Alterno-Casting!

When 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights to the Jacqueline Susann's novel Valley of the Dolls, it had just one person in mind for the part of Jennifer North- Raquel Welch.

 

Raquel, however, balked at playing an untalented starlet whose body was the only thing keeping her employed in pictures. The role eventually went to Sharon Tate.

Touchstone Pictures' 1988 film Big Business was originally written for Barbra Streisand and Goldie Hawn. When both actresses turned the roles down they went to Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin.

 

Alterno-Casting!

Anthony Hopkins' iconic role as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs made him a Hollywood legend. If Sean Connery had been willing to take the role, however, it might have taken Anthony longer to become a super star. Likewise, the role of Clarice Starling was also offered to someone else- Michelle Pfeiffer. Michelle wasn't willing to take the role, however, so it went to Jodie Foster who had been actively lobbying for the role.

 

When Paramount acquired the rights to Grease, it thought it had the ideal lead for the film- Henry Winkler. Winkler was starring as Fonzie on the mega hit ABC sitcom Happy Days. Henry, however, was unconvinced. He saw the role as possibly typecasting him as a 1950's greaser for the rest of his career. The role went to John Travolta, who campaigned for Olivia Newton John to play Sandy. Ms. John likely wouldn't have gotten the role that made her a star if Henry Winkler had taken the part.

 

Alterno-Casting!

In the late 1960's, Paramount Pictures was going through a dry spell. When it announced that it had purchased the film rights to Mario Puzo's The Godfather, it hoped that this bold move would turn its fortunes around. So when its chosen director- Francis Ford Coppola- recommended the pricy and prickly Marlon Brando, it resisted at first, recommending Ernest Borgnine instead.

 

Luckily for movie history, Mario Puzo also favored Brando. Paramount Pictures caved in. Years later it would buy the film rights for another book- the memoir Mommie Dearest, a tell all book that scandalized fans of Joan Crawford. Written by her daughter Christina Crawford, it depicted the famous actress as a tyrant who mercilessly beat her children. Intended to be a serious biopic about the Hollywood legend, Paramount originally wanted Anne Bancroft to play Joan Crawford.

 

Initially she was excited about the project, but she quickly changed her mind. Whether she saw the campiness of the film or felt bad about trashing Ms. Crawford, (after all, the legend had accepted her best actress Oscar when she couldn't attend the ceremonies) Anne passed on the project. Faye Dunaway quickly accepted the part, unintentionally creating a camp masterpiece. Ironically, Joan Crawford had thought highly of the actress, proclaiming her to be the only actress at the time who could have found employment during Hollywood's golden age. Perhaps Ms. Crawford got her revenge from beyond the grave; the film effectively sidelined Faye Dunaway and her career never recovered.

Alterno-casting

Yesterday, we listed films that Molly Ringwald had rejected. Today, our first Alterno-Casting features a role Molly had wanted but didn't get- Sloane from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

 

Molly actively sought the role, but writer/director John Hughes told her the role was too small for her, as she had already catapulted into superstardom. While Paramount Pictures had asked John Hughes to consider other actors, he only seriously looked at Matthew Broderick, who he had in mind from the very beginning.

The film Weekend at Bernie's was not Shakespeare, but oddly enough, it had several people vying for one of the two lead roles. The producers had settled on Jonathan Silverman and Jon Cryer as Bernie's horrified guests.

 

However, any worries that the crew had about differentiating between the two Jons were short-lived. Hot off the unexpected success of Mannequin, which had been produced by the same company, Andrew McCarthy was a hotshot again. Mannequin had been the company's first number one film, so it desperately wanted to reward Andrew with his pick of projects. Thus Jon Cryer was out and Andrew McCarthy was in.