Often times movie producers and directors
face the difficult situation of having to
make a change in the movie. Whether it�s
the cast, location or script; these changes
make a big impact on the final result. Luckily
some of these decisions made the movies we
love better.
These are the �Great Decisions That Saved
Popular Movies�
Stuart Townsend is NOT Precious (or Aragorn)
In 1999, Lord of the Rings director Peter
Jackson cast Stuart Townsend � star of the
poorly received League of Extraordinary Gentleman
- in the iconic role of Aragorn.
That is, until he was fired the day before
filming was set to begin.
Townsend said: �The director wanted me and
then apparently thought better of it because
he really wanted someone 20 years older than
me and completely different. I have no good
feelings for those people in charge, I really
don�t.�
Viggo Mortensen was brought in as a replacement
and quickly became a fan-favorite, and the
career boost helped him land other major film
roles and an eventual Oscar nomination.
Depp�s Pirate Dance
When Johnny Depp sat down for the first table
read of Disney�s theme park ride-to-movie
franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean in 2002,
he decided to give Captain Jack Sparrow eccentric,
unconventional mannerisms similar to that
of Rolling Stone�s guitarist Keith Richards,
who Depp felt shared many similarities to
18th-century pirates.
In response, Disney executives asked Depp
if the character was simply drunk or gay,
then eventually told him he was ruining the
film altogether. Depp�s response: trust
me or fire me. A Screen Actor�s Guild Award,
a Golden Globe nomination, and an Academy
Award Nomination for Best Actor - as well
as 4 sequels, totaling $4 billion - shows
that Mickey Mouse made the right decision
that day.
Carnahan
In 2002, Joe Carnahan (director of Smokin'
Aces and The A-Team), took over Mission: Impossible
3 from Fight Club director David Fincher.
For 15 months Carnahan assembled an all-star
cast for the Tom Cruise threequel, including
Kenneth Branagh, Carrie-Anne Moss and Scarlett
Johansson
But then Carnahan quit.
After a disagreement over the tone of the
film, Carnahan left the project in 2004 and
Cruise, after watching the first two season
of Alias, found a replacement in its creator
- J.J. Abrams .
So, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Simon
Pegg on board as well, Cruise and Abrams helped
reinvigorate the struggling franchise, paving
the way for M:I - Ghost Protocol and beyond.
Shark Tank�d
With $4 million and a 55-day shooting schedule,
Steven Spielberg set out make Jaws - but first
he needed a shark. After spending a large
portion of the budget on a terrifying mechanical
shark... with crossed-eyes, and another which
sank to the sea floor, Spielberg saw the cast
and crew turn on him
Locals began leaving dead sharks on his front
step and when producers wanted Spielberg to
find a �shark trainer�, he knew he had
to come up with a plan.
�I had no choice but to figure out how to
tell the story without the shark,� Spielberg
said. And he did. �So I just went back to
Alfred Hitchcock: �What would Hitchcock
do in a situation like this?� "It�s what
we don�t see which is truly frightening.�
What comes next as they say, is movie history.
Makes you wonder about that shark trainer,
though.
Shawshank�s Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tom Cruise
as Andy Dufresne and Harrison Ford as Red
- is how the film would have looked if Rob
Reiner had his way.
After directing the Stephen King adaptations
The Body and Stand by Me, Reiner offered $2.5
million to writer/director Frank Darabont
to turn over the rights and let him take over
the project.
After seriously considering the offer - and
even liking Reiner's new direction of the
project - Darabont ultimately refused, deciding
that it was his "chance to do something really
great".
Although it didn�t perform well at the box
office, Shawshank was nominated for 7 Academy
Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay
for Darabont, who went on to do the Oscar
nominated The Green Mile and the record-breaking
series The Walking Dead.
Robert De Niro is BIG
In 1987, Penny Marshall set out to make the
now legendary coming-of-age film Big, starring
Tom Hanks.
However, if it weren�t for a $4 million
disagreement, it would be Robert De Niro telling
you about a glow-in-the-dark compass, and
not Hanks.
Having already committed to the movies Dragnet
and Punchline, Hanks simply had too many scheduling
conflicts and was forced to turn down the
role of Josh Baskin, so Marshall offered it
to De Niro instead.
Without enough money to lock down De Niro�s
salary demands, and Hanks� schedule opening
up, all returned to normal - and Marshall
became the first female director to have a
film gross more than $100 million at the box
office.
RDJ is A-OK (and Iron Man)
In 2006, Robert Downey Jr. was slowly making
his return to Hollywood with cult hits like
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Scanner Darkly and
Zodiac - but that wasn�t enough to become
Iron Man, according to Marvel. Cue: director
Jon Favreau.
�I remember when we cast Robert Downey Jr.
in �Iron Man�, and I was told no several
times,� said Favreau.� �That was a big
gamble on whether or not he was really serious
about it�and now history has definitely
proven that he was dead serious about it and
now he is the biggest star in the world.�
As far back as 2004, it was Tom Cruise trying
to get the project made, but in 2005 he lost
interest in Iron Man's status and chose to
work with Spielberg on War of the Worlds instead.
Tom Selleck: Indiana Jones
In 1981, fresh from Star Wars Episode V: The
Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas began casting
his new adventure film Raiders of the Lost
Ark. The problem: Lucas didn�t want Harrison
Ford.
Fearing that Ford was going to be �his Bobby
De Niro� (Scorsese) after appearing in 3
previous films of his, Lucas instead hired
the man, the myth, the legend: Tom Selleck.
"He was perfect for the part. I can't imagine
anybody else in that part," Lucas said of
Selleck - unfortunately the actor just filmed
a pilot for a little show called Magnum P.I.
and couldn�t get out of his contract. Spielberg
suggested Ford as a replacement and Lucas
agreed... with only 3 weeks before filming.
Back to Stolz� Future
While starring in the TV show Family Ties,
Michael J. Fox was cast in the lead role of
a time travel movie called Back to the Future.
Unfortunately, the network wouldn�t give
Fox time off to make the film because they
considered him the reason why the show was
successful. Producers had to cast someone,
so they did: Eric Stoltz.
4 weeks into filming and director Robert Zemeckis
(who also co-wrote) had enough and determined
Stoltz was miscast and �too humorless.�
In secret, Stoltz actually agreed with Zemeckis.
With $3 million now added to the film�s
$14 million budget, Fox�s schedule eventually
opened up and he was cast because, unlike
Stoltz, producers felt he had the personality
of Marty McFly.
Get Gone Girl, Witherspoon
After starring in Water for Elephants and
This Means War, Reese Witherspoon began adapting
the Gillian Flynn novel Gone Girl for film
with producer Leslie Dixon. Shortly after
the first draft of the script, director David
Fincher joined the project and set a few things
straight, namely who won�t be in the movie:
Reese.
'We had a long conversation where he was like,
"You're not right for it. And this is why."
And I actually completely agreed with him,'
said Witherspoon. Instead, Rosamund Pike was
cast as the lead and earned an Oscar nomination
for the role. Gone Girl earned nearly 100
award nominations, including nods from Screen
Actors Guild, Golden Globes, Academy Awards
and even the Grammys so the decision was a
good one.
