Hollywood What If Quiz

Question: Shirley Temple had the star power but not the singing prowess to land the lead in which film, losing the role to Judy Garland?

Answer: A fan of the L. Frank Baum novels, Shirley Temple was considered for the part of Dorothy based on her bankability at the box office, but studio executives decided to go with Judy Garland based on vocal talent.

Question: Although the project fell apart, in the early 1980s director Ivan Reitman wanted to cast Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy as which “dynamic duo”?

Answer: Among the reasons this version of the Caped Crusader never made it to the big screen was that Eddie Murphy wanted to play Batman and Bill Murray was unwilling to play Robin. Ivan Reitman eventually decided not to make the movie, because after the success of 1984’s Ghostbusters he didn’t want another massive project so soon.

Question: In which film did studio executives want James Caan to portray Michael but, after clashing with Francis Ford Coppola, settled on Caan as Sonny?

Answer: Paramount Pictures executives thought Al Pacino was undersized for the role of Michael Corleone. Director Francis Ford Coppola did not want James Caan for the role because he was not Italian. Eventually, the two sides compromised.

Question: Preferring adamantium claws to Walther PPK pistols, which actor rejected the chance to play James Bond partly because of his daunting X-Men schedule?

Answer: After Pierce Brosnan stepped down from the role, James Bond producers reached out to Hugh Jackman about wearing the tuxedo. Had he been cast, Hugh Jackman would have joined George Lazenby as a fellow Australian to have played James Bond.

Question: Needing a more comedic actor, director Robert Zemeckis replaced Eric Stoltz with a sitcom star after more than a month of filming which movie?

Answer: Robert Zemeckis found that Eric Stoltz’s dramatic take on Marty McFly did not fit the vibe of Back to the Future. Michael J. Fox, who was then a breakout star on the sitcom Family Ties, was brought on to replace him. Fox would often record his sitcom during the day before filming portions of Back to the Future at night and into the early hours of the morning.

Question: Planning on both directing and starring as a criminal lead, Gene Hackman bought the film adaptation rights of which novel from Thomas Harris?

Answer: Gene Hackman and Orion Pictures jointly secured the rights for Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs. Hackman sold his share of the movie rights to Orion after his daughter read the book and advised him not to make the movie.

Question: A veteran of The War of the Worlds, which actor was considered to voice Darth Vader in Star Wars?

Answer: George Lucas had reached out to Orson Welles, but the role eventually went to James Earl Jones, who is now so inextricably linked to Darth Vader that he signed a deal with Lucasfilm allowing it to use artificial intelligence to replicate his voice after his death.

Question: Which actor was offered the role of Indiana Jones but refused because he had just landed the leading role in Magnum, P.I.?

Answer: Tom Selleck had to forgo Jones’s famous fedora, instead donning Magnum’s Detroit Tigers baseball cap from 1980 to 1988.

Question: In a deal that might leave many saying “You shall not pass,” Sean Connery reportedly turned down $30 million and 15 percent of the box office earnings to play which role?

Answer: Sean Connery later said, “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.” A 15 percent share of The Lord of the Rings trilogy’s box office earnings is estimated to be about $450 million.

Question: James Cameron rejected a suggestion from one studio executive that O.J. Simpson star in which film?

Answer: Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would portray the murderous robot sent from the future, has claimed that he owns a concept painting in which his face was painted over O.J. Simpson’s as the Terminator. James Cameron has denied that Simpson’s face is under Schwarzenegger’s in the picture and said that the pitch was rejected out of hand.

Question: Later appearing alongside Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail, which comedian turned down the role of Bubba in Forrest Gump?

Answer: Dave Chappelle spoke about his refusal to play Bubba during his stand-up act, saying he found the role degrading.

Question: Meryl Streep was considered to play the lead in which movie, a role that was originally written for a male actor?

Answer: The role of Ripley in Alien was changed from male to female at the suggestion of 20th Century Fox president Alan Ladd, Jr. After the switch, Meryl Streep was considered for the role, but her longtime boyfriend John Cazale had recently died so the filmmakers never contacted her. The role would go to Sigourney Weaver.

Question: A fan of the novels, Robin Williams asked to be considered for two roles—Rubeus Hagrid and Remus Lupin—in which film series?

Answer: The producers of the Harry Potter films had made a rule that they would only use British actors, which precluded American actor Robin Williams from any part.

Question: Halle Berry turned down the role of Annie Porter, originally written as a Black ambulance driver, in which film?

Answer: Halle Berry said she turned down the role of Annie Porter, which would be played by Sandra Bullock, because in early drafts of the Speed script the bus never left the parking lot. Ellen DeGeneres was also considered for her comedic talents.

Question: Athlete Ken Norton was originally considered for a large part—that eventually went to actor Carl Weathers—in which film?

Answer: During his boxing career Ken Norton fought Muhammad Ali three times, breaking Ali’s jaw during their first bout, and was once crowned heavyweight champion. Norton was originally considered for the role of showboating Rocky opponent Apollo Creed but pulled out shortly before production started so that he could appear on ABC’s TV program The Superstars.