old school classic: Claire Trevor in place of Mary Astor in "The Maltese Falcon"

 

[rick007]

Tom Cruise as Tony Stark
John Krasinski as Steve Rodgers
Emily Blunt as Natasha Romanoff
Tom Hiddleston as Thor
Charlie Cox as Loki
Mel Gibson as Odin
Jessica Biel as Sif

Or to put some of these another way:

Hugh Jackman as Tony Stark
Sebastian Stan as Steve Rodgers
Natalie Portman as Natasha Romanoff
Daniel Craig as Thor
BRIAN BLESSED as Odin

 

[THeaven]

Tom Hanks was almost in the Mario Bros movie but was rejected for asking for too much money.

There was also discussions about trying to get Tom Hanks to play Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek First Contact but they decided that they could not afford him

 

[unclepatrick]

Steve McQueen has some great what if
He was wanted for Breakfast at Tiffany but he was already committed to "Wanted Dead or Alive"
Other films that wanted McQueen included the original Ocean 11, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Driver, Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry, A Bridge Too Far, The French Connection, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
He was also the first choice for William Friedkin's Sorcerer. He was going to do the Movie "The Gauntlet" with Barbra Streisand and also "The Bodyguard" with Diana Ross.
He was attached to a film of Ian Fleming "The Diamond Smugglers" and to a early 70's version of "First Blood" as Rambo.
He would have done "Quigley Down Under" but his health was failing when it was about to be filmed in the early 80's. It would not get filmed till 1990.
And he was the first choice for "Raise the Titanic".

 

[AltSptHst]

After listening to The Rewatchables on The Ringer several months ago, I found out some interesting things about the movie 48 Hrs:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083511/

1. The original storyline, according to Wikipedia, went like this:

"the Governor of Louisiana's daughter kidnapped by a criminal, who strapped dynamite to her head and threatened to blow her up in 48 hours if the ransom was not met. The meanest cop goes to the worst prison in the state and gets out the most vicious criminal for his knowledge of the kidnapper who was his cell-mate".

2. By the late-70's, Clint Eastwood was supposed to play the cop and Richard Pryor the con, but Eastwood wanted to star in Escape from Alcatraz, so the project was scrapped for a few years.

 

[Unknown]

I was reading The Devil's Candy, about the making of Bonfire of the Vanities and thinking of the casting what-ifs there:

Actors considered for Maria Ruskin: Uma Thurman, Lolita Davidovich, Michelle Pfeiffer (who turned it down), Robin Wright (before she married Sean Penn)
Actors considered for Sherman McCoy: Steve Martin (this would have been if Mike Nichols directed), Chevy Chase (Tom Wolfe's choice--he certainly would have made Sherman less likeable), Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Michael Douglas, Christopher Reeve, Kevin Costner
Actors considered for the judge: Walter Matthau, Alan Arkin, Edward James Olmos
Actors considered for Peter Fallow: John Cleese (Fallow was British (1)), Jack Nicholson, and Daniel Day-Lewis

On a Grease 2 sidenote, Brian De Palma initially turned down Michelle Pfeiffer for the role of Elvira in Scarface because of her role in Grease 2; if that had held, other actresses considered for Elvira were Nancy Allen (Brian De Palma's regular collaborator (and then-wife, IIRC)), who was turned down because of the failure of Blow-Out, Glenn Close (who was Al Pacino's choice, but was not deemed sexy enough by the producers (2)), Geena Davis, Carrie Fisher (3), Sharon Stone (these three all auditioned for the part), Rosanna Arquette, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Melanie Griffith (4), Kim Basinger, Kathleen Turner (5), Jodie Foster (all of whom turned down the role), Sigourney Weaver (who was considered), and Brooke Shields (whose mother made her turn down the part in favor of Sahara; doesn't that seem foolish, IMO...)

(1) And was reportedly based on Christopher Hitchens, IIRC...
(2) Boy, were the producers wrong about Glenn Close being sexy after the success of Jagged Edge and Fatal Attraction; interestingly, Close starred with Robert Loggia, who played a supporting role in Scarface (he was Frank Lopez) in the former movie...
(3) That would have been...Harsher In Hindsight, considering that the character of Elvira is addicted to drugs, Carrie Fisher had a drug problem IRL, and said drug problem contributed to her death
(4) Talk about irony here, considering that Michelle Pfeiffer would, years later, turn down the role of Maria Ruskin in Bonfire of the Vanities, which turned out to be a wise decision...
(5) This was at the height of Turner's fame post-Body Heat...

 

[WanderingWanderer]

Jonathan Brandis was originally considered for the part of Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones. That’s would have been great.

I remember reading Christian Bale was supposedly linked with that role, but maybe he's already too old at that time (trivia: Bale starred with the actress who played Shmi Skywalker in a TV movie about the Virgin Mary, where Bale played Jesus). I wonder if Bale's career would have suffered if he played Ani, but then if Portman's career can survive playing Padme "Lost the will to live" Amidala....

Another name linked to the role of Anakin was James Franco, that would have been....weird.

Cillian Murphy supposedly auditioned for the role of Bruce/Batman, Nolan liked him enough to cast him as Scarecrow in all three of his Batman movies. I wonder how Murphy's Bats would have been, but then I've also read the auditions were only a back-up plan in case Bale (who supposedly was always the first choice of the Nolan bros and Goyer) couldn't gain weight or suffered health problems in time for production (he previously lost a lot of weight for 'The Machinist' and only had 6 months to gain enough muscle to play Bats!). It'd be interesting if the roles were reversed, Murphy as Bats, Bale as Scarecrow. Or even Bale as Joker.

 

[LuckyLuciano]

Tom Hanks was almost in the Mario Bros movie but was rejected for asking for too much money.

Danny DeVito as Mario could've happened. Would've made it an instant cult classic

 

[jb3]

Old school classic: Claire Trevor in place of Mary Astor in "The Maltese Falcon"

Geraldine Fitzgerald and a then-rising Rita Hayworth were also considered for "The Maltese Falcon" - as great as the movie is - consider if either of them had played Brigid O'Shaughnessy - since they were much better physical fits (as described in the book) than Astor.

Speaking of Claire Trevor, according to her, she and Anne Shirley wanted to switch parts in "Murder, My Sweet" (Dick Powell's Phillip Marlowe film) - it would have been a very different film if they had.

And speaking of Dick Powell - in the mid-50s he and Teresa Wright and Caesar Romero did a made-for-TV version (which may be lost?) of Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye" where he reprised Marlowe. I would have loved a big screen version of that.

Steve McQueen has some great what if
He was wanted for Breakfast at Tiffany but he was already committed to "Wanted Dead or Alive"
Other films that wanted McQueen included the original Ocean 11, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Driver, Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry, A Bridge Too Far, The French Connection, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
He was also the first choice for William Friedkin's Sorcerer. He was going to do the Movie "The Gauntlet" with Barbra Streisand and also "The Bodyguard" with Diana Ross.
He was attached to a film of Ian Fleming "The Diamond Smugglers" and to a early 70's version of "First Blood" as Rambo.
He would have done "Quigley Down Under" but his health was failing when it was about to be filmed in the early 80's. It would not get filmed till 1990.
And he was the first choice for "Raise the Titanic".

McQueen was also John D. McDonald's choice to be his fictional detective Travis McGee in film. So far, he has only been played by Rod Taylor (and Sam Elliot in a TV movie) onscreen, but with McQueen, McGee could have been a franchise.

John Wayne was the first choice for The Waco Kid in "Blazing Saddles" (and refused, but what if he didn't?).

Frank Sinatra walked off the set of both "Carousel" (replaced by Gordon MacRae) and "How The West Was Won" (replaced by Gregory Peck).

Also, what if Sinatra hadn't fired (and presented divorce papers at the same time) from his then-wife Mia Farrow from "The Detective" (replaced by Jacqueline Bissett) and played his love interest in that late 1960s movie?

Katherine Ross refused the roles in McQueen's "Bullitt" and the mega-hit "Airport" (because she thought they were trash - and then went on to make "The Swarm" and "The Betsy") and was replaced by Jacqueline Bissett in both (and basically made Bissett's career).

Grace Kelly was THIS close to coming back to the screen in the title role in "Marnie".

Cary Grant is the King of almost-casting (see here). He refused so many roles - especially for Billy Wilder. Both "Sabrina" and "Love in the Afternoon" would have so MUCH better if Grant had played those roles opposite Audrey Hepburn (who he refused because she was so much younger - only to go on to play her romantic interest in the 1960s in "Charade") instead of Bogart and and a sickly Gary Cooper.

 

[unclepatrick]

McQueen was also John D. McDonald's choice to be his fictional detective Travis McGee in film. So far, he has only been played by Rod Taylor (and Sam Elliot in a TV movie) onscreen, but with McQueen, McGee could have been a franchise.

I love the books and could easily see McQueen as Travis McGee. One big problem is McQueen was not interested in doing sequels so at best we only get one film from him as McGee.

Cary Grant is the King of almost-casting

Howard Hawk wanted to film the novel "Casino Royale" back in the late 50's with Grant as James Bond.

 

[unclepatrick]

Sabrina" and "Love in the Afternoon" would have so MUCH better if Grant had played those roles opposite Audrey Hepburn (who he refused because she was so much younger - only to go on to play her romantic interest in the 1960s in "Charade") instead of Bogart and and a sickly Gary Cooper.

I always enjoyed Bogart in Sabrina. He very good in that movie. Would Grant have been better? I not sure.

 

[jb3]

I love the books and could easily see McQueen as Travis McGee. One big problem is McQueen was not interested in doing sequels so at best we only get one film from him as McGee.


Howard Hawk wanted to film the novel "Casino Royale" back in the late 50's with Grant as James Bond.

I would take one film of McQueen as McGee - at least it would be remembered. The Rod Taylor film is almost impossible to find.

And for Howard Hawks - Clark Gable and John Wayne were supposed to be teamed up in "Hatari!" in the early 1960s, but then Gable died, and the remnants of the role went to...Red Buttons.

Another John Wayne film - Colonel Parker famously turned down Elvis as co-star in "True Grit" just because they wouldn't put his name over John Wayne's in the billing. Glen Campbell got the role. If Elvis had gotten the role it probably would have been his final one (1969 when he stopped acting), he would have done the theme song and it probably would have been the best movie he was ever in.

Also - Marilyn Monroe's "Let's Make Love" which is a mediocre film as is, not helped by Yves Montand's wooden acting and non-existent charm (which is strange for Montand). He apparently didn't even know much English and learned his lines phonetically. Prior to that - Gregory Peck had signed the contract to the film - then called "The Billionaire" - and walked when Arthur Miller started re-writing the script to make it less funny and make MM more prominent. Fox sought several other actors before Montand - James Stewart, Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner (who all said no) and Rock Hudson (whose studio wouldn't loan him out). ALL would have made the film better than Montand.

 

[Driftless]

And for Howard Hawks - Clark Gable and John Wayne were supposed to be teamed up in "Hatari!" in the early 1960s, but then Gable died, and the remnants of the role went to...Red Buttons.

I had not heard that one. The "Pockets" role as played by Red Buttons was partly a comic foil, partly romantic fixer in the movie. I can't see Gable in either spot, so maybe a different script?

 

[Ditzy Vixen (RossN)]

Christina Applegate was considered for Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.

The movie probably wouldn't have done as well. I really like Applegate and think she's a very talented comic actress and of course she more or less owned the dumb blonde image in the Nineties (which would have made her take on Elle fascinating) but she doesn't have Reese Witherspoon's sheer charisma and likeability.

Of course Witherspoon's career would be heavily impacted - before Legally Blonde she had a lot of respectable credits and critical praise but she wasn't a household name and might never have become one without that flick.

 

[unclepatrick]

I would take one film of McQueen as McGee - at least it would be remembered. The Rod Taylor film is almost impossible to fin

I seen the Rod Taylor Film Darker Then Amber. It a OK film. It just not a good adaption of the books. (Did I mention that I love the books) Taylor was a fair actor and was really good in the film Dark of the Sun. However he wrong for McGee. I would have love to see McQueen do the movie.

 

[unclepatrick]

Director John Huston tried since the 1950's to adapt "The Man who would be King".
He want Clark Gable and Humphry Bogart in the lead in the 50's but Bogart died before they start filming.
Than Huston approached Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
Then Richard Burton and Peter O Toole
Then Robert Redford and Paul Newman after the success of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
Huston finally made the film with Sean Connery and Michael Cain.

It hard to image that any of the other casting would have done as well as Connery and Cain.
But I would have like to see Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas version.

 

[unclepatrick]

Speaking of Kirk Douglas, He did the original Broadway run of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest" with Gene Wilder and William Daniels.
He try to get a movie version off the ground and it was going to feature Angela Lansbury as Nurse Ratched.
I love to have seen that movie .