Director actors and producers!
Posted by Eva on January 30, 1998 at 02:37:56:
In response to Taking direction, written by MB on January 29, 1998 at 13:56:37
In a big production like S&S the director do not control all the casting. The producers decides the casting of the major stars. It is my impression from interviews with Ang Lee, that he personally would have preferred another actor than Hugh Grant, and that he was happy when the Divine incident cooled the producers and the studios wish to make the movie a Grant feature. They stopped incisting on the kiss.
Incidentially AR starred in a Lindsay Doran/Sydney Pollack feature in the Fallen Angels series prior to S&S. He is by the way also placed about Hugh Grant in the credits (something tht is extreemly important in the picking order of movie stars) AR was brought in to the project just a few months before shooting and after the budget was raised another 5 millions. All this indicates that someone at high level decided that one more major star was needed.
By the way do anyone know who else has been considered or took the part inthe read-through a few years earlier?
Having said that Ang Lee has in interviews declared that AR was the best actor on set and the only one he "allowed" to form his own caracter and make his own choices. He only pressed him to be even more subtle (and to great affect)
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