Blow Out The Rewatchables
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Blow Out

Recasting Couch

Keep Allen disputed; Sarandon, Winger, Close, Lange, Kidder and Fisher proposed

In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:26Read transcript
  • Redford or Hoffman are imagined in a 1970s version, but neither would supply Travolta’s particular lightness and finesse.
  • Travolta is imagined in Tom Hanks’s 1980s roles, Romancing the Stone, Beverly Hills Cop and Amadeus, praising his combined dancing and everyman abilities.
  • Purple Rain is jokingly floated and doubted, while Manhunter receives enthusiastic support as a hypothetical Travolta vehicle.
  • Gere is imagined in Urban Cowboy’s Scott Glenn role but not Travolta’s lead.
  • Travolta in No Way Out and Field of Dreams is imagined; Field of Dreams versus Bull Durham suitability is disputed, including whether he looks like a baseball player.
  • Travolta in Die Hard is enthusiastically supported; missing an action vehicle around 1986–1988 is considered a lost opportunity.
  • Travolta is imagined as Danny in Prince of the City.
  • Nancy Allen is the recasting target despite admiration for Dressed to Kill and Carrie; repeated casting of a romantic partner is compared to Sondra Locke, while Allen is said to improve in the second half.
  • Susan Sarandon, Debra Winger, a young Glenn Close and Jessica Lange are proposed for more star power.
  • Lange is initially considered the only proposed actor suited to the character’s ditziness; Allen’s apparent dullness is defended as manipulation plus genuine hospital sedation.
  • Allen is defended through her attentive eyes in the bar scene; the alternatives might project too much intelligence and professionalism, including Lange’s light rather than ditzy Tootsie performance.
  • Sarandon remains a possible alternative, but Allen’s Bronx background makes her believable as Philadelphian in a way Lange may not.
  • Margot Kidder and Carrie Fisher are proposed then rejected as different or too smart; Allen’s lightness is defended as exactly right, while the desire for a new actress persists.
  • Harrison Ford is proposed as capable of the lead but acknowledged to produce a different performance.
  • Roy Scheider could make it work as a more 1970s film; Redford is doubted as too beautiful and insufficiently East Coast, while Pacino and Gere remain conceivable.
  • Stallone is jokingly the worst case because he would rewrite the material.
  • The invited producer agrees Allen works better by the end despite disliking her early performance.