45 replies to this topic

[Henry Blanco]

George Raft, who was best known for gangster films (he was the guy who invented the gangster trope of standing around and flipping a coin), turned down rthe leads in Dead End, High Sierra, and The Maltese Falcon, three roles which made Humphrey Bogart a star.

[Rory Abel]

Oh yeah, Harvey Keitel was originally going to start as the lead in Apocolypse Now since he was an actual marine.

[Martin Smith]

Belushi, and I believe John Candy, were originally going to be in Ghostbusters. I think Belushi was supposed to be Venkman but can't remember now.

Yeah, Belushi was intended to be Venkman. Would have been a very different film. As much as I like Belushi, I can't imagine him doing a better job than Murray did (though he may have been more amenable to sequels, if he hadn't died and made it all moot). John Candy was going to have Rick Moranis's role of Louis, but according to Aykroyd or Ramis (or possibly Reitman) he couldn't get a decent angle on it. He wanted to do it with a heavy German accent for instance.

[Rory Abel]

Yeah, Belushi was intended to be Venkman. Would have been a very different film. As much as I like Belushi, I can't imagine him doing a better job than Murray did (though he may have been more amenable to sequels, if he hadn't died and made it all moot). John Candy was going to have Rick Moranis's role of Louis, but according to Aykroyd or Ramis (or possibly Reitman) he couldn't get a decent angle on it. He wanted to do it with a heavy German accent for instance.

As I remember, when Belushi was involved Ghosterbusters was also a very different film than what it became. If I remember right, it was set in the future and the ghosts were fought using magic wands instead of proton packs. So who knows if the Venkman role was even the same character as what Murray played?

[brucegray666]

Jean Claude Van Damme in the original Predator costume:



Not quite got the same menace about it as the Kevin Peter Hall one.

[Martin Smith]

As I remember, when Belushi was involved Ghosterbusters was also a very different film than what it became. If I remember right, it was set in the future and the ghosts were fought using magic wands instead of proton packs. So who knows if the Venkman role was even the same character as what Murray played?

Well, Aykroyd originally pitched it as Ghostbusters being an essential emergency service in the future like the police or fire brigade but then decided to go back to the present and show how that came about. I don't think Belushi was ever properly involved in the project beyond Aykroyd having him in mind for the character, but I think the characters came after the switch to the present. But I could be wrong.

[Johnny Henning]

Just had a look to see what you're talking about and yeah, Brando hasn't got much of a voice there, does he?

The rumor is that Brando's singing in the film required hours and hours of sound editing as technicians cut together the best sections from many different takes.

Oh yeah, Harvey Keitel was originally going to start as the lead in Apocolypse Now since he was an actual marine.

Originally, George Lucas was going to direct Apocolypse Now and he wanted to actually go to Vietnam during the war and shoot part of it with real soldiers.

The studio wouldn't let 'em go, though. http://www.gradesave...ia/development/

[Henry Blanco]

Originally, George Lucas was going to direct Apocolypse Now and he wanted to actually go to Vietnam during the war and shoot part of it with real soldiers.

The studio wouldn't let 'em go, though. http://www.gradesave...ia/development/

Bringing the AT-AT over would have been cost-prohibitive?

[brucegray666]

Originally, George Lucas was going to direct Apocolypse Now and he wanted to actually go to Vietnam during the war and shoot part of it with real soldiers.

Bringing the AT-AT over would have been cost-prohibitive?

I wonder how much added CGI tat he'd have added in the Apocalypse Now: Redux release...

[Johnny Henning]

Now, imagine if George Lucas had been killed or captured in Vietnam and Coppola directed Star Wars with a script from Milius.

Christopher Walken as Luke Skywalker. Robert Duvall as Han Solo. Marlon Brando as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Meryl Streep as Princess Leia.

As far as odd casting choices, originally Lance Heinrickson was going to play the Terminator and Schwarzenegger was going to play Kyle Reese. However, with difficulty, Arnold convinced Cameron that he was much better at playing a machine than a human being.

[brucegray666]

As far as odd casting choices, originally Lance Heinrickson was going to play the Terminator and Schwarzenegger was going to play Kyle Reese. However, with difficulty, Arnold convinced Cameron that he was much better at playing a machine than a human being.

I read that yesterday while browsing the trivia section on IMDB. Apparently Cameron did some sketches of what Hinrickson would look like in the get up. OJ Simpson was also considered for the role.

[Henry Blanco]

Now, imagine if George Lucas had been killed or captured in Vietnam and Coppola directed Star Wars with a script from Milius.

Wasn't the war over by the time Apocalypse Now was filming?

[Rory Abel]

I read that yesterday while browsing the trivia section on IMDB. Apparently Cameron did some sketches of what Hinrickson would look like in the get up. OJ Simpson was also considered for the role.

[Johnny Henning]

Wasn't the war over by the time Apocalypse Now was filming?

When Lucas wanted to make it, it was before he made AMERICAN GRAFFITI in 1973. The war really ended for good in '75, but I think Lucas would've wanted to go to Vietnam in '71 after he made THX 1138.

[steveuk]

Jean Claude Van Damme in the original Predator costume:



Not quite got the same menace about it as the Kevin Peter Hall one.

I still don't get how everyone dropped the ball so badly with that design. It looks a little scarier in some of the pre-production art, but still not that interesting;

[John Brook]

The final product we got with "Predator" is a pure miracle. The movie should have been a mess with the preproduction story and the last minute change with the creature design...

And yet, my mates and I watch Predator all the time.

[brucegray666]

I still don't get how everyone dropped the ball so badly with that design. It looks a little scarier in some of the pre-production art, but still not that interesting;

The design pictured here does look alright however, when it's moving, the movement of the head makes it look like one of those bobble head figures.

The final product we got with "Predator" is a pure miracle. The movie should have been a mess with the preproduction story and the last minute change with the creature design...

And yet, my mates and I watch Predator all the time.

Yep, same here. I've got it on dvd yet whenever it's shown on the telly I always tune in. One of my top 3 movies for sure.

[garjones]

And yet, my mates and I watch Predator all the time.

I guess it's a bit like the last minute shambles Die Hard seemed to be and then produced one of the best action films of all time. There is nothing greatly innovative or particularly amazing about either of them, they just do everything well.

[steveuk]

The design pictured here does look alright however, when it's moving, the movement of the head makes it look like one of those bobble head figures.

I don't like the armoured version, its far too 'Sony Walkman' for me, especially when the alien inside it looks that alien!

As for the creature, I think the best thing Winston did was give it a real face. The dreads are great and Cameron's idea of mandibles was good too, but the fact that it was something you could get an expression off. Kevin Peter did a very good job giving it body language and expressive eyes, but Winston provided a lot of material for him to work with.

[Jim Ohara]

And yet, my mates and I watch Predator all the time.

Predator remains the greatest action movie of all time. It's complete perfection from beginning to end, not a scene out of place, not a bad performance. It's funny how the formula worked so well for both Alien and Predator (they're both Haunted House stories).